Tracey Neilson's 21st birthday on January 5, 1981, was filled with anticipation. She and her husband Jeff, newlyweds since the previous July, were excited to celebrate her birthday together for the first time as a married couple. Jeff, a first-year medical student at the University of Oklahoma, had an early class but promised to be home by 5:00 pm for the evening's celebration.
Tracey started her day running errands, including a grocery store visit. Neighbors saw her return to their apartment at Jamestown Square in Moore, Oklahoma, just before noon. She had plans to meet a sorority sister for lunch but never arrived, and no one saw her after she returned home.
Jeff's classes ended around 4:00 pm, and he stopped at a department store in Oklahoma City to buy a bottle of perfume for Tracey’s birthday. He got home just after 5:00 pm and found their apartment door unlocked. Inside, the living room had signs of recent activity: the ironing board was set up, and the TV was on, but Tracey was not in sight.
Calling out for her, Jeff walked through the apartment and found two lobster tails on the kitchen counter, ready for their dinner. His search led him to the master bedroom, where he discovered Tracey lying on the floor, covered in blood and obviously deceased. Overwhelmed, Jeff ran to a friend's apartment in the complex, struggling to articulate what he had seen as he begged for help. The Moore Police Department was called immediately.
Police arrived within minutes, confirming the scene as a homicide. There were no signs of forced entry or struggle, and Tracey, dressed in blue jeans and a plaid shirt, had not been sexually assaulted. Nothing was missing from her purse or the apartment, puzzling investigators about the motive behind the brutal crime.
Tracey seemed an unlikely target. She grew up in Canadian, Texas, excelling in academics and athletics. After graduating as salutatorian of her high school class in 1978, she attended Oklahoma State University (OSU), where she thrived both socially and academically. At OSU, she met Jeff, a pre-med student. They fell in love, got engaged during her sophomore year and his senior year, and married in July 1980. They moved into Jamestown Square Apartments when Jeff started medical school at the University of Oklahoma, and Tracey transferred there as a junior physical therapy major.
On January 5, Tracey planned to prepare a special dinner at home and meet her sorority sister for lunch. The grocery items she purchased were found in the apartment, but the lunch date was canceled. The last confirmed sighting of Tracey was just before noon when she returned from shopping. Several calls from friends and family wishing her a happy birthday went unanswered that afternoon.
The medical examiner determined that Tracey’s death occurred around noon. She had been stabbed over 20 times, and her throat was slashed, yet there were no signs of a struggle. Detectives theorized she likely knew her killer and let them in willingly, though friends and family suggested her trusting nature might have led her to open the door to a stranger.
Neighbors reported seeing a strange man around the complex near the time of the murder. Composite sketches of two men seen by witnesses were released, but their identities remain unknown. The case was challenging from the start due to the lack of obvious motive and physical evidence.
Jeff was initially a prime suspect, but he was quickly cleared of any involvement, cooperating fully with investigators and accounting for his whereabouts. His visible devastation further confirmed his innocence.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation joined the Moore Police Department, but despite their combined efforts, the case grew cold. A task force was established, and in October 1988, the public learned that fingerprints found at the scene had yet to be matched due to the lack of a computerized system. Jeff’s parents campaigned for such a system, and in 1990, the state approved funding. Unfortunately, even with the new technology, no matches were found.
In January 2015, investigators held a press conference seeking the public's help to identify the origin of a cable repair book found at the crime scene. The book, linked to Southwestern Bell Telephone (now part of AT&T), contained a receipt for work done at Tracey’s apartment at 11:51 am on the day of the murder. Despite extensive inquiries, the initials on the receipt remain unidentified, leading authorities to believe the book might have been stolen and used to gain entry.
Detectives also revealed that Tracey's keychain, a piece of wood with her name painted on it, was missing and likely taken by the killer as a souvenir. A sketch of the keychain was released, but no new information has surfaced. A new reward of $100,000 was offered in 2015, funded by Jeff and Tracey’s family, but the case remains unsolved.
Despite the significant passage of time, the case of Tracey Neilson’s murder remains a haunting mystery. Friends, family, and law enforcement continue to seek answers, hoping that new developments or advancements in forensic technology might one day bring closure to this tragic and perplexing case. As of now, the question of who killed Tracey Neilson and why remains unanswered, leaving a community still yearning for justice.
0 Comments