Angela Lynelle Jones was 17 years old when she was murdered. Her body was found in shallow water in Tarrant County, Texas, more than four decades ago, and the person responsible for her death has yet to be brought to justice.
In the early morning hours of Feb. 23, 1982, two men went to Angela’s apartment, located in the 2800 block of Love Chapel Court in Fort Worth, and forced their way in through the front door.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the men kidnapped Angela, a junior at Dunbar High School, from her bedroom. Her mother was at work, but her sister, who was reportedly in the room, watched on as they dragged her through the hallway.
They then carried her to their white vehicle and drove away.
After reporting the kidnapping to the police, Angela’s mother claimed that they were slow with the investigation.
“They [the police] said it was a game, and she staged it,” said Angela’s mother.
Investigators stated that some of Angela’s classmates said they spotted her several times after she was kidnapped.
Two of her classmates claimed to have seen her on Feb. 27 at a roller rink located in the 1000 block of Miller Avenue.
Another teen said she saw Angela playing pool on March 3 at Weldon’s Cafe, located in the 2100 block of Vaughn Boulevard.
On the afternoon of March 12, 1982, Angela was found dead. Her partially decomposed body was found in a small creek at 2100 East Richmond Avenue.
Her hand was holding onto a large tree root.
The medical examiner stated that identification was delayed because of a lack of dental and fingerprint records. Angela was ultimately identified through spinal X-rays.
An autopsy revealed that Angela’s cause of death was asphyxiation by drowning, and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office subsequently ruled her death a homicide.
They also determined that she had been dead between eight days and three weeks before her body was found.
An investigator stated that they were “approaching this case from the standpoint that she was murdered by the person or persons who abducted her.”
On Sept. 28, 1982, a then-47-year-old man was charged with Angela’s drowning death. He was booked into the Tarrant County Jail, where he was held on a $10,000 bond.
The charges were presumably dropped considering Angela’s case is still unsolved.
In 1983, Crime Stoppers offered a $1,000 reward for more information that would help solve her case.
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Angela Jones is encouraged to contact the Fort Worth Texas Police Department’s Homicide Unit at (817) 392-4330.