Troy PD Uses Twitter To Bring 'New Light' To 42-Year-Old Cold Case Homicide

Michigan police are taking to social media to rekindle attention to a murder case that’s gone cold over the last four decades.

Gail Webster, 48, was killed in her apartment on October 28, 1978.

She was a mother of three daughters and a grandmother to two grandchildren. She also managed a Royal Oak restaurant, Suzie-Q’s, for 16 years, according to police.

Nearing the 42nd anniversary of the crime, the Troy Police Department tweeted three threads about the case in hopes of shedding “new light” on it.

“This mysterious case remains unsolved,” the Troy Police Department said. The department added “her family never got answers.”

“Gail was described as a friendly and well-liked woman,” Troy police said. “Gail had no history of involvement in any type of criminal or illicit activity…There was no clear motives for (her ex-husband, ex-boyfriend or then-boyfriend) to kill Gail and they were all cleared via polygraph or other means…Polygraphs were used extensively in this investigation and many others in the 1970s. Today, polygraphs are considered just ‘tools’ to provide insight in criminal investigations.”

Police also noted the “newer, upscale” apartment complex where she lived that wasn’t considered a “high crime area."

The department noted a suspicious incident about three weeks before the October 28, 1978 murder. On October 2, 1978, Gail’s live-in daughter Terry Webster, 25 at the time, had her apartment keys and a blank check stolen from her car while she was at a bar called Piper’s Alley.

“Later that evening, while Terry was still out, an unknown person was heard by Gail jostling her door,” according to the police department. “Gail yelled out to the individual and he or she fled.”

On October 2 that year, when someone stole Terry’s keys, Terry noticed a “suspicious vehicle” in the Piper’s Alley parking lot: a rusted, blue or green 1968 to 1970 Pontiac Tempest or Chevy. Two white men aged 20 to 25 occupied the car, according to police. Authorities confirmed details from Terry using hypnosis.

Nearly a week after the murder, someone submitting a tip to the Troy Police Department described a similar vehicle, driven by an approximately 25-year-old white male in an “Army jacket.”

Terry discovered her mother dead just before 6 a.m. She’d been “bludgeoned to death with a blunt object,” according to police. “The crime scene was processed by Troy detectives and other area agencies.”

Law enforcement didn’t find signs of forced entry, though it also didn’t appear Webster invited anyone into the apartment.

“While there was no forced entry, it is believed that Gail was surprised by the killer or killers,” police noted.

Authorities never made any arrests in connection with the murder.

Although officials exhumed Webster’s body in 1995, it didn’t yield any new leads. Now, police hope DNA advancements, social media and other tools can help move the case forward, the Daily Mail reported.

“Who stole the keys? Who was driving the suspicious car? Who KILLED Gail Webster? Please help by sharing Gail’s story,” the Troy Police Department urged.

Anyone with tips should call the department at (248)524-0777.

Photo: Troy Police Department