On a cold January night in 1960 a young mother of three was living an ordinary life in a modest home on the east side of Des Moines. Her name was Darleen May Boyd Fitchett. She was twenty eight years old, known to neighbors and relatives, and she was managing the demands of parenthood while facing health challenges that required daily medication. On January 19, 1960 the routine stopped. By the next day the family could not reach her. By the next weeks the police were searching. In the years that followed the missing person file evolved into an unsolved homicide case. No remains were found, but the absence of evidence did not erase the strong indications that a crime had occurred. The story remains one of Iowa most stubborn mysteries.
The woman at the center of the case
To understand the weight of the case it helps to picture Darleen as more than a date and a file number. She was a daughter, a wife, and a mother whose health had grown fragile due to thyroid…..