The Allegany Murders: Two Unsolved Cases from New York

The Wing Hollow Ski Resort Murders (1978)

• ❄️ On February 6, 1978, Michael Fornes and Steven Bender were murdered at the Wing Hollow Ski Resort in Allegany, New York.
• 💰 The two ski trail groomers were killed execution-style, shot three times each in the back of the head, after interrupting a robbery in progress.
• 🎯 The burglars were attempting to steal a 170 lb floor safe containing approximately $18,000.
• 🔍 The safe was later found opened and emptied in the Allegany River, and despite extensive investigation, no fingerprints or usable evidence were recovered from it.
• 🕵️ The primary state police investigator worked the case for 30 years, believing it was a professional robbery possibly carried out by the mob, but it remains unsolved.

The Carol Anne Fitzmaurice Murder (1970)

• 🏡 On October 20, 1970, 23-year-old nurse Carol Anne Fitzmaurice was found murdered in her farmhouse in Allegany, New York.
• 🔪 She had been stabbed 14 times in a violent attack, with the fatal wound being a cut to her throat; there were no signs of sexual assault or theft.
• 🩸 The murder weapon, a knife from her own kitchen set, was found approximately 300 yards behind the farmhouse.
• 🚗 A key witness reported seeing a tall, thin man with a narrow face near a maroon sports car parked unusually on the wrong side of the road around the time of the murder.
• 💔 The lead investigator on both the Fitzmaurice and Fornes/Bender cases was haunted by both unsolved murders throughout his career.
• 🧬 While the Fitzmaurice case is extremely old, the presence of some DNA and fingerprint evidence offers a slim hope for future resolution.