July 22, 2024 • 22 mins
In this episode, we explore the chilling and unresolved murder of Norris Evans, also known as Snookie, a young mother of four from Rochester's Nineteenth Ward. Norris was tragically found in her home at 5 Kron Street with her throat slit and evidence of a brutal attack. The circumstances surrounding her death are shrouded in mystery, including an anonymous call reporting family trouble just before her husband discovered her body. Join us as we delve into the perplexing details of this case, from conflicting timelines to unanswered questions, as investigators work tirelessly to uncover the truth behind this heartbreaking crime.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Mysteries and Mimosa's.
(00:12):
My name is Max and with us today, like every day is Aria.
Hi everyone.
Hey there Aria and hey there listeners.
If you're enjoying Mysteries and Mimosa's, here's how you can help us grow.
First don't forget to rate us five stars on your favorite podcast platform.
It might seem simple, but it makes a huge difference in helping new listeners discover
(00:32):
our show.
And be sure to hit that follow and subscribe button.
By doing so, you'll never miss an episode and it shows us support that keeps us motivated
to help bring you more mysteries.
You can also connect with us by following us on Instagram at Mysteries and Mimosa's
podcast or you can like our Facebook page to join the discussion and interact with our
listeners.
Just a reminder, every Monday we bring you an extra episode called Mystery Monday, where
(00:56):
we highlight cases with limited information to raise awareness and spread the word about
lesser known mysteries.
We decided to cover today's case after reading an article written by the Vivid Faces of the
Vanished on Newsbreak.
The Vivid Faces of the Vanished is a nonprofit organization advocating for the missing and
murdered minorities.
They are doing a lot of phenomenal work to raise awareness to those cases and I would
(01:20):
encourage everyone to follow them on Facebook.
Yeah, they do a lot of really good articles and I would encourage anybody to go take a
gander, go take a look.
You like that?
A gander, yeah.
Yeah.
So in today's episode, we're going to delve into the haunting and unsolved case that has
gripped Rochester, New York for decades.
Today's case is about Norris Evans, affectionately known as Snooki, a young mother whose life
(01:44):
was cut short under mysterious circumstances.
Norris Evans, at just 27 years old, lived with her husband, Lewis, and their four small
children at 5 Cron Street in Rochester's 19th Ward.
It was supposed to be a place of safety and family, but on May 23rd of 1975, tragedy struck.
The night began with an anonymous call to the Rochester Police Department at 1124 PM,
(02:07):
so just before midnight.
The call was reporting a family trouble at the Evans residence.
Officer Paul R. Camping responded swiftly only to find no signs of disturbance upon
his arrival.
According to Camping, he repeatedly knocked on the door of the darkened house just shortly
after midnight.
He even shined his flashlight in the windows, but he never saw anything, and nobody ever
answered.
Shockingly, less than an hour later, Lewis Evans returned home from his late shift at
(02:30):
the Rochester Products Division of General Motors to discover a horrific scene.
His wife, Norris Evans, lay lifeless in their living room, brutally murdered.
Her throat had been savagely slit, penetrating the skin and muscle all the way to the bone.
Snooki had been stabbed several times in the chest and abdomen, stabbed once in the back,
and her ankles were tied together with a diaper.
(02:52):
Snooki was also found naked, wearing only a blouse.
Lewis was unable to call for help as the phone had been ripped from the wall, so he rushed
over to the neighbor's apartment and received help from Ms. Nancy Taney, who promptly dialed
911 at 1233 AM.
So all of this stuff happened relatively quickly.
They received the call just shortly before midnight, Officer Camping responds, and then
(03:14):
Lewis comes home, and the second call is at 1233, so all within about an hour.
Yeah.
Officer Camping, who had been at the Evans residence earlier that night, returned to
find Lewis distraught, and the crime scene was undeniably tragic.
This marked the beginning of a complex and deeply unsettling investigation.
The murder of Norris Evans sent shockwaves through the community.
(03:36):
Their four young children present at the time of the murder were thankfully unharmed, but
obviously traumatized.
They were swiftly escorted away from the scene to stay with relatives.
I'm trying to imagine this as a spouse, you're coming home from your late night shift, maybe
expecting either your wife to be waiting up for you or maybe expecting her to be in bed,
and you walk into your apartment and she's laying there, not only dead, but brutally
(04:01):
murdered, you know?
It's got to be a horrific crime scene.
And on top of that, you have four young kids somewhere in that apartment.
I can't even imagine that family's grief and anguish.
Yeah, I can't imagine it either.
You know, when I was working night shift, all I could think about is coming home, getting
into bed, going to sleep.
And probably that was what was on Lewis's mind.
(04:23):
And instead he finds this terrible scene.
Yeah.
So in order to give you an idea of what the crime scene looked like in 1975, let me paint
you a picture.
As you walk in the front door facing east, the stairs to the second floor were directly
ahead and the living room was off to the left.
