Introduction
On March 15, 1989, the lifeless body of 17-year-old high school senior Tracey Lynn Kirkpatrick was found in the stockroom of Aileen's Ladies Sportswear, a since closed clothing store that was located in Frederick, Maryland. To this day, despite multiple promising leads and DNA samples, her gruesome murder remains unsolved.
Background
Tracey Kirkpatrick was a 17-year-old high school senior and honor student attending Brunswick High School. Tracey had hopes of heading off to Mount St. Mary’s University in the fall to study accounting, and eventually attend law school. She worked two part-time jobs to help pay for her college education. She had three siblings, two sisters and a brother. In her spare time, Tracey enjoyed reading and writing poetry. One of her poems, "Hands of Time", was even published in the New American Poetry Anthology in 1988
The Crime
Sometime after 9:00 PM, a security guard, Deputy Don Barnes Jr, noticed the lights were still on at Aileen's Ladies Sportswear, despite the store typically being closed at 9:00 PM. Thinking that perhaps the employee or employees inside were closing up for the night, he thought nothing more of it. At around 10:30 PM, the security guard noticed all the lights were still on, far longer than it'd typically take to close the store for the night. Finding the scene suspicious, the security guard walked into the store, but didn't immediately find anyone. Upon walking into the stockroom, he discovered the body of Tracey. Tracey had been brutally murdered, with multiple stab wounds to the back and chest, with no signs of sexual assault. No murder weapon was ever recovered, but was determined to have been a knife. No money was taken from the cash register, but Tracey's purse was nowhere to be found. Blood was found near the loading dock, but no other evidence has been publicly disclosed.
Before they could even be notified, Tracey's parents, Billy and Diane Kirkpatrick, were already on their way to the scene of the crime. The previous night, Billy stopped by Aileen's Ladies Sportswear because Tracey had not returned home at her usual time. Billy found her talking with her ex-boyfriend at the store, and left together sometime after. Worried that something might have happened, Billy and Diane both drove to Tracey's work. When they arrived, the saw police and feared that a robbery might have taken place. What had actually taken place was far more brutal.
The Investigation
Many people in Tracey Kirkpatrick's life were interviewed following her murder, including family, friends, and an ex-boyfriend. For nearly three months, no major updates were reported in the case, until a caller placed a call from a pay phone to a confession hotline in Las Vegas. The caller seemingly confessed to Tracey's murder, claiming to have murdered her over an argument using a knife he always kept on-hand. He revealed his name to be "Don", but didn't seem worried since "there are a lot of guys named Don in Frederick". Don claimed he would often stop by the store when Tracey was working by herself.
Hello. My name is Don and I'm calling from Frederick, Maryland. I know this is going to sound surprising, but three months ago I stabbed a girl to death. And you might think that in making this tape, I'm setting myself up to be caught, but there are a lot of guys named Don in Frederick. The girl I killed was working in a ladies' sportswear store. I often came by and talked to her when she was working alone, and one night when she was in the storeroom and we were talking, our conversation turned into an argument. And so I took out a knife that I have with me at all times and I killed her. And a few days later I realized that I had created a lot of sadness, and I thought about turning myself in to the police. But whatever they do to me, that won't bring Tracey back. So I've decided that I better keep free, because we have the death penalty in Maryland. Thanks for listening. I'm sorry for what I did, but nothing can change it. Bye.
— Mysterious Caller
However, according to department investigating the case, they don't believe the man who placed the call to the confession hotline actually committed the murder, nor do they believe his name is actually "Don".
DNA was found at the scene, but no matches were found in 1998 or 2003. "Touch samples" were also analyzed years later, but no information has been made publicly available as to whether or not a match was found.
Theories
The two theories with the most traction are that either the security guard committed the murder, or one of Tracey's friends or coworkers did, although there isn't sufficient evidence for a conviction in either case. Although the man who called the Las Vegas confession hotline and the security guard who found Tracey both share the name "Don", there isn't any publicly released evidence linking the two.
Another potential suspect early on was a man waiting outside in the parking lot. However, the man didn't see anything out of the ordinary that night, and was supposedly waiting in the parking lot for his significant other.
Both the Kirkpatricks and the police department have their own ideas on who they think is responsible for Tracey's murder, but neither have publicly stated who they think it might be.
More than 30 years later, after having passed through the hands of detectives, the case remains unsolved. Hope remains that DNA evidence will eventually lead to an arrest and bring Tracey's killer to justice.
References
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2009/03/16/after-20-years-girls-murder-still-unsolved/
https://www.wfmd.com/2023/03/14/the-anniversary-of-a-cold-case-in-frederick-still-remains-unsolved/