Carolyn Loretta Wasilewski (June 12, 1940 – November 8, 1954) was the 14-year-old victim of an unsolved

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

that made national headlines during an intensive search for suspects near her home in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. Her remains were discovered in a rail yard by an engineer on a Pennsy express train bound to Baltimore from

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, on the morning of November 9, 1954.

Death

Not far from her family's home, police found bloodstains and personal items belonging to Wasilewski. "Long before she was identified police had concluded that the murder had occurred elsewhere and she had been thrown from the bridge or dragged down a bank to the tracks," reported ''The Baltimore Sun'' in 1954. Written on her right thigh in lipstick or

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was the name Paul. Seven days earlier on November 1, she had testified in a

carnal knowledge Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. In modern statutes, the term "sexual penetration" is widely used, though with various definitions. Biblical source The term derives from ''carnal'', meaning "of the flesh ...

case involving one of her female friends.

Aftermath

A column published in ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' in March, 2000 referred to the murder without mentioning Wasilewski by name. It provoked a column, also in the ''Sun'', by Frederick N. Rasmussen in which he describes the discovery of the body and investigation in some detail, along with the crowds that gathered for the funeral, and quotes a Baltimore homicide detective who said that interest in the half-century-old murder was still surfacing, "We still get calls generally around the anniversary of the murder." Baltimore ''Sun'' columnist Jacques Kelly speculated that the case became a "Baltimore legend," precisely because it was unsolved. The murder and its period of notoriety in Baltimore "loosely" inspired

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

' 1990 film ''

Cry-Baby ''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, and also features a large ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, ...

''. Waters recalls the media's framing of the case in the context of the negative aspects of Baltimore's "

drape Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Late Latin ). It ma ...

" youth subculture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasilewski, Carolyn 1954 in Maryland 1954 murders in the United States American murder victims American people of Polish descent Burials at Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery (Baltimore) Deaths by person in Maryland Female murder victims in the United States November 1954 in the United States People from Baltimore 1950s in Baltimore Unsolved murders in Maryland Violence against women in Maryland Child murder in Maryland

Death

Aftermath

See also

References