Inside the living room, there was an L-shaped couch against the far left wall.
(04:44):
The body was in front of the couch and its head was pointed towards the south.
The victim's arms were raised above her head.
There was a TV on the northwest corner of the wall.
It was tuned to a Buffalo channel, so the screen was just mostly snow.
That's creepy in and of itself, right?
You're coming into this dark room and then there's a TV in the corner that's on, but
(05:05):
mostly snow and then your wife is laying here brutally murdered.
Yeah.
I think we can all probably visualize that.
Even if we're not visual people, we can visualize just the static and the glow of the TV casting
a light onto a very tragic crime scene.
(05:25):
If nobody knows, you know, anything up above the shoulders, any facial injuries, neck injuries
especially, there is a tremendous amount of blood and it always is very, very traumatic
to see that.
So the murder weapon was found on the floor only a few inches from Snooki's feet and it
was identified as a knife.
The knife was later identified by Lewis to belong to a knife set owned by the family.
(05:47):
Lewis recognized the knife because it had a chip in it.
Initially under scrutiny, Lewis Evans was eventually cleared of suspicion.
His alibi was corroborated by coworkers and witnesses confirming his presence at work
during the estimated time of the murder, which was determined to be between the hours of
11.30 PM and 12.30 AM according to the medical examiner.
(06:07):
So that initial call was received at 11.24 PM and then Lewis gets home from work, runs
over to the neighbor's house and that second call is made at 12.33 AM.
So that falls within that time period.
Well even though the medical examiner said that that timeframe matched up, there was
a news article back in 1975 from the Democrat and Chronicle that states the captain over
(06:32):
the investigations unit at the time believed that Norris was dead for about four hours
when her body was found.
Yeah.
So an article that I read also said that there was some kind of confusion and that an officer
had reported that the body had been there for four hours before she was found.
But then the medical examiner said, no, it was within this hour time span.
(06:55):
So I don't know what is true for sure, but obviously that's going to make a pretty big
difference, right?
Like suspect information.
Well yeah, for multiple different reasons.
Right.
Because we have the husband's alibi is that he was at work during that hour timeframe
when the medical examiner reportedly says that she was killed.
(07:15):
But if this is four hours before that, I mean, was he still at work?
I don't know.
Yeah.
What is alibi still check out?
Because if that's an anonymous call, that might have some impact on who that caller
might be.
Well, that's the other thing, right?
Because that call comes in at 1124 to report family trouble.
So if that's a legitimate call and somebody that just didn't want to be identified did
(07:38):
make that call to say, hey, I'm hearing these noises at this residence at 1124 PM, then
she probably wasn't killed three or four hours before that.
Correct.
So that was a delayed reporting.
That could be too.
So according to an article in 585 magazine written by Michael Benson, immediately preceding
(07:59):
the murder, Snooki and Lewis were having marital problems and Snooki had only recently moved
back in with Lewis after a short break from their marriage.
From the onset, investigators faced numerous challenges.
Inside the home, Snooki and her four children were found.
Snooki's baby girl was found in the crib.
Two older boys were found hiding in a closet.
(08:19):
And another boy was found cowering with a frying pan over his head.
Forensic evidence collected at the scene included fingerprints, hair samples, and items possibly
used during the attack.
Despite thorough analysis, the case grew colder over time with no solid leads emerging.
In total, 14 latent fingerprints were processed, 13 of which were identified by people who
(08:40):
either belonged inside the house or people who were part of the processing of the crime
scene.
Only one fingerprint remained unidentified, which was found somewhere on the door jamb
of the house.
Additionally, police collected portions of the carpet and carpet pad, a knife, a broken
cast iron fry pan, samples of hair and blood, and an afro pick.
Also taken was a lid from a Heinz baby food container, part of a hair curler, and blood
(09:04):
stained baby blanket.
So they have quite a bit of evidence that was taken.
I know obviously 1975 was a different time.
I wonder in recent years if they've reprocessed any of that evidence that was taken.
I'm also curious, so that same article that you referenced, that 585 magazine article,
said that the phone call that was placed to 911 at 1124 reporting family trouble was played
(09:31):
for Snooki's family and friends and nobody recognized the caller's voice.
It was a man's voice.
And all of the neighbors and residents within like 100 yards of the crime scene were interviewed
and none of them claimed to have made that call.
So I guess my curiosity is this.
If it what I mean, I think it's, it kind of seems like it's the killer maybe that placed
(09:56):
that phone call.
And I say that because if nobody within 100 yards placed the call, that means they probably
didn't hear anything that was happening, right?
So if they didn't hear anything that was happening, how is someone from outside that area going
to hear something and call?
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's a different time now.
If this happened today, they'd be able to track maybe even the location of that call.
(10:20):
Right.
Definitely they'd be able to track the phone number.
I kind of have this idea in my head that maybe this call, this homicide happened before the
call and then the killer made the call afterwards reporting it because you're right, if the
neighbors didn't make the call and denied having any knowledge of this, they would be
the one to make that.
