Bill Bowman - Murderer of the Year: A True Story

THE CALL came to the South Plainfield, New Jersey home of Richard and Gloria Neal early that afternoon.

Richard Neal answered the call; a female voice asked for his wife.

Hello, Mrs. Neal? the voice said to Gloria Neal.

Im calling from Middlesex General Hospital in New Brunswick. I dont want to alarm you, but we cant reach your daughter Cathy.

The nurses intentions notwithstanding, Gloria Neal felt the first traces of worry setting in.

Why are you trying to get her? Is something wrong? she asked, hoping her voice would not convey the panic she was beginning to feel.

Well, we think something might be wrong. She was supposed to be at work yesterday and she didnt show up, and thats just not like Cathy. And we just thought that since she was supposed to be on holiday, that she might have been delayed in getting back, or forgotten when she was supposed to return to work, or something like that. We didnt call yesterday, but when she didnt show up again this morning, we thought wed better; some of the girls on the floor are getting upset, they think something might be wrong. Im calling you because youre listed as the person to call in an emergency.

Well, we havent heard from Cathy for a couple of weeks, but well run over to her house and see if shes all right.

As she shakily replaced the phone in its cradle, Mrs. Neal instinctively knew she had reason to be frightened. She knew her very responsible daughter, and it was very unlike Cathy to not call in if she was due to be at work and for some reason wouldnt be. Cathy, 29, had been a registered nurse at Middlesex General since February and at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in nearby Edison Township for eight years before that; she loved being a nurse and she had made some close friends at the hospital. As far as forgetting was concerned, her daughter just didnt do that.

Gloria Neal quickly picked up the phone and dialed Cathys number. She impatiently listened as the phone rang on and on, but there was no answer. Unable to conceal her worry, Gloria called out for her husband, Richard.

That was the hospital where Cathy works, she told him, pointing to the phone. They said she was on vacation for a week, and that she was supposed to be at work yesterday, but she wasnt, and now they cant get a hold of her. I just called her house, but she didnt answer. I think something terrible has happened.

Now just calm down, Richard Neal told his wife. You stay here and try to call her again, Ill drive over to her house. Im sure shes fine.

But Gloria Neal did not want her husband to go alone, so she awakened their son, Gary, who worked nights and was asleep at the time, and told him to get ready to accompany his father to his sisters house. As soon as her husband and son left, Gloria dialed Cathys number several more times. She never got an answer.

The Central New Jersey boroughs of Metuchen and South Plainfield are near one another; Richard and Gary Neal did not have to travel long before reaching Cathys Durham Avenue, Metuchen home.

When they first arrived, the Neals thought Cathy simply wasnt in because they didnt see her car. But they soon dismissed that notion when they pulled into the driveway and saw the car parked near the back of her home, on the grass. Thinking this odd since Cathy was a creature of habit and always parked in the front part of the driveway, Richard and Gary Neal got out of their car and walked over to Cathys black Ford Mustang. Odder still was what they saw on the ground: strewn about the driveway and in the bushes near the car they found unopened packages of hamburger and frankfurter rolls, as well as loose hot dogs and some packages wrapped in what looked like butchers paper. Richard Neal picked up one of the wrapped packages and opened it; inside was about a pound of ground beef, looking like it had recently come out of the grinder.