Margarette Laverne Mullins Mankin (July 16, 1927 – Nov 2, 1987) was found dead on Nov. 2, 1987. Mankin (60) was murdered inside her home in North Duncanville, Texas. She was found by her husband Avery Adair Mankin (then 65) in the doorway between the garage and the kitchen.

Adair had just returned home from an afternoon of playing golf. He ran to the neighbours for help. They called police.

Adair (July 31, 1922 – Sept 28, 1997) is not a suspect in this case. He passed away in 1997.

Laverne Mankin was stabbed to death. She had apparently surprised a burglar. Mankin had multiple stab and slash wounds on her arms and body. She also had many defensive wounds. She put up a fight with her attacker. The coroner estimated she had been stabbed at least 20 times. The murder weapon was never found.

As there is very little information online (or it is behind paywalls) I have not been able to find whether police think that the weapon came from the Mankin kitchen or that the burglar was armed with a knife. I did find that three jewelry boxes and cash were missing from the home and rooms were ransacked.

Did any of the jewelry ever surface on the black market? Is there any forensic evidence that might hold DNA? If Mankin put up a fight she might have been able to scratch her attacker so her fingernail clippings are essential.

Laverne and Adair had two sons, Michael and Craig (he passed away in 2005) and one daughter, Mandy. They have several grandchildren.

Laverne Mankin was a retired assistant principal at Duncanville High School, Texas. She began teaching in Duncanville in 1954, became the assistant principal at Duncanville High in 1971, and retired in 1986. Her students and her school have tributes online where she is remembered.

She is lovingly remembered on Facebook by her students with comments, anecdotes (the duct tape and the Rolling Stones t-shirt is priceless) and on the Duncanville ISD page. Scroll down to the part about George Whitley.

When I read Doris Whitley’s remark “Laverne Mankin with her Bette Davis eyes” of course the song “She’s got Betty Davis eyes” by Kim Carnes popped up in my head. Sorry, Kim. From now on, I will be thinking about Laverne Mankin when I hear you sing.

Photo credits:

Doris Whitley posted on Facebook a picture of Laverne Mankin but it doesn’t state who actually took that picture. For now, I leave the credits to her. If you know who took the picture, let me know and I will change the credits immediately.

The grave stone picture was taken by Gena Forsyth.

If you have copies of newspaper articles about this case, please let me know so we can update this post.

Rest in peace, Margarette Laverne Mullins Mankin.