(10:40):
Right.
I mean, if this, that's the way things work.
I mean, it just makes sense if there's a domestic incident and somebody hears it, it has to
be somebody within that 100 yards, I would think, to be able to hear that something's
going on and make that call.
And then they would be willing to talk to police after that.
The other thing that comes to my mind in this is, so you said that Snooki had just recently
(11:02):
moved back into the residence after they did like a trial separation because they were
having marital issues or whatever.
So I wonder if whoever committed this crime, were they going into that residence, meaning
to burglarize the house, knowing that Lewis was going to be at his late night shift working
(11:25):
at General Motors and thinking that nobody was going to be home because that had been
the case previously until Snooki had just recently moved back in.
And the reason I ask that is because it seems like whoever went in there was really unprepared
to find anybody in that residence.
I mean, they didn't bring their own weapon or if they did, they didn't use it.
They used items that were found in the house to bind her with.
(11:48):
So it just seems like they came in very unprepared.
I also read in that same article that the rooms were ransacked and there was money that
was taken, an undisclosed amount of money that was taken from the home.
So I mean, maybe that was the premise of that person going into the apartment was to burglarize
it and then Snooki ended up being there.
The kids ended up being there.
(12:10):
I don't know.
Yeah, those are all good thoughts.
And according to Snooki's family, there's no way Snooki would have ever opened the door
for somebody that she didn't know.
With no signs of forced entry, one of two things happened.
Either the door was left unlocked, unbeknownst to Snooki, or she recognized the person, knew
the person and let them in.
Yeah, there's a lot of strange things surrounding this case.
(12:32):
The mysterious phone call preceding the murder or immediately around the time of the murder,
we can say.
And then just the fact that there's no leads, no information.
Their number one suspect initially was Lewis and he's immediately cleared because he's
at work and it's corroborated by people who he worked with.
(12:53):
Yeah.
The whole thing is really interesting.
I go back to that initial 911 call at 1124 that night.
I don't know.
I mean, everybody's different, but I think if I was hearing some kind of ruckus or sounds
that made me concerned enough to call 911, I personally would just be like, hey, I'm
hearing some noises coming from this apartment.
(13:17):
Give the address.
I don't know what's going on there, but this is what I'm hearing.
But whoever made that call was very specific that I'm hearing family trouble coming from
this address.
Yeah.
That's really an interesting thought.
The word family trouble would most likely mean domestic violence today, right?
(13:37):
There's some kind of domestic dispute going on.
With that, it almost seems like that killer is trying to already shift the blame to her
husband by using that with those words, family trouble.
Exactly.
And maybe they knew that they were having marital issues and that she had recently just
moved back in from a trial separation.
I mean, it could have been somebody that knew her and knew her personal situation and kind
(14:02):
of tried to utilize that in a way to point the blame at her husband.
I don't know.
There's just so many unanswered questions in this case, but I think this was in 1975.
Here we are in 2024.
They do have some physical evidence.
Well, sure.
I mean, hopefully with the advancement of DNA technology, police are able to re-examine
(14:23):
that evidence collected in the murder.
Hopefully there's a real possibility that genetic genealogy could lead to a breakthrough
in this case.
And I do think that DNA evidence would be a factor in this case because the one thing
that I didn't mention is from that newspaper article to Democrat and Chronicle, they did
believe early on that she was sexually assaulted.
So I don't know what kind of evidence they actually collected surrounding bodily fluid
(14:47):
swabs or anything, but if it's present and it's there in the case file, a simple review
of those evidence items might actually lead to something to break this case.
Yeah.
Hopefully they've retained all of that evidence and it hasn't gotten lost or degraded over
time because it's been a long time, but yeah, hopefully they packaged it correctly and kept
(15:10):
it all together with that case file and hopefully they can reprocess it now.
Remember, there was that conflicting timeframe between the coroner's office or the medical
examiner and the police, one being four hours, one being between the time of the call.
Either way, I still don't think that Lewis had anything to do with it.
His alibi put him at work, but if it happened four hours beforehand, the children were in
(15:33):
the house, I would still think they would be able to say, hey, it was my dad, my dad
did this, and there's no information to suggest that any of the kids ever pointed the finger
at Lewis.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm curious.
I would be curious to see what it was the kids said.
Did they recognize the person?
Did they even see the person?
Maybe they just heard and went and hid in the closet and didn't actually see anything.
(15:57):
I don't know.
Well, times have changed since the 1970s on the way we interview children.
Back then, forensic interviewing was in its infancy and since then, we've certainly learned
a lot about the way we interview children.
For those of you that don't know what a forensic interview is, it's a method of interviewing
children in such a way that it's victim centered, semi-structured, and forensically sound.
(16:20):
These interviews are typically aimed to elicit intrinsic responses from children between
the ages of, say, four years old and 17 years old, and it changes slightly based on the
child's development.
