TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents are actively pursuing leads in the decades-old homicide case of 24-year-old James Norris and are asking the public for assistance in cracking this cold case.
Norris’s murder, dating back to 1974, is believed to be one of the oldest active homicide cases in the state of Florida, marking Dixie County’s longest-standing unsolved case, FDLE said in a news release.
Investigators are now reaching out to individuals residing in Citrus County, Panama City and Miami, suspecting that they may have information that could help solve this case. It is possible that Norris may have been known to some as Richard Gunning.
According to authorities, on the morning of Oct. 4, 1974, James Norris, who was using the alias Richard Gunning, arrived in Miami from San Francisco. He carried a large amount of cash with the intention of purchasing Colombian-grade marijuana.
Later that afternoon, Norris sent a postcard from Inglis, Florida, in Levy County, near the Citrus County border, to his family. This postcard marked the last contact his family had with him.
Nearly two years later, on April 16, 1976, a bulldozer operator working in the woods near U.S. Highway 19 in northern Dixie County, near the Taylor County line, stumbled upon skeletal remains.
The identity of these remains remained a mystery until recent advances in DNA testing prompted an FDLE agent to explore their potential for identification. Due to the age of the remains, FDLE’s forensic experts recommended sending them to the University of North Texas for testing. In 2010, UNT managed to obtain a DNA profile, although it was not enough for entry into CODIS, the national DNA database.
Given this breakthrough, another FDLE agent decided to enter the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a resource dedicated to solving missing person and unidentified remains cases.
A review of NamUS’s Missing Persons section revealed that James Norris had been listed as missing in Florida approximately 18 months and 100 miles from where the skeletal remains were discovered. Additionally, Norris’s family had submitted their DNA to the California Department of Justice for comparison purposes.
Agents arranged for the DNA profiles from the California DOJ to be sent to UNT for comparison, confirming that the remains belonged to James Norris. Subsequently, an active homicide investigation was initiated, leading to the identification of Norris’s connection to Citrus County, Florida, where he had tried to purchase marijuana from an organized operation.
The Norris family has created a Facebook page and a website to share information about Norris’ murder.
If you have any information related to the murder of James Norris, you are asked to contact FDLE Tallahassee at (800) 342-0820.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.