James Raymond Taylor Identified as 1963 Girl Scout Killer
Apr 25, 2020 10:13:05 GMT -5
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Post by JoannaL on Apr 25, 2020 10:13:05 GMT -5
James Raymond Taylor Identified as 1963 Girl Scout Killer
On Sunday, August 18, 1963, Margaret “Peggy” Beck, 16, was found dead in her tent at the Flying G Ranch Girl Scouts Camp near Decker, Colorado. She had been a Scout since age 9 and was thrilled when asked to serve as camp counselor. The girl sharing her tent alerted authorities when Peggy failed to appear for breakfast that morning.
Beck, a student at North High School, lived in Edgewater with her parents – who learned of their daughter’s death after church that Sunday – and sisters.
Now, after almost 57 years, authorities have identified a suspect through genealogical testing. The suspect, James Raymond Taylor (above), was born December 22, 1939, and would now be 80-years-old.
In 1963, Taylor was 23-years-old, married and, like the Beck family, lived in Edgewater. He worked as a TV repairman and also built HAM radios. It is possible he knew some of the girls attending the camp because he tested his HAM radios in the area.
No one heard or saw anything the night Beck was sexually-assaulted and killed. Her tent-mate was ill and spent the night in the infirmary, so Beck was alone in her tent. At this time, investigators have no idea how Taylor knew there was a single girl in the tent he entered, but the fact he did suggests he may have been at the site that day.
On Thursday (April 23), the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced a warrant had been issued for Taylor’s arrest. “We have spent several months searching for James Taylor, with no luck,” Vincent Alberti explained. “We have no idea where he’s at.” Taylor was living in Las Vegas in 1976, but there has been no trace of him since.
The case was cracked after the sheriff’s department submitted the DNA profile to United Data Connect (UDC) in October 2019. “It is my understanding this is the oldest in history solved through genetic genealogy,” Mitch Morrissey of UDC said. “No other case this old has been solved, we consider it solved.”
Anyone with information concerning Taylor’s whereabouts is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at (303) 271-5612 or Metro Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867 and reference Case 63-10335.
Sources: Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, April 23, 2020; Harriet Sokmensuer, People, April 24, 2020; and Sarah Barnes, KUSA, April 22, 2020.