Investigators hope newly released info will help move 1984 cold case forward

SANFORD, Fla. — Investigators have released new photos that could help find a killer who's been on the loose for nearly 30 years.

Pamala Cahanes's body was discovered in Sanford in 1984, two days after she graduated from the U.S. Navy training center in Orlando.

Cahanes's case is now the first one to be investigated by a new cold case team.

Photos show what Cahanes, 25, was wearing the night she was beaten and strangled, her body dumped in front of a then-vacant home.

Denise Hurley moved into the home several years later.

"Her body had been thrown onto our yard by the big tree over there, but a lot of the neighbors haven't really talked about it," Hurley said.

Investigators want to get neighbors talking again by releasing never-before-seen crime scene photos and a detailed timeline of where Cahanes was seen in the 48 hours before her death.

Specifics include stops at Fashion Square Mall and a bar at the Navy training center she had just graduated from.

The Navy said the center used to be where Baldwin Park now sits.

"We know that she was in and around that area post-graduation, and we are hopeful that someone may see this information, jog their memory and generate a lead for law enforcement," said Capt. Dan Purcell of the

But investigators said they already have their biggest clue -- DNA evidence and fingerprints from the crime scene.

Neither match anything in current law enforcement databases, which is why investigators are hoping a $5,000 reward will spur someone to come forward.

"Nobody talks about it. Maybe somebody knew, and they just don't want to talk about it," said Hurley.

CrimeLine will soon feature the cold case on a billboard in Sanford.

Investigators are interested in speaking with anyone with information, especially those who graduated from the Orlando Naval Training Center in 1984.

WFTV