TOWSON, Md. — Out of roughly 300 unsolved cases, hers is among their largest.
Seven binders, now in the hands of the Baltimore County Police Cold Case Unit, contain the interviews and notes collected throughout the years.
Thirty years ago this month, JoAnn Elizabeth "Jody" LeCornu, a Towson State University student, was found shot to death in her car at a shopping center along York Road. Her killer was never caught.
Cpl. Dona Carter noted LeCornu had roots in the community, and a life that was just getting started.
"She had a loving family. She had been working at Eastern Savings Bank, and before that she had actually been working at a bar-restaurant six months prior to her murder," Carter said.
LeCornu was 23. On Friday, March 1 into Saturday the 2nd, it was a snowy night out, which began at Mount Washington Tavern. Jody wound up at the Drumcastle (Anneslie) Shopping Center, on the county side of the Baltimore City line. Police say someone they still don't know to this day approached her vehicle.
"At some point, they had possibly some kind of exchange, but he does approach her vehicle. We're not really sure how long they were there, or why they were there together, and at some point during whatever happened, he shoots her once through the vehicle in the back," Carter described.
Police say LeCornu then drove, seemingly to get away, eventually coming to rest at a nearby Giant shopping center. The suspect apparently took something from her back window and sped off in their vehicle, southbound into the city.
"Obviously the suspect took something from her car. Robbery could be the motive. Again, we don't know who this person was, how they met up there. Was it just, she was there and that person happened to come also, or was this some sort of pre-planned meet up? We just, we don't know why she was there, and who that person was," Carter said.
Much about this case still puzzles police. Fingerprints came up negative. Video evidence, sent to the FBI for enhancement, wasn't enough to give investigators what they needed.
"Because there were so many witnesses in the parking lot, they do all describe the same person. They all say the individual was a black male and he was wearing some sort of camouflaged jacket, of some kind. They describe him as a stockier build," Carter said.
Witnesses also say he was driving a white car, potentially a BMW, headed southbound into the city.
An investigator conducted interviews as recently as last week on LeCornu's case. But they need more. Carter said anyone who saw Jody that night and knows what her plans were after leaving Mount Washington Tavern and the Curb Shop could hold the key.
"We don't know why she was in that parking lot, if she had intended to meet her attacker or if it was just a chance meetup. So if anybody who saw her that night knew what her plan was, after leaving both Mt. Washington Tavern and the Curb Shoppe, just please give us a call, you might have the information to help us get to the attacker," Carter said.
If you can help deliver justice for the family of a Towson student whose life was cut short 30 years ago this month, call the Baltimore County Police Cold Case Unit at 410-887-3943.
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