The interview lasts as long or as short as the child wants.
Physically trained interviews don't force kids to give statements.
The methodology consists of a lot of open-ended questions as to not plant information or guide
(16:43):
the kids in their responses.
The great thing about forensic interviewing is that the interviewer is not alone.
The interview is audio and video recorded and it's monitored by a multidisciplinary
team as kind of a safety net to make sure that the interviewer doesn't miss anything.
It's really quite a different structure than that of a suspect or witness interview.
Either way, it's a horrible case.
(17:05):
Whether those kids actually saw anything or they just heard something, they were scared
enough that they were hiding, hiding in a closet.
Then there's this poor little boy all by himself who's using a frying pan over his head probably
to try not to see or hear anything.
It's just so sad.
Yeah, using it as a safety mechanism for sure.
(17:26):
We know that that anonymous phone call that was placed just before 1130 that night was
pivotal and unfortunately the caller was never identified.
But it does beg the question, how important is public cooperation in solving these cold
cases, especially when key leads come from anonymous sources?
(17:46):
Well, like we've always said, everybody who witnesses a crime has a different perspective
on what happened.
But sometimes people think, oh, the information I have is meaningless.
The police already know that.
And so they just go on about their lives when really that might be the piece of information
police need to break the case.
Right.
(18:07):
I know a lot of people will say, well, there were other people there.
They'll tell the story.
They saw the same thing I saw, so I don't need to go and make my own report.
And I think sometimes people feel like they're just being a bother or something like that.
Like, oh, they already have this information.
I don't need to give it to them again.
But that's not the case.
We know that in eyewitness or eyewitnesses are everybody, like you said, sees a different
(18:34):
thing.
Right.
Like we could both be in the same situation, you and I.
And then when somebody comes and asks us about it later, you're going to perceive different
things from it than I did.
Yeah, most likely.
Yeah.
Most likely, I'm going to see it more accurately than you.
But yeah, you're right.
I know for sure that that happens.
I can specifically say I was in a shooting way back in the day when I was a deputy.
(18:58):
OK, wait, it wasn't way back in the day.
You're not that old.
OK, well, it feels like it was way back in the day.
It was a long time ago, actually.
It's closing in on 20 years now, pretty soon.
Anyway, it was a long time ago.
And I remember a person that was with me in that incident.
We were both there together the entire time.
(19:19):
And he had testified in court and of course, I wasn't in the courtroom because I was sequestered.
Right.
I wasn't allowed to hear what he was saying.
He made his testimony and then I was called up next.
And I went in next and the defense attorney said, would it surprise you that your, you
know, fellow deputy said this about that day?
(19:40):
And I said, yeah, that would surprise me because I don't remember it that way at all.
And then they were like, you know, do you remember there being this there?
And I'm like, no, I don't remember that all.
And then they showed me pictures of the scene and I was like, I don't remember that specific
fence being there or whatever it was because I was focusing on other things.
And so I think it's just a testament to the fact that we all focus on different things
(20:04):
in a given situation because we're all different.
Right.
And we all come from different places.
And so my perception is probably always going to be different than yours.
And especially when you're in a traumatic situation like that.
Well, exactly.
And you know, law enforcement officers are trained and they're exposed to way more traumatic
situations than they're, than they really should be.
(20:28):
But tenfold, they are subjected to traumatic situations or shocking situations a lot more
than the regular public, a lot more than the human brain is supposed to be able to see.
And if those officers who are trained and get into these situations all the time have
tunnel vision and they misremember things, what do you think is going to happen to a
person who's never seen anything shocking like this?
(20:50):
Exactly.
Yeah.
So I think we kind of got off topic just a little bit there, but to bring it back in
eyewitnesses, you know, hold key information for police.
So you know, in situations like this one, public cooperation is huge.
And if you have information, don't feel like you're a burden or somebody else has already
(21:12):
told the story, so you don't need to offer your input.
Your point of view and your perceptions are very important.
So hopefully somebody listening has information.
I know this case is a really old case, but maybe somebody said something to somebody
and that person said something to you.
(21:33):
Just report it.
Report what it is that you know.
The police will follow up on it.
And you know, if it proves to be nothing, then it's nothing.
But you've done your part and you've given the information that you have.
So if you have any information regarding Norris Evans case, please reach out to the Rochester
Police Department.
Your tip could be the key to bring in closure to a grieving family.
(21:54):
The Rochester Police Department can be reached at 585-428-7157.
If you have any information about any other mysteries, or if you would like to submit
an episode suggestion, you can send us an email at mysteriesandmimosas.gmail.com.
Well thank you for that, Aria.
And don't forget you can connect with us on social media to stay updated on future
(22:17):
episodes and engage with our community.
Follow us on Instagram at mysteriesandmimosaspodcast, like our Facebook page, subscribe to our YouTube
and TikTok channels.
