Sherry Gordon was 12 when she was murdered after going trick-or-treating in Decatur, Illinois, on Halloween night, 1984. She and her 9-year-old cousin Theresa Hall disappeared while trick-or-treating with a 7-year-old, Patricia; Patricia was found alive in a closet two days later, cold but unharmed. On November 2, the bodies of Sherry and Theresa were recovered in a vacant apartment in the Longview Housing Project.

Authorities determined both girls had been strangled, one with a piece of clothing and the other with an electrical cord. Early tips included a report of an older man driving a rusty four-door Oldsmobile, but that lead was later dismissed. The case went unsolved for decades.

In 2009 DNA from Sherry’s clothing was matched to Melvin Johnson, who had died of stomach cancer in October 2003. Johnson had a prior 1978 conviction for taking indecent liberties with a child and was living in Decatur at the time of the killings. The identification brought answers to families still seeking closure.

Did anyone who knew the girls or the Longview Housing Project back then see anything that might still be relevant?