Beyond The Boardwalk

Harold Dow Reports On Four Grisly Killings In Atlantic City

(CBS)  Six days after the bodies were found, Barbara Breidor was identified through dental records.

Identifying the fourth victim was difficult, because she had been in that ditch for more than a month. To determine who she was, Jeffrey Blitz’s office released images of her tattoos.

“There was a tattoo of a bulldog, an English bulldog. And all the family members recognized it immediately,” explains the victim´s uncle, Steve Taylor.

The woman’s name was Molly Dilts, just 20 years old. Her uncles Steve and Sam Taylor struggled to cope with the loss. “She was a warm and loving caring kid,” Steve recalls. “She had a lot of good to spread to the world and it’s just a shame that she won’t be able to do that.”

Molly was from Black Lick, Pa., a mining town where money is tight and family is tighter. “For everything that that poor girl had gone through, I think she came out pretty damned well,” Steve says.

Molly had endured her fair share of hardship, losing both her mother and her brother when she was just a teen. Her uncle Steve says that’s was the start of a rebellious side.

Molly had had some minor scrapes with the law, but after she gave birth to her son Jeremiah, she seemed to be getting her act together.

But in the summer of 2006, Molly left Jeremiah in the care of her family, and left Black Lick behind her. “She was just going out there to pursue a better life,” Steve says.

In the first week of October Molly contacted her family, calling collect from a New Jersey number. Steve says the call was traced to a payphone in downtown Atlantic City.

They would never hear her voice again.

Four lives were lost, with little apparent connection. But investigators quickly discovered that the four victims did have something in common: they all had a dark side. The hunt for the killer would lead deep into that darkness.

For decades, Atlantic City has been an iconic American vacation land - a powerful magnet for people trying to escape their troubles. Kim, Barbara, Tracy, and Molly were no exception.

“These are four people who came to Atlantic City to remake themselves,” explains historian Prof. Bryant Simon. “Something that fantasy cities promise all the time.”

“Summer 1940, it would be wall to wall people. You could not walk a full stride down the boardwalk,” Simon explains.

But in the 1970s, the city’s economy collapsed, so New Jersey made the ultimate gamble by legalizing casinos. In the 30 years since, the impact has been profound.

Today, the Atlantic City casinos generate more than $5 billion dollars in annual revenue, and roughly 30 million people come there each year. Most come for a visit; a few come to stay and start a new life. But everyone’s hoping for the same thing: to get lucky.

Kim Raffo took a chance on Atlantic City, moving there in 2003 with her new man, Kenny Bilecki. “Things were really good when we got up here. We were making money and we were trying to build a life,” Kenny remembers.

Kim and Kenny, a trained chef, both held steady jobs at a restaurant in the Taj Mahal casino. Kim became close friends with a local bartender, John Pesce.

“When I first met her, she had an apartment and a job. And she was just a regular person like everybody else,” Pesce explains.

But it didn’t take long for Kim to learn that life in Atlantic City changes the second you walk out the casino doors. “The wealth generated by the casinos has created a boom outside the city. Leaving the core of the city with the least fortunate,” Prof. Simon explains.

[formerNJresident]

I saw this program the other night, and was horrified by what happened to these four women. I'm originally from NJ, and am pretty familiar with the stories about drugs and street crime in Atlantic City. I'm now a PA resident, having lived in PA since about 1992. Molly Dilts was from Black Lick, PA, not too far from where my father grew up; my dad was originally from Vestaburg, PA, which is also a defunct coal town, with hardly any jobs or industry. I am only sorry that Molly did not get the help she needed or she'd be with us today, and with her little boy, Jeremiah. It's truly awful what happened to these women. I pray for their children and their families.

[ZepZoSoRox]

Why did they just look at him and not the other people who were staying at that hotel???

Oh, I dunno.
Maybe because none of the other people were perverts caught taping a naked under age minor???
Just a guess here!