Or you can visit our website at mysteriesandmimosas.net where you will find resources related to today's
episode and explore more about ongoing investigations.
Remember every piece of information matters, together we can make a difference.
(22:39):
So thank you for listening and until next time, stay curious, stay safe and enjoy Mystery
Monday week after week.
Cheers!
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Welcome to Mysteries and Mimosa's.
(00:12):
My name is Max and with us today, like every day is Aria.
Hi everyone.
Hey there Aria and hey there listeners.
If you're enjoying Mysteries and Mimosa's, here's how you can help us grow.
First don't forget to rate us five stars on your favorite podcast platform.
It might seem simple, but it makes a huge difference in helping new listeners discover
(00:32):
our show.
And be sure to hit that follow and subscribe button.
By doing so, you'll never miss an episode and it shows us support that keeps us motivated
to help bring you more mysteries.
You can also connect with us by following us on Instagram at Mysteries and Mimosa's
podcast or you can like our Facebook page to join the discussion and interact with our
listeners.
Just a reminder, every Monday we bring you an extra episode called Mystery Monday, where
(00:56):
we highlight cases with limited information to raise awareness and spread the word about
lesser known mysteries.
We decided to cover today's case after reading an article written by the Vivid Faces of the
Vanished on Newsbreak.
The Vivid Faces of the Vanished is a nonprofit organization advocating for the missing and
murdered minorities.
They are doing a lot of phenomenal work to raise awareness to those cases and I would
(01:20):
encourage everyone to follow them on Facebook.
Yeah, they do a lot of really good articles and I would encourage anybody to go take a
gander, go take a look.
You like that?
A gander, yeah.
Yeah.
So in today's episode, we're going to delve into the haunting and unsolved case that has
gripped Rochester, New York for decades.
Today's case is about Norris Evans, affectionately known as Snooki, a young mother whose life
(01:44):
was cut short under mysterious circumstances.
Norris Evans, at just 27 years old, lived with her husband, Lewis, and their four small
children at 5 Cron Street in Rochester's 19th Ward.
It was supposed to be a place of safety and family, but on May 23rd of 1975, tragedy struck.
The night began with an anonymous call to the Rochester Police Department at 1124 PM,
(02:07):
so just before midnight.
The call was reporting a family trouble at the Evans residence.
Officer Paul R. Camping responded swiftly only to find no signs of disturbance upon
his arrival.
According to Camping, he repeatedly knocked on the door of the darkened house just shortly
after midnight.
He even shined his flashlight in the windows, but he never saw anything, and nobody ever
answered.
Shockingly, less than an hour later, Lewis Evans returned home from his late shift at
(02:30):
the Rochester Products Division of General Motors to discover a horrific scene.
His wife, Norris Evans, lay lifeless in their living room, brutally murdered.
Her throat had been savagely slit, penetrating the skin and muscle all the way to the bone.
Snooki had been stabbed several times in the chest and abdomen, stabbed once in the back,
and her ankles were tied together with a diaper.
(02:52):
Snooki was also found naked, wearing only a blouse.
Lewis was unable to call for help as the phone had been ripped from the wall, so he rushed
over to the neighbor's apartment and received help from Ms. Nancy Taney, who promptly dialed
911 at 1233 AM.
So all of this stuff happened relatively quickly.
They received the call just shortly before midnight, Officer Camping responds, and then
(03:14):
Lewis comes home, and the second call is at 1233, so all within about an hour.
Yeah.
Officer Camping, who had been at the Evans residence earlier that night, returned to
find Lewis distraught, and the crime scene was undeniably tragic.
This marked the beginning of a complex and deeply unsettling investigation.
The murder of Norris Evans sent shockwaves through the community.
(03:36):
Their four young children present at the time of the murder were thankfully unharmed, but
obviously traumatized.
They were swiftly escorted away from the scene to stay with relatives.
I'm trying to imagine this as a spouse, you're coming home from your late night shift, maybe
expecting either your wife to be waiting up for you or maybe expecting her to be in bed,
and you walk into your apartment and she's laying there, not only dead, but brutally
(04:01):
murdered, you know?
It's got to be a horrific crime scene.
And on top of that, you have four young kids somewhere in that apartment.
I can't even imagine that family's grief and anguish.
Yeah, I can't imagine it either.
You know, when I was working night shift, all I could think about is coming home, getting
into bed, going to sleep.
And probably that was what was on Lewis's mind.
(04:23):
And instead he finds this terrible scene.
Yeah.
So in order to give you an idea of what the crime scene looked like in 1975, let me paint
you a picture.
As you walk in the front door facing east, the stairs to the second floor were directly
ahead and the living room was off to the left.
Inside the living room, there was an L-shaped couch against the far left wall.
(04:44):
The body was in front of the couch and its head was pointed towards the south.
The victim's arms were raised above her head.
There was a TV on the northwest corner of the wall.
It was tuned to a Buffalo channel, so the screen was just mostly snow.
