2 Teens Vacationing in Virginia Beach Cottage Were Killed in 1973 — and Suspect Was Just Arrested

Photo: Virginia Beach Police (2)

In 1973, two 19-year-old best friends from Pittsburgh traveled to Virginia Beach to vacation in a rented cottage near the ocean.

On June 30, 1973, after hitting the surf and kicking back with other teens they met in the vacation paradise, the young women — Janice Pietropola and Lynn Seethaler — were both found dead inside the motel beach cottage.

Pietropola had been strangled, raped andshot three times in the right side of the head, CBS News reports.

Seethaler was shot twice in the right side of the head and face.She was strangled and her neck had been cut with a wine bottle, the Associated Press and theWashington Postreport.

The beach cottage in Virginia Beach where the two young women were found slain in 1973.City of Virginia Beach

Now, 46 years later,police have arrested the women’s suspected killer— Ernest Broadnax, 80, of Queens, New York, the Virginia Beach Police Department announced Tuesday.

Broadnax was arrested Monday in New York City and charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of rape, according to a police statement.

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He is awaiting extradition to Virginia. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf. He has not yet entered a plea.

2 Victims Didn’t Check Out of Hotel

At the time of their deaths, the young women’s murders shocked and frightened the beach community as police worked around the clock to find their killer.

The two women were found dead when a motel employee went to their cottage to see why they hadn’t yet checked out at the end of their stay, CBS News reports.

The beach cottage in Virginia Beach where the two young women had stayed during their fated vacation.

Police found the contents of their purses strewn on the floor, but investigators don’t believe the killer wanted to rob them, CBS News reports.

The police statement did not address whether authorities suspect Broadnax committed more crimes, and he is only charged in connection with the deaths of Pietropola and Seethaler.

The case turned cold after investigators failed to identify a suspect, but took a sharp turn in the fall of 2018 when cold case investigators received a “strong lead” in the case, the police statement says.

Less than a year later, Broadnax was arrested.

Police hope Broadnax’s arrest “will facilitate an outcome that will hopefully provide peace to the victims’ families,” the statement says.

source: people.com