[toleson1]

If he was a prime suspect then he would still be in jail huh?? There was over 50 people staying at those hotels at the time of the women being found. How is the fact that Terry was there coincidental?? Why did they just look at him and not the other people who were staying at that hotel??? I can give you all kinds of questions and possible circumstances you can look at it.

[toleson1]

I live with and have been living with the currently (Accused) killer. Here are some things to think about. First...why would the state of NJ let Terry out of jail if they for one second thought that Terry actually killed those woman?? Why did the judge lower the bail?? Why was he able to actually bail out of jail?? Why is he still out of jail?? I have the answers to all of it! BECAUSE HE IS INNOCENT!! Nothing ever came back on him being the killer. He has offered and gave DNA as well as everything else that AC wanted. I have been with this man for almost two years now. As I have known him from my past as well. Between the two of us we have 3 children. All of the kids love him, as well as our friends and family,. Yeah you can stick your nose up at him as you pass by, or walk faster when you see him walking. But you NEED to know that he is innocent. I love how all these TV shows do interviews on the woman's families and friends. Hell even people that didn't know them like owners of hotels and diners were all interviewed and asked what they thought. WHY didn't they contact Terry??? Why don't all these shows that want to show what a bad bad man he is contact him and interview him?? I know why!! Cause they don't want to make it look like they did wrong. All the news wants to show is who did this or that. Never in my life have I seen a show where they said "Oops...we made a mistake and we'd like to recant what we said!" NEVER and I believe we never will. If you have a question for him then post it. E-mail him he will answer what ever you'd like to ask!! He is innocent. But in the state of NJ you are not innocent till proven guilty. You are guilty and will ALWAYS be guilty in the eyes of the courts!!

[awinslow2]

Is the maintenance man who lived in the motel still a prime suspect? The fact he lived there at the time of the murders seems to be too coincidental.

[awinslow2]

Is the maintenance man who lived temporarily still a prime suspect? Was their evidence that a car was involved when the bodies were dumped? He would be a primary suspect for me unless the police believe a vehicle was used for each body.

[bozaptap]

I was in the hospital watching this piece. Seems to me no one mentioned the one glaring similarity all four women had in common. They were all mothers that left children behind? I mean what are the odds of one perpetrator "randomly" picking up 4 women on the street with that much age difference that all shared that one characteristic,they left their children behind. No one mentioned rape, all still dressed. Killer probably knew them. The Eastward facing position, no shoes, religious fetish?? Sounds more like facing toward home or removed the shoes so they couldn''t walk away again? I''m not a criminologist of any kind, but the profilers missed this one I think. Look for another street person or john that knew all four women, knew they left their children and that he was left by his mother and lived East of
Atlantic City.
Just a thought.

[bozaptap]

I was in the hospital watching this piece. Seems to me no one mentioned the one glaring similarity all four women had in common. They were all mothers that left children behind? I mean what are the odds of one perpetrator "randomly" picking up 4 women on the street with that much age difference that all shared that one characteristic,they left their children behind. No one mentioned rape, all still dressed. Killer probably knew them. The Eastward facing position, no shoes, religious fetish?? Sounds more like facing toward home or removed the shoes so they couldn''t walk away again? I''m not a criminologist of any kind, but the profilers missed this one I think. Look for another street person or john that knew all four women, knew they left their children and that he was left by his mother and lived East of
Atlantic City.
Just a thought.

[toeslayer2000]

If the perpetrater has taken shoes as trophies, then he (more likely male)is a restifist (shoe fetishist) and definately not a foot fetishist.

Believe it or not there is significant difference.

[bahbushkah]

Such a shame that anyone's life is taken so senselessly! And so scary that it is being said that a serial killer is on the loose, when Atlantic City is my backyard~ I am a single woman who often goes out to A.C. for dinner, a show, or even a drink by myself~ I am glad to have read this and will be in company in the future~ you just never know! Anything is possible~ I hope this guy is caught!! and soon!!