Her daughter, Alicia, 3, is still missing following the incident on Morrison Avenue, which took place Friday night / early Saturday.

Police were following “a definite line of inquiry,” according to Detective Bill Geersen, who is heading up the investigation.

“Preliminary information would lead us to believe Ms. Lavelle knew her attacker,” he told the Reformer.

Officers have spent several days searching the property and surrounding neighborhood.

The article ended with an appeal for anyone with information to contact a special tips line. Jessica flicked through the pages until she came to the following week’s paper. The Lavelles were still front-page news.

COPS HUNT “PERSON OF INTEREST” IN EAGLE ROCK SLAYING

By Jim Johnson, Staff Writer

Police hunting the killer of local woman Eleanor Lavelle want to speak to a “person of interest” as part of their investigation.

Ms. Lavelle, 25, was laid to rest Monday at Glendale Memorial Park following a private service.

Her daughter, Alicia, 3, has been missing since the incident at the family’s Eagle Rock home.

A police source told the Reformer, “We believe a male acquaintance of Eleanor Lavelle may hold information crucial to the investigation, and we want to speak to this man as a matter of urgency.”

It is understood Detective Bill Geersen and his team have so far been unable to locate the whereabouts of the potential witness since Ms. Lavelle’s tragic death.

When asked if the man was a suspect in her murder, the source added, “We are simply treating this man as a ‘person of interest’ for now.”

Meanwhile, Eagle Rock residents spoke of their shock at the homicide/abduction.

Veronica Howe, 52, said, “It’s hard to believe something like this could happen right on your doorstep. I hope the cops find who did this terrible thing so we can all sleep easier at night.”

Tom Connelly, 41, said, “I live on the next street. They seemed like a nice family. It’s a tragedy what’s happened.”

Jessica took a photo of both articles with her cell phone and then searched through every other edition of the Reformer for the remainder of 1992, but there were no reports of the person of interest being found or any arrests being made. She went over to the shelving unit where Darla had pulled the bound volume from and found one for early 1993. She looked through the newspapers from the first couple of months of the year, but there were still no major developments. A lack of a breakthrough in the investigation meant the story had quickly dropped off the front pages before coverage of the case had ceased altogether. Jessica packed up her things and returned both volumes to the shelf.

“Find anything?” Garrett Thomas called as she headed for the exit.

“Nothing interesting,” she said.