A day at the beach: Abduction of Heather Teague

Crimes of passion

Dec 21

Filed by Kevin Sullivan

January 1, 2020

I first learned of the odd abduction of Heather Teague from a newspaper article in the Louisville newspaper several days after she went missing. It was a very brief piece, not more than a couple paragraphs, but it was enough to spark an interest in me that wouldn’t go away until I made the decision to write about it. And as you will see, the circumstances surrounding her abduction are surreal all on their own. But how the case would quickly unfold, coupled with its abrupt and violent end, made this already strange case even more bizarre.

The composite of the abductor, as given by Tim Walthall.

The Evansville PD arrest sheet for Marvin R. Dill.

NEW INFORMATION ON 20TH ANNIVERSARY: Heather's Mother, Sarah Teague, describes in detail how the Kentucky State Police deceived us ALL in their investigatio...

Facts of the case:

On the sunny Saturday morning of August 26, 1995, pretty Heather Teague, 23, got into her car and drove from her Henderson, Ky home to Newburgh Beach along the Ohio River. Here she would soak up the sun while awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend later that afternoon. As Heather parked her car along the access road, she got out, grabbed her towel and a chaise lounge, some tanning oil and other necessities, and began the short trek through the woods.

Over one-half mile across the river, nice homes rise above the Indiana shoreline, and that morning, Tim and Karen Walthall were outside doing yard work until a little before noon when Karen went inside to make hamburgers for lunch. Soon after Tim joined her, and while he waited, he settled in front of the powerful telescope he keeps in front of the big bay window in their living room. Tim had long grown accustomed to watching all the wildlife darting in and out of the woods and walking along the sandy shoreline. Today, however, what he’d see would be chilling; something straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window: Today, Walthall would see an armed man come out of the woods and at gunpoint, abduct the woman he would soon learn was Heather Danyelle Teague. Shocked at what he’d witnessed, he immediately called the police.

From the moment it was reported, the Kentucky State Police, as well as other law enforcement agencies, began working to find the missing woman, including the stopping and searching of dozens of cars that were still in the area, as well as notifying the police in the surrounding counties that an abduction had just occurred in Henderson. Not only did they have a good description of the man and the kidnapping from Walthall, but a citizen came forward who’d been taking video on the access road that not only captured Heather Teague getting out of her car, but a red and white Bronco that was parked a short distance away. Once the authorities released the tapes to the local TV stations, and the composite drawings started flooding the newspapers in the region, police began getting anonymous phone calls about one Martin R. (Marty) Dill, 29 years-old. And as they would soon find out, Marty Dill was no stranger to law enforcement.

Some thirteen months prior to the Teague disappearance, a woman was sexually assaulted in Oak Grove Cemetery in Blackford, Kentucky, and Dill quickly became a suspect in the case. Here too, an anonymous call was made to the authorities and Dill was quickly tracked down and interviewed. However, because of a partial disguise the perpetrator wore over his face, the victim could not positively identify him. That said, she did get a good look at his hair, saying he had “sandy blonde shoulder-length hair, curly and blonde on the ends.”

And on February 24, 1995, Dill crossed the river into Indiana and, within a short time, was apprehended by Evansville police officers after they received a call from a concerned citizen who told the dispatcher that a man was “circling the area of Haynie’s Corner attempting to pick up young girls.” When stopped by two officers Dill, who had denied he had any weapons, was found to have two handguns in his vehicle, a knife in his pocket, and shockingly, items one would use not just to abduct people, but bury them as well. Immediately, a detective was summoned to the scene. When I had the chance to speak with this detective, he said he believed that had he not arrested Dill on the spot, a young girl was going to die that day.

My quest for answers:

When a case is closed you can expect a lot of “leg work” in your hunt to locate people and information. Even today, with the Internet, there is so much information that is not online and likely never will be. And in these cases, one must learn how to locate folks, and more importantly, convince them to talk with you. And such was the situation for this story. Thankfully, I had Tim and Karen Walthall; Kentucky State Police officers and investigators; a detective from the Evansville PD; the detective who worked the cemetery assault; and a few others connected to the case, including a good conversation with Heather’s mother, Sarah Teague. Indeed, my interviews with some from the civilian population gave me certain facts that, according to the Kentucky State Police, had never been released, leading one surprised investigator to quip, “You’ve done your homework.”. I had indeed. I was also fortunate to obtain police case file material for the sexual assault in the cemetery as well as Dill’s arrest record in Evansville. But to this day, the case file of Heather Teague is off limits to the public, and officially, the investigation remains open. Unanswered questions

Once authorities had enough evidence, circumstantial though it may have been, a warrant was issued to search Dill’s rural property, including the trailer in which he and his wife and children lived. Having heard the rumors about her husband from a relative, she questioned him, asking if he’d been to Newburgh Beach that day. Upon hearing this, Dill responded, “I’m looking at twenty to life and I’m not going.” And with that, he sent them away. It was close to midnight, as investigators were speaking with Dill’s father while engaged in a negotiation to have Dill surrender himself, when they head a single gunshot. Marvin Ray Dill had committed suicide before police could question him.

Where is it today:

Today the case remains officially open. But all the officers I’ve spoken with believe Dill was responsible for Heather’s abduction and murder, and for them, the case is unofficially closed. Heather Teague’s remains have never been recovered.

Kevin M. Sullivan
A writer of history and true crime, Kevin M. Sullivan is the author of sixteen books, a former investigative journalist for both print and online media, and is a recognized authority on serial sex killer, Ted Bundy. Indeed, his “break out” book, The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History, published by McFarland in 2009, was the catalyst that brought him much attention in the true crime world, leading to numerous radio programs and contacts from documentarians both here in the United States and the United Kingdom. Portions of this work also appear in the college textbook, Abnormal Psychology: Clinical Perspectives on Psychological Disorders, published by McGraw-Hill in November 2012.