Ring Returned To Family Of Bucks Co. Murder Victim After 44 Years

BUCKINGHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — After sitting in an evidence locker for 44 years, a ring belonging to a 1977 Bucks County homicide victim has been returned to the family.

The ring, with a diamond chip in the center of the letter "O", was among the crime scene evidence found in the cold case of 20-year-old Shaun Eileen Ritterson.

Ritterson's mutilated body was found on June 11, 1977, on the side of Church Hill in Buckingham Township. The investigation into her murder went cold for more than 35 years until it was re-opened roughly a decade ago. After the prime suspect in the case died, and all leads, forensic techniques and investigative methods were exhausted, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said it was never able to determine a legal conclusion as to who killed Ritterson.

Several weeks ago, Shaun's sister, Grace Ritterson Gordon, contacted District Attorney Matt Weintraub about the location of the ring. Detectives found it intact in an evidence locker.

“I was ecstatic,” said Grace, who was 22 when she found out her sister had been murdered. “I told my mom, and she was very, very excited. She doesn’t wear jewelry but of course she wants to see it. I am going to get it cleaned up and I am going to wear it on a necklace to bring her closer to my heart.”

On Friday, Weintraub and Bucks County detectives met with Gordon in a private gathering to return the ring.

"Returning Shaun's ring to her family is the right thing to do," Weintraub said. "To me, it signifies that no victim is ever forgotten. Our humanity is much more important that preserving a piece of evidence in an old, old case just for the sake of posterity."

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the District Attorney's Office at www.bucksda.org or 215-348-6354.

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