Unsolved Cold Case Files: HENRIETTA RAGAN – In 1959, Leonardtown, Maryland, was a quaint little place where everyone knew one another. Tonight, 65 years ago, there was an incident that shook our quiet community; Henrietta Wilmer Ragan was raped and murdered. Her killer was never apprehended.
Henrietta Ragan was born and raised in Leonardtown; her St. Mary’s County roots can be traced to the early 1700s. She was active in her church and taught piano to local children.
Recently widowed, she was grieving from the passing of her husband on Valentine’s Day that year.
Newspaper articles of the day detail an extensive investigation by the Maryland State Police assisted by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, with “200 sets of fingerprints” and “lie tests” given.
A man with “scratches on his neck” was questioned for four hours on the day of Henrietta’s murder, but no arrest was made.
Henrietta Wilmer Ragan now rests next to her husband, Patrick, at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Cemetery in Leonardtown.
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