By Abbey Niezgoda
aniezgoda@abc6.com
There is new hope in solving a murder mystery in Warwick. Kathy Perry was found beaten to death back in 1986 and her killer was never caught, but police are hoping a new tool will bring them to new leads.
Jo-Anne Bates was baffled when she came across her high school friend, Kathy Perry, on Facebook because Perry had been murdered 25 years ago.
"I was like how is this possible," Bates said. "She's been gone."
Warwick Police created the profile in an attempt to find Perry's killer. When they found the 20-year-old's body back in 1986, she had been beaten to death with a rock.
"Whoever did this needs to be caught," Bates said. "They need to be captured and put in jail for the rest of their life."
Sgt. Fred Pierce logged on to Facebook and created the profile, hoping the social tool would lead to an arrest.
"We were able to get a pretty decent profile of what was going on in Kathy's life at the time," Sgt. Pierce said. "Who she was friendly with, who she may have confided in. We've gotten a lot of information through those contacts."
Kathy Perry has over 600 friends on Facebook, dozens of comments and even more "likes" and "shares." Within all of that interaction, those who knew Kathy hope they can finally find closure.
"Something has to come to a head. Somebody's gotta come forward," Bates said. "Somebody knows something and they need to come forward."
Warwick Police could not talk in detail about the leads they have because it is an ongoing investigation. They did confirm a tip involving a suspect who could be linked to Perry's case as well as others. If you have any information, please call (401) 468-4261.
