40 years later, mother seeks justice for daughter's murder
NANUET, N.Y. -- Forty years after her daughter was killed, a mother still hopes that her killer can be brought to justice.
On Oct. 7, 1974, 15-year-old Lisa Thomas was beaten to death walking home from a mall in Rockland County, in a northern suburb of New York City. Barbara Thomas' husband found their daughter's body in a wooded area behind their home.
Thomas showed CBS New York her daughter's room, which has been kept the same since 1974, and told the station that her daughter would have been 55 years old today.
"Fifty-five years, and that's enough for anybody to have to go through this," Thomas told the station.
No one has been arrested or charged in the death, reports CBS New York. Still, Barbara Thomas strongly believes that there will be justice for Lisa.
Forty years later, the case is getting another look. However,, four years after detectives reactivated the investigation, nothing has changed -- despite the DNA, statements and other evidence that remains on file at the Clarkstown Police Department.
According to the Journal News, police have theorized that Lisa was killed by someone from school or in the neighborhood after a dispute.
Her mother, on the other hand, has her own theory. She believes that after their home had been burglarized a few weeks earlier -- by a group of teenagers known for hanging out in the woods -- Lisa confronted them about the burglary and that's what led to the attack on her, she told CBS New York.
Police say they have narrowed down the list of suspects through interviews and reviews of case files. Detectives submitted DNA for testing, but they would not comment on the results, reports the Journal News. But without the case being officially assigned, the police are doing it in their spare time, reports CBS New York.
Thomas has requested that the case be officially reassigned, allowing more time and effort to be put into solving it. She has also asked that the department allow a nonprofit group of detectives - the Vidocq Society -- to help.
If anyone has any information that could help solve the murder of Lisa Thomas, please contact the Clarkstown Police Department Detective Bureau at 845-639-5840 or call Detective Christopher Maloney at 845-639-5865.