The Piece of Meat was Pamela's Thigh

The case which follows contains such gruesome and cold-blooded elements that it has been described by many people, including Lane County District Attorney Pat Horton, as "unparalleled" in the history of Lane County crime. And justly so, for during the course of the investigation, homicide detectives uncovered shocking, horrifying details of a sordid, sadomasochistic sex orgy that led, ultimately, to the stabbing and dismemberment of an unwilling participant.

This bizarre story opens in the college city of Eugene, Oregon at approximately 12:30 on the morning of February 24, 1978 when two human scavengers were rummaging through one of the dumpsters of a west side shopping center in a search for cardboard. They found plenty of what they were looking for, the intended use of which was known only to them. However, as the couple dug deeper into the trash bin, one of them came across a plastic bag that apparently warranted further investigation.

The bag must have weighed at least 25 to 30 pounds or more, but it was easy to pull free. They had it lifted out of the bin and onto the pavement in no time at all, anxiously tearing open the bag to examine their "find."

At first glance, the contents of the bag simply appeared to be a couple of chunks of discarded meat, one small piece and one large piece, probably spoiled and thrown out a couple of days before from the meat department of the adjacent grocery store. However, upon closer examination, the cold, rancid smelling meat suddenly looked frighteningly familiar, almost human!

While examining the large piece of meat, one of the rummagers noted there was very little blood, about as much as would be present in butchered, prepared beef. Although the smell of the meat was nearly intolerable, the men's curiosity compelled them to examine the smaller piece. Although the smaller piece was nearly unrecognizable, it faintly resembled a severed, mutilated female breast!

Sick and retching from revulsion, the man threw the meat to the pavement and vomited. Following a few moments of illness and nausea, the two regained some of their composure and rushed to the nearest telephone and called the Eugene Police Department, informing the cops of the wretched discovery.

Due to the lateness of the hour, not to mention the seriousness of the trash bin discovery, the police dispatcher who took the call knew he would have to wake up someone with higher authority. He chose to wake up Lt. Don Lonneker, detective division commander.

When Lt. Lonneker and the first police units arrived, officers immediately cordoned off the area to hold back the curious onlookers and the graveyard shift of press members in an attempt to preserve any bits of evidence that might be present.

After the area had been completely sealed off, police detectives took statements from the two midnight rummagers regarding the events that led to the discovery of the two pieces of meat.

The police personnel set up lights and began going through other trash bins and garbage cans in search of still more body parts, but when it was evident there was nothing more of any significance to be found, the two pieces of meat were wrapped up and sent off to the medical examiner's office.

In the meantime, the Eugene Police Department launched a massive search effort of other garbage dumpsters and cans in the vicinity of the west side supermarket where the alleged body parts were discovered. Unfortunately, their efforts were futile.

A few days later Dr. Ed Wilson, deputy Lane County medical examiner, reported that tests had determined that the larger piece of meat was that of a female thigh, which had been severed just above the knee and from the groin to the waist, and that the smaller piece was a female breast, ravaged by so many human teeth marks that it was nearly indistinguishable as a human anatomical part! Dr. Wilson reported that further tests were being conducted in an attempt to identify the victim's blood type.