Sergeant John Elliott

They were very confident in their passion for the case. There were a lot of legal challenges. The chain of custody evidence, the maintenance of it, who's put their hands on it, where has it been, how has it been stored? These witnesses that we can find, can we find the original investigators?

They were very confident in their passion for the case. There were a lot of legal challenges. The chain of custody evidence, the maintenance of it, who's put their hands on it, where has it been, how has it been stored? These witnesses that we can find, can we find the original investigators?

One of the many challenges I had was trying to find somebody that saw her that day that she was last known alive.

One of the many challenges I had was trying to find somebody that saw her that day that she was last known alive.

One of the last people that she was known to be alive with that day was one of her co-workers who she had lunch with. And I just had a first and last name, no date of birth, no address, nothing, just said, had lunch with the victim that day. That was it.

One of the last people that she was known to be alive with that day was one of her co-workers who she had lunch with. And I just had a first and last name, no date of birth, no address, nothing, just said, had lunch with the victim that day. That was it.

I was just trying to do open source searches for a Mary Hickson. I thought I found one, so I just made a letter to her saying, hey, did you work at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. in 1979? Please contact me.

I was just trying to do open source searches for a Mary Hickson. I thought I found one, so I just made a letter to her saying, hey, did you work at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. in 1979? Please contact me.

A week later, my phone rings, look down, and I see her call her ID, Mary Hickson. I answer the phone. She said, hi, this is Mary Hickson. I said, yes, ma'am, I talked to you last week. She's like, no, you talked to my sister-in-law. We have the same name. You talked to her last week. I worked with Vicki back in 1979. I remember having lunch with her that day.

A week later, my phone rings, look down, and I see her call her ID, Mary Hickson. I answer the phone. She said, hi, this is Mary Hickson. I said, yes, ma'am, I talked to you last week. She's like, no, you talked to my sister-in-law. We have the same name. You talked to her last week. I worked with Vicki back in 1979. I remember having lunch with her that day.

She had very good memories. She's like, I remember having lunch with Vicki that day. We always had lunch together every day. And Vicki was giving me a hard time because we had switched chairs. But it's the small details like that that reflects on people's memory. The small details.

She had very good memories. She's like, I remember having lunch with Vicki that day. We always had lunch together every day. And Vicki was giving me a hard time because we had switched chairs. But it's the small details like that that reflects on people's memory. The small details.

The jury came back with a verdict very quick because it's very unpredictable. They could take an hour. They could take five days. We just don't know. Late afternoon, all the family was still there. And then they read the verdict off and everybody was ecstatic.

The jury came back with a verdict very quick because it's very unpredictable. They could take an hour. They could take five days. We just don't know. Late afternoon, all the family was still there. And then they read the verdict off and everybody was ecstatic.

She was definitely at work, and we confirmed that she did leave work after getting James Hill's vehicle keys. We believe she got on the Metro, returned to the parking lot at RFK, and that's where Andre Taylor encountered her, an abductor, and then that's when he drove her to Charles County. And then he subsequently raped and shot her where she was found.

She was definitely at work, and we confirmed that she did leave work after getting James Hill's vehicle keys. We believe she got on the Metro, returned to the parking lot at RFK, and that's where Andre Taylor encountered her, an abductor, and then that's when he drove her to Charles County. And then he subsequently raped and shot her where she was found.

Any of these cold case detectives, we pick these cases up and we just don't forget about them. Especially when there's evidence there and we go through it and we keep on going back to our lab analysts, like, can you just test this? Can you just do this? It's just looking for that needle in the haystack. This is one of those cases where... It came through for us, especially 45 years later.

Any of these cold case detectives, we pick these cases up and we just don't forget about them. Especially when there's evidence there and we go through it and we keep on going back to our lab analysts, like, can you just test this? Can you just do this? It's just looking for that needle in the haystack. This is one of those cases where... It came through for us, especially 45 years later.

You know, the combination of the lab work, the lab personnel, the detectives, not just me, but, you know, people that assisted. And even going back to the original investigators, there's a lot of moving parts there. But to have it all come together with a successful prosecution with somebody that is still alive and then ultimately get them a life sentence in prison, we're beating the odds.

You know, the combination of the lab work, the lab personnel, the detectives, not just me, but, you know, people that assisted. And even going back to the original investigators, there's a lot of moving parts there. But to have it all come together with a successful prosecution with somebody that is still alive and then ultimately get them a life sentence in prison, we're beating the odds.