Murder Without Motive

5/26/2024

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
In 1970 Carol Anne Fitzmaurice, a 23-year-old nurse, without any known enemies was savagely stabbed to death in her home. Both her family and the investigators in the case, not only question the identity of the killer but the motive as well. Despite the passage of more than 50 years both of these questions have never been answered.

Daniel Fitzmaurice (1944-1972)

Carol Ann Fitzmaurice née Manzo was murdered on October 20, 1970 in her home at the corner of West Five Mile Home and Chapin roads in Allegany, New York. She was found stabbed to death on her living room floor; her husband Dan (who would die in motorcycle crash in 1972) found her body around 6:00 pm.

Carol had been stabbed 14 times in her throat and torso. There was evidence of a struggle, but not of a sexual assault based on the autopsy report. A day after the murder a foot-long stainless steel carving knife matching others in the kitchen, was found in a creek at the rear of the home, but initially it was not known if this was the weapon that killed the victim. Later it would be confirmed to be the knife used in the crime. Robbery was also ruled out as a motive.

Carol was a nurse, and worked for Dr. Webster. The day she died, she worked until noon, ate lunch with her parents in Olean and she left for home around 1 p.m. An uncooked chicken was found in the oven by police indicating she was preparing dinner when she was attacked.

About 50 troopers were called in to aid in the investigation of Carol Ann Fitzmaurice's murder c.1970

Since there was no signs of forced entry police wondered if she knew the person who killed her. On the other hand during this time, the couple lived in Cattaraugus County farm country, which had little or no crime, and it was not unusual to leave your door unlocked.

The couple had married in 1968, and they had placed the home on the lot within the last year, after they purchased it since it was slated for demolition due to the construction of a highway.

Across the road from the crime scene, a witness was tending to his horses in a barn and said he did not hear any screams or see signs of any unusual activity. He ended his chores just before 6 p.m.

The family dogs were outside running around and were unharmed.

Sketch released by police of young man seen in the vicinity on the day of the murder

Detectives would go on to receive information that a young man was seen driving a dark red car in the area on the day of the murder. A sketch was made and released, but no one came forward to identify the individual.

Carol's husband Dan had a strong alibi since he was at work at the local lumberyard that was an hour's drive away. Being a small town, many rumors have swirled over the years, especially when Dan was killed in the motorcycle accident. It was not ruled a suicide or a DUI, but there is speculation about both.

Police said fingerprint evidence and a hair was found in the home, but those items could never be linked to any suspect.

Dan Fitzmaurice would go on to tell police a ladder which he had left upright in the morning when he left for work was turned over.

In the Carol Ann Fitzmaurice murder there were so many questions, and so little answers. Even after half a century, the nexus of this crime which would be a motive remains as murky as when this young housewife met a grisly end.

Was she being stalked for a time, or did she grab the killer's eye the same day the perpetrator killed her, which is why a kitchen knife was used?

Tips on this crime, contact New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations 716-373-2550 (case SJS No. 3021514)