History and mysteries · Philadelphia and the Williamstown area
Elizabeth Lande: a murder conviction without a recovered grave (1971)
Conviction documented · Burial unlocated
A witness placed a burial near Williamstown, while later court records establish the conviction and the limits of subsequent appeals.
The unsuccessful search for a grave
Elizabeth Lande, twenty-one, disappeared from Philadelphia in December 1971. The Charley Project’s case account describes a witness who said he helped dispose of her body in the Pine Barrens near Williamstown.
In 1977, the witness led police to possible locations. Development had changed the wooded area, and digging did not recover her remains. This is the reported burial connection; it is not a verified grave coordinate.
What the courts establish
A Pennsylvania Superior Court opinion confirms that Robert Thomas Nauss was convicted of first-degree murder in December 1977 and sentenced to life imprisonment. In October 2024, the court upheld dismissal of a later petition because it was untimely and did not establish an exception to the filing deadline.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied further review in July 2025. Those procedural decisions do not announce a recovery of Lande’s remains or a new evidentiary trial. The conviction and the still-unlocated burial are different parts of the historical record.
Sources and research limits
The Charley Project, Elizabeth Ann Lande, secondary account of the unsuccessful burial search. Pennsylvania Superior Court, 997 EDA 2023, October 4, 2024, original opinion. Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 545 MAL 2024, July 1, 2025, order reproduced by Justia.