Detectives search well in 40-year-old DeBary cold case

DEBARY, Fla. — Volusia County deputies searched an abandoned well in Glenwood for new evidence in a nearly 40-year-old cold case homicide Wednesday.

James Aslinger was shot to death at a home in DeBary in 1974. His killer has never been caught.

Retired detectives who are working the case for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said they received a new tip from their Facebook page, where they posted a request for information in the case.

Retired detective Ralph Henshaw, who originally worked on the Aslinger case, is one of those volunteering his time.

"I knew the man. He was shot down in DeBary. Who did it? We don't know," said Henshaw.

Aslinger was found dead about a week before his 31st birthday.

"The family deserves a closure to this and we got a murderer out here. He's walking around free," said Henshaw.

Detectives said they are hoping to find new evidence in the turn-of-the-century DeLand well. It's about 20 feet deep and 30 inches wide.

They pulled a pile of debris from the well Wednesday.

"We're not just throwing stuff around. So every now and then we'll pause and just take a look at something, make sure that it couldn't be evidence or anything like that," said Firefighter Lesley Jones.

Officials will not say what the evidence is that they're looking for, and they're not saying much about the person who told them about it. But they said they will continue to dig for evidence.

"If people think that just because this happened in 1974 they got away with it, wrong. They just got away with it so far," said Henshaw.

Investigators took a few pieces of what appeared to be rusted metal from the well. They would not say what the pieces are but they did say it confirms the tip they received.
 

WFTV