$25,000 Reward for Information Leading to the Arrest...

A few days ago I mentioned seeing a couple billboards that were unusual, or seemed unusual to me, that I see when I drive to the Tandy Hills. One is the Dr. Kim Lap Band Billboard that I already mentioned. The other is the one you see above.

This "$25,000 Reward" billboard has been up for quite a long time. I assume that must indicate no arrest has been made. I don't know the details of this murder, or remember anything about. There are a lot of murders in the news when you live in a metro area of around 6 million people.

I'll see if I can find anything out about this murder....

Okay, now that I've read about it, my memory is refreshed. This case has shown up on "America's Most Wanted." Early in the evening of December 9, 2007, 68 year old Marianne Wilkinson's doorbell rang. She opened the door and was shot 3 or 4 times. Neighbors heard the shots.

Marianne's family said she had no enemies and that there was nobody who would want her dead. The random nature of the murder shocked the community and had people afraid that a murderer was at large, randomly ringing doorbells and shooting people.

And then a neighbor of Marianne's came forward saying she believed that she was the intended victim. The neighbor had gone through a very acrimonious divorce due to a lot of money being involved. The neighbor lived in a house very similar to Marianne's, with a very similar address in the same housing community.

Police came to the conclusion this was a murder for hire that had gone badly awry.

Months passed and a handgun was found that proved to be the murder weapon. But tracing registration records showed the gun belonging to people deceased. Police also got shell casings, along with the gun. That lead them from Texas to England, where a forensic scientist named Dr. John Bond had developed a method for removing fingerprints from metal surfaces, even surfaces that had been wiped clean.

So, police now have fingerprints. Now they are looking for the right fingers. If you can help the police find the right fingers you could be $25,000 richer. I know that's nothing like an AIG executive bonus, but it'd still buy a few groceries in these troubled times.