Episode 50: The Murder of Mina Dekker
19-year-old Mina Dekker
It’s one of Michigan’s oldest unsolved murders and it’s a brutal one. Mina Dekker was just nineteen years old when she walked into work in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 4th, 1938. She would never walk back out. Sometime in a span of mere minutes while she was alone, someone walked into the building and brutally beat Mina Dekker to death. To this day, eight decades past Mina’s final moments of life, her murder remains unsolved.
Sources:
Delayed Justice: Main Page for Mina Dekker Articles and Interview Links
Delayed Justice: Interview with Mina’s brother, Aidan
Delayed Justice: Interview with Mina’s friend, Margaret
Cold Case Michigan by Tobin T. Buhk (Book)
Newspaper articles regarding Mina Dekker:
Belleville Daily News-Democrat (Belleville, Illinois) · Mon, Mar 7, 1938 · Page 12 https://www.newspapers.com/image/769355474
The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Sun, Mar 13, 1938 · Page 29 https://www.newspapers.com/image/146924018
The Times (Munster, Indiana) · Tue, Mar 8, 1938 · Page 14 https://www.newspapers.com/image/310791632
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) · Sun, Mar 13, 1938 · Page 6 https://www.newspapers.com/image/108103326
The Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan) · Sun, Mar 6, 1938 · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/209273797
Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · Sat, Mar 5, 1938 · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/97701448
The Escanaba Daily Press (Escanaba, Michigan) · Thu, Mar 10, 1938 · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/34355572
The Herald-Press (Saint Joseph, Michigan) · Mon, Mar 7, 1938 · Page 3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/362681191
Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · Sun, Mar 6, 1938 · Page 10 https://www.newspapers.com/image/97703257
The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan) · Fri, Mar 11, 1938 · Page 11 https://www.newspapers.com/image/365636401
The Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan) · Sat, Mar 5, 1938 · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/209272018
Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · Thu, Mar 31, 1938 · Page 15 https://www.newspapers.com/image/97754402
The Escanaba Daily Press (Escanaba, Michigan) · Sat, May 21, 1938 · Page 15 https://www.newspapers.com/image/32045397
The Escanaba Daily Press (Escanaba, Michigan) · Sat, May 21, 1938 · Page 15 https://www.newspapers.com/image/32045397
The Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan) · Fri, Mar 11, 1938 · Page 3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/209281226
Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) · Fri, Mar 11, 1938 · Page 13 https://www.newspapers.com/image/205383390
The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan) · Thu, Mar 31, 1938 · Page 21 https://www.newspapers.com/image/365640878
The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan) · Wed, Mar 9, 1938 · Page 3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/365635486
The Escanaba Daily Press (Escanaba, Michigan) · Tue, Mar 8, 1938 · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/34355559
The Escanaba Daily Press (Escanaba, Michigan) · Fri, Apr 15, 1938 · Page 6 https://www.newspapers.com/image/32044923
Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) · Sat, May 14, 1938 · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/205076851
The Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan) · Fri, May 27, 1938 · Page 10 https://www.newspapers.com/image/209446448
Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) · Tue, Mar 8, 1938 · Page 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/205381240
Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175735795/mina-dekker
Episode Sponsored by the Northern Michigan Asylum Series