S.E. Ritchey was an 80-year-old White man who, with his wife Ethel, ran a laundromat in Taylor, Texas. The couple followed a fixed Saturday routine: close the business, collect the day’s takings (about $300 that day), stop at H-E-B, then drive to their rural Williamson County home. On the night of March 5, 1988, while unloading groceries in the driveway at about 10 p.m., they were ambushed by unknown attacker or attackers. Mr. Ritchey was struck in the head with a blunt object; Mrs. Ritchey was knocked unconscious and several hundred dollars were taken from her purse and Mr. Ritchey’s wallet.

Mr. Ritchey underwent surgery for a fractured skull and died on March 22, 1988, seventeen days after the assault. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office treated the case as a robbery that resulted in a homicide. The crime left the family deeply traumatized; Ethel Ritchey suffered lasting memory loss about the attack. The case went cold for years, though in 2018 clothing from the scene was sent for advanced DNA testing and investigators have continued interviews. As of March 2024 no suspects have been identified and no arrests made; a cash reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.

Does anyone have information about the couple’s routine, the area near their home, or memories from that March 1988 night that could help investigators?