That's creepy in and of itself, right?
You're coming into this dark room and then there's a TV in the corner that's on, but
(05:05):
mostly snow and then your wife is laying here brutally murdered.
Yeah.
I think we can all probably visualize that.
Even if we're not visual people, we can visualize just the static and the glow of the TV casting
a light onto a very tragic crime scene.
(05:25):
If nobody knows, you know, anything up above the shoulders, any facial injuries, neck injuries
especially, there is a tremendous amount of blood and it always is very, very traumatic
to see that.
So the murder weapon was found on the floor only a few inches from Snooki's feet and it
was identified as a knife.
The knife was later identified by Lewis to belong to a knife set owned by the family.
(05:47):
Lewis recognized the knife because it had a chip in it.
Initially under scrutiny, Lewis Evans was eventually cleared of suspicion.
His alibi was corroborated by coworkers and witnesses confirming his presence at work
during the estimated time of the murder, which was determined to be between the hours of
11.30 PM and 12.30 AM according to the medical examiner.
(06:07):
So that initial call was received at 11.24 PM and then Lewis gets home from work, runs
over to the neighbor's house and that second call is made at 12.33 AM.
So that falls within that time period.
Well even though the medical examiner said that that timeframe matched up, there was
a news article back in 1975 from the Democrat and Chronicle that states the captain over
(06:32):
the investigations unit at the time believed that Norris was dead for about four hours
when her body was found.
Yeah.
So an article that I read also said that there was some kind of confusion and that an officer
had reported that the body had been there for four hours before she was found.
But then the medical examiner said, no, it was within this hour time span.
(06:55):
So I don't know what is true for sure, but obviously that's going to make a pretty big
difference, right?
Like suspect information.
Well yeah, for multiple different reasons.
Right.
Because we have the husband's alibi is that he was at work during that hour timeframe
when the medical examiner reportedly says that she was killed.
(07:15):
But if this is four hours before that, I mean, was he still at work?
I don't know.
Yeah.
What is alibi still check out?
Because if that's an anonymous call, that might have some impact on who that caller
might be.
Well, that's the other thing, right?
Because that call comes in at 1124 to report family trouble.
So if that's a legitimate call and somebody that just didn't want to be identified did
(07:38):
make that call to say, hey, I'm hearing these noises at this residence at 1124 PM, then
she probably wasn't killed three or four hours before that.
Correct.
So that was a delayed reporting.
That could be too.
So according to an article in 585 magazine written by Michael Benson, immediately preceding
(07:59):
the murder, Snooki and Lewis were having marital problems and Snooki had only recently moved
back in with Lewis after a short break from their marriage.
From the onset, investigators faced numerous challenges.
Inside the home, Snooki and her four children were found.
Snooki's baby girl was found in the crib.
Two older boys were found hiding in a closet.
(08:19):
And another boy was found cowering with a frying pan over his head.
Forensic evidence collected at the scene included fingerprints, hair samples, and items possibly
used during the attack.
Despite thorough analysis, the case grew colder over time with no solid leads emerging.
In total, 14 latent fingerprints were processed, 13 of which were identified by people who
(08:40):
either belonged inside the house or people who were part of the processing of the crime
scene.
Only one fingerprint remained unidentified, which was found somewhere on the door jamb
of the house.
Additionally, police collected portions of the carpet and carpet pad, a knife, a broken
cast iron fry pan, samples of hair and blood, and an afro pick.
Also taken was a lid from a Heinz baby food container, part of a hair curler, and blood
(09:04):
stained baby blanket.
So they have quite a bit of evidence that was taken.
I know obviously 1975 was a different time.
I wonder in recent years if they've reprocessed any of that evidence that was taken.
I'm also curious, so that same article that you referenced, that 585 magazine article,
said that the phone call that was placed to 911 at 1124 reporting family trouble was played
(09:31):
for Snooki's family and friends and nobody recognized the caller's voice.
It was a man's voice.
And all of the neighbors and residents within like 100 yards of the crime scene were interviewed
and none of them claimed to have made that call.
So I guess my curiosity is this.
If it what I mean, I think it's, it kind of seems like it's the killer maybe that placed
(09:56):
that phone call.
And I say that because if nobody within 100 yards placed the call, that means they probably
didn't hear anything that was happening, right?
So if they didn't hear anything that was happening, how is someone from outside that area going
to hear something and call?
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's a different time now.
If this happened today, they'd be able to track maybe even the location of that call.
(10:20):
Right.
Definitely they'd be able to track the phone number.
I kind of have this idea in my head that maybe this call, this homicide happened before the
call and then the killer made the call afterwards reporting it because you're right, if the
neighbors didn't make the call and denied having any knowledge of this, they would be
the one to make that.
(10:40):
Right.
I mean, if this, that's the way things work.
I mean, it just makes sense if there's a domestic incident and somebody hears it, it has to
be somebody within that 100 yards, I would think, to be able to hear that something's
going on and make that call.
