Case Profiles #85
Jake Keels
On August 17th, 1996, Norwalk, Connecticut police responded to a 911 call at around 1:42 p.m. from 153 West Cedar Street regarding an unresponsive male. A young man named Jerome Butler answered the door for Officer Frank Holland and told him that he was the nephew of 63-year-old Jake Keels. Jerome had been sent to the apartment by other family members after they were concerned with Jake not answering his phone all day. When Jake didn’t answer the door, Jerome found an opening in a bathroom window and pried it open to look inside the apartment. This is when he saw his uncle Jake’s feet in the hallway and quickly realized that Jake was lying on the floor. Jerome ran to a bigger window and climbed into the apartment. When he rushed towards his uncle, he saw that he was badly injured and had been beaten and stabbed multiple times. Jake was also not breathing. Autopsy results showed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma as well as multiple stab wounds. Jake’s death was ruled a homicide.
Jake Keels was both well known and well-liked, and he was known by many as being very generous. Jake ran the daily “street numbers” game, which is a type of gambling or lottery that’s sometimes also called the Italian lottery or the Mafia lottery. It’s known within poor or working class neighborhoods, and as Jake ran this, he was known for having cash on his person. Some of Jake’s jewelry had been stolen from his apartment, and his wallet was found with no cash inside tossed up onto a cabinet in the apartment. The motive for the murder is believed to have been a robbery. A man named Jesse Bailey was quickly identified as a person of interest after several witnesses came forward about Jesse having both jewelry and a decent amount of cash earlier that day that Jake was murdered in the area of Carlton Court. Witnesses reported that Jesse had also made comments about robbing Jake.
Jesse provided an alibi to police for the night of the murder, and there was no other evidence of his involvement so he was never arrested. Two years later in 1998, Jesse Bailey was arrested along with a man named Deric Frank for the kidnapping and murder of Shaneika Price. Her body was found in her vehicle in the Bronx, New York after her car had been set on fire with her body inside. Jake’s murder was reexamined in 2014 by Lieutenant Art Weisgerber, and he had some of the evidence originally collected at the scene sent to the State of Connecticut Forensic Laboratory for updated testing with the newer technology. Evidence came back showing Jesse Bailey’s DNA, disproving his alibi and linking him to the murder. With renewed evidence, it was determined that a second person must have either been inside of the apartment building or gained entry and then let Jesse inside, assisting with the robbery and murder. This second person has not been identified and police are looking for any leads or information on the second individual as well as any information about the stolen jewelry. Anyone with any information on the murder of Jake Keels is asked to please call Lieutenant Weisgerber of the Cold Case Unit at 203-854-3028 or by emailing aweisgerber@norwalkct.org.
Jerry Riley
On October 24th, 1993, Epsom, New Hampshire was bright with trees of all different colors and an air full of sweet fall scents. On this particular day, two hikers were enjoying the nature around them when they discovered a decomposing body underneath a heavy layer of brush. The body was that of a young adult male who had been shot in the head. He clearly had been dead for a while as he was badly decomposed and he was also outfitted in Bermuda shorts and a t-shirt, which would be inappropriate for that time of year. His pockets had all been turned inside out. By pulling a fingerprint from a finger shielded from the elements under his body, the investigators were able to identify the man as 24-year-old Jerry Riley of Manchester. Jerry had been adopted from Korea at age 3 and grew up in Hampton, New Hampshire. He didn’t end up finishing high school and went right into the Army, which he was honorably discharged from in 1990. At the time of his disappearance, Jerry had just quit his job at a Chinese food restaurant in Bedford, New Hampshire as he had faced two suspensions. Jerry’s former boss described him as a polite man who initially was a good worker, but unfortunately Jerry started to come in late or not show up at all, and his boss believed this to be due to a drinking problem. Jerry was last seen in July when he was with his boss. Unfortunately, there have been no updates in Jerry’s case and his killer remains at large.
Image sources:
dailyvoice.com - “Norwalk Police Look to Get Suspect in Cold Case Murder of Popular Resident”
doj.nh.gov - “Jerry Riley”