Martha Maxwell, 51, was discovered stabbed to death in her chest and neck at her home in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, in 1994. To date, no arrests have been made, and Governor Roy Cooper’s office is now offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
According to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, someone entered Martha’s home on January 20, 1994, and murdered her. An autopsy later indicated that she had defensive wounds on her hands, suggesting she fought against her attacker.
The agency classified Martha’s case as one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in the state.
Blue Street Murder
Hilda Faye Cromartie, one of Martha’s five daughters, recounted that around 8:45 a.m. on January 20, 1994, she told her mother that she had to go to work and did not leave from Martha’s Blue Street residence until she saw her mother lock the screen door.
“I said, ‘Now you get up and lock the screen door,’ “Hilda recalled telling her mother. She mentioned that she sat in her car until she saw Martha lock the screen door. In a sit-down interview with WECT, Hilda revealed that the “lady” she was working for had later called her and told her that her mother had been killed.
Investigators noted that there were no signs of forced entry into Martha’s home, leading her family to believe she may have known her killer.
“Whoever it was, she knew them because she was not going to open that screen door unless she nows you and I know that,” Hilda said.
Martha Maxwell found dead on the floor by her husband
Johnny Maxwell, Martha’s husband, discovered her body on the living room floor shortly after noon, about three and a half hours after Hilda left for work.
Investigators and family members have stated that no one from the Blue Street community or Elizabethtown has come froward to provided enough information for an arrest in the case.
Mona Cromartie, another of Martha’s daughters, speculated that her mother may have heard a knock at the door.
“She went to the door, and she knew that person,” Mona Cromartie explained what she think happened before her mother was killed. “She unlatched that screen door, she got ready to turn and that’s when he attacked her. That’s why the vases and flowers knocked down. He attacked her and that’s when they struggled right here because she was fighting him off and got defensive wounds.”
Why would anyone want to kill Martha Maxwell?
Martha’s family continues to question who would want to harm her, given that she worked as a nurse at a local nursing home. They mentioned that while Martha and her husband had some marital issues, they do not believe the murder was a robbery, as the assailant left behind her credit cards and jewelry. An autopsy report also confirmed that Martha was wearing rings on both of her ring fingers at the time of her death.
Then-Police Chief Mike Royston believed there was information regarding what happened to Martha Maxwell
Mike Royston, the police chief during the investigation of Martha’s murder, expressed to The Fayetteville Observer on September 18, 1994, that he believed there was information available regarding the case, but they had not yet been able to get it.
“I believe there is information on Martha Maxwell that we haven’t been able to find. It’s hard for me to believe that no one out there knows who killed Martha Maxwell. It’s hard to conceive that no one heard or saw anything.
Mona, her sisters, and other family members urge anyone with information to come forward.
“If anybody has any information out there knows anything in regards to my mom who’s been gone for what will be 30 years, please step up and reach out to let us know,” Mona Cromartie said. “Because somebody knows something. Somebody know’s something.
