It’s been nearly 36 years since hunters in Anne Arundel County stumbled on the body of a young woman on a footpath in a wooded area just north of the Prince George’s County line.
The female was identified as 17-year-old Donna Lee Dustin, a 1973 graduate of Bowie High School with a promising future. Her death remains unsolved, and her killer, or killers, remain free.
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Chief investigator David Cordle, of the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, has been investigating Dustin’s slaying for a dozen years. Each year he attends her class reunion, hoping that someone will come forward with information about the night she was killed that might help solve Dustin’s murder.
“These cases have no less significance than cases that occurred yesterday or today,” said Cordle. “It’s still a murder. Someone lost a loved one. It’s unsolved, and it’s solvable.”
On Nov. 16, 1973, Donna came home from work as a secretary at the Ironworkers International Union in Washington, D.C., to prepare for her second date with a young man and another couple.
The four ate at Muhlmeister’s Ice Cream Parlor and then went to a nearby party.
Around 1:30 a.m., she returned to Bowie to drop off her date at his house and attended another party with about 100 people.
Witnesses said she was last seen drinking with two men she’d recently met.
At 10:30 a.m., two hunters discovered Donna’s nude body in an abandoned quarry at the Anne Arundel line behind the Bowie Race Track.
Donna died from repeated blunt trauma to the head, and there was evidence of sexual assault. Authorities said they found two sets of footprints at the scene, according to court documents.
Several witnesses have come forward to report seeing Donna in the Bowie and Anne Arundel area between 1 a.m., when she dropped off her date, and the time her body was discovered by the hunters, at 10:30 am the next morning.
Anyone with information is asked to call Cordle at 410-222-1740, ext. 3863.
