Murder gone cold: Neary 40-years later, JSO is still searching for answers in broad-day shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Dec. 29, 1986, Beverly Gilbert went into work just like any other day, but it was far from it, as she was later shot and killed in broad daylight, while working at the Baker Brothers grocery store in Jacksonville’s New Town area.

Now, nearly 40 years later, police are asking for the public’s help in finding answers.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

“She was an innocent victim. She was at work doing her job and she was killed while working and her family deserves answers,” JSO Detective Travis Oliver Sr. told Action News Jax Wednesday.

Typically, advances in technology tend to give new life to old cases, however, Detective Oliver told Action News Jax on Wednesday that detectives haven’t been so lucky this time around.

Read: New report names ‘poorest’ towns in Florida, Georgia

“Normally, in most cases, we will come back, and now we can do DNA, and we could do cell phone things and things of that nature. We didn’t have that advantage in 1986,” explained Detective Oliver. “Unfortunately, for this case, it has not revealed a lot of the information, a lot of the evidence that we could go back and further the investigation.”

Read: Man employed as a chiropractic assistant is arrested for sexual battery

As a result, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is now asking for the public’s help, as Detective Oliver explained those who saw this crime occur are the key to bringing Gilbert’s loved ones closure at last.

“This investigation is going to be continued based on witnesses that know more about the more about what happened … we know that there are witnesses that we’ve never identified, and we are asking for those witnesses to come forward.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Read: Mother of dentist convicted in murder-for-hire case accused of arranging death

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.