53°
Althoff went to the traveling fair in Trainer with her two brothers on April 25, 1951. Her brothers reported her missing when it was time to leave and they could not find her.
Hours later, police discovered her body in the cab of a carnival truck in a secluded area of the five-acre fairgrounds, organizers said. She had been choked or smothered to death some five hours previously, likely while the killer was trying to muffle her screams, the Coroner's Office determined.
She was murdered within 100 yards of some 2,000 carnival-goers who simply did not hear her, according to GoFundMe organizers.
Because her body was found in a carnival truck, over 300 employees were questioned by police in the ensuing investigation.
Later, finger and palm prints were recovered from the truck and eventually led back to Ferris wheel operator William Henry Redmond, organizers say. Redmond was among the workers initially questioned by police but released due to a lack of evidence, and by the time investigators obtained an arrest warrant in January 1952, he was nowhere to be found.
The case languished for more than 30 years until investigators tracked him down in Nebraska in 1988. Fundraisers say Redmond admitted to Althoff's murder "almost as soon as (State Trooper Malcolm) Murphy began questioning him," organizers said.
He told police he lured the 8-year-old to his truck with candy, sexually assaulted her, and strangled her when she began to scream, according to GoFundMe organizers.
Redmond was extradited back to Pennsylvania but released on a $1 bond, after he was "determined to be a non-threat due to his advanced age and health issues," the fund says.
He died awaiting trial in 1992, according to organizers and court records.
He allegedly was an infamous Carnie Killer, who was linked by police not only to Althoff's death but also Beverly Potts murder in Cleveland, Barbara Gaca in Michigan, Connie Smith in Connecticut, as Toronto Sun reported and a serial killer fan website noted.
The GoFundMe campaign, launched by the "Famous Grave Company," seeks to place a memorial on Althoff's unmarked burial plot in Linwood.
"Jane's family was poor and lived on $80/month. They simply could not afford to mark her grave with a headstone," they wrote.
"For 73 years, her grave has remained unmarked."
Click here to view the fundraiser on GoFundMe.com.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hampden-Silver Spring and receive free news updates.
