Mrs. Hazel Lane, found stabbed to death in her apartment with a BBQ fork, Los Angeles, December 1958

From a Long Beach newspaper article, December 4, 1958:

It also left police with a series of bewildering questions.

What was the killer’s motive and how was he able to overpower a physically-strong woman without leaving any sign of struggle or being overheard by a neighbor less than eight feet away? 

Was he a friend who could gain unchallenged admittance into Mrs. Lane’s tiny 23 Elm Ave. apartment? Or was he a stranger who surprised the woman as she prepared for bed?

Was she struck down by a powerful thrust of the kitchen utensil or choked and then slain while lying on the living room floor?

Had the killer carefully rearranged her clothing, put slippers on her feet and tidied the apartment before leaving?

Or was it a one-in-a-million accident?

“We’ve never been up against anything like it,” explained Det. Inspector Harry P. Finch, head of the homicide division. “We’ve got questions, but no answers.”