Elna Maria "Valerie" Peterson
Homicide:
Elna Maria "Valerie" Peterson
8 YOA
Manson, IA (Calhoun County)
May 6, 1971
Case summary by Jody Ewing
On May 6, 1971, eight-year-old Valerie Peterson was killed by a hit-and-run driver between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. while riding her bicycle in front of the Manson Augustana Lutheran Church. One other girl riding ahead saw a blue-green pick-up truck with two or three men inside traveling north at a high rate of speed. They appeared to have long hair, and the girl believed the truck had some sort of equipment in the flatbed.
The truck had swerved onto the side of the road and did not stop.
 Calhoun County  Manson, IA, in Calhoun County |
Autopsy reports show that Valerie appeared to have flown up in the air after being struck and then hit the truck again on the front or side before striking the ground. The report indicated she probably was killed instantly.
The FBI and CBI suspected one family in particular -- those owning the blue-green truck -- which they went to immediately after the incident. The truck was then sold at Ross Motor in Manson within a week by the suspect family. Paint chippings were taken from the truck prior to the sale.
Initial evidence taken and sent to Washington, D.C. was damaged through testing procedures.
If you have any information regarding this case please call the Calhoun County Sheriff's Department at (712) 297-7583.
If you have further information to add to this site and case description, please fill out our Contact form.
Family Establishes Valerie Peterson Memorial Justice Scholarship
A new scholarship in Valerie Peterson's memory has been established at the Manson Northwest Webster Junior/Senior High School in Manson, Iowa.
The college scholarship of $1,000 is offered by Valerie's sister, Eileen Peterson, and brother, Cal Peterson, for a student from Manson High School who plans to study and make a career in law enforcement, criminal forensics or law. The scholarship's goal is to increase the number of individuals in Iowa professionally trained and working in criminal forensics, law enforcement, victim support or law.
The criteria and granting of the scholarship is based on career plans to enter the fields of criminal justice, forensics or law, and takes into consideration prior volunteer work with crime victims or families of victims, plans to remain and work in Iowa in the justice sector, and other student scholarships.
Valerie's case remains unsolved and was recently reviewed by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation's Cold Case Unit. The case is listed in the Iowa Cold Case database, on the Iowa Cold Case website and in the national database for Unsolved Mysteries and America's Most Wanted.
There have been tremendous strides in science and testing procedures allowing old criminal cases to be solved. Paint scrapings in Valerie Peterson's case were tested at the time but damaged due to the infancy of the science in 1971. New procedures, such as DNA and chemical testing, assisted in the recent arrest and case resolution in a nearly 40-year-old unsolved case by the Iowa Cold Case Unit.
The DCI's Iowa Cold Case Unit is currently funded through 2011. Many Iowa counties now have victim assistance counselors to help families face the emotional challenges during case investigation and through trial. This was also non-existent in the 1970's. The Valerie Peterson Memorial Justice Scholarship's goal is to support all of these types of efforts in the justice field.
For more information about the scholarship, please call the Manson High School at (712) 469-2245 or e-mail Manson Principal Shawn Holloway.
Page last updated: March 4, 2010
