Lovers Lane Murders

Written by: Kenzie Desrosiers

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On Friday February 12, 1971, Jesse McBane, 19, and his high school sweetheart Patricia Mann, 20, attended a Valentine’s Day dance held in Wyche House at Watts Hospital. Jesse, a freshman at North Carolina State University, and Patricia, a junior nursing student at Watts Hospital, left the dance and signed out of the dormitory around 11:30PM promising to return before the 1AM curfew. Jesse and Patricia got into Jesse’s 1968 Ford and drove to a nearby lover’s lane.

The following morning fellow nursing students began to suspect something was wrong when Patricia never signed back in, noting that this behavior was out of character. The unidentified nurses called local hospitals to see if anyone matching the couple’s description had been brought in. The nurses turned to the Durham County police to report them missing, however, police initially believed that the couple had eloped. A small group conducted a search when an unnamed friend located Jesse’s locked black and white Ford Cortina abandoned near Croasdaile Golf Course.

With no signs of a struggle and the couple’s coats in the vehicle, authorities believed that the abductor forced the couple into his vehicle. They also noted that fingerprints on the inside and outside of the vehicle had been wiped.

Shortly after Jesse and Patricia went missing, there was a mysterious phone call made to the Watts Hospital emergency room. The caller claimed to be A.N. McBane, Jesse’s father. The caller inquired about the wellbeing of the missing couple and stated that he feared they had been in an auto accident. When police brought McBane in for question, he was distraught to be of any assistance.

On February 18, police announced that there would be no further searches until they received a new lead. A few days later, the McBane family offered a $500 reward for information.

On February 25, a land surveyor discovered what he believed to be a mannequin protruding from a pile of leaves. According to Major Tim Horne, “There was a leg that could be seen (sticking up) outside a pile of leaves. But when he (the surveyor) got close to it, he realized that it was actually a human body.” The surveyor went to a nearby residence at the trailer park to phone police at 1:45PM.

Jesse and Patricia were found slumped over with their hands tied with thick rope. They had been bound to a tree, 10-inches in diameter, with rope around their neck and waist.

Dr. Abdullah Fatteh began Jesse’s autopsy at 7:15PM, finishing around 10:30PM. Fatteh noted deep grooves on Jesse’s neck, a laceration on the interior of the lower lip, and superficial lacerations. Fatteh also noted a puncture wound on the chest, post-mortem, made by a sharp instrument like an ice pick or screwdriver. Patricia’s autopsy began around 11PM and finished at 1:00AM. It was noted that Patricia had lacerations on the jaw, a half inch tear on the liver, and a contusion on the right side of the spine just above the diaphragm. Patricia also had puncture wounds to the chest, post-mortem. Neither victim showed any signs of sexual assault. Fatteh concluded that Jesse’s and Patricia’s cause of death was strangulation by ligature.

Fattah and authorities believed the killings were the work of two individuals. Furthermore, there were no signs of theft; Jesse was found wearing his class ring, watch, and had his wallet. Patricia, on the other hand, was still wearing all her jewelry.

On March 4, the town offered a $500 reward for information that would lead to an arrest in the case. Since the murders, a number of rumors circulated from cult sacrifice, motorcycle gang, or retaliation from Patricia reporting someone stealing medicine from Watts Hospital.

Towards the end of 1971, criminal psychiatrist, Dr. James A. Brussel gave authorities the following profile, "Athletic male between 25-40. A paranoid out to cleanse the world. This was a grudge slaying. The killer is a loner, a neat precise man, with an average or above average education. He will be clean shaven. Have no criminal record. An excellent work record. He will not wear flashy clothes. He appears to conduct himself properly. He may have suffered childhood rejection by his mother. He considers himself above other persons and is capable of judging them. Killer would have acted alone, would have taken no unnecessary risks. And would know the area of the slayings well. The killer would have also most likely be the man who called the emergency room on the night the couple disappeared. This is his way of displaying his cleverness.”

In 2010, detectives Tim Horne and Dawn Hunter reopened the 1971 cold case. Soon thereafter, Horne reached out to other agencies to request their case files in regard to the McBane-Man murder. Horne learned that in the early 1970s, another couple was abducted at gunpoint. The abductor attempted to force them into the trunk of his vehicle, fortunately, they fought back. The victims were able to provide former Durham officer with a sketch that resembled one of the suspects in the McBane-Mann case. Horne believes that the cases are related as they are too similar.

Police initially looked at a number of persons of interest; known peeper and WW2 veteran Vadin Newkum who was seen driving on the road where the bodies were found, Henry Aaron Tatum who was questioned in the murder of a man who was cuffed to a tree and shot, convicted serial killer William Pierce whose crime spree brought him through North Carolina, as well as Patricia’s former pen pal Gerald Brignag. Over the decades, many were questioned, however, some refused to cooperate with the investigation. Eventually, Horne narrowed the suspect list to three persons of interests who have let to be cleared: James Brannon Ray, Dr. James Steven Walter Wilson, and Dr. Robert Carl Britt.

