Suspect identified in 1979 cold case strangling death of a woman found on highway with ankles bound

ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C (TCD) -- Investigators recently identified a suspect who allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and fatally strangled a female jogger nearly 45 years ago.

According to a press conference held on April 4 by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Tammy Sue Aldridge went out for a jog on June 30, 1979, and never returned home. Aldridge was reportedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted before her body was found several days later on Highway 54.

Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said that when investigators found Aldridge, her body was still warm to the touch. Aldridge’s shorts were on backward and her shirt upside down, indicating her clothes had been put on after her death. The victim’s ankles were reportedly bound by rope, and due to the burns on her body, investigators believe she also had rope around her hands and neck. An autopsy determined she died of strangulation.

Investigators allege Aldridge was held hostage before her death. She was allowed to call home twice while in captivity, on Sunday, July 1, and Monday, July 2, 1979. That would be the last time her family would hear from her, Johnson said.

Another man was charged in the case, but he was found not guilty, according to the sheriff’s office.

Aldridge’s case was reopened in 2020. Investigators reportedly obtained a DNA sample from a family member of a person of interest. Using genetic genealogy, officials learned the DNA matched that on a feminine product found on the victim’s body. As a result, the sheriff’s office identified Gary Lane Laframboise as the primary suspect.

Laframboise is now deceased but lived several miles from where Aldrigde’s body was discovered.

The suspect had been arrested and charged with kidnapping and impersonation of an officer in an unrelated case three months after Aldridge’s death, on Oct. 11, 1979. He pleaded guilty to the charges, as well as assault on an officer after breaking a deputy’s skull while in custody. According to the sheriff’s office, he served time in prison for his crimes from May 1980 until August 1982.

Johnson said he hopes this "gives the family some closure."

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