cultural constant

When children are stolen from their beds while a family sleeps, then viciously murdered like little Judith Ann Roberts or JonBenet Ramsey, the public outrage, media coverage and accusations aplenty hasn't changed - -

Museum exhibit to explore history, impact of crime in Miami

Published in the Miami Herald
BY LUISA YANEZ

"...Another high-profile criminal case featured in the exhibit is the still-unsolved 1954 killing of 6-year-old Judith Ann Roberts.

It began with an intruder breaking into the home of the little girl's grandparents in what is now ,. Her kidnapper took her from a living room bed, where she slept with her sister during a family vacation from Baltimore.

By sunrise, her body was found on a desolate road in Coconut Grove. She had been beaten, strangled and sexually abused.

Judith Ann's murder was the first Miami child slaying to receive intense media attention -- an earlier version of the infamous JonBenet Ramsey case. In the next few months, everyone from the little girl's father, to homeless men, to the little girl's grandfather were blamed.

The lead detective, Irving Whitman, who lives in Miami-Dade, is expected to attend Thursday's exhibit opening. ``I've never forgotten this case,'' said Whitman, who is 88 and still hopes the murder will be solved one day."[...read more]