ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Anne Arundel County Police Department has made a significant announcement regarding the 1970 cold case homicide of 16-year-old Pamela Lynn Conyers.
In a press conference held on March 10, 2023, authorities revealed the identification of a second suspect, advancing the investigation into a case that has remained unsolved for over five decades.
Pamela Conyers was reported missing by her family on October 16, 1970, after she failed to return from an errand at the Harundale Mall around 8:30 p.m. Her vehicle was found three days later in a wooded area near Mountain Road and Route 100, an area that was under construction at the time. Conyers’ body was discovered a short distance from her vehicle on October 20, 1970.
The breakthrough in the case came from DNA evidence collected in 1970 from the scene and on Conyers’ clothing. With the advancements in Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG), investigators were able to identify Forrest Clyde Williams III, 74, of Virginia, as a suspect. Following this initial discovery, the Cold Case Unit, alongside the FBI and the Organized Crime Unit of the Office of the Attorney General for Maryland, utilized traditional investigative techniques and FGG to identify a second suspect, 74-year-old Donald Willard, a former resident of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Donald Willard, who is now deceased, marks the second individual implicated in the tragic demise of Pamela Conyers.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department expressed gratitude towards the agencies and units that have contributed to this long and complex investigation, underscoring their commitment to seeking justice for victims and their families, regardless of how much time has passed.