DUNDALK, Md. — Baltimore County police are renewing their call for public information this week in the 1982 cold case murder of a Dundalk great-grandmother known as "Mama Hubcap."
Margaret Estelle Jones, 92, had lived on what is now North Point Boulevard in Dundalk since 1916. One morning in May 1982, Jones' son arrived to check on her and found the screen door open; his mother had been brutally murdered inside the home she had called home for nearly 70 years.
Baltimore County Police renewing plea for public's help in "Mama Hubcap" murder case
Jones' home became a neighborhood landmark, covered in hubcaps that had rolled from the bumpy boulevard into her yard.
Investigators found no signs of forced entry at the home. Cpl. Dona Carter, a cold case investigator with the Baltimore County Police Dept., said it remains unclear whether the doors had been left unlocked.
"Somebody out there definitely knows something. Obviously the perpetrator does, and it's possible that they told somebody. It's also possible that there were witnesses that have just never come forward. Maybe somebody saw somebody strange that night," Carter said.
A lack of cameras, witness testimony and physical evidence brought the investigation to a halt. The case has remained unsolved for 44 years. Comments on a recent social media post show many in southeast Baltimore County still remember Jones and her case.
Carter said investigators believe someone in the public may have information that could break the case open.
Advances in forensic technology are also giving investigators reason for optimism. Police say evidence was left behind at the scene and has already been tested, though those tests did not produce usable results. As technology continues to evolve, investigators hope to revisit that evidence.
"We're hoping that, as new types of testing come forward that we may be able to retest those items and get a good usable working profile to then put into the CODIS system, and then go from there if need be," Carter said.
Investigators say no detail is too small. Jones' home was located next to a Burger King, and police say a customer or passerby from that night may hold a key piece of information.
Anyone with information is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-3943.
