Raped and Beaten to Death: The Brutal Murder of Wanda June Anderson
On July 15, 1965, 11-year-old Wanda June Anderson suffered a brutal attack, leaving her severely beaten. 36 hours later she passed away from her injuries. Her murder triggered a statewide search for the perpetrator, with multiple suspects investigated. Despite almost 59 years passing, the person responsible for her death remains unidentified.
What happened to her and who did it?
Wanda June Anderson, born on July 10, 1954, was raised in Joelton, Tennessee, by her parents Nora Josephine and Noah Cooper Anderson, alongside her eight siblings. Described as bright and kind-hearted, Wanda was an integral part of her large family.
On Thursday, July 15, 1965, Kay May, Wanda’s older sister, and her husband Howard entrusted Wanda, aged 11, with the care of their six children, including their infant twins, as they stepped out to run errands and stop by Evelyn’s Beer Tavern. When they left their residence at 1213 16th Avenue around 10 pm, all the children were fast asleep.
Returning around 12:30 am on July 16, 1965, Kay and Howard discovered both the front and back doors wide open, sparking immediate concern. Inside, they heard one of their infants crying and found the home in disarray. While inspecting all bedrooms, they were horrified to find Wanda missing. Upon turning on the lights in the bedroom where Wanda had been sleeping, they were confronted with a scene of horror: blood and bone fragments splattered across the bed sheets, walls, and ceiling, but no sign of Wanda.
Howard, Kay, and Wanda’s parents began searching every corner of the home, desperately hoping to find Wanda. As they combed through the rooms, Kay passed by the open backdoor and caught sight of something in the backyard. In an instant, she recognized it as her little sister.
Wanda was discovered lying in tall grass and weeds, barely clinging to life. She appeared to have been viciously beaten and raped. According to news reports, she was strangled with her pajama pants and her yellow underpants were missing. Wanda was quickly rushed to Vanderbilt Hospital, where medical professionals fought to save her life. Despite undergoing two emergency brain surgeries, Wanda never regained consciousness. Tragically, on July 17, 1965, she succumbed to her injuries and passed away.
The Investigation and Suspects
After the announcement of Wanda’s death, Tennessee Governor Frank Clement offered a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of her killer. The attack prompted a statewide search for the perpetrator, with investigators and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) agents tirelessly pursuing every lead they received.
The crime scene investigation revealed that the killer most likely entered the home through the front door, went right into Wanda’s bedroom where she was sound asleep, beat her with an 18-inch lead pipe, and dragged her through the back door into the backyard, where he then raped, strangled and continued to beat her. The attack left Wanda with a 3-inch square hole in her skull. Investigators also theorized that the attacker’s ability to enter Wanda’s bedroom directly implied prior familiarity with the layout of her home.
Additionally, neighbors reported hearing noises from the house around midnight but chose not to investigate further.
On July 19, 1965, four days following the attack, police questioned 22-year-old Hughdon Edward Mathis. Mathis, a former nightclub bouncer, had previously been charged with the attempted rape of a 51-year-old woman in the same area back in March.
On July 22, 1965, investigators announced the search for a “key witness” who had allegedly vanished shortly after the attack. Police expressed confidence that this individual was responsible for the rape and murder of Wanda. However, they refrained from disclosing his identity, fearing that he might evade capture if he became aware of their efforts to locate him.
On July 23, 1965, it was disclosed that the lead pipe discovered in the backyard, next Wanda’s body might not have been the murder weapon. Court records indicated that the hole found in Wanda’s skull was more in line with an injury caused by a hammer. Nevertheless, investigators awaited a more comprehensive evidence report from the FBI to validate this theory.
On July 26, 1965, investigators were looking into the identities of four girls and one man appearing in photos taken by an unidentified individual who, when questioned about the girls, claimed they were all deceased.
On July 27, 1965, another unnamed individual underwent psychiatric evaluation after confessing to police that he “could have done it.”
On August 19, 1965, Archie Nathaniel Biggers (16) faced charges related to multiple sexual assaults and rapes, and was also questioned as a potential suspect in Wanda’s case.
On April 5, 1966, Edward Warner Adcox (39) was questioned following his statement to officers about “dreaming he had killed the child and other women” and residing near Kay and Howard May’s home. However, it was determined that Edward was incarcerated in a North Carolina prison during the time of the attack.
On July 9, 1966, authorities interviewed a girl in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, who had survived a similar assault as Wanda’s.
On July 13, 1966, Leslie Smith, an employee at Vanderbilt Hospital, was arrested for indecent exposure to several women. He lived in an apartment directly behind Wanda’s sister and was questioned regarding Wanda’s case.
On August 4, 1966, TBI agents administered a polygraph test to Henry Daniel Wilson (27) concerning Wanda’s assault, subsequent to his arrest for assaulting and raping a young woman on Nashville’s Music Row.
On December 21, 1966, the investigation was reignited following the arrest of Edward Joseph McGee (19) for the murder of two young Shelbyville, Tennessee girls, killed in a manner akin to Wanda’s attack. McGee, who reportedly resided on Music Row at the time of the assault, emerged as a a key suspect.
However, despite these leads, none of the suspects were formally charged with Wanda’s murder, and the case eventually went cold.
In a February 2020 interview with The Tennessean, Captain Jason Reinbold identified three men who remained notable persons of interest in the case:
- Henry Daniel Wilson, who was later convicted of raping, assaulting, and attempting to murder two women.
- Ronald Robertson, previously convicted of molesting a young girl, who confessed to killing Wanda to the police on two occasions but failed a polygraph test. He then implicated
- John Donald Ferrel Jr., who, according to Robertson, had allegedly confessed to another individual that he had beaten Wanda.
If you have any information regarding Wanda June Anderson’s case, please contact the Nashville Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit at 615–862–7329. You can also call the Nashville Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Division anonymously at 615–74-CRIME (615–742–7463).
