Overview

Theresa Duran was 14 years old when she was murdered in the summer of 1984 in Gorham, Maine. To this day her case remains unsolved despite having several key individuals that the authorities have speculated on.

July 27th, 1984
Theresa (Terry) Duran’s body was found in Gorham, Maine, in 1984 — specifically in a wooded area off Wescott Road near a logging road in Gorham. She had been missing for over a month before her remains were discovered by two people out walking looking for deer.

Approximate coordinates:
43.7335° N, 70.4720° W (approximate, wooded area near Wescott Road, Gorham, Maine)

🧭 Location description:
Woods near Wescott Road, not far from Gorham center, Maine.

The site where her body was found is described as being adjacent to a logging road near Wescott Road — a rural, forested area.

If you enter “Wescott Road, Gorham, ME” into Google Maps and then explore nearby logging roads and forested areas (especially just east or southeast of the road), that will bring you to the general area where she was found.

⚠️ Note: This description is based on news reporting and official case summaries. The exact find spot isn’t a publicly marked site and may be on private land or undeveloped forest.

Detailed Case Breakdown

The murder of 14-year-old Theresa “Terry” Duran in Gorham, Maine, remains one of the state’s most prominent unsolved cold cases.

Case Overview
Disappearance: Theresa left her home on Friday, July 27, 1984, purportedly to stay with a girlfriend for the weekend. In reality, she may have intended to visit her older boyfriend, a relationship her parents did not approve of.

Discovery: On September 2, 1984, over a month after she vanished, her decomposing body was discovered by two people in a wooded area off Plummer Road in Gorham.

Cause of Death: An autopsy revealed she had been shot three times, including once in the back of the head. A “tiny unidentified hole” was also found in her breastbone, which investigators speculated could have been caused by a screwdriver or an ice pick.

Theories and Involved Suspects
Authorities have focused on several key individuals over the past four decades, but no one has been permanently held accountable.

Scott Doucette (Boyfriend): Doucette, Theresa’s boyfriend at the time, was arrested in July 1986. The state’s case was largely circumstantial, relying on inconsistent statements and alleged admissions. Doucette was never ultimately charged for the murder due to insufficient evidence.

Mark Parker (Friend): A friend of Doucette, Parker was arrested alongside him in 1986. He was initially found guilty of murder. However, he was acquitted in 1987 after a trial revealed he had provided multiple conflicting statements, at one point claiming Doucette confessed to him and later recanting that claim under oath.

Louis “Chipper” Chase: A known local criminal with a history of violent offenses, Chase became a suspect after making several statements to police while incarcerated. He initially pointed fingers at various people, including his own brother, before eventually implicating Parker and Doucette. Because Chase’s credibility was easily impeached, his testimony was insufficient to secure a conviction.

The “Stolen Car” Theory: A 1978 Pontiac was found vandalized and abandoned near Theresa’s body. It had been reported stolen from Portland the day she was supposed to return home. Some local theories suggest Theresa may have witnessed or refused to help with a car theft involving the teenagers she was with, leading to her being killed to keep her quiet.


Information provided by
Dark Down East Website:

