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In a tragic tale from 1956, a young girl’s daydreams turned into a nightmare. Beautiful and vivacious, 16-year-old Jessica “Jessie” Carter had just cut her hair in a style reminiscent of a character from a detective comic. A popular junior at Great Falls High School, Jessie had fallen in love with a handsome airman stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, and they were even discussing marriage. 18-year-old Ryan Miller, who was visiting from Texas, had spent the holiday season with Jessie’s family.
However, their blissful romance would take a horrific turn. After a date at a drive-in movie on January 2, 1956, Jessie and Ryan disappeared. Their families anxiously awaited their return, hoping they had eloped. Instead, they were thrust into a living nightmare.
The couple was attacked while parked in Ryan’s car along a notorious stretch known as Lover’s Lane. The assailant bound Ryan’s hands with his own belt, forced him to kneel, and shot him execution-style. The killer showed no interest in robbery; Ryan’s car was left running with the headlights on, and valuables untouched. Following Ryan’s murder, the attacker turned his attention to Jessie, who was assaulted and then shot as well.
The following day, three boys discovered Ryan’s body near his car, leaving Jessie’s family devastated and desperate for answers. Two days later, Jessie’s body was found seven miles away, and the community was rocked by the brutality of the crimes. A reward fund was established, but despite numerous investigations, the murders remained unsolved for decades.
Throughout the years, various leads and suspects were pursued, including one officer who believed bullets lodged in a nearby tree could lead to a breakthrough. However, it was a preserved vaginal swab that ultimately held the key to solving the case. In 2001, DNA evidence revealed that Jessie had indeed been raped, and that a foreign DNA sample was present—a potential lead that would remain dormant for years.
Detective Jon Kadner took up the case in 2012, digitizing the entire file, yet it was not until the advent of forensic genealogy that real progress was made. In 2019, the DNA was sent to Bode Technology, where investigators created a family tree that led them to Kenneth Gould, a man with no prior criminal record who lived nearby in 1956. Unfortunately, Gould had passed away in 2007.
Kadner approached Gould’s children to inform them of their father’s suspected involvement in the decades-old case. They were cooperative and understanding, and at long last, Jessie and Ryan’s families were able to find some semblance of closure. The case is believed to be one of the earliest solved through forensic genealogy, bringing a long-awaited resolution to a tragedy that occurred over sixty years ago.
Summary
The tragic murders of Jessie Carter and Ryan Miller in 1956 went unsolved for decades until modern forensic genealogy techniques finally identified Kenneth Gould as the prime suspect. His passing in 2007 meant that justice was sought through his family, providing closure to the victims’ loved ones.