On this day, Jan. 11, 1987, Connecticut police arrested the husband of a missing flight attendant in the case that became known as the “Woodchipper Murder.”
When 39-year-old Helle Crafts disappeared in November 1986, her husband, Richard Crafts, told several different stories to friends who asked about her whereabouts. Authorities say a witness came forward to say he had seen a man operating a wood chipper in the middle of a storm early one morning near the Houstonic River. A search led to the discovery of an envelope addressed to Helle. Divers found a chain saw, which had human hair and tissue embedded in its teeth. Detectives found 2,660 hairs, one fingernail, one toe nail, two teeth, one tooth cap and five droplets of blood. The tooth cap matched Helle’s dental records.
Crafts was convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison. The case brought about the first murder conviction in Connecticut in which a body was never found and later inspired the Coen Brothers to write and direct the film “Fargo.”
