During a press conference held in Graham on April 4, an emotional Terry Johnson — Alamance County sheriff — announced that authorities found the suspect in the 1979 murder of then 20-year-old Tammy Aldridge. The suspect in the case was Gary Lane Laframboise, who died in 2020 in South Carolina.
While the Alamance County Sheriff's Office has identified the subject, they do not know if he acted alone. Another individual was originally charged for her murder, but was found not guilty.
Months after Aldridge’s murder, Laframboise was arrested and charged for kidnapping an individual and impersonating a police officer. He later served jail time between 1980 and 1982, during which he broke the skull of a detention officer.
Relatives of Aldridge were in attendance during the event on April 4. The family said she wanted to study physical therapy for the elderly and was a student at East Carolina University. They declined Elon News Network’s request for comment.
Johnson said connecting Laframboise to this case provided him with mixed emotions.
“This is a sad day and sort of a glad day,” Johnson said. “It’s sad that it took 45 years to develop and identify a suspect in this particular case. … Sad that the family in a way has to relive this ordeal, but I'm also proud to be able to stand here and say we have identified the perpetrator in this particular case.”
Aldridge disappeared on June 30, 1979 while jogging in northern Alamance County. She was subsequently found deceased on Highway 59 near the intersection of Jim Minor Road on the early morning of July 3, 1979. The medical examiner at the time said Aldridge was murdered by strangulation and was sexually assaulted.
She was able to call home twice between June 30 and July 3, 1979 while in captivity.
According to Johnson, Detective Dan Denton and others were able to identify Laframboise based on DNA taken from both Aldridge and Laframboise’s relatives — which matched.
Denton and Johnson said connecting Laframboise to the case was difficult due to records that were thrown out by the Graham Police Department.
“Due to the development of modern day technology relating to DNA, this officer was able to take the spermatozoa sample found on Tammy Aldridge and was able to submit it for further investigation,” Johnson said.