Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth K. West, a freshman at Belleville Township High School West, was walking the short distance home after a school play performance on the night of April 22, 1978, when she vanished. Her journey was only a block and a half, but she never made it home. A search was launched, and for two agonizing weeks, her family and the community waited for news.
The search ended in heartbreak on May 5, 1978, when her body was discovered floating face down in a creek located between Belleville and Millstadt. An autopsy would later reveal the horrifying details of her final moments: she had been sexually assaulted, struck twice in the head with a blunt object, and ultimately strangled to death.
The investigation into the brutal murder of the young girl eventually led police to a man named Gregory Bowman. Bowman had a criminal history, having previously served time for kidnapping another young woman, and had been released before Elizabeth's disappearance. In a significant breakthrough, Bowman confessed to Elizabeth West's murder. He was subsequently charged and convicted, not only for Elizabeth's death but also for the murder of another young woman, Ruth Ann Jany. In exchange for the prosecution not seeking the death penalty, Bowman waived his right to a jury trial. However, in a stunning turn of events years later, Bowman recanted his confession, which led to his conviction for Elizabeth's murder being overturned.
Despite the overturned conviction in Elizabeth's case, Gregory Bowman remained a prime suspect in the eyes of many and was also a suspect in at least four other girls' deaths. He eventually died in prison while serving a sentence for the murder of another young girl, Velda Joy Rumfelt. The case took another turn when, years later, a well-known criminal profiler suggested that another man, Dale R. Anderson, who was in prison for a different brutal murder, fit the profile of a serial killer and could be connected to Elizabeth's murder, as well as several others in the area. However, no further charges were ever brought against Anderson in connection with this case. The investigation into the death of Elizabeth K. West officially remains a complex and tragic story, marked by a confession that was later recanted and a conviction that was ultimately overturned, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over who was truly responsible for the violent end to her young life.
