Fountain Hills Times publisher Brent Cruikshank remembers talking to Julie Patterson on Thursday, Aug. 8, 1991. He was a teenager at the time and lived in the same Fountain Hills neighborhood on Love Court. Cruikshank would look after Patterson’s dog from time to time and she stopped by that Thursday to pay him for the help. He was likely among the last to see her alive.

Murder

What follows is a dramatization of the events that likely took place late Thursday or the early morning hours of Aug. 9, 1991. It is based on the known available facts of the case, which occurred 30 years ago.

Patterson’s killer slipped in an open back patio door to her home near the end of a cul-de-sac on Love Court. They found her lying quietly on the sofa, retired for the night, wearing a robe. She was probably asleep.

The killer used an unidentified object to strike her in the head, blows that took her life. The killer slipped back out the same door at the rear of the house, went down a path and probably crossed Kings Way and into a wash and down into the larger Balboa Wash. Somewhere in this area an individual was noticed by a group of teenagers hanging out in the wash on a hot August night.

The teens were aware of someone present, but not able to identify anyone. It is unknown if the person noticed or saw them. They apparently did not talk to investigators after the murder became known. This information came to light a few years back when a man identifying himself as one of the teens called The Times and related the information. He was advised to contact the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to talk with a detective. According to MCSO, it does not appear that the man ever called them with his story.

After passing the teens the killer likely climbed the steep side of the wash and into the Fontana neighborhood. As recently as 2019, MCSO detectives executed a search warrant at a property within that subdivision. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman just recently confirmed for The Times that the warrant was related to the Patterson case; however, detectives did not find what they were looking for.

For now, this appears to be where the killer’s trail ends.

Discovery

Patterson was described as a vivacious 39-year-old single woman who easily made friends. She came from the mid-west a couple of years before her murder and found a home in Fountain Hills she apparently loved. She worked as a mortgage broker and kept books for some businesses on the side. She was by all accounts happy with her life. She became an active church and community volunteer and helped organize the Thanksgiving Day Parade for the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce.

She had recently opened a mortgage office in Fountain Hills for a Scottsdale firm. Her employer attempted to reach her on Friday, Aug. 9, and was unable to. Friends also reached out with plans for a weekend barbecue and received no response from Julie.

It was early on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 10, when two of Patterson’s friends turned off Saguaro Blvd. onto Courtside Drive to Love Court where her house was near the end of the street.

They found the front door open, which neither surprised nor alarmed them. It was typical of Patterson and most residents of the community, which had a population of around 10,000 at the time. Entering the house, they found her lying on the sofa and apparently deceased. They left the house immediately and called the police. They knew she was dead, but murder did not immediately occur to her friends as a possibility.

Patterson died from a blow to the head. There was no sign of a robbery and no sexual assault. The intruder had also not disturbed her dog, who was found alive. In fact, investigators could find no trace of anyone else being in the house. No murder weapon was ever found.

Investigation

By happenstance, Patterson’s murder took place just as the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was beginning to investigate the largest mass murder in the county’s history to that time, the killing of nine Buddhist monks at a temple site west of Phoenix. The county was also much smaller in 1991 and the resources and manpower available to MCSO were not what they are today. It was easy for people to believe that the investigation into Patterson’s murder might have taken a back seat to the high profile murder.

However, the Sheriff’s Office has always insisted the high-profile mass murder investigation did not interfere with the Patterson case.

Joe Arpaio was elected Maricopa County Sheriff the year after Patterson was killed and became a Fountain Hills resident himself a few years later. He has told The Times over the years since the murder, he would not speculate on how the Patterson investigation was initially handled.

“We (may) have three or four high profile cases under investigation (at one time),” Arpaio said. “That doesn’t mean some…guy found dead in the gutter…is going to be ignored.”

Arpaio always promised he would do all he could to solve Patterson’s murder. He left office in 2017 with the case still cold.

In 1991 there was no social media, Facebook or Twitter. Speculation around a murder case spread by word-of-mouth – good old-fashioned gossip – and speculation about the killing abound.

The rumors ran quite a gamut. There were stories of jilted lovers, jealous wives and even a mob hit related to her on-the-side bookkeeping activities. Sheriff’s investigators have been quite clear over the years that they found no evidence supporting those types of rumors related to Patterson.

Family, friends

Patterson’s family and friends are clearly frustrated that after 30 years, her murder is no closer to resolution. The Sheriff’s Office has declined to release any report, or even provide much in the way of comment regarding the still open case. On July 26 of this year, an MCSO spokesman issued the following statement to The Times, “The case remains an open investigation. At this time, detectives have not been able to identify a suspect(s) in this case and encourages the public to contact the MCSO with any information they may have on this case.”

Phyliss Kern has been a Realtor in Fountain Hills since before the time Patterson was murdered.

“Julie was a very good friend,” Kern said. “I used her as my mortgage person back then. Julie was fun-loving and very veracious; she would light the room up when she entered.”

Kern, along with Patterson, E.J. Goodwin and Dr. Sid Apps, worked on the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Fountain Hills that has remained a tradition ever since. In fact, Patterson was chairman for the parade and in 1990 and, in 1991, a riderless horse was part of the event in her honor.

“When Julie died, Fountain Hills lost a very good advocate of our town,” Kern said. “One of my greatest experiences (was) when we hiked the Grand Canyon and stayed overnight at Phantom Ranch. Julie and her dog used to go on many hiking trips.

“I lost a very good friend in Julie. She didn’t deserve to be killed. The murder has to be on someone’s conscience even after 30 years.

“I remember it just like it was yesterday.”

Patterson’s family has also struggled with the loss over the three decades since their tragedy. Kelly O’Conner, Patterson’s niece, wrote to The Times in 2019 and expressed frustration.

“This unimaginable tragedy is compounded by the fact that after 28 years, we are no closer to having any answers,” O’Conner wrote. “Twenty-eight years is a long time. In that time, we have celebrated births and weddings alike under the shadow of Julie’s absence.

“We were robbed of this treasure in our lives. My grandmother went to her own grave never knowing who killed her daughter.”

Just weeks ago, O’Conner spoke for the family again on Phoenix KPNX – TV Channel 12 News as the 30th anniversary approached.

“(I’m) speaking for a large family who has never received any kind of closure,” O’Conner said. “I’m speechless thinking about it because there’s no reason for someone killing this beautiful 39-year-old woman who was funny and lovely and kind and volunteered in the community and was just everybody’s favorite.”

Then O’Conner called on the public.

“If you remember anything, if you know of anything, if you are not sure but you think, well maybe, it’s not going to hurt at all to contact police, contact the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and let them know.

“We’re just frustrated.”

Anyone who may have information regarding this case may call the MCSO tip line at: 602-876-TIPS (8477), or the MCSO Cold Case register at 602-876-1087 or visit mcso.org for information.