Jermaine R. Carter, 21, was found shot to death in a wooded area behind Brown Station Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His body was discovered on the morning of July 25, 2003. Montgomery County investigators determined Carter had been shot twice with a .38 caliber handgun, once in the back of the head and once in the right shoulder; ballistics showed both bullets were fired from the same gun. Carter’s pants pockets were turned inside out at the scene, and officers noted numerous beer cans, a makeshift crack pipe, and a black head wrap nearby.

Police focused on Joseph Nathan Bellamy after learning Carter had recently rekindled a relationship with his ex-girlfriend, who was married to Bellamy. On July 24 Carter and a cousin had been at the woman’s apartment, and later that evening witnesses reported Bellamy threatened Carter at Carter’s apartment complex. Shoe impressions on Carter’s body matched athletic shoes Bellamy wore when arrested, evidence the prosecution emphasized at trial. The jury convicted Bellamy of first-degree murder and use of a handgun in a violent crime; the conviction was upheld on appeal in 2008.

If anyone knew Jermaine, his movements that week, or saw him around Gaithersburg in July 2003, any additional information could still matter.