Mattie Ophelia Harris

Mattie Ophelia Harris, an 84-year-old female widow, had built a life in Miami, Florida, after moving from Bunnell with her family decades earlier. Born in Georgia on February 10, 1886, she was a mother and grandmother who, in her later years, lived a quiet life alone in a small two-room apartment. That quiet existence was violently shattered in the summer of 1970, a period when a shadow of fear hung over the city.

On August 5, 1970, Mattie was found murdered in the kitchen of her home. An intruder had strangled her to death with a man's necktie. The scene discovered by authorities was one of brutal violation; her house had been ransacked, and her nightgown was pulled up. This detail suggested a possible sexual motive to investigators, a disturbing signature found at other crime scenes in the area, though a direct sexual assault was not confirmed. Family members noted that Mattie's Social Security check had arrived just the day before, leading to the heartbreaking belief that a robbery for that small amount of money may have escalated into a vicious murder.

The Miami police investigation quickly drew parallels between Mattie’s death and a terrifying string of unsolved homicides that had been plaguing the city for years. Her murder was chillingly consistent with the methods of a serial killer the press had dubbed the "Miami Strangler." Between 1964 and 1970, this unidentified predator was linked to the murders of at least nine women. The victims were of various ages, from 21-year-old Sherivon Wooten to Mattie at 84, and were killed by strangulation, smothering, or bludgeoning. A common thread among the victims was their vulnerability, as many, like Mattie, were attacked in the perceived safety of their own homes.

The killer’s methods, while sharing similarities, were inconsistent enough to complicate the investigation for law enforcement, who were working with the limited forensic technology of the era. The crime scenes were often staged in a sexually suggestive manner, with victims' clothing disarranged, even when no sexual assault had occurred. This pattern pointed toward a perpetrator who was a sexual sadist. Despite the widespread fear and an intensive investigation, the identity of the killer remained elusive.

A person of interest did emerge during the sprawling investigation. Police questioned a truck driver and convicted felon named Calvin Jones Jr., who had recently been released from prison. He was known to have connections to two other victims in the series: he had changed the tire for Sylvia Valdez on the night she was killed and also knew Patrice Newkirk. Jones was questioned extensively by police, but he provided an alibi and authorities were never able to gather sufficient evidence to charge him in connection with Mattie’s murder or any of the others. He was never arrested for the crimes.

In the years and decades that followed, no arrests were ever made in the murder of Mattie Ophelia Harris. Her case, along with the others attributed to the Miami Strangler, grew cold. While other prolific killers, such as Samuel Little, were later found to have been active in Miami during the 1970s, their confessed crimes did not match the specific pattern of the 1964-1970 Strangler series. The identity of the person who ended the life of an elderly woman in her own kitchen remains one of Miami's most enduring and chilling mysteries.

As of early 2026, the case officially remains an unsolved homicide. The investigation is inactive, and the Miami Strangler was never apprehended, leaving the families of Mattie Harris and at least eight other women without answers or justice. Mattie was laid to rest at Southern Memorial Park, but the peace of a resolution for her brutal death has never been found.