And then they would be willing to talk to police after that.
The other thing that comes to my mind in this is, so you said that Snooki had just recently
(11:02):
moved back into the residence after they did like a trial separation because they were
having marital issues or whatever.
So I wonder if whoever committed this crime, were they going into that residence, meaning
to burglarize the house, knowing that Lewis was going to be at his late night shift working
(11:25):
at General Motors and thinking that nobody was going to be home because that had been
the case previously until Snooki had just recently moved back in.
And the reason I ask that is because it seems like whoever went in there was really unprepared
to find anybody in that residence.
I mean, they didn't bring their own weapon or if they did, they didn't use it.
They used items that were found in the house to bind her with.
(11:48):
So it just seems like they came in very unprepared.
I also read in that same article that the rooms were ransacked and there was money that
was taken, an undisclosed amount of money that was taken from the home.
So I mean, maybe that was the premise of that person going into the apartment was to burglarize
it and then Snooki ended up being there.
The kids ended up being there.
(12:10):
I don't know.
Yeah, those are all good thoughts.
And according to Snooki's family, there's no way Snooki would have ever opened the door
for somebody that she didn't know.
With no signs of forced entry, one of two things happened.
Either the door was left unlocked, unbeknownst to Snooki, or she recognized the person, knew
the person and let them in.
Yeah, there's a lot of strange things surrounding this case.
(12:32):
The mysterious phone call preceding the murder or immediately around the time of the murder,
we can say.
And then just the fact that there's no leads, no information.
Their number one suspect initially was Lewis and he's immediately cleared because he's
at work and it's corroborated by people who he worked with.
(12:53):
Yeah.
The whole thing is really interesting.
I go back to that initial 911 call at 1124 that night.
I don't know.
I mean, everybody's different, but I think if I was hearing some kind of ruckus or sounds
that made me concerned enough to call 911, I personally would just be like, hey, I'm
hearing some noises coming from this apartment.
(13:17):
Give the address.
I don't know what's going on there, but this is what I'm hearing.
But whoever made that call was very specific that I'm hearing family trouble coming from
this address.
Yeah.
That's really an interesting thought.
The word family trouble would most likely mean domestic violence today, right?
(13:37):
There's some kind of domestic dispute going on.
With that, it almost seems like that killer is trying to already shift the blame to her
husband by using that with those words, family trouble.
Exactly.
And maybe they knew that they were having marital issues and that she had recently just
moved back in from a trial separation.
I mean, it could have been somebody that knew her and knew her personal situation and kind
(14:02):
of tried to utilize that in a way to point the blame at her husband.
I don't know.
There's just so many unanswered questions in this case, but I think this was in 1975.
Here we are in 2024.
They do have some physical evidence.
Well, sure.
I mean, hopefully with the advancement of DNA technology, police are able to re-examine
(14:23):
that evidence collected in the murder.
Hopefully there's a real possibility that genetic genealogy could lead to a breakthrough
in this case.
And I do think that DNA evidence would be a factor in this case because the one thing
that I didn't mention is from that newspaper article to Democrat and Chronicle, they did
believe early on that she was sexually assaulted.
So I don't know what kind of evidence they actually collected surrounding bodily fluid
(14:47):
swabs or anything, but if it's present and it's there in the case file, a simple review
of those evidence items might actually lead to something to break this case.
Yeah.
Hopefully they've retained all of that evidence and it hasn't gotten lost or degraded over
time because it's been a long time, but yeah, hopefully they packaged it correctly and kept
(15:10):
it all together with that case file and hopefully they can reprocess it now.
Remember, there was that conflicting timeframe between the coroner's office or the medical
examiner and the police, one being four hours, one being between the time of the call.
Either way, I still don't think that Lewis had anything to do with it.
His alibi put him at work, but if it happened four hours beforehand, the children were in
(15:33):
the house, I would still think they would be able to say, hey, it was my dad, my dad
did this, and there's no information to suggest that any of the kids ever pointed the finger
at Lewis.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm curious.
I would be curious to see what it was the kids said.
Did they recognize the person?
Did they even see the person?
Maybe they just heard and went and hid in the closet and didn't actually see anything.
(15:57):
I don't know.
Well, times have changed since the 1970s on the way we interview children.
Back then, forensic interviewing was in its infancy and since then, we've certainly learned
a lot about the way we interview children.
For those of you that don't know what a forensic interview is, it's a method of interviewing
children in such a way that it's victim centered, semi-structured, and forensically sound.
(16:20):
These interviews are typically aimed to elicit intrinsic responses from children between
the ages of, say, four years old and 17 years old, and it changes slightly based on the
child's development.
The interview lasts as long or as short as the child wants.
Physically trained interviews don't force kids to give statements.
The methodology consists of a lot of open-ended questions as to not plant information or guide
(16:43):
the kids in their responses.
