ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg Police Department announced major developments Tuesday in two separate cold cases, including the infamous 1969 "Trunk Lady" death.
In reopening the two cold cases, detectives were not only able to identify the woman known as "Trunk Lady" for 53 years, but they were also able to solve the 1997 murder of Richard "Juicy" Evans — bringing some closure to two grieving families.
Here's what the department found.
Richard "Juicy" Evans
Richard Evans, known affectionately as "Juicy," was shot in the chest and killed when he was just 18 years old in 1997.
Assistant Police Chief Michael Kovacsev called the case "near and dear to his heart," explaining that, at the time, he was a brand new patrol officer and was one of the first people on the scene of Juicy's murder.
Kovacsev said that even with a detailed description of the murderer, the case was never solved — until earlier this year when forensic evidence from the scene was reanalyzed.
Detectives were able to identify the killer, who was just 15 years old at the time of the shooting. Police did not give his name as he passed away in November 2022 at the age of 41.
“This is important to us because it provides the comfort and the closure that the family needed to be able to say who took their son’s life," Kovacsev said.
Juicy's mother, Catherine Clarkson, and aunt, Sabrina Byrd, expressed gratitude for his case being solved.
“I’m very grateful. It closed a lot in our heart," Clarkson said.
"Justice has been served for our family," Byrd added.
“He was the life of the party. He had over 2,000 people at his funeral," Clarkson continued. "We miss him...if you had met him, you would have loved him."
They said that Juicy has surviving children from the three sons he had. Sadly, one of his sons was killed five years ago at the same age and in the same manner as his late father.
"Trunk Lady" Sylvia June Atherton
On Halloween day in 1969, St. Pete police were called about a black steamer trunk that two men had placed behind what was then known as The Oyster Bar on 34th Street South.
Detectives opened the trunk to find the remains of a woman in a plastic bag. Police said she had been strangled with a man's Western-style Bolo tie.
No suspects were named and she was buried as a "Jane Doe."
Detectives tried for years to identify the woman, even exhuming her body in 2010 in an attempt to get another DNA sample. They were unsuccessful until Detective Wally Pavelski discovered an original sample of the victim's hair and sent it out for testing earlier this year.
“After 53 years, the 'Trunk Lady' finally has a name," Kovacsev said. “Her name is Sylvia June Atherton."
Sylvia was a mother of five from Tucson, Arizona, who had come to St. Pete with her second husband and 4-year-old daughter as well as her 19-year-old daughter, her husband and baby. She was 41 years old when she was killed.
Sylvia's other children, including 9-year-old Syllen, were left in Arizona with their father. Syllen joined Tuesday's news conference virtually to share what it was like to learn her mother was the "Trunk Lady."
“It was shocking because it had been so many years and we had no idea what happened to her," she said. “I tried a few times to try to find her but there was just nothing. Gone cold. It is a relief – a sad relief.”
"I give my condolences to the sweet family that’s feeling the same feelings I’m having with a loved one that was killed and gone too soon," Syllen said, addressing Juicy's family. "If we could just get the word out and try to locate my sisters, it would be a blessing to my family and an end to this ordeal."
Police have still not identified Sylvia's killer, but did mention that her second husband passed away in 1999 and had never listed her missing.
One of the original detectives in the case, 87-year-old Paul Drolet, also joined the news conference to share his reaction to the news.
"I think I used the words 'You've gotta be kidding me,'" he said. "It was a real surprise to me, and I can’t get over it. I just can’t get over it, after all these years.”
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Wallace Pavelski at 727-893-4823.