She walked into a burglary at her Miami home that became her murder. Nearly 30 years later, the killer remains free.
A 30-year-old lawyer may have interrupted a burglary at her a Miami area duplex she was renovating and instead walked into her murder.
Now, nearly 30 years later, police have yet to make an arrest for her killing.
On Aug. 3, 1994, Coe Paisley was found unconscious inside the duplex she owned, according to Miami-Dade police. Two wall air conditioning units were removed from the duplex and a third unit remained.
Police say Paisley may have interrupted a burglary and was severely beaten. She later died from her injuries.
"We have no leads," said Jim McColman, a then-Metro-Dade homicide detective, in 1994 to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "We don't even know what the murder weapon was."
In 2013, McColman told WSVN that the police theory was that she surprised someone at the home. The thief was inside and when Paisley showed up, they attacked.
“It doesn't make any sense. They could have just run away, but they chose not to. Who could have done it?” McColman told WVSN.
The killer took the air conditions, which have never been found. The suspect also took her briefcase and purse, and they were found dumped in a canal a few miles away.
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Her sister, Kathleen Paisley, told the news channel that the suspect put their full weight on Coe Paisley’s head. After the attack, the family was called to the hospital as she was on life support.
“She'd already been declared brain dead, and they were keeping her alive so I could see her and because she was an organ donor,” Kathleen Paisley told the news channel.
In 2013, Kathleen Paisley said they were hoping to find the killer so their mom could have an answer to what happened.
"It's not so much about justice for us anymore, but I think my mother, she's 85, she's in failing health. I think if she could just know what happened, just knowing, would make a huge difference,” Kathleen Paisley said.
Her mom, Adelia, died in 2015 without ever knowing exactly what happened or who killed her daughter.
Years later, police remain stumped as well.
Anyone with information on Coe Paisley’s murder is asked to contact Miami-Dade police at (305) 471-8477.
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