Purity Marie Knight

  Height: 5'8"
  Weight: 110 lbs.

Born into a deeply religious family, Purity spent her childhood as a devout Christian. Aside from the church choir, in which she became a soloist at the age of twelve, as a teenager Purity also volunteered to help teach Sunday School and participate in the local Christmas food drive.

Purity excelled academically at high school, especially in math and science, and in the fall of 1995 entered Reed College in Portland, Ore., on full scholarship. Despite initially planning to pursue studies in the sciences, Purity became increasingly interested in philosophy and the origins of religion, and elected to spend the summer of 1996 in a kibbutz in Israel. She was declared missing when she failed to return to Reed for registration. In January, 1997, Purity Knight entered the University of Mississippi. Her move to Oxford was covered in the national press. She never accounted for her whereabouts during the previous months.

Purity's father, Frank Knight, is deputy district attorney of Baxter County, Arkansas. Her mother, Judith Knight, is a homemaker. Purity had one sister, Valerie Wilson, whose murder in 1995 was recently solved.

Purity Knight disappeared following a stalking incident outside her home. According to reports, a neighbor noticed a man in the brush outside her home. The suspect was not found, but his camera and film were later located near the chase scene.

Police Report

Yoknpatawpha County Police Dept
Reporting officer: Terry Nelson
Victim's names: Ariadne P. Knight (AKA Purity Knight), and Lee Maria Perez
Address: 107 Pearidge Rd, Kudzu Kove Development, Oxford, MS 38655
Incident date: 11 p.m. 3/02/97
Incident time: between 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
Suspect: Male, 5'8", small build, Caucasian. Dressed in dark clothing
Charges: Stalking and Pursuit, Trespassing

Victims Purity Knight and Lee Perez were alerted by their neighbor that someone had been outside their windows. The neighbor, Johnny McPhail, then pursued the suspect through the woods. The suspect was not caught, but was described by McPhail as small built, probably 5'8", with a light complexion. He was wearing dark clothing and appeared to be alone. An examination of the area turned up a 35mm camera, with film inside. Several shoe prints were also found, but none conclusively belonged to the suspect. Dispatch notified cars in the county to be on the lookout for the suspect.

Seized items:
1 35mm camera Olympus OM-2 silver 12223314A
1 roll 35mm film Kodak 1000 ASA

Case Summary

 

In early March of 1997 Purity Knight and her roommate Lee Perez were the victims of a stalking incident. A neighbor, Johnny McPhail, spotted the stalker sometime before 11:00 pm in a tree in front of the apartment outside their windows. He reported seeing lights from the tree. Mr. McPhail went out to check and then pursued the suspect through the woods. The suspect was not caught. Mr. McPhail described the suspect as small built, probably about 5'8" with a light complexion. Recovered at the scene was a 35mm camera. The developed film showed a number of photographs taken by the stalker of Ms. Knight. Several shoe prints were also found.

 

Subsequently, Matthew Edward Owens was identified as a suspect.

 

Several days after the stalking incident, Purity Knight disappeared. According to the interview with her roommate, Lee Maria Perez, she was last seen early in the morning at breakfast prior to leaving for the library and an 8:30 am class. The last person to see Ms. Knight subsequent to this, was Professor Woolworth at the University of Mississippi.

 

An odd answering machine message was left at the Perez and Knight apartment. The full text and an audio version is available in the investigation materials. A Profile of the Suspect including a voice stress analysis of the message on the tape can be found in the evidence files.

 

The abductor made first contact with Detective Armstrong, the lead detective on this case, on May 5, 1997. A white envelope addressed to Detective Armstrong arrived via first class mail containing a Geological Survey map. It is a torn piece from an oversize map. A note was taped to the reverse side of the map.

 

The second contact was a single Polaroid of Purity Knight. It was delivered via USPS on 7 May 97. Attached to the reverse of the picture was a note.

 

The third contact was a second Polaroid of Purity Knight delivered via USPS on 16 May 97. There was no note.

 

On June 9, 1997 Purity Marie Knight, (AKA Ariadne Purity Knight), was found dead, buried in a pine grove near her home. Knight was entombed alive for an undetermined time in a homemade coffin. She received air and food through an access passage.

 

An excerpt from the incident report prepared by Detective Armstrong follows:

 

Dispatch received a pay phone call from Ben Archer, 106 Fairlawn Drive, Oxford, at 6:47 AM. Archer had been out for his morning walk and reported he'd found a body in a wooden box in the woods. Officers Graham and Marlowe were on patrol at the time and picked up Archer at the pay phone. They then proceeded to the site, Archer led them to the body, which was buried in a wooded area behind Fairlawn Cemetery. Marlow radioed for backup and secured the scene. I arrived with the Forensic team at 7:06 AM.

 

The box had been partially uncovered by Archer and his dog. The perpetrator had apparently created a ground covering of grass, twigs, and leaves in a realistic fashion, after burial of the box. The portion of the box uncovered by Archer and his dog was positioned under the branches of a briar-like shrub. Upon peering into the opening, a grill, set into the wood, was visible about 40 inches below ground level. Through the grill, the victim's head could be seen.

 

At the crime scene, Archer described a child he saw crouched over the burial site. The child was identified as 9 year old Dylan Tull. In the days before her death, the boy attempted to assist the victim. She gave him a note, pleading for help. The note was never delivered. It was later discovered in the university library.

• Heavy rains caused mud and water to drain into the box. The victim was covered in mud, and had apparently wrapped herself in plastic for protection from the cold and wet.
  
• The grid is visible below ground, with the ventilation portal attached above it.
  
• This is the same grid seen with the victim in photographs.