In the summer of 1976, a 23-year-old former University of Missouri student named Rebecca 'Becky' Doisy disappeared from her home in Columbia, Missouri. On August 5th, she was seen leaving her apartment on Price Avenue with a man named Johnny Wright. Doisy, who worked as a server at Ernie's Steakhouse, had reportedly been persistently asked out by Wright, a regular at the restaurant, before she finally agreed to go out with him.
The two were seen drinking at a local tavern, the Heidelberg, on the day she vanished. She left her apartment unlocked with her cat inside and was never heard from again. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing cut-off jeans, a floral blouse, and sandals.
Following Rebecca Doisy's disappearance, Johnny Wright also left the area, surfacing a few days later in St. Louis. He was questioned by police about Doisy's disappearance and failed a polygraph test, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him. The case remained cold for years until 1985, when a former roommate of Wright's came forward with a disturbing story. He told police that Wright had shown him Doisy's body, wrapped in a blanket, in the trunk of his car. Based on this new information, a warrant for Wright's arrest for second-degree murder was issued, but he had already vanished. For over two decades, Wright lived as a fugitive, using an assumed name, Errol Edwards, and raising a family while moving between Washington, Texas, and Georgia.
The break in the long-dormant case came in an unexpected way in September 2009. Wright, then living in Lawrenceville, Georgia, applied for a job that required a background check and submitted his own request to the local police department using his real name. This action revealed the outstanding murder warrant from Missouri, and he was arrested. In January 2011, nearly 35 years after Rebecca Doisy's disappearance, Johnny Wright stood trial for her murder. Despite the fact that her body was never found, he was convicted of second-degree murder, largely on circumstantial evidence and witness testimony. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ultimately died behind bars in 2015. The case of Rebecca Doisy is a somber tale of a young life cut short and a perpetrator who evaded justice for decades. Although her killer was held accountable, the final piece of the puzzle, the location of her remains, is a secret that died with him, leaving her family with a sense of unresolved grief.Last Seen: Aug 5, 1976
