Unsolved Cases: Brenda Lee Ritter Raped, Strangled in South Strabane
Ritter was the fourth young woman killed in seven months in Washington County in 1976-77.
The rape and strangulation death of 18-year-old Brenda Lee Ritter, of North Strabane Township, is a case that still haunts police. Her death on May 19, 1977, occurred as the fourth in a series of slayings of young women in Washington County. The murders of Deborah Capiola, Mary Irene Gency and Susan Rush left county residents on edge. The death of Barbara Lewis in Penn Hills within the same time frame left investigators wondering if her strangulation death was at the hands of the same killer. According to a Sept. 28, 2003, story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brenda left her boyfriend's home in Chartiers Township about 10:10 p.m. May 18, 1977, during a raging thunderstorm. Her boyfriend, Larry Bonazza, and his mother made sure the doors …
In this Article:
