Terry Armstrong's photo hangs on the bulletin board in Jon Downey's office.
The file regarding her murder - more than 2 years old - still rests on his desk.
"There's not a week or so that goes by that we don't talk about it in some fashion," said Downey, an investigator at the Madison County Sheriff's Office.
Joanie Brugger, director of the Victim/Witness Unit of the Madison County Attorney's Office, has that same picture on her office bulletin board, too.
Both Downey and Brugger talk to the Armstrong family periodically, updating them on anything going on in the case.
They're working toward a common goal: finding out who murdered the 48-year-old woman.
Her body was found Aug. 30, 2004, by a hunter not far from Meadow Grove, near Yellowbanks, with her throat cut by a knife.
Although leads in the past year have been few, the work has continued.
Just last month, Downey reinterviewed some people who had fled Norfolk after investigators talked to them once.
"Based on that, they assumed they were going to be investigated further and took off," Downey said. "Had they just stuck around for a while they could've been cleared of any involvement they had in this pretty quickly."
And that's what happened. Investigators eventually tracked them down in the St. Louis area after they had traveled through several different states.
"That was just something else we followed up on," he said.
Troy Voichoskie and Tim Randall are still considered "people of interest" in the case.
Armstrong's blood was found on Voichoskie's pickup the day Armstrong's body was found. She was last seen driving away with him.
Voichoiske was ultimately charged with giving false information about that night to police.
Randall - Armstrong's live-in boyfriend - was charged with two domestic assault charges for fights with Armstrong in the month leading up to her murder.
Another person is considered a person of interest in the case, but Downey declined to name that person.
DNA tests have been conducted, but Downey said he doesn't have a match yet.
But that doesn't mean they're looking at someone new, either, Downey said.
"Terry Armstrong was not a loner. She had contact with a lot of people in a variety of ways. Through those contacts, that DNA could've been transferred to her clothing," Downey said.
More than 2 1/2 years later, no one has been charged with Armstrong's murder.
A $10,000 reward remains in place for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Downey said some reward money has been given for information that was provided already.
"Someone came forward with some information that proved to be good information - just not enough to get us to an arrest," he said.
That's why every lead helps and Downey wants to hear about any information, no matter how trivial it may seem.
Some people have provided information who aren't interested in any reward money.
"They just want to see this taken care of," Downey said.
He said there is no statute of limitations with a homicide, but he would like to get a conviction as soon as possible.
The case will never be considered a cold one, he said.
"This will not, as long as the current sheriff and county attorney are still here, never be considered a cold case. It will be actively investigated until it's cleared," Downey said. "Unfortunately, we can realistically see the finish line on this case, but we can't quite get there yet."
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Can you help?
If you have information about Terry Armstrong's murder, call Norfolk Area Crime Stoppers at 371-7300 or the Madison County Sheriff's office at 454-2110.
Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Article comment by:
Jackie Sale
Thank you for keeping this case in the public eye. It has been very hard for our family not to have closure on Terry's murder.
