On the anniversary of a killing that has haunted Woodlawn for decades, Baltimore County homicide detectives are again asking for help to solve the 1999 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Jane Forrester, whose body was found behind the Belmont Park apartment complex on May 12, 1999.
The Discovery Behind Belmont Park
It started as a normal walk to school. Children cutting through the brush behind the Belmont Park Apartments near 7 Kafern Drive spotted something wrapped in a sheet. An adult was called, police followed, and officers uncovered a partially decomposed body wrapped in a blanket and a towel. One child later wrote that “It smelled like a dead animal,” a detail that has stuck with investigators, who determined the victim had been stabbed and severely beaten, according to FOX45.
Autopsy and Background
The medical examiner identified the body as that of Sarah Jane Forrester and ruled her death a homicide caused by traumatic injury to the body, per the Baltimore County Police unsolved-homicides page. Forrester had been reported missing months earlier from a group home on Bloomsbury Avenue in Catonsville in February 1999 and was reportedly last seen on or around April 28, 1999, in the Edgewater Village area.
Investigators Renew Appeal
Detectives in the Baltimore County Homicide Unit say the case is far from forgotten and remains an active investigation. They are again turning to the public for help, according to WMAR-2 News. The station reports that officers were first dispatched to the area next to the parking lot in front of 7 Kafern Drive at about 9:34 a.m. on May 12, 1999, after that initial call from the neighborhood.
Case Status and Reward
Forrester’s killing remains unsolved and appears on the county’s list of open unsolved homicides. Metro Crime Stoppers may offer a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. The Baltimore County Police page notes that tipsters may be eligible for up to $2,000 and that callers can remain anonymous.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Baltimore County detectives. According to WMAR-2 News, police can be reached by calling 410-887-3943 or 410-307-2020, by texting tips to 443-862-9426, or through Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
