Janet Walsh murder: Will new clue solve 1979 cold case?
The murder of a young Pennsylvania woman remains unsolved for 34 years - can a determined detective and new technology bring her killer to justice?
Updated on: May 14, 2026 / 10:55 AM EDT / CBS News
Brittany Smith, a prosecutor in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, hadn't even been born when 23-year-old Janet Walsh last carried her purse on the final night of her life, Sept. 1, 1979.
"This is Janet's purse. This would've been the purse she used the night she went out from August 31st 1979, into the early morning hours of September 1st, 1979," Smith said, showing "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant the bag's contents.
"...mints, gum, makeup, brush, keys. Those types of things are in every woman's purse," she said. "It definitely makes you feel as if there's a connection to her."
And Smith learned Janet was firmly connected to the tiny town of Monaca, about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"Janet moved next door to us when she was either 2 or 3 years old. And we became best friends. She had a couple brothers. I had brothers, so she was like my little sister," best friend Sue Niedergal said.