Katherine Foster, Jamie Kellam Letson: ‘Nightmare Next Door’ — Frenemy Murdered College Coed Over Man On University Of South Alabama’s Campus On Investigation Discovery

Katherine Foster, the Alabama college coed who was found murdered on the University of South Alabama’s campus more than three decades ago, is the case to be featured on Investigation Discovery’s crime TV series Nightmare Next Door. The episode detailing Katherine Foster’s case is “Dear Katherine, It’s Me The Killer.” The sad story about the campus murder will be told through interviews with key figures in the investigation. Foster’s killer, Jamie Kellam Letson, was apprehended after almost 30 years.

Oh hey. My episode of Nightmare Next Door is on ID right now…. pic.twitter.com/uMj5e7aLeI

— KatYump (@katyump) July 17, 2015

A Freshman’s Murder

In February 1980, Katherine Foster disappeared from the University of South Alabama. She was last seen leaving a friend’s dormitory. Days later, her body was discovered on the north end of the campus in a wooded area behind the biology department, near the dorms. The body was found in the frigid cold but in remarkable condition.

At the scene, there was no sign of a struggle. The body was still fully dressed, the clothes were neat, and there was a pool of blood. Katherine’s body was found by a group of students who participated in the search.

University police and local police launched a relentless search for the killer and the murder weapon. Foster, according to an autopsy report, had been shot twice.

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At the University of South Alabama, Katherine Elizabeth Foster was a freshman majoring in physical therapy. The devout Catholic was well-liked and a good student.

Katherine Foster’s worried parents had traveled from their home in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to find their missing daughter. Her death shocked everyone on campus and struck fear in many of the students as they worried for their own safety. According to Andalusia Star, Police Chief Wilbur Williams made the following statement.

“Everyone in the city was familiar with it because it was such a high profile case. Of course, being an alumnus of the University of South Alabama, it affected me in more than just one way. The simple facts as we knew it at the time attracted everyone’s attention. You had a young female with no obvious enemies who just went missing.”

It was a frustrating investigation, since detectives were getting false leads and erroneous information. Close friends say that they remembered seeing Katherine Foster after lunch as they all walked across the campus, heading back to their dorm rooms.

Alabama Cold Case: “Dear Katherine, It Was Me.”

The investigation came to a screeching halt and stayed cold for several years. Then when a security guard committed suicide and police found references to the murder in his home, it was speculated that he might be the killer.

Over 25 years later, police hit the jackpot after Jamie Kellam Letson confessed to a friend in her Alcoholics Anonymous class that she had killed her college roommate, Katherine Foster. To make amends for her crime, she wrote a Dear Katherine letter, in which she professed that she was the killer, according to AL.

“Dear Katherine, after all these years, I have come to you. It is me, Jamie, the girl who took your life. I don’t know where to begin. I was your friend, but I was obsessed with Tom, and you were in my way. Kate, I am acutely aware of what I did that day. In ending your life, I robbed your family and loved ones of a future with you. Only God knows what you might have contributed.”

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Prosecutors say that Jamie Kellam Letson, who seemed to have mental issues, harbored a deadly obsession for Katherine Foster’s boyfriend. With Katherine out of the way, Jamie believed that she might have a chance to be with him. To execute her plan to kill Katherine, she lured her to the area, then shot her. Afterwards, she made up a story to make everyone believe that Katherine Foster had gone off with her boyfriend.

Jamie Letson was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Katherine Foster. Watch their story on Nightmare Next Door this Friday at 10 p.m. on Investigation Discovery (ID). In last week’s episode, the Michael Severance pond murder case was examined.

[Photo by Dave Collins/AP Images]