Unsilenced: The 1957 Rosetta Edwards Cold Case

I posted this to Albany Memories forum on October 11, 2024

Let me clarify how I mistakenly ended up at the Virginia Census of 1950. I’m searching for a woman who lived in Albany, specifically on Clinton Ave, in 1957. Records are inconsistent, placing her at 578 Clinton Ave, 88, 90, or 99 Orange St. We suspect that reporters and the coroner may have gotten the address wrong. The articles vary, and none match my aunt and uncle’s memory of the location.

Initially, I turned to the 1950s census and found the name Lucille Thurston, but I got sidetracked and ended up in the Virginia Census. I believe this woman, Lucille Thurston, was Black. The street directories suggest her husband’s name, though it’s never mentioned in the news articles.

Here’s my theory: I believe Mrs. Thurston discovered my aunt’s body in her basement apartment, located below the Thurston’s residence, on November 3, 1957. My aunt recalled from the start that the reported address was incorrect, insisting that the location was actually 57 Clinton Ave. When we recently visited, there was no 57 Clinton Ave, but the architecture and layout matched her memory more closely than 99 Orange. My aunt also mentioned that she lived on a major road, not a side street.

Most papers listed the address as 99 Orange St. When we visited that address, my aunt, who was only 9 at the time, remembered her father parking under a large tree in the shade. She described the entrance to the left, the stairs leading to the first floor above, and a heavy door with two steps down to her basement apartment. My uncle Eugene described the same setup. Even though 578 Clinton Ave doesn’t match the architecture exactly, it could have been remodeled—a minor detail.

My goal is to figure out where Lucille Thurston lived on November 3, 1957. I believe investigators at the time may not have been thorough. Why do I say that? After 67 years, our family has not been provided with a single piece of data from Albany police, and they can’t find my aunt’s coroner’s report anywhere.

Our recent trip from Springfield, MA to Albany, NY yielded no new information, despite us providing new evidence from our six months of investigating. Instead, we were sent to the Department of Vital Records for the coroner’s report, which, as we all know, they don’t have. We put in a request with the Coroner’s Office, but they couldn’t locate it—not even at the Hall of Records.

I asked the Albany police directly, “Why would we check Vital Records when we know they don’t carry coroner’s reports?” I received no clear answer. I followed up with an email to the CIU commander, but again, no response.

I appreciate that the CIU officers have been polite, but after so many years, we still have no answers, no promises, and no timeline for any updates. My aunt keeps telling me to be patient, but after 67 years and three generations of pain and unanswered questions, my patience is running out. Politeness is nice, but it doesn’t solve crimes, and given that my aunt’s case was first in a series of five possible serial murders, one would think we’d have some answers by now. See: Article in the Ocober 15, 1961 Times-Union by Phil Joyce, B1-B3. (Victims: Dorothy Waterstreet, Beatrice Furbeck, Carole Segretta, and possibly one other) None of these crimes seem solved to this day, and my Aunt’s was the first murder.

At this point, I could really use the help of citizen investigators. While the police may be well-intentioned, they haven’t delivered anything substantial. My working theory is that someone reported, “Lucille Thurston found a body,” and either due to outdated directories or a lack of thorough investigation, they misidentified the address as 88 or 90 Orange St. The addresses don’t align with what we know, but the 1954 directory lists Lucille at 578 Clinton Ave, which may be the most accurate and up-to-date information available.

Kindness after all this time is appreciated, as it’s a step in the right direction from 20 years ago when my relatives last tried getting answers. But kindness doesn’t solve crimes.

For more information on my research and theory, visit https://discoveringpie.com or https://facebook.com/discoveringpie.

Thank you,
Edmund Janas