The Murder of Dorothy Milliken Cold Case in Maine

On a cold November night in 1976, twenty-seven-year-old Dorothy Milliken left her rural Sabattus, Maine home for what should have been a routine trip to an all-night laundromat. By morning, her life had been stolen—her body discovered slumped against an outside wall, her killer vanishing into the Maine darkness.

For nearly five decades, Dorothy’s murder remained unsolved, reduced to an index card in state police files and fading newspaper photographs. But Dorothy Milliken was more than a cold case statistic. She was a daughter, a friend, a neighbor—a young woman whose story deserved to be told.

Author Sharon Kitchens brings Dorothy’s case back into the light through meticulous investigation and deeply human storytelling. Drawing from interviews with more than forty people—including Dorothy’s family, friends, former neighbors, law enforcement officials, and forensic specialists—Kitchens pieces together not just the circumstances of a brutal crime, but the life of the woman at its center.

This compelling true crime investigation explores haunting questions: Who was Dorothy Milliken? Why has her killer never been found? Was this a crime of familiarity or random violence?

Perfect for readers fascinated by cold cases, Maine history, and the persistent pursuit of justice, this book serves a greater purpose beyond the page. A portion of profits supports the Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery (FAIR) Lab at the University of New Hampshire, training the next generation of forensic specialists who help bring closure to families still waiting for answers.

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