Janet Walsh, Gregory Scott Hopkins: ID’s ‘Betrayed’—Monaca Woman Found Dead In Bed Killed By Married Councilman


Janet Walsh was found dead in her bed in Murrysville Nava, Beaver County, PA, almost 40 years ago. Her story will be reenacted on Investigation Discovery’s TV crime series, Betrayed. In the episode titled, “Dancing With Death,” a woman’s last night on earth was spent dancing at a local dive, where she may have met have met her killer. On Betrayed, you’ll hear commentary from Monaca detectives who brought justice to the family.

In 1979, a family member found the body of Catherine Janet Walsh in her bed. A detective who arrived on the scene knew immediately that the 23-year old woman was dead as soon as he pulled back the sheet, according to a former 48 Hours episode.

Janet Walsh had a scarf around her neck, and the determination of death, according to an autopsy report was strangulation.

The crime was discovered after a family member went to the house to check up on Janet Walsh when she failed to show up at her job. A background check revealed that she recently separated from her husband, a jealous man who people say followed her around town.

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Those who saw Janet Walsh last say that she was getting a new start on her life and went out the night before to have a bit of fun. There, she danced and enjoyed herself, and after leaving the club, Janet Walsh headed home, where she was found dead in her bed the next day.

There was a slew of suspects on the list for detectives to follow up on. Many speculated that the husband did it since statistics show that most of the time, the husband is the most likely killer of a wife or ex-wife.

Without any arrests, the case of Janet Walsh went cold for almost 35 years. The mystery was solved after the cold case unit took another look at the case and sent DNA evidence in for testing, according to Pittsburgh’s Action News-4.

Luckily, the DNA samples taken from Janet Walsh’s sheets and nightgown were a match to Bridgewater Councilman, Gregory Scott Hopkins. Authorities say that Janet Walsh was having an affair with the councilman, who at some point in the night visited her home and killed her.

For three decades, he kept his secret of murder.

When you say “30 years,” it rolls right off the tongue. But, when a family member has been waiting that long to find out what really happened to their loved one, it’s like waiting for an eternity. Some of the victims’ families don’t live long enough to find out the truth. But, Janet Walsh’s brother lived to see that day and told his story on a previous episode of 48 Hours on CBS.

For years, Gregory Scott Hopkins walked around town as a respectable man. But at home, his wife lived a lonely existence in a loveless marriage that was peppered by disrespect continuously over the years, the Beaver Countian reported.

“‘When I was in labor with my first child, he left to go on an appointment and left me at home with my mother, who doesn’t drive, and said if anything develops to call the police and they would take me to the hospital’ she testified, describing Gregory as having ‘a total lack of consideration and caring of what happened to me.'”

More about his first marriage from the Beaver Countian.

“We would go to parties, and he would totally ignore me. He would pay attention to everyone else and fool around with them like I wasn’t there; and through the years, it got more pronounced’ she said at the hearing. ‘I was highly embarrassed that I was left alone sitting and he would be getting up and dancing and I would be sitting there by myself.'”

Gregory Scott Hopkins was found guilty of killing Janet Walsh and ordered to serve eight to 16 years in a Pennsylvania correctional facility. Prison records show that Gregory Hopkins is currently serving his time in Somerset.

Watch Betrayed on Investigation Discovery (ID) on Wednesday, September 7, at 9/8 p.m. Central. In case you missed last week’s episode of Betrayed, it was based on the case of Missy Grubaugh.

[Photo by Ted S. Warren/AP Images]

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