The cloud of tragedy never truly leaves a community. For a small New England town, even 50 years won’t heal the scars of losing a child.
Janice Kathryn Pockett disappeared on July 26, 1973. She had headed out to collect a butterfly that she had previously left under a rock. She went out by herself on her green Murray bike. This was the first time Janice had been allowed to go out by herself.
After 30 minutes, Kathryn, Janice’s mother, began to get concerned. Kathryn and Mary, Janice’s 6-year-old sister, headed out to look for her. They eventually found her bike seemingly abandoned on Rhodes Road. They claimed the bike was pointing toward their house. Police talked to two witnesses who had driven by. One agreed with the Pockett’s claiming that they also saw the bike point homeward. The other witness said the bike had pointed away from the house.
Besides this, the investigation and search for Janice was perhaps one of the biggest investigations in Connecticut’s history. Eight hundred people, including police, volunteers, and police on horseback, searched the forest and nearby areas for Janice or any sign of what may have happened. Ultimately nothing was found and Janice’s case ended up cold until Charles Pierce confessed to having murdered Janice and another child, Angelo Puglissi. He told law enforcement that he had buried them in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, no graves or signs of the two children were found.
In 2000, bone fragments were found in the garage of Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, a convicted pedophile, murderer, and assumed cannibal. This lead also ended up cold, as the bone fragments were determined to belong to another child. Since then very few leads have popped up in Janice’s case, and those that have all have had dead ends.
Former Tolland resident Jackie Smith, a paraprofessional at Nonnewaug, said that although much in her own life didn’t change, they did start doing stranger danger-type lessons at school.
“My parents didn’t necessarily clamp down on us too much because they sort of looked at our neighborhood as less threatening perhaps then some other neighborhoods,” she said. “In school, they went over with us what to do if a stranger approaches, there was that kind of thing in the school systems at the time.”
Unfortunately, both of Janice’s parents have since passed away. Her sister Mary is still trying to find her remains and bring her home. Nathaniel Bar-Jonah and Charles Pierce have also since passed away, meaning that if one of them did do it, we may never know.
Janice was last seen wearing navy blue shorts with an imprinted American flag and star design, a blue and white pullover that may be described as a jersey, white socks, and blue sneakers. She was riding her Murray bike, which was green, and metallic, it also had a bell and a banana seat. She was carrying with her an envelope to put the butterfly in. Neither the envelope nor the butterfly were found.
Janice was one of six women, between the ages of 7 and twenty, to go missing in the Tolland-Vernon area. The other five are Lisa Joy White, Debbie Spickler, Patrica “Patti” Luce, Susan LaRosa, and her sister-in-law, Irene LaRosa. Susan and Patti’s remains have been found but no suspects have been arrested in these cases. There was also a disappearance in Sturbridge Mass, only twenty minutes away. Her name was Kathleen Terry.
Those who know or think you know something about this case, no matter how small, are always encouraged to please contact the Connecticut state police at either (860) 626-7975 or (800) 203-0004.
