Massachusetts investigators announced Monday that they have identified the killer of “The Lady of the Dunes,” nearly 50 years after her murder took place.
The victim, identified in October 2022 as Ruth Marie Terry, was brutally murdered by her late husband, Guy Muldavin, NBC Boston reported, citing officials from the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. Terry’s body suffered a “crushing blow to the head” and she was “nearly decapitated,” according to the outlet. The killer also cut off Terry’s hands.
“Based on the investigation into the death of Ms. Terry, it has been determined that Mr. Muldavin was responsible for Ms. Terry’s death in 1974. Mr. Muldavin passed away in 2002,” state prosecutors said in a statement, according to NBC Boston.
Othram previously assisted Boston FBI, MA State Police and Provincetown PD in IDing the “Lady of the Dunes” after a half-century of mystery re: her death. Today, the Provincetown DA closed the case & her late husband has been found responsible. #dnasolveshttps://t.co/O07vTZCUiU
— Othram Inc. (@OthramTech) August 28, 2023
Terry’s body was found in the dunes of Provincetown’s Race Point Beach in 1974. Before investigators identified Terry in 2022, the “Lady of the Dunes” had been the longest-unidentified murder victim in Massachusetts history, according to the outlet.
PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 25: Dunes at Race Point Beach on May 25, 2020 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Terry and Muldavin were married in Reno, Nevada, according to NBC Boston. The couple had a shared tendency of using aliases; for example, Muldavin went by Raoul Guy Rockwell, as well as Guy Muldavin Rockwell. Police identified him as Guy Muldavin Rockwell when they initially deemed him a person of interest in Terry’s murder. (RELATED: Suspect Charged In ‘Cold Hearted’ Boston Murder 40 Years Later)
Authorities previously investigated Muldavin over the killing of his ex-wife and stepdaughter in 1960, but he never faced any charges for their deaths, NBC Boston reported. Human remains were later discovered in the septic tank of the home Muldavin shared with the two women, prompting the FBI to arrest him for failing to offer testimony regarding “the mutilation of human remains,” according to the outlet. Muldavin was found guilty of grand larceny, though his sentence was halted after he served 15 months in jail.
Muldavin died in California in 2002, according to NBC Boston. He was 78 years old.