On the morning of January 3, 1977, 46-year-old Louis Doris Maxfield was found dead on the kitchen floor of her Post Mills apartment in Thetford, Vermont. Her husband, Melvin, returned from his job as a school bus driver at 8:45 a.m. and discovered her; she had been seen alive about an hour earlier when her children left for school.

Initial impressions were that Doris had died from natural causes related to her history of seizures, and the regional medical examiner first listed that as the cause. Vermont State Trooper Danford O’Brien noticed marks on her neck and pushed for a formal autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiner. That autopsy determined the cause of death to be asphyxia due to manual strangulation, and the case was officially ruled a homicide.

No arrests have been announced, and authorities have not publicly named suspects. Over the years residents have offered theories, including an accidental fall or speculation about Melvin’s temperament, but those remain unproven. Does anyone with memories of Thetford in 1977 or information about this case have details to share?