In a little Welsh village, JOSEPH Kappen gained notoriety for killing three young ladies.
Thanks to breakthroughs in DNA testing technology, it wasn’t until 30 years after the final homicide that his identity was discovered.
Who is Joseph Kappen?
Three ladies went missing after leaving nightclubs in South Wales’ small towns during a period of time in 1973.
They had taken a lift, which was typical at the time, but they never got home.
They vanished on many Saturdays, earning Joseph the nickname “Saturday Night Strangler.”
Joseph Kappen murdered the three girls after raping them in the adjacent woods.
After these girls were killed, a sizable police task group was assembled to identify the murderer.
According to reports, 150 officers were initially assigned to discover their murderer.
Kappen, however, stayed undiscovered for 30 years as a result of the limited resources available at the time.
When it was discovered that the girls had taken a trip with a stranger, authorities decided to put up posters warning people against doing the same in an effort to stop more homicides.
Thumb lifts have resulted in murder, the warning banners said, pleading with people not to do it.
The girls’ personal effects were preserved for 30 years until improvements in DNA analysis allowed for the identification of their murderer.
Who were Joseph Kappen’s victims?
Three victims of Joseph Kappen are known. One victim was barely fifteen; two others were sixteen.
Pauline Floyd, Sandra Newton, and Geraldine Hughes were all 16 years old.
The girls were all hitchhiking from Kappen on their way home when they were all slain on two different evenings.
The Daily Mail said that Geraldine and Pauline were together on the evening of their deaths.
Sandra was being picked up by Kappen after she had abandoned her boyfriend to walk home.
Where is Joseph Kappen now?
In 1990, Joseph Kappen passed away.
Following breakthroughs in DNA testing technology in the 1970s and the early 2000s, the case was abandoned.
A vehicle thief’s DNA was found to match a DNA sample, although the thief was only seven years old when the murders were committed.
Paul Kappen, Kappen’s son, was found to be the auto burglar.
With this information, detectives were able to persuade Kappen’s relatives to give swabs for DNA testing.
The decision to exhume Joseph Kappen’s body in 2002 was made in response to the discoveries.
The tissue taken from his femur and teeth matched exactly, proving his guilt and bringing justice to his victims.
