LINCOLN PARK, Mich. – A Lincoln Park woman was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted in her home 37 years ago. Her killer still hasn’t been caught.
Donna Potas Gomez, 22, was found murdered in her home at 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 2, 1985. Her husband, Dan Gomez, was the one who found her. The two were high school sweethearts. They got married when she was 18 years old.
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The Gomez and Potas families told Local 4 in 2009 that the two were a happy couple.
“They were always together. You know, whatever he did and whatever she did, that was just the type of people they were. They just did everything together,” Dan Gomez’s sister, Delma Ventrello, told Local 4 in 2009.
Dan Gomez was working nights when Donna Potas Gomez was murdered. She would sleep alone at night. Dan Gomez came home the night she was killed and found his wife dead in their living room.
Dan Gomez was questioned extensively and cleared of any wrongdoing, according to police.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry and no signs of a fight. Police believe Donna Potas Gomez knew her attacker. The family dog was locked in the bathroom.
The investigation did not reveal any suspicious people in her life.
“I found no boyfriends, no enemies never found a connection with anybody,” retired Lincoln Park Detective Robert Kish told Local 4 in 2009.
Donna Potas Gomez was described by her family as bubbly and friendly. She volunteered as a youth track coach worked as an art teacher and had a passion for painting.
The case is still active within the Lincoln Park Police Department and the family hopes new DNA technology will help bring closure.
A reward is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest in the case. You can visit the Donna Unsolved website for more information.
Read: Michigan cold case coverage
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