Killing of Eva Kay Wenal

Eva “Kay” Wenal, 60, was killed in her home on Sugar Lake Court in unincorporated Lawrenceville, Georgia, on May 1, 2008. Her husband, Harold “Hal” Wenal, returned from work after being unable to reach her and found her on the kitchen floor. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that her throat had been cut and that no valuables were missing. Police found no sign of forced entry. Gwinnett County Police later stated that an unknown person murdered Kay in the home and that Hal was ruled out before his death from natural causes in 2010.

Investigators found little physical evidence identifying the assailant. CBS News reported that testing produced no useful fingerprints, footprints, hairs, fibers, or foreign blood. A neighbor told police that an unfamiliar man had been near the home around the time of the killing. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation artist produced a composite sketch, but police were unable to identify the person depicted. The sharp instrument used in the attack was not recovered.

Nearly three months after the killing, a cut-and-paste letter claiming responsibility arrived at an Atlanta Journal-Constitution office. The newspaper gave it to police, who sought FBI assistance. Gwinnett investigators told the newspaper that they considered the document authentic and believed its author knew what happened, although reporting also described disagreement among outside experts about how to interpret it. The letter and envelope yielded no useful forensic evidence. Police later released the letter, the sketch, and family photographs while asking the public for information.

The Gwinnett County Police Department's Cold Case Unit continues to identify Kay's death as an unsolved homicide. Its public notice says investigators hope renewed attention to the letter, sketch, and photographs will produce a break. No person is named here as a suspect because the reviewed official and news sources do not report a murder charge. The case is classified as cold: the homicide is established, but the person responsible has not been identified or prosecuted.