On July 31, 1975, a 21-year-old woman named Denise Newsom Porch vanished from her apartment complex, where she lived with her new husband in North Carolina.
In 1975, Denise married Dean Newsom Porch, and they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Growing up in the small town of Denton, North Carolina, Denise’s family was nervous about her move to a big city over an hour away.
Denise was the youngest of three sisters. She was particularly close to her sister Diane, who described Denise as outgoing, active, and a good student. Her favorite memories of Denise are going to the beach together. Denise even met her husband at the beach.
On July 31, Dean arrived home from work in Gastonia sometime after 5 p.m. In the apartment, he found that the groceries hadn’t been put away.
Denise’s wallet and keys were on the table, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. He called Denise’s mother, and the family reported her missing.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department began searching the area and interrogating people. Denise was a resident manager in the apartment building where the couple lived.
The office was on the first floor, while the couple lived on the third floor. Denise’s job was to show available apartments to potential tenants.
Investigators narrowed it down to an 11-minute window when they believed Denise disappeared. Some people had seen Denise in her car with two unidentified individuals. It was not unusual for Denise to hop in the car with people to show them certain units.
Diane believes that foul play was involved. She and her husband moved into her mother’s house in Denton after Denise went missing.
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Her uncles helped with the search and posted missing posters across the state. They issued a $25,000 reward for any information about Denise, but nothing came up.
In 1982, seven years after Denise’s disappearance, the family accepted that she was not coming home and had her declared legally dead. Dean struggled to cope after his wife vanished. He ended up remarrying and later died in 2011.
In the mid-1980s, a possible suspect emerged. His name was Larry Gene Bell, and he was a former electrician. He lived near Denise and Dean’s apartment complex in 1975.
He was charged with the murders of two young women from South Carolina in 1985 and was sentenced to death. He was also the main suspect in the disappearances and deaths of several other young women in North Carolina.
He was never formally charged with Denise’s disappearance, but Denise closely resembled his other victims. He was executed in 1996.
His lawyers had tried to reverse his death sentence by claiming that he had a mental illness and believed he was Jesus Christ.
To this day, Denise’s case has remained unsolved. Anyone with information about her disappearance is urged to contact CMPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 704-336-2311.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
