Nightmare in Rochester

In 1971,there began in RochesterN.Y.a series of hideous murderscases that offered the starkest of contrast between good and evil: perfectly innocent victimsperfectly evil predators. The three victims were little girlseach named with the same first and last initial. Eachthe legend saidhad been dumped in a town that also began with that letter. The victims had all been last seen in an urban setting and their lifeless bodies were found raped and carelessly dumped along a rural roadsidestrangled by ligature. Local girls with alliterative names were on high alert and told to be vigilant. The little ones didn’t quite get itbut they sensed itsomething in their mother’s tighter grip on their little handor the way mom never relaxed when they were out of doors. The older ones looked at maps and guessed where their own lifeless bodies would be discovered in a ditch. No one wondered why the initials were importantwhat it all meant. They understood one thing: it was terrifying.