At about the same time that Steve McGowan arrived at his sister's condo, Jesse Moorehead stopped his car near an irrigation canal some 100 miles north of Pompano Beach and ten miles west of Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County. Moorehead, a 31-year-old construction worker, wanted to catch bait to use for bass fishing and had brought along his 16-year-old niece. What the pair found on the canal bank instead made them recoil in horror.

The decomposing body of a woman, dressed in jeans and a pink flowered shirt, was lying on its back with the ankles crossed. The head had been crudely chopped off at the mouth and the abdomen split open. The hands of the corpse were also missing; it looked to investigators like the perpetrator had gone to great lengths to hide the identity of the victim. However, the killer had failed to notice a small but significant detail: on the victim’s right ankle was a yellow rose tattoo. With no suspects or motive for the crime, the Fort Pierce Police appealed to the public through the local television stations and newspapers for help in identifying the victim. A description of the victim that included the tattoo was released to the media.

On July 20th, Beverly McGowan’s sister, who lived in Boca Raton, contacted the Pompano Beach Police to report her missing. With the information she provided, police put out a teletype report and on Monday, the 23rd, they were contacted by St. Lucie authorities about a body fitting that same description. All that was left was to compare known dental records of Beverly McGowan with a tooth and a filling recovered from the partial jaw of the Fort Pierce victim. Working jointly, St. Lucie Medical Examiner Fred Hobin and Melbourne dental expert Joseph Cwikla were able to make the identification: the body found on the canal bank was indeed that of Beverly Ann McGowan.

The authorities began their investigation, which would be a joint effort involving several law enforcement agencies within the state of Florida. Investigators had little to go on but they were certainly interested in talking to “Alice”, McGowan’s new roommate. It seemed, however, that she was nowhere to be found.

      "Alice"

On July 24, police got their first break in the case. They discovered that someone had used McGowan’s credit card on the 18th at several stores in North Miami including a JC Penny, a Foot Locker, a Pizzazz and a book store. Video surveillance revealed an attractive blonde woman with large breasts and authorities eventually believed this may be “Alice”, the missing roommate. On the 20th, the credit cards were used again, this time at a travel agency in North Miami Beach. This individual was described as a man dressed as a woman wearing a black “Cleopatra” type wig. The suspect used the name “Sam” and stated that he had a reservation to fly to London on the 22nd. He also made a reservation for a rental car at Heathrow Airport. Authorities immediately contacted the London Metropolitan Police and advised them to be on the lookout for the two suspects.

However, unbeknownst to investigators, “Sam” had already arrived in London. On the 23rd, one day before Police discovered the dual credit card fraud incidents, he approached the Avis desk at Heathrow and asked to rent a vehicle with one of the stolen cards. But the order Steve McGowan called in on the 19th to cancel the cards had taken effect and the clerk instead seized the card. “Sam” made an excuse and offered to pay cash instead and left without incident.

     "Sam"

On the 26th of July, someone called Avis and attempted to extend the duration of the rental. Avis instructed the caller to go to the nearest office to complete the transaction. Instead, police found the car abandoned a few miles from Heathrow where it had apparently broken down. John Cornish of the London Metro Police was convinced that the suspects were on their way to Heathrow to escape the country. The London Police searched every plane bound for the United States looking for individuals matching the description of the “Sam” and “Alice” but were unsuccessful. For over a week, the police continued their search to no avail. The suspects in the brutal murder of Beverly McGowan were nowhere to be found. Worse, authorities had no clue which side of the Atlantic they might be on.

Next: Chapter 3-A False Alarm and Years Later a Break

Go To Chapter: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Epilog Questions Bibliography Fact Sheet Links