Crime Case : The Baby Shower Murder (1969)

November 21, 1969

Gayle Herrick was a new mother. Gayle's family and friends had a baby shower for her. Eight women were in attendance that evening. Only four women would leave alive.

Gayle was the owner of GAYLE'S FLOWER SHOP. Gayle specialized in growing and selling expensive orchids. Gayle had won several awards in flower shows. 

On November 22, 1969, customers were concerned when Gayle did not show up for business at her shop. Regular customer and friend Ruth Fisher went to Gayle's home to investigate her absence. What Ruth Fisher discovered caused her to run screaming from the house. 

Gayle, her husband Martin, and three other women, were all dead. The baby, Linda, was missing. Four females guests had already left before the murders occurred. The five adults were sitting upright on the sofa in the neat row. Their faces were coated in baby powder. Pink orchids were pinned to each of their foreheads. Their wrists and ankles were bound. Each had dozens of flower petals stuffed in their mouth and throats. Cause of death was suffocation from flower petals. Several fingerprints were discovered which did not belong to the dead. Police also discovered Gayle's flower shop had been vandalized and dozens of orchids were missing. 

The following week, a woman was visiting a flower show 20 miles away from the murders. She passed a display of black orchids that had been entered in the show by two middle aged men. The visitor, Margaret Upton, had been a customer of Gayle Merrick. Margaret recognized the distinctive glass planters that were holding the orchids. The antique planters belonged to Gayle Merrick.

Margaret contacted the police with this information. Police visited the flower show and distracted the two men who were selling the orchids. This distraction was so fingerprints could secretly be lifted from the glass planters. Fingerprints verification was done immediately at a local police station and the men were arrested that very day. Their prints matched matches those found at the crime scene. 

The men were identified as Gerald MacDonald and Hubert Kelly, rival flower shop owner. A trial revealed that the men had entered several flower shows but had always lost to Gayle Merrick. They felt that MURDER was the only solution to ensuring a win in future flower shows. 

When asked why they had killed in such a bizarre fashion, Gerald replied : "To make it look like it was the same people who killed Sharon Tate and her friends. Weird killings were becoming popular and we wanted to be part of the action." Both men were sentenced to life in prison.

Years passed before any trace was found of baby Linda. In July 2005 a woman named Gretchen Barnes was dying. Gretchen had made a deathbed confession to her daughter Rachel. She told Rachel about the murders and how Rachel had been stolen from the house and given to her by Gerald as a gift. Gretchen had renamed the stolen baby with the new name Rachel and raised her as her own daughter. Two hours after the confession, Gretchen Barnes passed away. The mystery of missing baby Linda had been solved.