A female victim, 19-year-old Cynthia Marie Clements, a white woman, disappeared from Pinellas County, Florida, on **September 1, 1980**. She worked as a night clerk at the Li'l General convenience store in Kenneth City. At about 5:30 a.m. that Labor Day, a delivery man had seen her in the store, but by the time deputies arrived, her purse was still inside, the radio was on, the cash drawer untouched, and her crossword puzzle unfinished—suggesting she left involuntarily.
Deputies found no signs of struggle, and there was no indication she left voluntarily.
Cynthia Marie Clements, a 19‑year‑old white female, had no vehicle and no criminal record. Family described her as religious, quiet, and sober—there was “nothing to indicate she was anything but a personable, quiet, religious person”. Just weeks earlier her family had relocated from Birmingham, Alabama. She had taken the store job with assurances from coworkers and family that the area was safe.
Roughly six weeks later, on **October 14, 1980**, a hiker discovered Cynthia's decomposed body in wooded land off Bryan Dairy Road near Largo. The body showed signs of strangulation and possible sexual assault, although decomposition prevented detecting semen. Her funeral was held on **October 21**, with detectives discreetly observing from a distance; a Baptist preacher led the service, and no suspect surfaced. The Li'l General chain offered a $2,500 reward, but the lack of physical evidence or eyewitnesses caused the case to grow cold.
Investigators noted that her murder resembled other sexual homicides in the region. At the time, they suspected a serial offender, noting one detective's statement: “Once he gets started doing this type of thing, it usually progresses”. Two suspects emerged in subsequent years:
* **James Delano Winkles**, a white male serial rapist and killer active in Pinellas County, was a suspect. He confessed to another similar killing and was questioned about Cynthia's murder, but authorities lacked sufficient evidence to charge him.
* **Billy Mansfield Jr.**, a white male serial killer convicted of murdering multiple women, was briefly considered in Cynthia's case due to similarities in modus operandi and his Florida location. He remains only a suspect; no formal charges were filed in connection with Cynthia's death.
No arrests have ever been made in Cynthia Marie Clements's 1980 homicide. To this day, her murderer remains unidentified, and justice for the 19-year-old white female victim has not been served.
