Murdered: Tracey Kirkpatrick
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voices-for-justice/id1469338483?i=1000649263580
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QQls3iY4s7WgMpIyFC4w4?si=8LjKLmsbRN-7fWi08oMrHg
Tracey Lynn Kirkpatrick was a 17-year-old with the world at her fingertips and worked hard to make that happen. She had a solid plan to get her bachelor’s degree and then attend law school, and she worked two jobs to realize this dream. But on March 15, 1989, while working at a women’s clothing store in Frederick, Maryland, that was all stripped away from her when she was brutally murdered. The week this episode airs marks 35 years since that night, and her case continues to baffle investigators.
If you have any information, please contact the Frederick Police Department at 240-674-2612.
Sources:
Arias, Jeremy. “Family Members Gather on 30th Anniversary of One of City’s Oldest Unsolved Homicides.” The Frederick News-Post, 17 Mar. 2019, www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/family-members-gather-on-30th-anniversary-of-one-of-citys-oldest-unsolved-homicides/article_fb21adab-c039-5240-a2c3-e1c87343e134.html.
Associated Press. “Parents Try to Cope with Daughter’s Murder.” The Star-Democrat, 15 Mar. 1994, p. 2. Newspapers.Com.
Associated Press. “Police Make Public Plea for Teen’s Killer to Come Forward.” Carroll County Times, 11 Oct. 1989, p. 12. Newspapers.Com.
Associated Press. “Teen-Age Clerk Fatally Stabbed in Frederick.” Newspapers.Com, 17 Mar. 1989, Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.
Barker, John F. “Barnes Elected Frederick Sheriff.” The Morning Herald, 6 Nov. 1974, p. 16. Newspapers.Com.
Blasey, Laura. “Families Struggle to Cope with Homicides Long Unsolved.” The Frederick News-Post, 26 Aug. 2013, www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/families-struggle-to-cope-with-homicides-long-unsolved/article_3dd9b528-9738-5b9a-aa3f-ea918ab38980.html.
Blasey, Laura. “Police Juggle Long-Term Cases with Daily Duties.” The Frederick News-Post, 25 Aug. 2013, www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/police-juggle-long-term-cases-with-daily-duties/article_bad1bff4-69fe-5603-8419-7f85166cad74.html.
Duggan, Paul. “Call to Confession Hotline Might Solve Teen’s Murder.” The Morning Call, 18 Mar. 1990, p. 5. Newspapers.Com.
Duggan, Paul. “Call to Confession Line Recharges Probe Of ...” The Washington Post, 16 Mar. 1990, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/03/17/call-to-confession-line-recharges-probe-of-md-slaying/e572659e-07fe-4003-81a8-46365c71e3c7.
Englar, Brian. “Barnes Leaves behind a Colorful Legacy.” The Frederick News-Post, 26 May 2010, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/barnes-leaves-behind-a-colorful-legacy/article_a5061e8a-c787-55df-a7c6-649c6f5bc368.html.
Englar, Brian. “Frederick Police Seek Help in Homicide from Elite Society of Crime Solvers.” The Frederick News-Post, 11 Mar. 2016, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/frederick-police-seek-help-in-homicide-from-elite-society-of-crime-solvers/article_e140eb15-c83d-52ca-87f9-966266f9cffb.html.
“Fire & Police Blotter.” The Frederick News-Post, 2 Jan. 2024, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/fire-police-blotter/article_81f6cd54-d265-524e-b72a-4e7b9126d5f4.html.
“Florida Mother Missing for Days Found Alive in Shipping Container, Banging on Locked Door.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 9 Mar. 2024, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-mother-missing-days-found-alive-shipping-container-banging-loc-rcna142611.
Gallucci, Gina. “A Frustrating Investigation for the Kirkpatrick Family.” The Frederick News-Post, 11 Mar. 2016, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/a-frustrating-investigation-for-the-kirkpatrick-family/article_36bee8be-8383-57d7-81cd-b466b06b1682.html.
Gallucci, Gina. “Part II OF II: The Perfect Crime.” The Frederick News-Post, 11 Mar. 2016, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/part-ii-of-ii-the-perfect-crime/article_c41d7530-53f5-5882-b972-aacc378fe09d.html.
Gallucci, Gina. “’he Lived It, He Breathed It.” The Frederick News-Post, 16 Mar. 2009, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/he-lived-it-he-breathed-it/article_3f5be63f-159a-5fc5-a861-77542b082ea1.html.
Gallucci-White, Gina. “20 Years of Sorrow.” The Frederick News-Post, 15 Mar. 2009, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/20-years-of-sorrow/article_5d55f52f-5e07-5bf4-8635-407457ad8093.html.
Gallucci-White, Gina. “Cold, but Not Closed.” The Frederick News-Post, 11 Mar. 2016, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/cold-but-not-closed/article_b254fec8-8e3a-582f-bca3-035294b05657.html.
Leckie, Kate. “10 Years Later, a Girl’s Murder Remains Unsolved.” The Frederick News-Post, 10 Mar. 1999, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/10-years-later-a-girls-murder-remains-unsolved/article_6fb005cd-69d4-547f-97a8-3f9de9aa75d4.html.
Leckie, Kate. “Case Files Open.” The Frederick News-Post, 2 Oct. 2003, www.fredericknewspost.com/archives/case-files-open/article_7d951457-78ab-5a10-a6bd-567c394429fe.html.
Mabeus, Courtney. “Who Killed Tracey Kirkpatrick?” The Frederick News-Post, 15 Mar. 2014, www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/who-killed-tracey-kirkpatrick/article_53efa27e-793f-5871-8719-435bd265f58f.html.
“The Murder of Tracey Kirkpatrick Remains Unsolved 33 Years Later.” WFMD, 15 Mar. 2022, www.wfmd.com/2022/03/15/the-murder-of-tracey-kirkpatrick-remains-unsolved-33-years-later/.
Pelaez, Jasmine. “Police to Employ New Strategy in Tracey Kirkpatrick Cold Case.” DC News Now | Washington, DC, DC News Now | Washington, DC, 20 Sept. 2019, www.dcnewsnow.com/news/police-to-employ-new-strategy-in-tracey-kirkpatrick-cold-case/.
Roylance, Frank D. “After 20 Years, Girl’s Murder Still Unsolved.” The Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2009, p. 3. Newspapers.Com.
Smith, Jane A., and David Simon. “Frederick Girl Slain at Store.” The Baltimore Sun, 17 Mar. 1989, pp. 1E-10E. Newspapers.Com.
Thatcher, Gage. “Who Killed Tracey Kirkpatrick?” YouTube, Gage Thatcher, 20 May 2016, youtu.be/hnWdOlkfakU?si=LRFajZoPCiIiZaHw.
“The Unsolved Murder of Tracey Kirkpatrick.” Into the Silent Land, 1 Apr. 2022, www.intothesilentland.com/.
“Unsolved Mysteries.” Season 3, episode 17, 30 Jan. 1991.
Walters, Rob. “Ask the Editor the Top Stories of the Year.” The Frederick News-Post, 11 Mar. 2016, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/ask-the-editor-the-top-stories-of-the-year/article_d7b75f65-e535-52eb-b8e7-b8d99f50c229.html.
Wells, Karlynn. “Woman’s Family Still Seeking Answers 30 Years after Her Murder.” DC News Now | Washington, DC, DC News Now | Washington, DC, 17 Mar. 2019, www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/womans-family-still-seeking-answers-30-years-after-her-murder/.