Today is Friday, January 7, 2022.

On this day in 1978, 16-year-old Shelley Connolly was found dead in Alaska.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Due to the graphic nature of this crime, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes descriptions of murder, sexual assault, and rape.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

Today we're covering the murder of Alaskan teenager Shelley Connolly. For 41 years, Shelley's case remained unsolved until

there was a breakthrough in DNA technology. Now let's go back to January 7, 1978, to Seward Highway in Alaska.

The scenic throughway ran down the coast of Alaska, just south of Anchorage. The popular drive featured boundless vistas

and deep blue waters. That day, a car full of awestruck tourists sped along the winding road.

After a much-needed break, they pulled over to get a better look at the view. Two of the girls

peered over the side of the cliff, trying to catch a glimpse of the sea below.

Instead, they spotted an unmoving mass, a dead body.

In a haste, they flagged down the first state trooper to pass them.

After investigators recovered the body,

they found it belonged to a 16-year-old Anchorage local named Shelley Connolly. According to the coroner's

report, Shelly had been sexually assaulted and severely beaten, and it suggested she may have

still been alive when her attacker threw her off the highway

because of reported broken nails with dirt underneath them.

Despite her injuries, her mother suspected that Shelly had tried to climb the steep embankment to safety,

but she never made it back up.

She ultimately died from a combination of hypothermia and internal bleeding.

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