On November 23, 1970, James Brennon Ray was hired as an orderly at Watts Hospital for Nursing. It was stated by an unnamed nurse at Watts that Ray gave Patricia unwanted instructions on how to care for her patients and would tease her about her looks. Just before Christmas Ray took Elizabeth Glawson, a nurse, to the Down Towner. However, after getting drunk and making a fool of himself, Glawson left through the back door of the restaurant. It is stated that Elizabeth was the spitting image of Patricia. On January 31, 1971, Ray was fired from Watts Hospital following a series of disciplinary action for showing up after hours and leaving work without notice.

On February 12, Ray dropped off his date at her home around 11PM. Around midnight, Ray allegedly banged on the door of his friend Robert Lauter claiming his vehicle ran out of gas under the underpass on Hillandale Road, less than two miles from the lover’s lane. Lauter took Ray to the gas station and on the way back, Ray told Lauter to take the back roads insisting he was familiar with them. This would have taken them past the cup-du-sac where Jesse’s vehicle was found. Lauter claimed that Ray would not let him approach the vehicle and he returned home around 12:30AM.

During the initial investigation, Ray became the prime suspect for many detectives. Shortly after the discovery of the bodies, Ray sold his vehicle and left town. Years later, Ray was in an accident with a stolen motorcycle when police learned that he was on parole for auto theft. When R.D. Love, a Durham License and Theft agent, who has been looking for Ray, heard of his arrest he insisted on searching his trailer. During the search detectives discovered a black wig, 2 blank pistoles, a police bag, a pocketknife and keys that belonged to two lockers at the Watts Hospital Ward K, which happened to be the same ward Patricia worked. It was also stated that Ray’s ex-girlfriend lived at the trailer park near the site where the bodies were found.

According to the case file, two days before Jesse and Patricia went missing, Ray showed up at a Willard Collins house asking to borrow some rope, however, Collins declined. Later that day, Collins’ son informed him that Ray returned and stole the rope. When police presented Collins with the rope he stated, “you found my rope.”

Shortly after the murders, Ray sold his black and white 1956 Chrysler to John Thompson of Morgan Motors. Thompson told detectives that Ray was having marital problems and began seeing other women. According to Thompson Ray told him details of the murders that police had not made public. Ray allegedly stated that the rope was cut into foot long lengths. He had extensive knowledge about the knots. He also knew about the calls to the Mann family. Thompson claimed that Ray knew Patricia from taking two courses at Watts Hospital to become a paramedic. He also stated that he knew Jesse and that he was an “a**.” He further claimed that Patricia was sleeping around and that on the night of the disappearance, he attended the Valentine’s Day.

However, Ray allegedly told his wife, Ruth, a different story. He claimed he never knew Patricia but that following their disappearance he joined a number of search parties to find the missing couple. He later told a number of girlfriends a different story, even stating that he had dated Patricia.

Police questioned Ray, who took two polygraphs which came back inconclusive. Eventually, police located Ray’s Chrysler and tested the fibers found within the vehicle against the rope and hairs from the victims. The tests concluded that the fibers were not a match. It’s been stated that Ray’s vehicle had a flashing red light on the dash of his car, a yellow slicker, a night stick, and a police radio.

In the 80s, Ray disappeared until 1991 when he showed up at his eldest song, Ricky Ray’s house. He stayed there for a week until police and FBI busted through the door. Authorities showed Ricky a number of alias’ Ray has used over the years and Ray was arrested. That year, Ray now going by James Evens married Michelle Ray.

Towards the end of this life, Ray turned things around and on Sept 5, 2009 he passed away. Everyone in this life, including his first and second wife do not believe Ray was capable of murdering someone. Everyone that knew him claimed he had no history of violence.

Dr. James Steven Walter Wilson was born in Kentucky. He was known to be highly intelligent but vindictive and manipulative. After getting his masters at the University of Kentucky, Wilson moved to Durham to attend Duke University for his masters.

In 1978, Martha Graham, a woman who worked in the medical examiner’s office doing human identification between 1974 to 1978, filed a complaint about her former colleague. She claimed that on the night that Jesse and Patricia disappeared, Martha and her husband Donny – who worked for Wilson doing medical research – attended a dinner party at the Wilson home. Allegedly, Wilson did not arrive until after midnight and he began behaving odd. It was noted that the Wilson’s lived only 400 yards from where Jesse and Patricia’s bodies were discovered.

Donny made the following allegations: In 1961, Transylvania University student Betty Gail Brown was murdered in Kentucky. It was alleged that Wilson was questioned in connection to the murder and considered a person of interest. This statement was rebuffed when Rob Wilson, the detective on the Brown case had no recollection of Wilson. Instead, he claimed that Adolf Laudenberg, known serial killer, was considered a suspect in the murder, having uprooted his family shortly thereafter. The Grahams’ claimed that Patricia was a student in his respiratory therapy course he taught at Watts Hospital. They said that he had asked Patricia out a number of times, but she rejected his advances.

Wilson was known to be hot tempered and confrontational. According to his case file, Wilson beat his first wife with a kettle. After marrying his second wife, Wilson took her son and had a five-hour standoff with Memphis police.

