After three years of researching and investigating, a Louisville, Kentucky professor may have found new evidence in the 1965 unsolved murder of lawyer Alberta Jones.
Jones was a pioneer in many regards. She was the first Black woman to pass the bar in Kentucky and was the first woman of any color to serve as prosecutor of Jefferson County.
According to WAVE 3 News, Dr. Lee Williams has discovered fingerprints that could lead to a witness who saw Jones’ murderer. Williams started researching the unsolved murder case at Bellarmine University and continued for three years.
“This was an African-American woman in 1965 prosecuting white men for domestic violence, so she did not go out of the house,” Williams states.
On the night of Jones’ murder, she went out with friends on a rare occasion and was never seen alive again.
At the time, locals saw the woman getting beat by a man but thought it was a domestic dispute and did nothing. Jones was discovered in a nearby river at a boat park in Jefferson County, where she drowned to death.
A day after, police found Jones’ rented car with blood and fingerprints scattered throughout the vehicle.
“The car was cordoned off and vacuumed, every inch was placed in a plastic bag,” Williams tells reporters. “I cannot describe to you how much evidence was taken in this case.”
In 1965, a 17-year-old — suspected of having fingerprints in the car — was given a polygraph exam and failed, according to Williams’ research.
The 17-year-old was not arrested because the prosecutor at the time could not prove the fingerprints were from inside the car.
“We’ve gotten some FBI reports and other things from the file where we believe that we can show that it can come from inside the car,” Williams says.
The professor believes that the 17-year-old, who could be in his 60s now, may know who murdered Jones.
The case has been in limbo since 2008, but Williams is convincing police to reopen and continue the investigation.
