Joan Gail Foster was an 18-year-old white woman found shot multiple times in Wesley Chapel, Florida, on September 26, 1977. She was originally from Memphis, Tennessee, and is buried in Memphis Memory Gardens.

Investigators later linked her murder to Gerald Eugene Stano, born Paul Zeininger. Stano confessed to many killings and was tied to a string of murders across Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; his arrest in April 1980 followed an attack on Donna Hensley, who escaped and identified him. Confessions and investigative evidence connected Stano to Joan Foster’s death, and he was convicted of multiple first-degree murders and sentenced to death.

Joan’s death remains a reminder of the victims affected by this series of crimes. If anyone knew Joan, her movements in Florida in 1977, or has additional information about her life or death, please share what is known.