The great thing about forensic interviewing is that the interviewer is not alone.
The interview is audio and video recorded and it's monitored by a multidisciplinary
team as kind of a safety net to make sure that the interviewer doesn't miss anything.
It's really quite a different structure than that of a suspect or witness interview.
Either way, it's a horrible case.
(17:05):
Whether those kids actually saw anything or they just heard something, they were scared
enough that they were hiding, hiding in a closet.
Then there's this poor little boy all by himself who's using a frying pan over his head probably
to try not to see or hear anything.
It's just so sad.
Yeah, using it as a safety mechanism for sure.
(17:26):
We know that that anonymous phone call that was placed just before 1130 that night was
pivotal and unfortunately the caller was never identified.
But it does beg the question, how important is public cooperation in solving these cold
cases, especially when key leads come from anonymous sources?
(17:46):
Well, like we've always said, everybody who witnesses a crime has a different perspective
on what happened.
But sometimes people think, oh, the information I have is meaningless.
The police already know that.
And so they just go on about their lives when really that might be the piece of information
police need to break the case.
Right.
(18:07):
I know a lot of people will say, well, there were other people there.
They'll tell the story.
They saw the same thing I saw, so I don't need to go and make my own report.
And I think sometimes people feel like they're just being a bother or something like that.
Like, oh, they already have this information.
I don't need to give it to them again.
But that's not the case.
We know that in eyewitness or eyewitnesses are everybody, like you said, sees a different
(18:34):
thing.
Right.
Like we could both be in the same situation, you and I.
And then when somebody comes and asks us about it later, you're going to perceive different
things from it than I did.
Yeah, most likely.
Yeah.
Most likely, I'm going to see it more accurately than you.
But yeah, you're right.
I know for sure that that happens.
I can specifically say I was in a shooting way back in the day when I was a deputy.
(18:58):
OK, wait, it wasn't way back in the day.
You're not that old.
OK, well, it feels like it was way back in the day.
It was a long time ago, actually.
It's closing in on 20 years now, pretty soon.
Anyway, it was a long time ago.
And I remember a person that was with me in that incident.
We were both there together the entire time.
(19:19):
And he had testified in court and of course, I wasn't in the courtroom because I was sequestered.
Right.
I wasn't allowed to hear what he was saying.
He made his testimony and then I was called up next.
And I went in next and the defense attorney said, would it surprise you that your, you
know, fellow deputy said this about that day?
(19:40):
And I said, yeah, that would surprise me because I don't remember it that way at all.
And then they were like, you know, do you remember there being this there?
And I'm like, no, I don't remember that all.
And then they showed me pictures of the scene and I was like, I don't remember that specific
fence being there or whatever it was because I was focusing on other things.
And so I think it's just a testament to the fact that we all focus on different things
(20:04):
in a given situation because we're all different.
Right.
And we all come from different places.
And so my perception is probably always going to be different than yours.
And especially when you're in a traumatic situation like that.
Well, exactly.
And you know, law enforcement officers are trained and they're exposed to way more traumatic
situations than they're, than they really should be.
(20:28):
But tenfold, they are subjected to traumatic situations or shocking situations a lot more
than the regular public, a lot more than the human brain is supposed to be able to see.
And if those officers who are trained and get into these situations all the time have
tunnel vision and they misremember things, what do you think is going to happen to a
person who's never seen anything shocking like this?
(20:50):
Exactly.
Yeah.
So I think we kind of got off topic just a little bit there, but to bring it back in
eyewitnesses, you know, hold key information for police.
So you know, in situations like this one, public cooperation is huge.
And if you have information, don't feel like you're a burden or somebody else has already
(21:12):
told the story, so you don't need to offer your input.
Your point of view and your perceptions are very important.
So hopefully somebody listening has information.
I know this case is a really old case, but maybe somebody said something to somebody
and that person said something to you.
(21:33):
Just report it.
Report what it is that you know.
The police will follow up on it.
And you know, if it proves to be nothing, then it's nothing.
But you've done your part and you've given the information that you have.
So if you have any information regarding Norris Evans case, please reach out to the Rochester
Police Department.
Your tip could be the key to bring in closure to a grieving family.
(21:54):
The Rochester Police Department can be reached at 585-428-7157.
If you have any information about any other mysteries, or if you would like to submit
an episode suggestion, you can send us an email at mysteriesandmimosas.gmail.com.
Well thank you for that, Aria.
And don't forget you can connect with us on social media to stay updated on future
(22:17):
episodes and engage with our community.
Follow us on Instagram at mysteriesandmimosaspodcast, like our Facebook page, subscribe to our YouTube
and TikTok channels.
Or you can visit our website at mysteriesandmimosas.net where you will find resources related to today's
episode and explore more about ongoing investigations.
Remember every piece of information matters, together we can make a difference.
(22:39):
So thank you for listening and until next time, stay curious, stay safe and enjoy Mystery
Monday week after week.
Cheers!
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