About four decades ago, a Florida Woman was killed. The Jacksonville Sherrif’s Cold Case Unit reported that the case has been solved after the suspect was connected to different alias. The victim, 38-year old Annie Mae Ernest was found dead on September 9,1985. A man named Robert Vance was interviewed by the detectives during the investigation. Allegedly, he was the last person to have had contact with the victim.
The suspect agreed to take a Polygraph Test. On the day of the test, he did not turn up for the interview. The apartment was found deserted. The Police made several attempts at locating Robert Vance but they were unable to trace him. Later, the law enforcement discovered that Robert Vance was an alias for Robert Richard Van Pelt. The Police then proceeded to investigate further and enlarge their forage. Unfortunately, they failed to locate them.
Ernest’s family members reached out to the detectives of the case and requested them for a review in July 2023. During the following investigation, the detectives found out that Vance fled to Tampa after Ernest’s brutal murder and used the alias John Leroy Harris. In Tampa, Robert Vance was a suspect of shooting a woman in 1988. The woman survived the incident but ‘Harris’ killed himself afterwards. The information was presented to the Florida State Attorney’s Office of the 4rth Judicial Circuit. The case has been declared as “Exceptionally Cleared-Death Of Offender”.
It has been determined that the three names belonged to the same perso named Van Pelt. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said “If Van Pelt were alive today, he would be charged with the murder of Annie Mae Ernest,”. It took about 40 Years for the Detectives to solve a case. If the victim’s family wouldn’t have asked for a case review, they would have never known the whereabouts of the man who killed a precious member of their family.
Why did it take so long? Did the detectives not work as effectively as they should have? Did they believe that finding Vance would have been no good as this was an apparent open and shut case and there are many more cases to deal with?. A woman died because of a man who was never punished for the wrong he did to her. Indeed, he killed himself but that was his choice. He did it out of his own willingness, he did not suffer for what he did to others.
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