Looking at serial killers in the area for that time:
Samuel Little
Age of him at the time of Zelma’s death: 42
Was convicted of eight murders and confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005.
Little confessed to killing one woman in [Akron, Ohio], two in Cincinnati – one of the bodies was dumped outside of [Columbus, Ohio]and one woman he met in Columbus and disposed of in Kentucky.
Evidence of Samuel Little operating in the area around the time:
Convictions:
1984 - Unnamed black female (18–23 years old) [San Bernardino, California]
1988 - Linda Bennett (38 years old) [Owenton, Kentucky]
Similarities in murders:
Zelma was an elderly woman at 53 years old.
Oldest conviction for Little was 50years old.
Little admitted to 93 different murders in total, and 60 deaths have been formally connected to him by the police. The majority of Little’s victims were sex workers, substance users, or homeless individuals, and most of them were female.
Im investigating the FBI details of Littles victims to find more simularities.
Confessions:
1982 - New Orleans murder between October and November. (3 months after Zelma dissapearance)
Confession Matched to a Jane Doe:White female between 33-44 years old. Killed in 1982.
Name: Zelma Anderson
Date of Death: 1982 December
Date of Dissapearance: 1982 August 2nd
Area: McDowell, KY
Samual Little Whereabouts at the time.
Date of murders:
Name: Fredonia Smith
Date of murder: July 1982
Area: Macon, Georgia
Age: 18
Distance from Zelma: 7 hour drive
Name: Rosie Hill
Date of murder: August 1982
Area: Marion County, Florida
Age: 20
Distance from Zelma:10 hour drive
Name: Patricia Ann Mount
Date of murder: September 1982
Area: Alachua County, Florida
Age: 26
Distance from Zelma:11 hour drive
Name: Dorothy Richard
Date of murder: September 1982
Area: Houma, Louisiana
Age: 56
Distance from Zelma:12 hour drive
Name: Melinda LaPree
Date of murder: October 1982
Area: Pascagoula, Mississippi
Age: 22
Distance from Zelma:10hour drive
Name: Unnamed black female
Date of murder: Autumn 1982
Area: New Orleans, Louisiana
Age: 30–40
Distance from Zelma:12 hour drive