AI Summary
5 min readOn August 1, 1989, Dana Beatty came home from work to her Cincinnati condo and was attacked by a man in a full black bodysuit and mask. He held a butcher knife to her throat, bound her with medical tape and her own pantyhose, and raped her repeatedly over five and a half hours. Before leaving, he wrote a note: "No police or I'll be back, Miss IBM." The case went cold for decades—until Dana's daughter, Andra, decided she would not leave this world without knowing who did it.
A case that went nowhere
Dana was a rising sales executive at IBM in the late 1980s. She was independent, athletic, and social. Her answering machine captured a full life: friends calling about plans, a boyfriend checking in, a persistent police officer who had been leaving notes and following her on runs. That officer became the prime suspect—he had the right build, he knew where she lived, and he had been stalking her. But police verified he was at a training session during the attack. He was cleared.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:28) **Dana and Andra’s Bond** - Introduces Dana Beatty and her daughter Andra, hinting at a dark secret from Dana’s past that shaped their family life.
- 2 (03:48) **The Life Before the Attack** - Sets the scene of Dana’s life in Cincinnati in 1989 as a successful, independent career woman at IBM.
- 3 (05:34) **The Attack Begins** - Dana returns home to find a masked intruder waiting, who immediately assaults her with a butcher knife.
- 4 (08:21) **Five and a Half Hours of Torture** - Dana is repeatedly raped over several hours, during which she mentally records every detail to aid police if she survives.
- 5 (10:05) **Escape and Immediate Aftermath** - Dana unties herself after the attacker leaves and runs to her neighbors for help, beginning the legal and medical process.
- 6 (12:58) **The Initial Investigation** - Police process the crime scene, finding the knife, a threatening note, and fingerprints, while the answering machine becomes a key source of suspects.
- 7 (16:07) **The Police Officer Suspect** - A Cincinnati police officer who had been stalking Dana becomes the prime suspect, but he is cleared by a perfect alibi.
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Show Notes
A sexual assault survivor’s decades-long fight for justice takes an unexpected turn when her daughter helps reignite the case. Blayne Alexander reports.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or go to rainn.org
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