Clara Louise Paulett, 72, was found shot in the head on January 30, 1984, at the Raleigh Motel on Richmond Road in Williamsburg, where she worked as the manager. Her body was discovered in the motel office alongside 43-year-old housekeeper Chestine Brooks in what investigators described as an execution-style double homicide. The motel’s cash register was empty and the women’s purses had been searched, indicating robbery was the apparent motive.

Ballistics tied the weapon used at the Raleigh Motel to other recent shootings in the Peninsula area. A multi-jurisdictional task force, including the FBI, formed after two other women were killed around the same time. Authorities identified 27-year-old Syvasky Lafayette Poyner as a suspect; he was arrested, confessed to five murders including the killings of Paulett and Brooks, and was tried and convicted. The jury in Williamsburg found him guilty on June 6, 1984, and recommended the death penalty.

Did anyone who knew Clara Paulett or Chestine Brooks work at or visit the Raleigh Motel in January 1984 and have details that could clarify what happened that day?