The Murdered
Maura Elizabeth (Betsy) Gottlieb
Princeton, New Jersey
🕯️ Unsolved Tragedy: The Murder of Maura “Betsy” Gottlieb 🕯️
Maura Elizabeth “Betsy” Gottlieb, a 19-year-old woman, was last seen on the night of March 6, 1982, after leaving her job at an answering service on Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Before leaving work around 11 p.m., she told a coworker she planned to hitchhike home, as her car was not working. This was a distance of about eight miles. When she failed to return home, her family initially believed she might be staying with a friend, but concern grew after her father discovered a note she had left asking for a ride home that night. She was reported missing soon after.
Eight days later, on March 14, 1982, Betsy’s fully clothed body was discovered floating in the Delaware & Raritan Canal near the Harrison Street bridge by a couple walking along the towpath. Following extensive examinations, medical officials determined that her death was caused by asphyxiation due to strangulation, officially ruling it a homicide. Authorities established a hotline and appealed to the public for information, particularly seeking to speak with individuals who may have been in the area that night or who had been hitchhiking nearby in the weeks leading up to the crime.
Betsy was a 1980 graduate of Solebury School in Pennsylvania and had attended multiple colleges, including Livingston College and Glassboro State College, before leaving school. At the time of her death, she lived in Lawrence, New Jersey, with her father, a Rutgers University professor, and her older brother. Her mother was deceased. On March 29, additional items believed to belong to Betsy, including a black nylon knapsack and a light blue poncho, were discovered along a roadside in South Brunswick Township, several miles from where her body had been found. The bag contained personal belongings such as identification, a thermos, a hat, boots, and crafting materials.
Police also released a description of a man seen in the area around the time Betsy disappeared. He was described as a stocky white male in his early 30s, approximately 5’8″, wearing glasses, a checkered wool cap, and an overcoat. He was wanted for questioning but was never officially named a suspect.
Despite ongoing efforts and a later push to re-examine evidence using modern DNA technology, no arrests have ever been made. Betsy Gottlieb’s abduction and murder remain unsolved, leaving lingering questions and a call for justice decades later.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact MCHTF detectives at 609 989-6406 or mchtftips@mercercounty.org.
Sources:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102953798/maura-e_-gottlieb
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The Lost & The Taken 
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