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Who murdered 92-year-old Mama Hubcap?

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Margaret E. Jones

BALTIMORE COUNTY — Margaret Estelle Jones was the longstanding matriarch of her family.

She'd lived at her home in Baltimore County since 1916, according to a hand-written deed in County land records. The location didn't have an address at that point.

By 1982, it was on the first block of North Point Blvd., a busy street, where hubcaps would roll into her yard. She collected them, earning the nickname, 'Mama Hubcap.'

Margaret Jones hubcap collection

It was to that first block of North Point Blvd, where Jones had lived for more than 60 years, that police responded to before 9 a.m. on May 15, 1982.

The caller, Jones' son, came to check on his mom every day.

He'd found her lying on the bedroom floor. He told police he thought she'd had a heart attack.

Police at Margaret Jones residence 1982

Police found evidence of a brutal murder.

Police told the WMAR-2 News reporter covering the story at the time that she'd been beaten, strangled, and police believed sexually assaulted.

Cold Case: Mama Hubcap

"Probably the most devastating thing we found was that her spine was also broken," a Baltimore County police spokesperson told a reporter in 1982.

Home of Margaret Estelle Jones

They hoped someone might've seen something from the road that day, a car parked in the driveway or leaving, but the case remains unsolved.

If you have information to help detectives solve the murder of Margaret Estelle Jones, submit an anonymous tip through Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP.

You can also call Baltimore County's Unsolved Case Division at 410-887-3943.