On the night of September 26, 1980, 19-year-old white female Diane Edwards was abducted while walking home from her waitressing job at a Perkins Restaurant in West St. Paul, Minnesota. Witnesses, including four teenage girls and a woman parked nearby, reported seeing a dark-colored station wagon with wood-grain panels pull onto the sidewalk and forcefully seize the young woman.
The driver, described as a man in his mid-20s with brown hair and an unshaven face, lifted Diane Edwards over his head and shoved her into the vehicle through the driver's door. The girls immediately contacted police, while the other witness came forward after hearing news reports the following day.
Just minutes before the abduction, another woman, Tomi Willems, had a disturbing encounter with a man driving a similar vehicle. He rear-ended her car, attempted to open her passenger door, and pursued her aggressively before fleeing when she honked for help. This incident occurred only blocks away from where Diane Edwards was taken.
On October 9, 1980, a hunter discovered Diane Edwards' purse on a rural road in Sherburne County. Later that day, her naked body was found face down in a ditch nearby. Her clothing was piled beside her, and her glasses were recovered during the search. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined that the 19-year-old white female had died from blood loss due to multiple stab wounds to the chest, inflicted by a single-bladed knife with a six-inch blade. Additional injuries included facial bruises, a shoulder bruise, and rope-like marks on her arms. A sexual assault examination revealed traces of sperm, though decomposition prevented conclusive blood-typing.
Investigators eventually linked the crime to Joseph Donald Ture Jr., a white male serial offender from St. Paul. Ture had previously been arrested on October 30, 1980, for unrelated charges of attempted rape and kidnapping. During his arrest, authorities discovered he possessed a list of waitresses from various restaurants in the area, including Perkins. He had also been a suspect in a sexual assault case in Hopkins, Minnesota. Further investigation revealed that Ture had two outstanding traffic tickets in West St. Paul, which police used as a pretext to obtain a warrant and question him about the Edwards case.
Over the following months, Ture was interrogated multiple times while in custody. In April and May of 1981, he was formally charged with first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree murder during a sexual assault, two counts of kidnapping, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the death of 19-year-old white female Diane Edwards. Witnesses later identified Ture as the man seen abducting her. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Ture's criminal history extended beyond this case. He was later convicted of the 1979 murder of 18-year-old white female Marlys Wohlenhaus and the 1978 murders of Alice Huling and three of her children. His pattern of targeting young women, particularly waitresses, suggested a disturbing and calculated modus operandi. Diane Edwards' tragic death became one of several linked to Ture's violent spree across Minnesota.
