Families, police want answers in unsolved Wilmington murders

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Their bodies were found years ago in Wilmington, but details of what led to the deaths of four women are still scarce.

Today, Wilmington Police joined the victims’ families in a plea to the public for help finding answers surrounding the unsolved murders.

Investigators found the bones of Angela Rothen and Allison Jackson Foy in April 2008 in woods off Carolina Beach Road. Five years later, they still have not found their killer.

“It really doesn’t go away,” Foy’s daughter, Courtney Jackson said. “It’s not something you want to go away. You want to remember all of the good times and keep those memories close to you, because once you forget, it’s not important to you anymore.”

Years have slowly trickled for the families, yet so many questions are left unanswered about who and what led to their deaths.

The same is true for the murder of Priscilla Rogers, whose bones were found near River Road in December 2009 and Carol Ann Johnson, who was stabbed to death in her Pine Valley home in July 2011.

Three of the victims’ families joined police Friday to ask for the public’s help in solving the crimes.

“If someone out there knows something, come to the police department,” Rogers’s sister Beverly Rivers. “Don’t come to me and my family and tell us if you’re not going to make a statement.”

Police say they are following leads, although they remain tight-lipped on the details.

“There is information we are working on in each of these cases, and I’ll leave it at that,” Det. Lee Odham said.

For loved ones like Foy’s sister Lisa Valentino, the fight for justice will never end.

“The anger motivates you to have the desire to persevere more and continue to seek answers and justice,” Valentino said.

Police Chief Ralph Evangelous says new information on the four cases will be released in the next month.