Debbie Pate

Daniel Deatherage was the son of Donald and Jane (Demerest) Deatherage. He had one sister, Kimberly. The bodies of Daniel Detherage and his girlfriend of six months, Deborah J. Pate, were discovered near lower Main Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey on December 8, 1974. They had been bludgeoned, perhaps by nearby 2x4's, and were nearly nude. There were no initial indications of sexual assault. Both Daniel and Deborah had last been seen the previous night at a local tavern, Bootsie's, which was about 3/4 mile from the place of their death. In January of 1975, prosecutors said that Daniel had killed Deborah and that during the struggle, Daniel had been severely injured. (It is thought that Daniel was dazed and wandered into the path of an oncoming car.) They blame the altercation on Daniel's heaving drinking but both sets of parents said that they had never seen any previous signs of excessive drinking and/or violence.