HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Twenty-nine years after she was killed, Henrico Police are still searching for information that can bring Daphne Boyd's killer to justice.
Boyd was pulling her grandson in a red wagon on Stoneman Road near Staples Mill Road on January 20, 1993, when police say a pick-up truck rounded a curve, hitting and killing Boyd.
Her grandson was uninjured.
"It was 4:30 in the afternoon," Lt. Rob Netherland, with HPD's traffic unit, said. "She was left lying in the roadway. We don't even know exactly how long she was there because we have no witnesses to the actual crash. Our investigators were actually able to talk to her and ask at least two or three questions prior to her being rushed off to surgery, but the answers that she gave were of no value to the case."
Her grandson was just four years old and also could not help the police with the investigation.
Even with limited information, police did develop a suspect in 1993.
But a lack of evidence and a woman who knows the pick-up driver not cooperating with police have hindered the Boyd family from getting some closure.
"Within the week after the crash, we knew that the man we suspected was in Roanoke, Virginia. We were able to track him all the way down there. Even though he was our number one suspect, we still just couldn't get that evidence that we really needed to place a charge at that particular time," Netherland said. "Luckily, Houston [Texas] Police Department was able to catch him and actually convict him down there of the hit and run. So, we do know that, yes, there was justice served. But unfortunately, it wasn't for the Boyd family. We try to keep the cases open for as long as we can. I mean, obviously, this was in 1993. So, it's a pretty old case. But we just don't want to ever close it on this particular one because we actually have such a good suspect. It's not necessarily physical evidence that's going to close or wrap up the case. It's actually just people coming forward that have knowledge of what actually occurred, or they talk to the driver. They admitted something somewhere along those lines. It's actually going to be word of mouth that will close the case, not necessarily the physical evidence."
It's believed that a female acquaintance of the pick-up truck driver was a passenger and has the information that police need.
She is currently living in Maryland.
Daphne Boyd's son, who lives in Henrico County, said his family is still struggling to move on as they approach almost three decades since the fatal crash.
If you have information that can help Henrico Police solve this hit and run, call 833-RTCFNVA or email us at tips@reopenthecase.org. Cold cases like Ms. Boyd's are also talked about on our podcast. You can listen by downloading Reopen the Case on all podcast platforms.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
