Suvechha Sarkar
Priscilla Lee Strole was a 40-year-old, loving mother known for her cheerful personality. Unfortunately, her life came to an abrupt halt in August 1983, when she was found dead inside her home in Fairfield, California. What followed was an investigation that went cold for more than three decades before officials identified a suspect. The episode titled ‘Welcome to the Motherhood’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Betrayed’ takes an in-depth look into the circumstances surrounding the murder through interviews with the detectives who worked on the case. It also features an emotional interview with her beloved son.
Priscilla Strole’s Remains Were Found by Her Son at Her Residence
Priscilla Lee Whitted arrived as a bundle of joy in the lives of Frank J. Whitted and Lea Ruth Klettke Whitted on September 15, 1942. She grew up in Richmond, California, in a loving household along with her brother, Ron Whitted, and sister, Arvilla Stevens. Priscilla’s family and friends remembered her as an outgoing person who loved making new friends throughout her life. In adulthood, she crossed paths with John Nystrom, and it wasn’t long before they began dating. They soon tied the knot, and within the next few years, they welcomed their sons, Robert Nystrom and John Nystrom Jr., into the world. According to John Jr., when he was just 5 years old, John and Priscilla began experiencing issues in their union and got a divorce. She assumed she had found love once again when she met her second partner.
It led to the birth of Priscilla’s youngest son, Kyle B. Stracner. Sadly, cracks soon began appearing in that relationship, leading her to part ways with Kyle’s father. Eventually, Priscilla moved into a new residence in Fairfield, California, along with Kyle. By 1983, she began selling classy dinnerware to her friends and neighbors. On August 31, 1983, Kyle bid his mother goodbye around 7:30 pm before leaving home to meet his friends. Around 9:45 pm, he returned home and knocked on the door, but received no response. When Kyle looked through the window, he found Priscilla lying on the floor and immediately called 911 from a neighbor’s home. When officials arrived, they found Priscilla dead on the living room floor. Investigators observed that she was badly beaten, with major injuries to her head and face.
Priscilla was reportedly just wearing a shirt, and her pants were found nearby. They discovered a bloody piece of decorative wood, a can opener, a plastic photo cube, and a bloody corkscrew near her remains. Reports state that detectives noted blood spatter on the living room wall but found no signs of forced entry. They further uncovered a wet knife inside a kitchen drawer and deduced that it might have been used in the attack. Authorities observed that the home had been ransacked, and a jewelry box was missing. The autopsy reportedly revealed that she was sexually assaulted. Experts collected DNA from her remains and fingerprints from the photo cube. Priscilla’s cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds and blunt force injuries.
A Fingerprint Match Helped Officials Uncover a Suspect After 30 Years
At the scene, detectives first spoke with Kyle, who informed them that he had gone to meet his friends that fateful evening and returned around 9:45 pm, since Priscilla had asked him to come home before 10 pm. Another of Kyle’s friends, Robert Hathaway, was also present at the scene when authorities arrived. According to official records, when he was questioned, Robert claimed that although he often visited Priscilla’s home, he was with his friends that night. Upon speaking with one of her friends, investigators learned that the 40-year-old had spoken to the friend sometime around 9 pm. Police records indicate that the friend told officials Priscilla sounded distressed during the call. Over the next few weeks, they reportedly questioned another of Priscilla’s neighbors, Dale, who frequently visited her home and allegedly liked her.
According to court records, Dale claimed he went to Priscilla’s home in the evening on August 31, 1983, to pick up some food and then returned home to work on his motorbike. When the 40-year-old’s allegedly abusive ex-partner, Jason, was interrogated, he denied his involvement in the crime. Eventually, Dale and Jason were both ruled out as suspects after no physical evidence found at the scene matched either of them. As per reports, officials learned from another of Priscilla’s friends that the 40-year-old had unknowingly been intimate with a married man, Gary, on August 28, 1983. The friend went on to say that when Gary’s wife found out, she admitted to stealing Priscilla and his clothes. His wife was also ruled out as a suspect after authorities reportedly confirmed that she was at work at the time of the murder.
The case gradually went cold until January 2012, when it was reopened. Authorities initially were unable to find a match to the fingerprints and DNA collected from the crime scene when they checked the database from 1983. A breakthrough arrived in January 2014, when the fingerprint was uploaded to the fingerprint identification database and matched Kyle’s friend, Robert. It turned out that he was once arrested for burglary in 1986, but no public records provide further details about the case. On February 11, 2014, detectives visited his home and brought him back to the station. According to reports, during questioning, Robert admitted knowing Priscilla but denied any involvement in the crime. With a warrant, law enforcement obtained a DNA swab from him, and he was released while they awaited further DNA results.
Robert Hathaway Died by Suicide Four Days After His Interrogation
On February 15, 2014, just four days after Robert Hathaway’s police interview, he reportedly died by hanging in the garage of his residence in Fairfield. Records state that he had left a suicide note for his wife, where he wrote, “took the cowardly way out.” He was 48 years old at the time of his death. According to investigative reports, forensic experts later confirmed that the DNA that was recovered at the crime scene was a match to Robert. Although he was identified as the suspect in Priscilla’s murder, he was never formally charged or convicted of the crime.
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