Six unsolved murders plague town as police work to give families closure

The town of Hoover, Alabama, has six unsolved murders on their books–a statistic that continues to trouble their police department with each passing day.

The Hoover Sun reported that years–in some cases, decades–after their murders, local police are working to give their families closure. Hoover Police Captain Gregg Rector told the paper that all of these cold cases have been opened at least once for further investigation.

Rector said they’ve identified a suspect in at least five of these cases but “knowing who committed a murder and being able to prove it are two different things.” Despite this, the town boasts only six unsolved slayings in a 50-year period, according to the Sun.

“That’s an unbelievably small number of people we have not been able to hold accountable for extreme violent acts,” the police captain said.

The local newspaper went on to highlight the six cold cases:

  • Barbara Smith [1980]: Smith, 24, had been missing for about seven weeks when her body was discovered in a wooded area near Sulphur Springs Road and Shades Crest Road on March 25. Police reports indicate that the registered nurse was stabbed five times sometime after she left her boyfriend’s house to pick up her six-year-old son from her ex-husband.
  • Rebecca Suzanne-Walker [1983]: A passerby’s dog dug up Suzanne-Walker’s skull in a wooded area of Al Seier Road on October 16. However, the passerby allegedly said he forgot to report the unsettling discovery until October 22. Suzanne-Walker was 28 when she disappeared from her apartment complex. Police believe the person responsible for the woman’s murder once worked at the apartment complex.
  • William Stephen Wilson [1985]: Wilson, 35, died from gunshot wound to his head in his home on Paradise Parkway. Wilson’s wife reportedly found him dead after returning home from working an overnight shift at the hospital. Police said that someone with access to the home fatally shot Wilson as he sat on the couch on June 5. Though guns were missing from the home, police reportedly don’t believe that theft was the motive. Instead, Rector suspects that Wilson had damaging information about the suspect and that Wilson “wouldn’t be able to talk about that information if he were dead.”
  • Tezrex Robinson [1991]: The 18-year-old high school senior was fatally shot in the Sneakers teen club around midnight on March 31. It’s suspected that the shooting was linked to an argument inside the club–which spilled out into the parking lot. There, Robinson and a friend were approached by three men, who opened fire. However, it’s also possible that someone with Robinson accidentally shot him: Police noted that one man who was with Robinson on the night of his death was attacked at the slain man’s funeral.
  • Robert Robson [1993]: Robson, 45, the manager of Snap-on Tools in Riverchase, was found fatally shot in the company’s lobby on the morning on March 9, 1993. Police reports stated that Robson sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. Police don’t believe that robbery was the motive as Robson’s wallet wasn’t taken. Rather, they think the killer had a key to the business and, for some reason, wanted the manager dead.
  • Robert Puckett II [2004]: Puckett, 45, was shot to death on the couch of his Shades Crest Road home. Puckett’s friend, Birmingham police officer Quentin Dunn, broke into the victim’s home after he didn’t turn up for work. Several firearms were reportedly missing from the gun collector’s home. Rector noted that Puckett spent several years in federal prison for being in possession of several guns without special permits.

 

[Featured Image: Robert Puckett II/Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory]