On a summer day in August of 1970, the life of 15-year-old Sandra Hedler was tragically cut short in New Haven, Connecticut. On August 12th, Sandra, along with two other residents of the New Haven Regional Center, 23-year-old Donna Schlitter and 20-year-old William White, were brutally attacked in West Rock Park. All three were developmentally disabled.
Later that same day, the bodies of Sandra and Donna were discovered behind a ventilator shaft in a tunnel within the park.
They had been bludgeoned to death. William White was found alive in a nearby wooded area but succumbed to his injuries seventeen days later in a local hospital. The weapon used in these horrific crimes was determined to be a boulder.
Witnesses at the park reported seeing a late-model blue car in the vicinity around the time of the murders. This lead, among other evidence, pointed investigators to Harold W. Meade, a 25-year-old who worked various jobs, including as a gas station attendant and ice cream vendor. In December of 1970, Meade was arrested for the murders of Sandra Hedler, Donna Schlitter, and William White.
Initially, Harold Meade claimed his innocence. However, he later changed his plea to guilty and in 1972 was given three life sentences for the murders. Authorities have also publicly stated that they suspect Meade was involved in the unsolved murders of at least four other young girls in and around the New Haven area between 1969 and 1970, due to similarities in the method of murder. Meade died in prison from an illness.
