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American Morning

Cape Cod Hit With Genuine Murder Mystery

Aired January 15, 2002 - 09:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: As we told you earlier, Cape Cod's winter lull has been violently shattered. The beautiful summer destination spot for many in the Northeast has been hit with a genuine murder mystery.

CNN's Bill Delaney has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even painted with the bright brush of a midwinter sun, on Cape Cod this time of year something's just unsettling somehow. That deserted feeling clinging to the raw wind, desolate, where a mystery novelist might set, well, a murder, now too real.

Christa Worthington, globe trotting fashion writer, single mother, stabbed to death. Her body found Sunday, January 7 in her home, in the town of Truro. Police believe her two and half year-old daughter kept a horrifying vigil with her body for more than 24 hours.

The first murder in Truro since 1968, with a plot that quickly thickened.

(on camera): As if a killer on the loose wasn't enough, the subplots in all this are almost too much. The neighbor who found Christa Worthington's body had a love affair with her. He could collect $250,000 in her will, and the father of Christa Worthington's two and half-year-old daughter Ava is a 51-year-old married man with children of his own.

(voice-over): Both men, with other friends and family of Worthington, attended a memorial service for her, and have alibis. The father, Tony Jackett, with the support of his wife and children, already in court seeking custody of his illegitimate daughter.

TONY JACKETT, FATHER OF WORTHINGTON'S DAUGHTER: My concern here now is what is going to happen to Ava.

DELANEY: At the Lighthouse Restaurant in nearby Wellfleet, other concerns. Waitress Justine Kirwan lives around the corner from the murder.

JUSTINE KIRWAN, NEIGHBOR: I don't know, but I wouldn't be likely to go for a nice walk in the woods this afternoon. Just -- I was going -- I was last Friday, and it was a beautiful day, and it's like I couldn't go for that right now (ph), I'm not going to.

DELANEY: Truro police now recommend locking doors, where many not only don't lock up, they haven't even had front door key for years. As for who did it --

JOHN THOMAS, POLICE CHIEF, TRURO POLICE: In most cases considered a homicide, the victim is either -- either knows the perpetrator, or has some type of connection to the perpetrator.

DELANEY: On uneasy outer Cape Cod this winter, local people hope police start making some connections soon.

Bill Delaney, CNN, Truro, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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