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An ODU ROTC cadet was murdered by her instructor in 1981. Then he crashed his plane: True Crime 757

In November 1981, 23-year-old Janice Starr, a cadet in the Old Dominion University ROTC program, was murdered in her Chesapeake apartment by her instructor, Dwight Beddingfield. But before investigators could confirm Beddingfield — who was married with kids — committed the crime, he intentionally crashed a plane near an airport in Chesapeake, killing himself. And while the murder mystery was solved in the wake of Beddingfield's suicide, the how and why were much bigger questions that police detective Kay Shucker sought to answer through her months-long investigation. Local true crime author Ron Peterson published the 2024 book In the Wind about the investigation of Starr's murder. Watch the video above to see the story complete with contemporaneous news articles, photos from the crime scene, and much more.
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CHESAPEAKE, Va. — In November 1981, 23-year-old Janice Starr, a cadet in the Old Dominion University ROTC program, was murdered in her Chesapeake apartment by her instructor, Dwight Beddingfield.

But before investigators could confirm Beddingfield — who was married with kids — committed the crime, he intentionally crashed a plane near an airport in Chesapeake, killing himself.

And while the murder mystery was solved in the wake of Beddingfield's suicide, the how and why were much bigger questions that police detective Kay Shucker sought to answer through her months-long investigation.

Local true crime author Ron Peterson published the 2024 book

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Or Apple Podcasts:

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In the Wind is available wherever books are sold and in audiobooks.

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True Crime 757 Podcast