Legendary Massachusetts Mystery is Finally Solved After 49 Years

After they caught Whitey Bulger and his girlfriend living like The Ropers in Santa Monica, it seemed we had witnessed the biggest “case closed” in New England history. Until just the other day.

If you grew up in the region, you’ve most certainly heard the legend of the Lady of the Dunes. It refers back to a murder in 1974 that led to ghost tales and even a conspiracy theory the victim may have been a featured extra in a legendary film set in New England.

And now, 49 years later, the case has finally been solved. As reported by CBS 4, investigators in Provincetown have finally ruled that victim Ruth Marie Terry was in fact killed by her husband, Guy Muldavin.

Justice will not fully be served, however, as Muldavin died in 2002. In fact, it wasn’t until 2021 that investigators were able to positively identify Terry using DNA testing.

Even worse: it appears as though the couple may have been on their honeymoon at the time of the crime. Worse again: Muldavin was already a suspect in the deaths of his previous wife and stepdaughter in Seattle in 1960.

While the South Shore and Cape serve as the origin for everything from a wooded “Bermuda Triangle” area to another gruesome, Provincetown legend, this case remain fresh in the minds of locals due to its very real and horrifying nature.

So, while we may not know for sure if that was the Lady of the Dunes in the background on the big screen, one Massachusetts mystery has finally been solved.