The bench on which she likely sat was knocked over, and 26-year-old Roberta Elam was apparently dragged by her throat to a grassy area where she was raped, strangled to death, and left where she gasped her final breath on June 13, 1977.
“Sister Robin” was partially clothed when she was discovered by a groundskeeper approximately three hours after the crime had been committed on the grounds of Mount St. Joseph’s Convent near Oglebay Park. According to the reports, her neck and legs were bruised, her slacks and white blouse were soiled, and serene changed to surreal on a property designed for seclusion.
Nearly 50 years later, a new lead in the tragic case is under investigation.
“Det. Doug Ernest is our chief investigator, and he tracked down a new lead in Tennessee just before the flooding last June. So, yes, the case is still being worked,” explained Ohio County Sheriff Nelson Croft while he was a guest on the “Novotney Now” radio program on The River Network. “Doug has been working that case most of his career, and I know he would love to get it solved.
“And I would love to help solve that case during my tenure as Ohio County’s sheriff because ‘Sister Robin’ deserves it. She deserves the justice, and so does the family,” he said. “If it’s not, I would love to have it solved under the next sheriff’s tenure. Just for the closure.”
Elam had lived in four states by the time she moved to the Fulton neighborhood of Wheeling in 1976, and she had petitioned the Sisters of St. Joseph’s for her eight-day retreat to contemplate a life of poverty and service to the Roman Catholic Church. Following the murder, thousands of tips were received, and Croft also confirmed that investigators know much more than they have released to the public.
In fact, Croft confirmed that the case file remains off limits to media members because it is an active case. Most of what has been collected during the past four decades rests in a few “banker boxes,” and inside are many details of the crime that only the perpetrator and investigators would know.
“It might be a cold case, but it’s still an open case here in Ohio County, and that means we have to be very careful,” the sheriff said. “We’re hoping someone out there knows more than we do and will come forward someday.”
A Half Century Ago
When ‘Sister Robin’ was attacked, raped, and murdered nearly 50 years ago, law enforcement did not have the investigative tools that are available today. That includes DNA, three-dimensional laser scanning, national evidence networks like CODIS and the AFIS fingerprint database, drone/surveillance technology, and – believe it or not – social media networks.
Jurisdiction, too, was an issue at times, and that seemed to be a problem with this case, according to the late-great Tom Burgoyne, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 33 years before serving eight years as Ohio County’s sheriff from 2000-2008.
Burgoyne insisted nearly 10 years ago that the case was not handled properly.
“If you talked to anyone who was involved with the case from the very beginning, they will tell you that it was mishandled pretty badly, but those offices operated very differently back then,” he said in August 2016. “In 1977, when the voters elected a new sheriff, he brought his own people in for the deputy positions, and that meant a guy could have been a farmer one day and a sheriff’s deputy the next day.”
Sheriff Croft concurs.
“I know I was just a six-year-old kid, but I remember when ‘Sister Robin’ was raped and murdered at Mount St. Joseph, and I’ve discussed that case a lot with my father (Harry – former Ohio County deputy) over the years,” he said. “I just wish there would have been more cooperation between all of the agencies that were working that case. That’s my gripe about that case.
“I’ve thought that since I first started learning how an investigation is conducted. When I’ve studied the case and talked with my father, I just think everyone wanted to be the one who solved it,” he said. “While I understand wanting to be successful at what you do, I have to wonder if the case would have ever gone cold if it was handled more professionally. I have to wonder if the murderer could have been found.”
While Det. Ernest chased down the new lead back in June, Croft acknowledged it wasn’t the first time his office has received suggestions from the public.
“We know people are still thinking about ‘Sister Robin’, and we do get the occasional call with ideas and their theories. They ask if we ever talked to this guy and that guy, and I always put those folks in contact with Doug. Because you never know,” Croft said. “As far as cold cases go, it’s the most popular one in Ohio County by far.
“There was a lot of evidence collected, and I believe it’s a case that needs a break,” the sheriff added. “And who knows when that could take place.”
