Nicole E. Bennett, 37, was found dead the morning of September 19, 2007, behind a vacant row house on Formosa Way in Homewood, Pittsburgh. A passerby discovered her; she had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the neck and the Allegheny County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. A bicycle believed to be hers was found nearby.

Bennett was a mother of seven who had no permanent address at the time and whose children were being cared for by relatives. Her family said she led a difficult lifestyle and that her father and brother checked on her daily because she was spending time in a high-crime area. She had a criminal record, faced pending theft and other charges, and a warrant had been issued after she failed to appear in court.

Investigators focused on Bennett’s role as a witness in two earlier homicide cases: her 1994 testimony helped secure a second-degree murder conviction, and she had testified at a March 2007 preliminary hearing in a January 2007 killing; that defendant had been ordered to stand trial. Police considered whether her cooperation with prosecutors — and the local circulation of snitch lists — might be connected to her murder. No arrests have been announced and the case remains unsolved. Anyone with information about her death is asked to come forward.