Arlis Kaye Perry(Dykema)

Arlis Kaye Perry

Arlis Kaye Perry(Dykema) was a 19 year old newlywed from Bismarck, North Dakota when she was found brutally murdered inside the Stanford Memorial Church on the Stanford University campus in California on the night of October 12, 1974.

Growing up in North Dakota, Arlis Perry and her husband Bruce Perry were high school sweethearts. They were married in August and Arlis moved to Stanford to be with her husband who at the time was a pre-med sophomore. While Bruce was busy with his studies, Arlis began working for a local law firm as a receptionist. 

What We Know

• Around 11:30 p.m. on the night of October 12, 1974, Bruce and Arlis were out for a walk when they had an argument about the tire pressure of their car.
• Arlis told her husband that she wanted to pray alone inside the church and they went their separate ways,
• Bruce becomes concerned when his wife had not returned by 3am and proceeded to go to the church to find her, but finds the doors locked. He then phones the local police to report her missing.
• In the meantime, church security guard Steve Crawford reports later to police that he seen Arlis enter the church around 11:30p.m. He went back around 12a.m. and found the church empty and locked up. 
• Upon Bruce calling the police, Steve Crawford along with the Santa Clara Police arrive at the church again and find it still locked from the outside,
• At 5:45a.m. Crawford returns to church to open for the day and finds the Church's west side door open and forced from the inside. 
• Crawford makes the startling discovery of Arlis Perry's body.
• Her body was found in the East Transept near the altar.
• Her body was face-up, beaten badly, with an ice pick stabbed into her skull. There were also signs of strangulation.
• Arlis was naked from the waist down, spread eagle with a 3ft. long candle inside of her vagina. Another candle was found between her breasts, her arms crossed over her chest. 
• Semen was found nearby on a kneeling pillow, yet there were no signs of rape. A palm print was also discovered on a candle.
• Neither the semen or the palm print matched Bruce Perry or Steve Crawford. Bruce Perry was an initial suspect but was eventually ruled out.

Stanford Newspaper on Arlis Perry Murder

We also know that at least seven people were reportedly in the church during the night of October 12th and the early morning hours of October 13th. All were identified except one and it was reported to police that a passerby saw a young man enter the church around 12a.m. He was described as a man with medium build and about 5'10 with sandy blonde hair.

Many theories and conspiracies have covered this case form satanic rituals to a sexual sadist. There were also said links to The Process Church, the Free Masons, and even the serial killers "Son of Sam" and the Zodiac Killer. None of these theories or links have panned out into any sort of truth. But I think it is interesting to note that DNA testing was not being done in this period of time. There was also a book written by Maury Terry about the case which also points the finger to a satanic cult.

Over 40 years later, this haunting murder remains unsolved and Bruce Perry is now a world renowned child development doctor. 

If you have any information on this case, please contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff's anonymous tip line at 408-808-4431