Do you know who killed 80 year old Ritchey White in 1988? S.E. Ritchey was an 80-year-old White man who, along with his wife Ethel, owned and operated a laundromat in Taylor, Texas. The couple followed a strict and predictable routine every Saturday: they would close their business, collect the day’s earnings, and stop at the H-E-B for their weekly grocery trip before heading home to their rural residence in Williamson County. Their granddaughter recalled seeing them leave the grocery store on one such evening, just as they always did.
On the night of March 5, 1988, that familiar routine was shattered. At around 10 p.m., Mr. and Mrs. Ritchey arrived home and began unloading their groceries in the driveway. It was then that they were ambushed by an unknown attacker or attackers. Mr. Ritchey was struck in the head with a blunt object, and his wife was knocked unconscious. The assault was a robbery; investigators determined that the assailants emptied Mr. Ritchey’s wallet and took several hundred dollars from Mrs. Ritchey’s purse.
Authorities believe the couple was targeted for the laundromat’s cash earnings, which amounted to roughly $300 that day.
Mr. Ritchey was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for a fractured skull. He fought for his life for over two weeks but ultimately succumbed to his injuries on March 22, 1988, seventeen days after the attack. The violent incident left his family with deep and lasting trauma. Ethel was never the same and could not remember the details of what happened. One of their granddaughters, who was only nine years old at the time, answered the phone when her grandmother called for help and witnessed the bloody aftermath. Another granddaughter later described the effect on their family as being like a rock hitting a piece of glass, with cracks that continued to run for decades.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office investigated the robbery and homicide, concluding early on that while murder may not have been the original intent, the robbery had resulted in Mr. Ritchey’s death. For years, the case grew cold. In 2018, detectives announced that Mr. Ritchey’s clothing was being sent for advanced DNA testing to be compared against national databases. Investigators also continued to conduct interviews in the community and within the prison population, hoping for a break.
To date, no suspects have been identified, and no arrests have been made in the case. As of March 2024, the murder of S.E. Ritchey remains unsolved. A cash reward is available for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Williamson County Sheriff's Office at 512-943-5204 or email [email protected]. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Williamson County Crime Stoppers at 800-253-7867.
