The Eastbound Strangler's dumpsite in Atlantic City

Crime Scene Location in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

This is the location where an unidentified serial killer called "the Eastbound Strangler" dumped the remains of four women.

It is situated at 8030 East Black Horse Pike in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

At the time, this was the address of the Golden Key Motel. These days, it is an empty lot, as the motel was torn down in 2015 after it suffered extensive flood damage.

On November 20th, 2006, two women were walking their dogs along an access road behind the Golden Key Motel when they spotted one of the victims' bodies.

During a search of the area, the police discovered the remains of three more women.

The four victims were all sex workers who had recently disappeared from Atlantic City. It is believed that their killer strangled them to death before placing them face-down in a drainage ditch behind the motel.

The first two victims were so badly decomposed that a cause of death could not be determined.

Notably, their heads were all facing east. Their shoes and socks had also been removed.

Although the killer did not cover his victims' bodies, the tall reeds beside the access road kept them hidden from view.

Despite a $25,000 reward, the Eastbound Strangler has never been identified.

The case remains unsolved to this day.

Further information is available in the "Photos" section below.

Demolished

The site no longer exists. However, you can still visit the location.

Further Details

The Golden Key Motel was badly damaged by flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The remnants of the motel were torn down in July of 2015 as part of a redevelopment plan.

Eastbound Strangler - Crime scene location

Below, you will find the address and the GPS coordinates for this location.

GPS coordinates

The latitude and longitude coordinates for the site are:

39.379078, -74.489918

Map

To view directions on how to get there, you can use the Google Maps shortcut below:

Google Maps Link

Address

The full address for this location is:

Golden Key Motel
8030 E Black Horse Pike
Atlantic City
New Jersey
NJ 08232
United States

Directions

The lot sits off the East Black Horse Pike roadway on the eastern side of Pleasantville. It is about one mile west of Atlantic City High School.

Photos

Photos of the site and other related images.

Victims

The four victims of the Eastbound Strangler were Kim Raffo (35), Barbara Breidor (42), Molly Jean Dilts (20), and Tracy Ann Roberts (23).

They all disappeared between October and November of 2006. At the time of their deaths, they were working as sex workers to fund their drug habits.

None of the women grew up in Atlantic City. Instead, they had all left their hometowns and relocated to "America's Playground". With the exception of Breidor, they were all relatively new to the city.

Sadly, it seems as though the victims were heavy crack cocaine users who left their loved ones and drifted towards the bright lights of the casino town.

The police were unable to determine the cause of death for Dilts and Breidor, as both of their remains were too badly decomposed. Raffo was strangled with a rope or chord, while Roberts' cause of death has been listed as asphyxiation.

Although the women were missing their shoes, they were all fully clothed.

The investigation was hampered by the fact that all of the bodies had been lying in water, as DNA evidence becomes heavily degraded in such conditions.

Aerial image

The red dots on this aerial image show the locations where the police discovered the women's bodies.

Golden Key Motel

This Google Street View image of the Golden Key was taken in 2013, roughly two years before it was demolished.

Like many motels on the north side of Black Horse Pike, it had a seedy reputation for drugs and prostitution.

Hurricane Sandy flooded the Golden Key and several nearby properties in October of 2012.

The flood damage was so extensive that the owners of these businesses were forced to shut their doors for good.

Before the hurricane struck, this was known as a squalid area that attracted sex workers, drug addicts, johns, and pimps.

Drainage ditch

The two dogwalkers spotted the first body while they were walking along the access road at the back of the motel.

Notably, there was a vacant lot beside the Golden Key, which was connected to the access road via a small pathway. It is possible that the killer parked his vehicle in this area before dumping his victims' remains in the drainage ditch.

Following the gruesome discovery, a task force of 36 investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies was assembled to find the killer.

However, despite this considerable manpower, the Eastbound Strangler's identity has never been uncovered.

The case remains active to this day.

This location belongs to the following categories:

Serial Killers Unsolved Cases