BALTIMORE — More than half a century has gone by since Joyce Malecki was killed.
We still don't have a definitive answer for who did it, nor do we know why. But with a new development, her brother is holding out hope.
"We would like to know something," said Darryl Malecki. "It's been 54 years."
The painfully slow process for an explanation may have picked up some traction. The FBI said last month they were working to exhume Joyce Malecki's body.
READ MORE: FBI to exhume body of Joyce Malecki, woman whose 1969 murder was featured in "The Keepers"
Darryl told WMAR he's "excited about it. Because I hope they find something, they have something, they're comparing something. Whatever it takes. Because we just want to get this solved."
There is no known timetable on when that would happen, but for Darryl and his family, it's still an encouraging sign.
Joyce Malecki's story saw the international spotlight with the 2017 Netflix documentary 'The Keepers.' In that documentary, many interviewees suggest the murder may be tied to another: the murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik - a teacher at now-defunct Archbishop Keough High School.
Cesnik and Malecki disappeared four days apart from each other.
Kurt Wolfgang is the executive director of the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, and has represented the Malecki family.
It's speculation - Wolfgang says the FBI plays its cards close to the vest - but the fact they're exhuming Joyce's body must be for a reason.
"They, probably, already have a strong lead, and they're trying to make a physical connection to matching DNA evidence," Wolfgang explained to WMAR.
For crime victims and their advocates in Maryland, it has been an eventful year. In early April, the Maryland Attorney General's office released a long-awaited report on decades of sexual abuse in local Catholic institutions.
The Child Victims Act passed the Maryland Statehouse the same month, which lifted the civil statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits.
READ MORE: 'Day of reckoning': Report uncovers decades of sexual abuse within Archdiocese of Baltimore
Many of Sister Cesniks' former students believe she uncovered abuse.
For Darryl and his family, there is hope that exhuming Joyce's body could lead to long sought-after answers.
"The person who did it - I would hope, if they're still alive- put him in jail. I would like to see him answer, why, why would you do something like this, to a 20 year old girl?" Darryl added.
