Cathy Ford
Real Name: Catherine Denise Ford
Nicknames: Cathy Ford
Location: Gormania, West Virginia
Date: February 17, 1988
Bio
Occupation: Waitress
Date of Birth: July 20, 1968
Height: 5'9
Weight: 140 poudns
Marital Status: Dating
Characteristics: Caucasian female, Brown hair and brown eyes with discoloration on right arm and birthmark under armpit.
Case
Details: In 1988, nineteen-year-old Gorman, Maryland resident Cathy Ford began having an affair with Gormania, West Virginia police officer Paul Ferrell. On February 17, 1988, Cathy mysteriously vanished after receiving a phone call from Paul. The next day, Ferrell located Cathy's burnt out car two hundred yards away from her trailer. However, he did not tell anyone about it, and then sent a letter to the police claiming to be Cathy. When Cathy's car was re-discovered three weeks later, Paul became the prime suspect.
When she vanished, Cathy was wearing a black leather coat, black sweater, stone washed blue jeans and jewelry including a ring size 5 1/2 karat gold, 3 diamond rings, half karat pear, 8 karat forth and one karat surrounded by chips. None of her jewelry has been recovered.
Paul Ferrell
Police found traces of blood in Paul's bedroom that was not inconsistent with Cathy's parents. This along with other evidence subsequently led to Paul being arrested and charged with murder, arson and kidnapping, although police never found Cathy's body. Prosecutors used the blood evidence, along with body language from Paul, and a witness that heard screams from Paul's trailer in the trial. Ferrell was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and arson, and sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years in prison.
However, new evidence has began to surface that suggests Ferrell may have been innocent. Martin Yant, a journalist, was able to locate two witnesses who claimed to have seen Cathy over a year after she vanished. This, along with the fact that Cathy's body was never found, makes some invovled in the case believe that Paul was innocent and that Cathy may even still be alive.
Suspects: Paul Ferrell
Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the September 25, 1992 episode.
Results: Unresolved. In 2001, the West Virginia governer commuted Ferrell's sentence, which made him eligible for parole, which was granted in May of 2004. Cathy Ford has never been found.
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