This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Even though the case of a murdered Tooele woman is nearly 10 months old, the heartache for the family is as raw as day one.
"I still feel numb to it," an emotional Cathlynn Gardiner told The Tribune through tears Thursday. "It is like it is a bad dream that I still have to wake up from."
Gardiner is one of 70-year-old Evelynne Derricott's two daughters.
"You go from talking to her every day on the phone to nothing," Gardiner said as she cried, noting emotions are still high. "You can't call her and tell her anything, it is hard."
Tooele city police haven't given up on solving the 2011 homicide case, believing that a crucial tip is still out there.
On Thursday, police canvassed the neighborhood with fliers where Derricott was murdered Oct. 7 in her home.
"We believe that somebody knows something about this," Tooele police Lt. Paul Wimmer told The Tribune. "We are hoping with it being refreshed in their minds, someone will tell us something, even if they heard it from someone else."
Wimmer said Derricott's car — a teal green 1993 Pontiac Grand Am — and cell phone were found abandoned near Impressions Drive (5800 South) and Ridge Hollow Way (5300 West) in Kearns about a week after the murder; both are still being processed for fingerprints and other evidence.
Wimmer said they plan to canvass the Kearns neighborhood Friday morning to hand out fliers and ask questions.
"We appreciate any lead that we can track down," he said.
Derricott wasn't vengeful or mean to anyone, her daughter said. She was remembered as a fun-loving, helpful, supportive parent and a grandparent to five children, her daughter said. She loved her two cats. She loved to crochet Afghan blankets for couples who were getting married. The active woman would always visit her daughters for Christmas.
Gardiner hopes those who know something but who haven't given tips in the past will have compassion and offer information this time around.
"We are hoping by bringing out that she had a family that loved her and misses her ... that someone will come forth with some piece of information in the case," she said.
Tips for the case periodically have trickled in during the investigation, but the newest development was when investigators identified a male blood sample at the murder scene in the spring.
"Our biggest break in the case is when we got an unknown DNA profile," Wimmer said. But the profile found from blood at the scene hasn't had any hits to anyone or any known acquaintances who would have been in Derricott's home at the time.
Police still have not released the suspected cause of death, whether Derricott's body showed any obvious trauma or why police concluded her death was a homicide. She was found in the morning by a friend at her home on 410 Havasu Drive. Police have said there was no forced entry to the home and nothing appeared to have been taken. Derricott was not sexually assaulted.
The family would like someone to be held accountable and find out why Derricott was murdered.
"This is so hard for us to wrap our mind around," she said. "We can't think of why anyone would want to do this."
Gardiner said her family has full confidence in police handling the case.
"It is a reassurance that they are still doing everything they can to search for the suspect," she said.
If you have any information, call Tooele police at 435-882-5600.
Twitter:@CimCity