Betty Van Patter
Encyclopedia
Betty Van Patter was a bookkeeper for the Black Panther Party
who was beaten and murdered.
After serving as a bookkeeper for Ramparts
magazine, Van Patter became an aide to Panther leader Elaine Brown
in 1974, after being introduced to the Party by David Horowitz.
Later that year, after a dispute with Brown allegedly over financial irregularities, Van Patter went missing on December 13, 1974. Some weeks later, her severely beaten corpse was found on a San Francisco Bay
beach.
Though the case remains officially unsolved, former Panther supporter David Horowitz
has maintained for years that Elaine Brown was directly responsible for the murder. He has said Brown believed Van Patter was about to "blow the whistle" on the misappropriation of funds by certain party members and according to Mother Jones magazine, the Black Panther Party is “almost universally believed to be responsible”.
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
who was beaten and murdered.
After serving as a bookkeeper for Ramparts
Ramparts (magazine)
Ramparts was an American political and literary magazine, published from 1962 through 1975.-History:Founded by Edward M. Keating as a Catholic literary quarterly, the magazine became closely associated with the New Left after executive editor Warren Hinckle hired Robert Scheer as managing editor...
magazine, Van Patter became an aide to Panther leader Elaine Brown
Elaine Brown
Elaine Brown is an American prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther leader who is based in Oakland, California. She is a former chairperson of the Black Panther Party. Brown briefly ran for the Green Party presidential nomination in 2008...
in 1974, after being introduced to the Party by David Horowitz.
Later that year, after a dispute with Brown allegedly over financial irregularities, Van Patter went missing on December 13, 1974. Some weeks later, her severely beaten corpse was found on a San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
beach.
Though the case remains officially unsolved, former Panther supporter David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
has maintained for years that Elaine Brown was directly responsible for the murder. He has said Brown believed Van Patter was about to "blow the whistle" on the misappropriation of funds by certain party members and according to Mother Jones magazine, the Black Panther Party is “almost universally believed to be responsible”.