Sheriff's Office Investigating New Lead in 1988 Murder Case

It was 38 years ago this week that one of the most notorious kidnappings and murders took place in Chautauqua County, and a new lead has emerged in the case. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office Unsolved Crimes Unit is asking for the public's help in getting information about a van that was parked next to Kathy Wilson's van (pictured) in the parking lot of the Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood on May 18, 1988. Investigator Tom Tarpley says the van was gray or charcoal-colored...

Tom Tarpley: description of suspect van

Tarpley says there was a second van in question during the first investigation, but they believe this is a more accurate description...

Tom Tarpley: a better description

He adds that it was a "construction-style van" that may have been stolen or borrowed, and the witness did not get a look at the license plate. Wilson's van was a blue 1987 Plymouth Voyager and was found in the mall parking lot shortly after 1:30 AM the following day.

Kathy Wilson's remains were found in a wooded area of Warren County, Pennsylvania about a year-and a-half later, and a Jamestown man -- Jay William Buckley -- was arrested for her abduction and stabbing death. However, he was acquitted after a lengthy trial when the prosecution's key witness, Michael Brown, was found to have lied more than 700 times during the investigation and trial.

If you have any information on that van and who may have owned it, you're asked to call the Sheriff's Office Unsolved Crimes Unit at (716) 753-4578 or e-mail [email protected].