TW: mentions of physical and sexual violence and other disturbing content
Seventeen year old Beth-Ellen Vinson had it all; she was a star dancer, a beauty queen and had dreams of being a performer in New York City. She was persistent and had her whole life ahead of her — until it came to an abrupt and horrific end.
In August of 1994, Vinson was living with Ricky Heath, 21, and Brian Heath, 20, and their friend, her step uncles, and their friend Walt, in their apartment in Raleigh, after moving from the small town of Goldsboro, NC. After a little while, Ricky and Vinson started dating; many of Vinson’s family members suspect that Ricky fell in love first, and she started dating him as a result, because at the time, Vinson was also still with her highschool boyfriend, Joe. Vinson was also an employee of an escort service named Class Act that summer, using the money made from her job to pay rent and save for her big move. At the time, the company told Vinson that their business was completely clean, and she wouldn’t be asked to perform any sexual acts, only dance for men privately in their hotel rooms. The night of Aug. 16, however, was when everything started going south. That evening, Vinson received a call from the service, asking her to pick up a job at the local Innkeeper Motel. Only Vinson and Ricky were in the apartment at the time, with Brian and Walt being out for the evening; Vinson accepted the job, leaving the apartment around 2:30 a.m.
This was the last time Vinson was seen alive.
The next trace of Vinson was found around 5:30 a.m. When a used car salesman arrived at work and he noticed Vinson’s white 1990 Mazda, parked at a strange angle that prevented anyone from entering or exiting the lot. Police responded to the salesman’s call, reporting the unusual activity.
When the police arrived, they found the car on, completely abandoned, the windows down and the radio still blaring. One of her shoes was also found directly outside the car. Police immediately suspected foul play and opened up an official homicide case.
At first, Vinson’s entire close family were doubtful of foul play, thinking she had likely just run off to New York; she had a history of running off all of a sudden, and then turning up a little while later. Once, she even tried to take a bus to the city with her fifteen year old friend, before being stopped by the police. Her abandoned car, however, was what inclined her family to believe there was something greater at work.
A full week went by before any developments to Vinson’s case were discovered, but the findings of Aug. 23 would massively impact the severity of the case. After noticing a strange smell, a warehouse owner in Raleigh found Vinson’s body in a ditch outside, between his warehouse and a furniture warehouse, covered in cardboard and stabbed 28 times. Police suspect that Vinson was murdered at the crime scene, due to the lack of blood found anywhere but other than spot her body was found.
In the years since, there have been very few tips or intel about who could have killed Vinson, and any ideas police have had proved to be inconclusive. Ricky reports Brian and Walt coming back from their excursion shortly after Vinson’s departure, a report that has no evidence to disprove it.
An anonymous tip in October of 1994 suggested that there may have been blackmail involved in the company she was working for, saying that the escort company specifically catered to high end people, such as lawyers, doctors and politicians. Vinson’s best friend Kelly reports that Vinson told her she had been raped by one of her clients from the escort service. She supposedly told Kelly that she was quitting the escort service job after that, and she did initially, but then started it back up again when money got tight. There were ideas that some sort of inner family pressure may have been to blame; Vinson was known to run away near the time of beauty pageants that her mom entered her in, as if protesting the competitions. Vinson’s initial move to Raleigh was also spurred on by conflict with her family; her mother, Penny, reported that the last thing her daughter ever said to her was “I hate you.” Still though, no clues have ever pointed to the Vinson family being involved in the case.
There is also the question of Vinson’s former best friend, Heather, with whom she got into a horrible car accident about a year prior. Heather was left permanently injured physically, and the two grew apart after the accident. No evidence has ever proven this theory viable either however.
Two years after her murder, in May of 1996, police released reports that some of Vinson’s possessions were lost and/or stolen: three rings and a purse. While these items have since been thoroughly searched for, none have been found, nor any information found that has led to any significant advancements in the case.
If you know anything about the murder of Beth-Ellen Vinson, contact Raleigh Crime Stoppers at (919) 843-HELP, Raleigh Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at (919) 890-3555 or submit an anonymous tip with the FBI.
