Carmen Rodriguez was 28 when she was killed in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 9, 2000. Her final known hours centered around Speakman Park near East 26th Street and Speakman Place, an area she reportedly knew well because she lived nearby. Police placed the discovery near a park bench in the early morning; another account says a passerby found her partially hidden in bushes.

The scene suggested a violent, personal attack. Rodriguez was reportedly found partially clothed with injuries indicating she had been assaulted before death. Marks around her neck suggested strangulation, and one account says she had been forced face down into the ground and beaten. She had been seen in the neighborhood the night before and again shortly before dawn near 29th and Tatnall Streets, providing a narrow window for what happened.

Relatives described her as well-liked but said she had recently moved out of the family home and had become involved with drugs. Investigators reportedly explored a possible link to the earlier 2000 killing of Deborah Jackson, but no arrest, charge, or confirmed motive has been reported. The Wilmington Police Cold Case Unit still lists her killing as unsolved. Did anyone in the area remember seeing Carmen that night or know something that could help the investigation?