Laura Kempton and Tammy Little: The Portsmouth Beauty School Murders

1981 - Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

In September of 1981, the city of Portsmouth was rocked with the vicious murder of 23-year-old model and beauty school student, Laura Kempton. Laura had been home alone in her apartment when the killer broke in and took her life.

One year later, in October of 1982, Portsmouth police found themselves in a nightmare déjà vu: another young model, 20-year-old Tammy Little, was found murdered and assaulted at her apartment. Just like Laura, Tammy was taking classes at Portsmouth’s beauty school. 

Both cases were eerily similar, but investigators were hesitant to link them too soon. Decades passed without resolution in both cases, which had been inextricably linked in death… until a hot July day in 2023, when the NH Attorney General and Portsmouth PD held a press conference with a major update.

This is the story of Laura Kempton and Tammy Little.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/laura-kempton

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