– Decomposed body found in Gorham, AP via Bangor Daily News, 04 Sep 1984
– Body identified as Gorham girl, Portland Evening Express, 04 Sep 1984
– Body of missing teen found, AP via The Bangor Daily News, 05 Sep 1984
– No suspects in teen murder, AP via The Times Record, 05 Sep 1984
– Four Gorham cops are probing murder, Evening Express, 05 Sep 1984
– Tracks retraced in girl’s death, Evening Express, 06 Sep 1984
– Probes continue in women’s deaths, Evening Express, 10 Sep 1984
– Police push probe into girl’s death, Evening Express, 12 Sep 1984
– Police seeking help in death, Evening Express, 21 Sep 1984
– Terri’s death still affects friends by Peter Morelli, Evening Express, 18 Jan 1985
– LaRochelle assesses year in numbers by Ted Cohen, Kennebec Journal, 05 Mar 1985
– In Memoriam, Evening Express, 30 Jul 1985
– In Memoriam, Evening Express, 21 Oct 1985
– Search pressed for escapee, Evening Express, 20 Nov 1985
– 2 youths charged in 1984 slaying of Gorham girl, AP via Lewiston Daily Sun, 25 Jul 1986
– Gorham youths arraigned in death of girl, Evening Express, 25 Jul 1986
– High school junior held for murder by Dennis Hoey, Morning Sentinel, 26 Jul 1986
– Teens plead innocent, AP via Bangor Daily News, 26 Jul 1986
– Teens held without bail, AP via Sun-Journal, 26 Jul 1986
– In Memoriam, Evening Express, 28 Jul 1986
– Hearing held for teen suspects, AP via Kennebec Journal, 22 Aug 1986
– Murder hearing may end Friday, Evening Express, 26 Aug 1986
– Teens’ murder case goes to jury, AP via Sun-Journal, 05 Sep 1986
– Judge’s decision sparks appeal, Evening Express, 12 Sep 1986
– Gorham teenager indicted as adult, AP via Sun-Journal, 10 Oct 1986
– In Memoriam, Evening Express, 21 Oct 1986
– Hearing awaited on opening files, Evening Express, 04 Dec 1986
– Justices hold hearing today on releasing case documents, AP via Evening Express, 05 Dec 1986
– Judge says media can see papers about murder case, AP via Sun-Journal, 05 Dec 1986
– Records show Duran slaying appeared to be premeditated, Evening Express, 06 Dec 1986
– Police say publicity no threat to Duran murder case witness, Evening Express, 09 Dec 1986
– Lawyers urge juvenil trial, Evening Express, 30 Jan 1987
– Decision awaited on accused slayer, Evening Express, 05 Feb 1987
– Youth faces trial as an adult, AP via Sun-Journal, 22 Apr 1987
– 17-year-old indicted in death, AP via Sun-Journal, 09 May 1987
– Defense raps Duran probe by Donna Halvorsen, Evening Express, 12 May 1987
– Murder trial’s key witness set to take stand Wednesday, AP via Lewiston Daily Sun, 13 May 1987
– Victim’s mother takes stand by Donna Halvorsen, Evening Express, 13 May 1987
– ‘Star witness’ implicates Parker in murder trial, AP via Kennebec Journal, 14 May 1987
– Trial witness admits he lied, Evening Express, 14 May 1987
– Parker defense on deck, AP via Evening Express, 15 May 1987
– Plot news worries attorney, Evening Express, 16 May 1987
– Police foil courthouse escape, AP via Lewiston Daily Sun, 16 May 1987
– Cumberland County court plot foiled, Morning Sentinel, 18 May 1987
– Jurors acquit Parker in death of 14-year-old girl by Donna Halvorsen, Morning Sentinel, 19 May 1987
– Doucette released on bail, Evening Express, 30 May 1987
– Duran murder trial delayed for appeal by Dieter Bradbury, Evening Express, 12 Sep 1987
– In Memoriam, Evening Express, 21 Oct 1987
– In Memoriam, Evening Express, 28 Jul 1988
– Court rejects state request in Duran case, AP via Journal Tribune, 01 Aug 1988
– Gorham murder charge dropped, Lewiston Daily Sun, 21 Sep 1988
– Donald E. Duran Sr. Obituary, Portland Press Herald, 24 Jun 2002
– In Memoriam, Portland Press Herald, 21 Oct 2002
– Who killed Theresa May Duran? By Robert Lowell, Portland Press Herald, 09 Sep 2009
– Family of Theresa Duran hopes for closure, 30 years after unsolved murder, WGME 13, 15 Feb 2016
– Gorham man arrested on assault, robbery counts, Evening Express, 16 Oct 1984
– Grand jury log, Evening Express, 30 Oct 1984
– Bridgton men indicted in pedestrian’s death, Evening Express, 17 Nov 1984
– Burglary suspect caught, Lewiston Daily Sun, 20 Feb 1985
– Court log, Lewiston Daily Sun, 13 Mar 1985
– Police seeking two escapees from Correctional Center, Evening Express, 29 Oct 1985
– Windham escapees are being hunted by Robert Kessell, Lewiston Daily Sun, 01 Nov 1985
– Escapee is still at large, Lewiston Daily Sun, 02 Nov 1985
– Convict still object of search, Evening Express, 05 Nov 1985
– Body is identified as prison escapee McGraw, AP via Lewiston Daily Sun, 08 Nov 1985
– Search pressed for escapee, Evening Express, 20 Nov 1985
– Indictments, Evening Express, 22 Nov 1985
– Indictments, Evening Express, 31 Jan 1985
– Fugitive captured in Miami Beach, The Miami News, 16 Jun 1986
– State rests its case in Thomaston trial by Linda Begin, Morning Sentinel, 14 Nov 1986
– Gorham man held in burglary, theft, Evening Express, 26 Nov 1990
– Knox County Superior Court, Bangor Daily News, 20 Apr 2010
– Police beat, Portland Forecaster, 11 Jan 2012
– State v. Doucette – 1988 Maine Supreme 544 A.2d 1290 (1988) STATE of Maine v. Scott DOUCETTE. Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. Argued June 6, 1988. Decided – July 29, 1988. Court Decisions


Arrests

In this new interview following his arrest in Florida, Chipper Chase told police that Terry Duran’s killer was her boyfriend and his friend Mark Parker.

Now, both Mark and the boyfriend had been on the case radar since the beginning after a witness placed Terry, Mark, and the boyfriend together on that dirt bike the day of the murder. Police had interviewed both suspects at least twice during the initial investigation back in the fall of 1984, but the investigation in the two years since hadn’t developed a strong enough case against either Mark or Terry’s boyfriend to make an arrest.

Chipper’s statement changed that though. And interestingly, within a week, another witness surfaced to make the accusation even stronger. A woman told police that Mark had confessed to her that he killed Terry. That was the corroborating evidence investigators needed. A little less than a month later, news broke that police had made not one, but two arrests for the murder of Terry Duran.

On July 24, 1986, almost two years to the day since she died, 18-year old Mark Parker and the other 17-year old suspect were arrested on murder charges. Documents from a pretrial bail hearing for Mark Parker indicate that evidence showed the killing was likely premeditated, though the Assistant AG later conceded that the motive for the two suspects for killing Terry was obscure. The state didn’t need to prove motive at trial though; that wasn’t their burden.