Gale Green's battered body was found on the floor of the lingerie shop she had just opened about a year earlier.
Green, 40, was supposed to close her shop — Satisfactions — for the day at 6 p.m. on Oct. 9, 1987, to attend a private lingerie show at 7 p.m., but she never made it, according to Arizona Daily Star archives.
Her brother, David Green, got a call around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 10 from Green's husband. He was having car trouble and was concerned because his wife hadn't returned home.
Green's brother went to the store, at 2029 N. Country Club Road, where he found the door unlocked and the lights on.
Inside he discovered what he called a "really gruesome scene."
Tucson police determined that between 6 and 7 p.m., Green was ironing lingerie for the party when she was attacked, her brother said.
There was a struggle, and the attacker beat her to death with the iron, David Green said.
Gale Green fought back and managed to nick the man with the iron, cutting him, before she died.
Status
Tucson police have been actively working the case, said Detective Antigone Foust of the agency's cold-case unit.
Police have DNA evidence they believe belongs to the killer, Foust said. It has been run through a national database, but police have not gotten any matches.
"We are contacting many people to determine whether they are the owners of the DNA," Foust said. "We are taking samples from those people and, in the process, excluding some."
It is believed that the slaying was sexually motivated, Foust said.
In their own words
"I think about it every day," David Green said of his sister's slaying. "There's no explanation for it; it's just one of those real hard things in life I've had to deal with."
David Green said he had no knowledge of anyone who would want to hurt his sister, who he said would complain of "perverts" coming into her store but never voiced any concerns about being in danger.
"I just would say if someone knows something, they should report it to the police so they can find this person and hold him responsible," he said. "Make him pay."
About the series
The Star will feature some of the Tucson area's violent crimes that remain unsolved — sometimes many years later.
Anyone with information is urged to call 88-CRIME. Tips also can be submitted online at www.88crime.org; or by text message at 274637, then enter tip259 plus your text message.
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at 573-4242 or ahuicochea@azstarnet.com if you have been a victim of an unsolved crime or if you are related to a victim of an unsolved homicide.
