Wichita Falls Police want to solve the murder of a Childress man. That's where we continue tonight's cold case series. Ashley Fitzwater takes us back to the crime scene on the city's East side.

His name was Finney John Trones but he was known as John. The owner of J & M Electric out of Childress, but while in Wichita Falls, Friday July 18th, the fifty-five years old's life was suddenly cut short. A case starts to unfold less than a mile away from the murder scene, when an officer patrolling the seven hundred block of Rosewood was flagged down.

"Hey there is a police officer right there. We saw a dead guy. Where? Over by the apartments." When police arrived to the twelve hundred block of Thompson, they found fifty-five year old John Trones, stabbed to death.

"Can i get yall to take a few steps back. Did anyone see what happened? No no."

Mary Trones was married to John at the time and lives in Childress. During a phone conversation, Mary told us her husband was in Wichita Falls getting supplies for a job in Perryton where they were supposed to meet, but he never showed.

Mary said although she wasn't in Wichita Falls that night, she did talk to someone who saw him. Here's what she remembers, "He got in the pick up and two people got in with him one on one side one on the other and there forced him in the middle."

From there the witness said they drove off. Police said John's 1976 orange pickup truck was found nearby in the parking lot of what was then King's Square Apartments.

Harold McClure said, "Officers spoke with witnesses in the area. One of the witnesses stated they had seen the vehicle around nine thirty the night before."

But they weren't saying much more.

McClure said, "That's where you live you want to know who is coming and going. Someone had to have seen him especially if the vehicle was there since nine thirty that evening."

And police said help is going to come from witnesses and those who knew him. McClure said, "Find out what he was doing there who knew him, saw him, who knew where he was going those are all questions that need to be answered to close the case out."

Time has healed some wounds, but twenty-eight years hasn't stopped the need for justice.

McClure said, "I just don't understand how people can do things like that and not expect any repercussion. They deserve to go to prison and pay for their crime."

If you know anything about John Trones's murder, call Wichita Falls Crime Stoppers at 322-9888. KAUZ is working with officers to solve this and other unsolved murders dating back to 1980. In our next cold case report, a woman living in fear turns up dead in a Wichita Falls motel room. We'll take you to the crime scene where Vickie Hensley's body was found, and maybe you could help solve her murder.

Ashley Fitzwater KAUZ News.