Molly Jean Dilts was 20 and a young mother from Black Lick, Pennsylvania when she arrived in the Atlantic City area in 2006. Her family’s last contact was a payphone call from Atlantic City on October 7, 2006. On November 20 a drainage ditch behind the Golden Key Motel in Egg Harbor Township yielded the bodies of four women, all found with their heads facing east; Dilts was one of them and investigators believe her body had been in the water the longest, possibly for up to a month. The medical examiner could not determine an exact cause of death because of advanced decomposition, but the case is being treated as a homicide.

The four victims were linked as the Eastbound Strangler victims; the others named were Kim Raffo, Barbara Breidor, and Tracy Ann Roberts. Authorities think Dilts may have been involved in sex work while in Atlantic City, though she had no police record for prostitution. A handyman staying at the nearby motel was questioned and his home searched but he was released without charges. No arrests have been announced.

Anyone with information about Molly’s movements in October 2006 or who knew her in Atlantic City is asked to come forward.