Milford Police Department has three cold cases on their website. The oldest case, which occurred on January 17, 1975, involved the murder of 49-year-old Hazel Mason.
Police responded to Mason’s home on Northeast Front Street where she lived alone. Mason had not reported to work as scheduled and the hospital sent John Burton, a fellow employee, to check on her. Mason and Burton worked in the cafeteria at Milford Memorial. Hospital. Burton returned to the hospital to report no one answered when he knocked, but that Mason’s car was in the garage.
At that time, Rae Marshall, a fellow employee contacted police and asked them to do a welfare check since Mason had not reported to work. Police made forced entry into the home at 1003 Northeast Front Street and found Mason’s body. Marshall was with the police and saw Mason’s body lying in the living room. According to Marshall, Mason appeared to have been sewing when she was attacked.
According to police, there was no evidence of a burglary. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled, but there was no evidence of sexual assault.
“She was a really lovely woman,” Mrs. Perry A. Reese said when she learned of her death. “Everybody who knew her is heartbroken.”
The hospital administrator, Joseph B. Ahlschier, told The Morning News that he had “a food service department that can’t stop crying.” According to Ahlschier, Mason was a “good, loyal employee” who had been with the hospital for 17 years.
Marshall told police Mason was supposed to report for work on Friday which was unlike her.
“I don’t understand why anybody would do anything to her,” Marshall said. “If they asked she was the type of woman who would give anyone anything.”
In the same news report, Mason’s supervisor, Helen Davis, spoke highly of Mason.
“She was church-going,” Davis said. “I never knew her to bother anyone in any way.”
Police were not sure when Mason was killed but narrowed the time between 8 Thursday , January 16 in the evening and 9 Friday morning, January 17. The last time she was seen was around 7 PM Thursday.
The news article stated that Mason was married but separated from her husband. They had no children. She was survived by her mother, Sarah Pleasanton of Camden a sister and a brother.
There was never an arrest or suspect in the murder of Mason. However, on August 31, 1976, Serita Hughes, a nurse at Milford Memorial Hospital was murdered by strangulation in her driveway. At the time of Hughes death, police stated the crimes were unrelated. Hughes’ husband, Robert, was found guilty at two trials, but chose a plea deal rather than face a third trial. He was eventually released from prison and his whereabouts are not known.
If anyone has information on the murder of Mason, they can contact a detective on the cold case page of the Milford Police Department website. Use case number 51-75-0247.
