Marlene Hayes, a 38-year-old mother, wasn't feeling well on Tuesday, March 17, 1981.
She and her husband owned a business in the local Bel Air area, and that day she decided she'd leave early.
"She came home, parked her car in the driveway, entered the house," says Capt. Andrew Lane of the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
Police believe she was attacked almost immediately upon entering the home in the 600 block of Ponderosa Drive.
"It appears from the crime scene that she was attacked almost as soon as she entered the house. She may have made it several feet into the house, but not far," Lane says.
Marlene's 16-year-old son got home from Bel Air High School around 3 p.m. and found his mother on the floor.
Later that day, police say, Marlene's stolen car was found a few miles away at William S. James Elementary School, and a suspect was seen, but no one has been arrested.
But the Harford County Sheriff's Office is determined to catch Marlene's killer.
"The brutality of what occurred," says Lane. "Whether this occurred a month ago or 42 [sic.] years ago, this isn't the kind of crime we're ever going to stop investigating because of the nature of what occurred."
Lane adds that this case has been active within the last few months, and that the evidence in this case has been well preserved, which isn't always true for decades-old cases.
"Some of these older cases, as we stretch back 40 years, the abilities of law enforcement and forensic science were completely different," Lane says. "However, thankfully, in cases like this and other ones, the evidence that was recovered properly, it was stored properly, and it allows us years later to come back and apply modern science where they couldn't then."
If you have any information that can help the Harford County Sheriff's Office solve this case please call 410-838-6600 or you can submit an anonymous tip here.
