Sonja McCaskie (19 February 1939 – 5 April 1963) was a British

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

who participated in the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

. McCaskie lived in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, with her son and worked at a nearby ski resort as an instructor prior to her death in 1963.

Murder

A neighbor who was babysitting initially called the police to check on McCaskie after she failed to pick up her son. Police found McCaskie strangled, raped, and dismembered in her 2640 Yori Avenue apartment on Friday 5 April 1963. She had been murdered by Thomas Lee Bean, an 18-year-old high school student who attended nearby Wooster High School. Bean was sentenced to death in the Nevada gas chamber for the murder, but was taken off death row in 1970. He remains incarcerated in

Northern Nevada Correctional Center Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC) and Stewart Conservation Camp (SCC) are part of a prison complex located in Carson City, Nevada, Carson City. The correctional center was established in 1964 and is managed by the Nevada Department of ...

and is the longest-serving inmate in the Nevada Department of Corrections. The murder was sensationalized in the September 1963 issue (25-31 August early sports edition) of the ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...

'' with the frontpage headline (and a grisly photo) as: "I CUT OUT HER HEART & STOMPED ON IT". Image:NatEnquirer1963CutOutHerHeart.jpg, 8 Sept. 1963 National Enquirer

References

External links

British Olympic Association profile of Sonja McCaskie
1939 births 1963 deaths Scottish female alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Scottish expatriates in the United States British people murdered abroad Olympic alpine skiers for Great Britain Scottish murder victims People murdered in Nevada Deaths by strangulation in the United States {{UK-alpine-skiing-bio-stub

Murder

See also

References

External links