NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Newport News recently reopened its cold case unit, and detectives are now reexamining one of the most violent unsolved cases in the city, the murder of a 7-Eleven clerk 31 years ago.

It was January 22, 1988. Joanne Betchy was working alone on the overnight shift at the 7-Eleven on Jefferson Avenue in Woodcreek.

Betchy was a 35-year-old with a friendly smile and two mouths to feed at home. “No one we talked to had a negative word to say about her, she was always nice when people came into the store, everyone remembers her,” Detective A.M. Thornton told WAVY.com.

Betchy was bludgeoned to death and possibly raped.

A customer who came into the store that night couldn’t find a worker and called police around 1:30 a.m. Officers responded and found Betchy’s body in a bloody back room.

There were no surveillance cameras back then, and not many people around at the time. Detectives are hoping new DNA technology and help from the community will connect them to the killer.

“They might believe this person is deceased or not in the area anymore, so they may feel more comfortable coming forward. That’s what we’re hoping for,” Thornton said.

He wants to close the book on the case, to bring closure to Betchy’s now grown children and to bring a message to criminals in Newport News.

“We’re never going to stop looking for them, we’re never going to stop investigating these cases.”

If you have information that can help solve this case, call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or text a tip using the P3tips app on your cell phone.