Joseph and Betty Selby had gone out to the Friendly Inn for dinner on March 6, 1981.
They planned to come back, to hear a bluegrass band play later that night, but never made it.
As they napped, someone set fire to their home on Frederick Rd, around 9:40 at night.
The couple died of smoke inhalation.
Police believe this mailbox might've played a part in their murder.
While the murder happened 44 years ago, the story begins even earlier, 50 years ago in 1975.
Selby's nephew got into a bar fight at a bar in Mt. Airy. He was stabbed several times but survived.
The assailant went to prison for a few years and then was released.
Police believe he was looking for revenge and intended to set fire to John Selby's home, also on Frederick Rd.
He saw the initials on the mailbox, "JN SELBY" and thought he'd found it, setting fire to the home.
"It should have been obvious to the arsonist that the home was occupied at the time of the fire," reads the Howard County Cold Case summary of the case.
Wade Zufall, Technical Corporal with the Howard County Police Department's Cold Case team, says he hopes people will have the courage to come forward with information, to help them put together that final piece.
"They were important people in the community. I have relatives that worked for Mr. Joe," says Zufall of the Selby couple. "He gave everybody a job."
Joseph Selby managed The Enchanted Forest Theme Park off Route 40.
According to Zufall, Joseph Selby studied under Walt Disney in California.
The theme park closed in 1995, more than a decade after the Selbys were murdered.
Zufall, and the other members of the expanding cold case team, are hopeful they'll be able to close the case soon.
With either a tip or the DNA recovered from evidence as recently as this week, they are hoping to be able to get answers for the surviving family members.
The family gave Zufall the mailbox and he keeps it above his desk.
"I look at it every day," he says. He plans to return it once the case is closed.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
If you have information that could help Howard County Police solve this case, please call at 410-313-STOP or email hcpdcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov. Callers can remain anonymous and the reward for information is up to $30,000.
If you have a cold case you'd like us to highlight, please email us at storyideas@wmar.com.
