Janessa Nessa Hartley, 56, was shot and killed while sitting in the driver’s seat of her SUV in the driveway of a friend’s home in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood of Baton Rouge on the evening of January 15, 2019 — one day before her 57th birthday. A retired classroom assistant who had recently been spending more time with her grandchildren, she was dropping the friend off after an evening out when a masked man approached the vehicle and opened fire, leaving her dead at the scene.

Authorities at first believed two suspects might have been involved and considered a possible random carjacking gone wrong, but no definitive motive has been established. Evidence sent to the crime lab was inconclusive, and two years after the killing police announced they had exhausted all leads. No arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly identified.

Janessa Hartley is remembered by family for her kindness, infectious laugh, and devotion to her grandchildren. If anyone who lived in or around Sherwood Forest that night or has surveillance footage or other information can help, please share what you know with Baton Rouge police.