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MURDERED: Alberta O. Jones

Alberta O. Jones was breaking barriers in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the first Black woman prosecutor in the city’s history, she helped register some 6,000 Black citizens to vote, and she was a leader in the city’s civil rights movement. But on Aug. 5, 1965 –  before she could make even more changes in the highly segregated city – Alberta was found dead floating in the Ohio River. The night before, she reluctantly went out late to visit a close friend, setting off a 60-year mystery that has led to more questions than answers. 

Was Alberta killed in a random robbery? Was she set up by her best friend? Or was she targeted for her dangerous civil rights work? 

Alberta O. Jones

Alberta O. Jones

Courtesy: Flora Shanklin

Alberta O. Jones

Alberta O. Jones

Courtesy: Flora Shanklin

Alberta O. Jones

Alberta O. Jones

Courtesy: Flora Shanklin

Alberta at her graduation

Alberta at her graduation

Courtesy: Flora Shanklin

Alberta during a student campaign to register African American voters

Alberta during a student campaign to register African American voters

Courtesy: USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alberta and Muhammad Ali at his contract signing

Alberta and Muhammad Ali at his contract signing

Courtesy: Flora Shanklin

A wig that is the same style as Alberta’s missing wig, obtained from Gladys Wyckoff

A wig that is the same style as Alberta’s missing wig, obtained from Gladys Wyckoff

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

Alberta’s Thunderbird

Alberta’s Thunderbird

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

Gladys Wyckoff

Gladys Wyckoff

Source: Wyckoff Family via Legacy.com

Arthur Porter III

Arthur Porter III

Source: Porter Family via A.D Porter & Sons Funeral Home

Alberta’s rental car, a white Ford Fairlane

Alberta’s rental car, a white Ford Fairlane

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

Alberta’s upper dentures on the back seat floorboard of her rental car

Alberta’s upper dentures on the back seat floorboard of her rental car

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

Where Alberta’s shoes were found

Where Alberta’s shoes were found

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

The hole in the steel beam where Alberta’s purse was found tucked inside

The hole in the steel beam where Alberta’s purse was found tucked inside

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

The Sherman Minton Bridge

The Sherman Minton Bridge

Courtesy: Louisville Metro Police Department

Timeline:

August 4, 1965

August 4, 1965
11:00 p.m.

Gladys Wyckoff calls Alberta Jones and urges her to come over to pick up a new wig and discuss legal issues.

11:30 p.m.

Alberta arrives at Gladys’ home and salon.

August 5, 1965

August 5, 1965
12:15 a.m.

Alberta and Gladys leave for KingFish restaurant.

Between 1:30 and 2 a.m.

Alberta leaves Gladys’ home in a rented white Ford Fairlane.

Around 2 a.m.

Alberta stops at a neighborhood convenience store and is reportedly seen speaking with three teenagers.

Around 2 to 2:15 a.m.

A couple reports hearing screams and seeing a woman forced into a light-colored Ford by multiple men.

Between 2:30 and 4:30 a.m.

Investigators later determine Alberta was beaten, placed into the Ohio River alive and died by drowning.

10:30 a.m.

Alberta’s body is discovered floating in the Ohio River south of the Sherman Minton Bridge.

August 6, 1965

August 6, 1965

Police locate Alberta’s abandoned rental car roughly two miles from where her body was found. Blood, dentures, fingerprints, hair and other evidence are recovered from the vehicle.

July 16, 1968

July 16, 1968

A group of boys finds Alberta’s missing purse and lower dental plate hidden on the lower level of the Sherman Minton Bridge.

2008

2008

The FBI matches one surviving fingerprint from the case to Arthur Porter III.

Louisville detectives interview Porter in California; he denies involvement and later fails a polygraph examination.

Alberta Jones’ House

Alberta lived here with her mother, Sadie, and sister, Flora. She was reluctant to leave home the night of Aug. 4, 1965, because she had recently become concerned for her safety.

Gladys Wyckoff’s House and Salon

Gladys called Alberta late that night and persuaded her to come over to pick up a new wig and discuss legal issues.

KingFish Restaurant

Alberta and Gladys ate here shortly after midnight before returning to Gladys’ home.

Convenience Store

Alberta reportedly stopped here around 2 a.m. for a soda and was seen talking with three unidentified teenagers.

Witness Disturbance Location

A nearby couple reported hearing screams and seeing a woman forced into a light-colored Ford by multiple men around 2 to 2:15 a.m.

Sherman Minton Bridge

The bridge became a focal point of the investigation after witnesses reported seeing a white car and a marked Louisville police vehicle stopped there around 4:35 a.m.

Location Where Alberta’s Shoes Were Found

Alberta’s shoes were discovered near the golf course beneath the bridge, close to the exit ramp entering Kentucky from Indiana.

Body Recovery Site

Alberta’s body was recovered from the Ohio River south of the Sherman Minton Bridge on the Kentucky side.

Location Where Alberta’s Rental Car Was Found

Investigators located Alberta’s abandoned rental car here. The vehicle contained blood evidence, fingerprints, hair and her upper dentures.

Elliott Park

Arthur Porter III later told investigators he frequently spent time here with friends during the summer of 1965. The park sits near several key locations connected to the case.

Please contact the authorities if you have any information about the case:

Louisville Metro Police Department
If you have any information about the death of Alberta O. Jones, you can contact the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Cold Case Squad at 502-574-7055, or you can email us directly at [email protected].

We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.

If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:

[email protected]

Episode Source Material

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