A young woman's skull is discovered in a bush in front of a Missouri restaurant Linda Sue Sherman, a 26-year-old Caucasian female, vanished on April 22, 1985, after completing her night shift at the U.S. Government Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Her disappearance was a mystery that would linger for years, leaving her family grappling with unanswered questions and a void that could not be filled. Linda, a mother to a nine-year-old daughter named Patty, was in the midst of a tumultuous marriage with her husband, Don Sherman.
Their relationship, which began in high school after Linda became pregnant, was marked by jealousy, control, and abuse, leading to multiple separations and reconciliations. Just days before she went missing, Linda had taken the definitive step of filing for divorce, a decision she shared with her family.
The circumstances surrounding the night of her disappearance are clouded by conflicting accounts, primarily from her husband, Don. He claimed they argued when she returned from work because he suspected her of having an affair. According to Don, he went to bed while Linda slept on the couch. The following morning, it was Don who took their daughter to school, a departure from their usual routine. Patty recalled seeing her mother on the couch, but she was still and did not get up to say goodbye. Don later reported that Linda was running late for work that evening and hastily drove away; she was never seen again. It wasn't until two days later, at the insistence of Linda's sister and brother-in-law, that Don reported her missing. Her car was subsequently discovered in a short-term parking garage at Lambert International Airport, but there was no record of her taking a flight.
For five years, the case remained cold, a painful and unresolved chapter for Linda's loved ones. Then, on June 28, 1990, a chilling discovery was made outside the Casa Gallardo restaurant in Bridgeton, Missouri – a human skull was found in the bushes. Initially, authorities did not connect the skull to any active cases, speculating it might have been disturbed from a nearby cemetery relocation. The breakthrough came over a year later, in September 1991, when the Vinita Park Police Department received an anonymous letter. The letter, a flier for the Casa Gallardo restaurant, had a stamped message in purple ink: “THE BRIDGETON POLICE HAVE L. SHERMAN'S SKULL”. Dental records soon confirmed the skull belonged to Linda Sherman.
The investigation into Linda's murder has long focused on her husband, Don Sherman, who has been named the prime suspect by the St. Louis Police. Investigators found his stories inconsistent and his behavior suspicious. The fact that the skull was discovered outside his favorite restaurant, a place he frequented several times a week, was a detail that did not escape their notice. One theory posited by investigators was that Don, hoping to remarry but unable to obtain a divorce from the missing Linda, unearthed her skull and placed it in a public location so she could be declared legally dead. Don, however, denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance and death, suggesting instead that she had run off with another man and met with foul play at his hands. He passed away in 2015 without ever being charged in connection with Linda's murder. The rest of Linda's remains have never been found, and despite the passage of decades, her case remains unsolved, a haunting testament to a life cut short and a family's enduring quest for justice.
