A 51 year old man's remains are found bound with tape and rope in his home
In the autumn of 1996, the quiet community of Kingston, New York, was disturbed by the discovery of the body of a local man, 51-year-old Robert Gordon. On October 15th, authorities were called to his residence where they found him deceased, the victim of a brutal homicide. Gordon, a man known to be reclusive, was discovered bound with tape and a clothesline. The cause of his death was determined to be asphyxiation.
Investigators found the circumstances of Gordon's death to be eerily similar to another unsolved murder that had occurred four years earlier. In August of 1992, another Kingston resident, 43-year-old Larry J. Atkins, was also found murdered in his home. Like Gordon, Atkins was a man who lived a solitary life, preferring to travel on foot and avoid the company of strangers. He too had been found bound with tape and rope. Both men lived in cluttered homes and it was rumored that they kept large amounts of cash with them. Police have long suspected a connection between the two slayings due to these striking similarities.
Despite the passage of time and the diligent work of law enforcement, the murder of Robert Gordon remains unsolved. There have been no arrests made in the case, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The theory that robbery may have been a motive in Gordon's death is supported by the fact that a money pouch he was known to carry has never been located. The case, along with the murder of Larry J. Atkins, remains an open investigation with the New York State Police. Both cases have been entered into the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program in the hopes that a connection to similar crimes elsewhere might one day lead to a breakthrough and provide answers to the community that has for decades been haunted by these two unsolved tragedies.
