Ellen Blau, a 21-year-old white female, was a part-time student at Midwestern State University and worked as a waitress in Wichita Falls, Texas. On September 19, 1985, she disappeared after leaving work. Her green Volkswagen was later found abandoned in a parking lot with the keys still in the ignition and her purse on the front seat. Blood was discovered on the edge of the driver’s seat, raising immediate concerns about foul play.
On October 10, 1985, nearly three weeks after her
disappearance, the nude and decomposed body of 21-year-old white female Ellen Blau was discovered by a county employee mowing a rural road just four miles from where her car had been found. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the medical examiner could only determine that she had died from undetermined homicidal violence. Her identity was confirmed through dental records. The condition of her remains made it impossible to determine whether she had been sexually assaulted, though her underwear had been pulled down, suggesting the possibility.
At the time of her death, Wichita Falls was experiencing a disturbing pattern of violence against women. Over an 18-month period, three women had been stabbed, strangled, and in two cases, raped and murdered. Ellen’s case remained unsolved for years and eventually went cold.
In 1999, Faryion Edward Wardrip, a white male serial killer, confessed to the murder of 21-year-old white female Ellen Blau, along with the killings of Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, and Debra Taylor. Wardrip had lived in the same apartment complex as Ellen and had previously worked at a fast-food restaurant near her workplace. A female roommate and co-worker of Ellen’s had described Wardrip as unsettling and had warned Ellen to avoid him. After his confession, Wardrip was convicted and sentenced to death for one of the murders and received life sentences for the others.
Wardrip’s confession came after DNA evidence linked him to two of the other victims. Investigators obtained a DNA sample from a discarded coffee cup, which matched evidence from the crime scenes. Although no DNA could be recovered from Ellen Blau’s remains due to decomposition, Wardrip admitted to strangling her and breaking her neck before abandoning her car in Wichita Falls. His arrest and confession brought closure to a series of murders that had terrorized the Wichita Falls community for years.
