‘Terrible Waste’ of Girl’s Death Lingers With Woman Who Went to Her Aid

One elderly woman for whom the murder of Holly Tarr became a grueling ordeal is Elizabeth Langworthy, 84. Langworthy lives in the one-bedroom apartment underneath the one in which Tarr was murdered.

After a couple of days away, Langworthy was back home Thursday. The memories were with her.

“It’s been very bad,” she said. “I keep praying that I can just get it out of my mind. She was such a lovely girl, with all of life’s possibilities in front of her. It’s a terrible waste.”

Langworthy experienced Tarr’s death first-hand. She said that, shortly after noon Tuesday, she saw Tarr and a male--whom she did not see clearly--walk upstairs toward the apartment where Tarr was staying. About 20 minutes later, Langworthy said, she heard a scream.

“The couple had walked upstairs, casually, just talking,” Langworthy said. “No arguing or anything. Then later, I heard this scream and a shuffle in the bedroom. After all the trouble we’ve had around here, I got up. And then a young girl came by. She said she was staying in the upstairs apartment and couldn’t get in. She’d been ringing the bell for five minutes.

“We called upstairs and got the answering machine. So, I called the (rental) office and said this girl couldn’t get in. I told them about the scream. They said they’d send the security guards over, but Richard showed up first,” she said of Richard Williams, the 58-year-old maintenance man. “The guards don’t have golf carts like Richard does, so he showed up first. The guards have to walk every place.

“I called 911 immediately, and I have to admit I got furious with them. They asked so many questions! I guess they kept me on the phone five minutes before sending anybody. But, as soon as they sent somebody, they got here immediately.

“Shortly after Richard came in and confronted the murderer, I heard the girl scream again. And then I saw the man, this suspect they’re looking for, run that way,” she said, pointing toward the west. “He was wearing a bright red T-shirt and carrying a sack. For a second, I saw him stumble. I didn’t get a good look at him, though, because I only saw him from the back.

“As soon as the suspect left, I ran upstairs. Richard was calling the paramedics. I went in to the bedroom to be with the girl. She was on the floor, flat of her back. Her feet were next to the closet, and her head was next to the bed. She was covered with a towel that was saturated with blood. She had on a pair of white panties.

“Her right arm was dangling out to the side, and she was groaning. Gurgling.

“I went to the bathroom and got a wet towel. I brushed her hair out of her face and mopped her forehead. Her hair was curly and black and very wet. I kept telling her she’d be OK, and she seemed to understand me. She seemed reassured by that. But then she rolled her eyes up, and they stayed that way until the policeman came. He pronounced her dead, but I think she died next to me, just before they got here.”