Do you know who murdered Rose Busch in 1968? In the quiet, affluent Knoxville neighborhood of Sequoyah Hills, 68-year-old Rose Busch was in her home on Kennesaw Avenue on the cold afternoon of Tuesday, November 19, 1968. A respected member of the community and the wife of a prosperous jeweler, Samuel Harry Busch, she was preparing a cake in her kitchen. The day was ordinary, with the maid having left around 4 p.m.
and the gardener departing about an hour later, leaving Rose by herself in the sprawling 3,200-square-foot home.
The peace of the afternoon was shattered by a brutal and violent attack. An intruder, believed to have gained entry by posing as a police officer, confronted Rose. She was beaten severely in the head with a. 22-caliber Ruger pistol, shot at least once, which grazed her hand, and stabbed multiple times with a paring knife from her own kitchen. The assault was vicious, culminating in the blade of the knife breaking off in her chest. Her husband of 44 years, Harry Busch, discovered her lifeless body in the hallway when he returned home from work at approximately 6:10 p.m. The only items that appeared to be missing were her wedding ring and a few hundred dollars from her purse.
The investigation into the murder of Rose Busch would become one of Knoxville's most enduring and perplexing cold cases. Suspicion initially fell on her husband, Harry Busch. It was discovered that his car had been deliberately disabled with a flat tire by having the valve stem removed, delaying his arrival at home on the evening of the murder. Further investigation uncovered that Harry had been engaged in a long-term affair with a well-known local 'playgirl' and eventual madam, Hazel Davidson. Despite the suspicious circumstances and the affair, Harry Busch passed a polygraph test and was never charged in connection with his wife's death.
A significant piece of evidence was discovered the morning after the murder. A city work crew found a discarded bundle on a nearby street that contained a Cleveland, Ohio police officer's uniform, bloody gloves, a broken silencer, and the Ruger pistol used in the attack. This led investigators to believe the murder may have been a contract killing, though the theory was never proven. Hazel Davidson was also questioned by police, but she denied any involvement and was never charged. Over the decades, the trail grew cold. Many of the key figures in the case, including Harry Busch and Hazel Davidson, have since passed away. The murder of Rose Busch remains unsolved, a dark chapter in Knoxville's history with no arrests ever made and no suspects definitively identified.