He once threatened the head of the Anatomy Department and assaulted a woman in the Duke University parking lot. Wilson even threatened Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor for which he was arrested. However, Wilson’s sister stated that he was a pathological liar and would tell people be was a part of situations which were completely untrue.

Wilson later died in 2009 from heart failure.

The third suspect is University of North Carolina graduate Dr. Robert Carl Britt. At the time of the murders in 1971, Britt was giving pulmonary lectures to the nursing students at Watts Hospital. This would include Patricia Mann.

For more than two years, detective Tim Bowers investigated Britt as the prime suspect.

On the anniversary of the murders, Hilda McBane received a phone call from the alleged murderer stating, “I killed your son.” On the final call, the caller identified himself as Britt. Police were able to trace the call to a payphone at the Lohmann’s Plaza, less than a mile from the abduction site. However, Britt was never questioned.

In the fall of 1973, an unnamed man and his friend were hitchhiking following a night of partying. He recalled being a nuisance and flipping off cars, when one vehicle turned around and got out. The driver pulled a gun on the two men. However, when one of the men pulled a knife and driver retreated back to his vehicle. After the driver pulled away, they reported the incident and license plate number to the police. When police ran the plate of the 1969 Pontiac, it came back registered to Dr. Britt, who at the time lived near the Croasdaile Golf Course. When detectives showed one of the men a lineup of photos, he fingered Dr. Britt as the man who tried to assault them.

When investigators questioned Dr. Britt, he said, “I hope you catch the guy who did this to those boys because he sounds like the guy who killed those kids a few years ago…The girl who was a student nurse at Watts and her boyfriend.” No charged were filed against him.

According to the case file, Gary Edgerton recalled a Croasdaile Sting operation in 1973 conducted by License and Theft officers Tim Bowers and Nick Adams. During the operation, two officers acted like a couple in vehicle parked in the same lover’s lane area as Jesse and Patricia when Dr. Britt approached. Edgerton alleged that Dr. Britt got out of his vehicle and began to approach the undercover vehicle when something stopped him in his tracks. He proceeded back to his vehicle and left. However, when License and Theft director Nick Adams was questioned about the operation, he stated that Dr. Britt never showed up. The validity of this information came under question. It was later determined that Edgerton later fell under severe scrutiny and accused of planting drugs on a rival.

In early 1995, Susan Higginbotham was beaten following a road rage incident. In court she testified that Dr. Britt followed her home. He claimed that when he confronted her, she tried to chock him with his own tie. He was found guilty but in 1998 the case was ruled a mutual assault.

After Horne reopened the case in 2010, he and detective Hunter approached Dr. Britt at his home. Britt invited them inside and together they sat in his living room. When Horne asked Dr. Britt about the 1971 double murder, he chuckled and stated, “In 40 more years it won’t matter.” When Hunter began asking Britt questions, he refused to look at her and only responded to Horne. Dr. Britt claimed that he never knew Patricia Mann. Just before leaving, Horne made one last request, he asked Dr. Britt a sample of his DNA and for him to take a polygraph test in order to eliminate him once and for all. Dr. Britt immediately began to hyperventilate and had to excuse himself. When he returned, he agreed to cooperate and told Horne he could call anytime, however, shortly after leaving the detectives received a call from Dr. Britt’s lawyer stating that he would not be of any assistance.

In a later interview for The Long Dance podcast Dr. Britt claimed he was never questioned in regard to the McBane-Mann case, though he did recall being asked about the two hitchhikers. Once again, he refused his DNA, this time citing the corruption of a former Durham officer.

In a bizarre turn of events, it was discovered that upon his release from prison 1976 for breaking parole and charges of auto theft, James Brannon Ray began to work for Dr. Britt. Dr. Britt recalled complaints against Ray for cutting corners when it came to testing procedures, these allegations lead Dr. Britt to fire Ray. Following this, Ray disappeared or so Dr. Britt said.

In 2017, Dr. Britt closed this Durham office and moved to Florida. But not before detectives were able to obtain his DNA by way of a spoon, they gathered from a restaurant he frequented. Now that detectives had DNA from all three suspects, they began the process of testing them against the rope by using the M-VAC. On June 12, 2018, Horne was made aware that there was not enough genetic material to compare to a suspect. They were able to determine DNA from three contributors on the rope: likely Jesse and Patricia as well as a third unknown person. Shortly after Horne made this information public, he began receiving offers from other agencies who offered their services.

At this time the case remains unsolved and no arrests have been made. Whoever the killer is, Horne believes “The suspect knew this area, knew this location. It's our opinion (that) this wasn't the first time he came down here," Horne said. "He felt comfortable torturing and murdering these two young people, and he felt comfortable enough that no one was going to come and that no one could hear them cry, scream, plead, what have you."

What do you believe happened to Jesse and Patricia, whether they the victims of a random attack or a grudge killing? Do you think one of these men is the killer? Head over to our Instagram and give us your opinion of the case. Be sure share the story and follow our page as well as hit the bell button to receive a notification when we post our next case.