Virginia Kegans Murder: Where is John Kennedy Now? – Virginia Grace Kegans, a 17-year-old teen, was killed in Oklahoma City in October 1976. But it would take more than three decades of effort and vigilance for her family to receive the reparation they so well deserve. In-depth coverage of this tragic case is provided in Investigation Discovery episode “On the Case With Paula Zahn: In the Dead of Night,” which guides viewers through the different intricacies and time periods until the murderer was finally apprehended.
If you’re interested in knowing about Virginia Grace Kegans’ murder and her killer’s motive, keep reading below.
Must Read: Jchandra Brown Murder: Where is Tyerell Przybycien Now?
Who Was Virginia Kegans and How Did She Die?
On September 4, 1959, Virginia Grace Stephens Kegans was born in Sherman, Texas, in Grayson County. Her sister Patti Stephens, her mother Cheri, and all who knew her are remembered as a young woman who was kind-hearted, outgoing, and ambitious by her sister. She was employed as a server at a Pizza Hut in north Oklahoma City at the time of the event. According to the local authorities, Kegans left her shift on October 24, 1976, at 11:45 p.m., and went to visit a boyfriend in Norman.
Hanlin claims that the adolescent left the flat at 4 a.m. on October 25 and opted to hitchhike back to her destination, just as she had come; she allegedly had a babysitting arrangement that morning. Instead of meeting her boyfriend, she found her boyfriend’s half-brother and roommate, Philip Leslie Heinlein. Kegans was last seen alive at that point.
When they discovered a body under an Interstate 40 bridge close to Oklahoma City’s then-North Canadian River in the late afternoon of October 25, two scrap metal scavengers notified the police. As soon as they arrived on the scene, the cops recognized Virginia Kegans’ body. The 17-year-old’s throat had been slashed, and a .38-caliber bullet had struck her in the skull.
Hanlin testified, “She claimed she couldn’t wait, that she had told someone that she would watch their children that morning, and that she herself needed to be there by about 7 a.m. at the latest.”
She declared that she intended to return by hitchhiking, just as she had done when she arrived.
Who Killed Virginia Kegans and Why?
The police conducted an initial investigation but could not identify a motive or suspect in Virginia Kegans’ murder. The authorities investigated every one of her contacts, friends, and acquaintances but were unable to uncover any evidence linking any of them to the murder. The case remained unresolved for more than three decades or precisely 34 years. However, in the early 2010s, a district attorney investigator and a specialised Oklahoma City police unit decided to revisit the case.
One of the 300 unsolved cold cases that the police chose to investigate was the murder of the Kegans. The detectives found DNA evidence in the database that came from Kegans’ underpants. They compared it to their country’s database and discovered a match. John Benjamin Kennedy Jr., a bouncer at the Norman Whiskey River Bar who was 21 years old at the time of the event. They also discovered that he was imprisoned after being found guilty in 1978 of brutally killing Yvonne Jolene McFaddin, a 15-year-old sex worker.
John’s DNA samples entered the database since he was already serving a life sentence. He was a resident of Midwest City at the time Kegans was killed. In a 2010 jail interview, John acknowledged possessing a .38-caliber revolver at the time. The District Attorney then claimed that John only consented to entering a guilty plea after being made aware of the Kegans sexual assault evidence. He was accused of killing Kegans in the first degree.
What Happened to John F. Kennedy and Where Is He Now?
When he was sentenced in 2013, John Kennedy, who was 58 years old, reached an agreement with the prosecutor for a 35-year sentence that would start when he completed his life sentence for the 1978 murder. John stated, “On Oct. 25, 1976, I killed Virginia Kegans by shooting her in Oklahoma City with malice aforethought,” in his plea documents to the Oklahoma County District Court in December 2013.
We were unaware that she had been raped at the time, Patti Stephens claimed. And now that we know who she was, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise. The DNA is how they were able to connect Kennedy to her murder. Kegans’ family opposed the death penalty but expressed satisfaction that he was already in prison and could no longer victimise teenage females.
John is unlikely to be granted parole since he must serve out the entirety of his most recent prison sentence before being eligible for it. According to official court records, he is currently detained at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexin.
