The woman at the center of a 1971 cold case homicide in Howard County was identified as a Pennsylvania mother, police said Thursday. 

The identification of Sadie Belle Murray, who went by Sarah Belle Sharkey at the time of her death, also led her two living adult children to be reunited, Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der said. Murray was born on September 7, 1924, according to police. 

"I looked for years, and then I gave up because nobody wants to tell me anything," her son Charles Sharkey said.    

1971 cold case homicide 

According to police records, Murray was found unconscious in a field off Route 99 in Woodstock in July 1971. She was hospitalized and treated for injuries stemming from an assault. 

Murray never regained consciousness and died two months later, police said.

According to Chief Der, Murray was identified due to advancements in DNA profiling technology. 

The chief said in October 2024, cold case investigators found biological slides refrigerated for more than 50 years. Those slides were used to create a DNA profile of Murray. Investigators then used genealogy technology to identify her two surviving children. 

"The work done by our cold case unit to solve a mystery of more than 50 years, and then bring siblings back together after 70 years apart, is nothing short of extraordinary," Der said. 

Police said they are now working to determine why Murray was in Howard County and gather more information about her murder. 

A reward of $30,000 is offered for information on any Howard County cold cases. 

Murray's children reunited

According to Der, Murray's children were placed in orphanages at a young age after their mother's death. 

Two of her adult children, who police identified as 79-year-old Charles Leroy Sharkey and 81-year-old Mildred Marie Cantwell, were reunited in July, Der said. 

"I thought I'd never connect again with my family," Charles Sharkey told police. "I tried there for a while, even traveling to Pennsylvania, where we were born, and Cleveland, where we were adopted. I got nowhere. There was nothing."     

"Learning about my mother was closure for me," Mildred Cantwell said. "I always wondered…and I am glad to have that closure. Being reunited with my brother is awesome. He's the only thing in that family that I remember. The closure is worth everything because I always wondered what happened to her."

Howard County cold case solved

In March, Howard County police closed the department's second-oldest cold case, a 1975 murder. 

The case involved 20-year-old Roseann Sturtz, who was found dead in a wooded area of Columbia after last being seen alive outside a club in downtown Baltimore in August 1975. Police said her body was found nearly five months later. 

In March, officers closed the case after recovered evidence revealed the killer was already serving a life sentence in a Maryland prison. 

Charles William Davis Jr. was determined to be the killer after a detective found a letter dated 1981 that offered Davis blanket immunity from prosecution for information about Sturtz's death. 

The detective interviewed Davis, who ultimately confessed to being responsible for Sturtz's death.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said police have closed three cold cases since 2021.

"Sadie was a daughter, a mother, a member of our larger Howard County family, and today she is no longer forgotten," Ball said.