Mary Ann Jenkins was 22 when she was murdered on April 11, 1977. Her body was found in East St. Louis, Illinois, and no killer was identified at the time, leaving the case cold for decades and her family without answers.

More than 40 years later investigators began examining a possible link between Jenkins’ slaying and Samuel Little, who confessed to numerous murders nationwide and to at least two victims in the St. Louis area. In 2018 Illinois State Police interviewed Little; he provided a sketch and details about killing a woman in East St. Louis that authorities believe may connect him to Jenkins.

Jenkins’ son Jamar was four when his mother was killed. He says detectives notified the family but he did not fully grasp what had happened; the loss affected him through young adulthood. Now in his forties he hopes that resolving his mother’s murder will bring closure.

Does anyone have memories of Mary Ann, or information about the East St. Louis investigation in 1977 that could help?