On April 15, 1986, Janice Lynn Potter was murdered in her home located in the unit-block of Talister Court, 21237. Mrs. Potter arrived home from work, ate dinner, then went to the basement to watch television.
Before Mr. Potter left the house at 6 p.m. to attend night classes, Mrs. Potter, who was two months pregnant, told him that the heat from the wood burning stove was making the basement too hot. Her husband partially opened the basement sliding glass door to give some relief from the heat. Upon returning from school at 10 p.m., Mr. Potter discovered his wife murdered in the basement family room. Investigation revealed that sometime between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., an unknown person entered her residence through the basement sliding glass door, then attacked and killed Mrs. Potter. She was 26 years old at the time of her death.
In the follow up investigation detectives learned that a number of pieces of jewelry were stolen from the house. They included:
a ladies yellow gold ring with one ruby;- a ladies yellow gold ring with one emerald;
- a ladies 14K white gold ring made up of a diamond surrounded by five sapphires;
- a ladies 14K white gold wedding band, with the engraving June 14, 1981;
- a 1/3 carat diamond white gold engagement ring;
- a pair of 1/4 carat white gold pierced earrings; and
- an antique sterling silver salt and pepper shaker.
In the weeks before her death, Mrs. Potter, an employee of Martin Marietta Aerospace, Middle River Division, had been receiving annoying telephone calls at work. It is believed the person responsible for these calls may be the same person responsible for her murder.
Homicide detectives theorize that a neighbor who resided on Talister Court in 1986 may hold the key to solving this crime. The case is still open and detectives from the Baltimore County Police Department's Homicide Unit, Unsolved Case Squad, are actively investigating leads.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Homicide Unit's Unsolved Case Squad at 410-887-3943 or Communication Unit at 410-307-2020. Callers may remain anonymous and can also contact Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587) to be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Revised July 24, 2006
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