Patricia Carol Webb, known as 'Patti,' was a 24-year-old woman from Lincoln, Nebraska, who tragically lost her life on April 19, 1974. Born on July 2, 1949, in Burnwell, West Virginia, she was adopted by Robert and Joan Webb after her birth mother passed away when Patricia was four years old. Growing up in south-central Lincoln, Patricia attended Calvert Elementary School, Pound Junior High, and graduated from Southeast High School in 1968.
She was described as popular, beautiful, considerate, loving, responsible, and trustworthy. Despite her positive attributes, she had a restless spirit and faced challenges in deciding on a career path, briefly marrying after high school and attempting college twice before deciding it wasn't for her.
In April 1974, Patricia began working at the Adult Book and Cinema Store in downtown Lincoln. On the night of April 18, she disappeared from the store, taking with her 51 bondage-themed adult magazines, a calculator, and $30. The store's phone line had been cut, and the door was left unlocked. Two days later, on April 20, a man feeding cattle on a vacant farm east of Hallam discovered her body under a haystack. She was nude, except for a quilted jacket, and had a piece of tape over her mouth. Her body showed signs of being shot multiple times with. 22- and. 25-caliber bullets.
Investigators considered several theories regarding Patricia's death. One possibility was that she was the victim of a robbery or burglary. Another theory suggested that the killer was a sexual psychopath. A third scenario proposed that the murder was an execution, possibly related to her work as an informant. Despite extensive investigations, including consultations with clairvoyants and the involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies, no arrests were made, and the case remains unsolved.
In 2018, authorities reopened the case, seeking new information from the public. They released details about the investigation, including the discovery of her purse a mile and a half away from the crime scene and witness reports of a young woman leaving the store with a black man at about 1 a.m. on April 18, getting into a large, older car that resembled a boxy Cadillac or Buick. Despite these efforts, the case remains one of Lincoln's greatest murder mysteries, with no arrests or suspects identified.
