Crime
Masked man killed 8-months-pregnant woman
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
January 11, 2009
Sherry Ann Culp was a divorced mother of two with a third child on the way when a masked man walked up to her after work 11 years ago and shot her twice in the head.
Culp, 36, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant, died instantly. Her baby, who the family planned to name Kelley, was delivered by Caesarean section but died two days later.
Kelley would have turned 11 years old this week.
With the anniversary of the mother and child’s death approaching, Fairfax County cold case investigators are hoping someone will come forward with information. The family has offered a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest or indictment.
On Jan. 16, 1998, Culp was sitting in her car in Springfield at the Fullerton Industrial Park, where she worked in an electronics company’s accounting department. She was shot twice at close range.
Police said two men were seen sitting in a reddish-maroon Ford Ranger pickup in the area minutes before the shooting. One man was wearing a dark jumpsuit with a hood over his head. He was later seen running away from Culp’s car. He was black. The other man was described as white, in his 30s and about 6 feet tall with sandy brown hair.
“Somebody out there knows who committed this murder,” said Fairfax County police Officer Shelley Broderick. “It’s just a matter of that person coming forward.”
Investigators believe the shooting was a murder-for-hire, according to affidavits. Four years after the slaying, police obtained a warrant to search the home of her ex-husband in the hopes of finding evidence including secret audiotapes of Sherry’s phone conversations. Police have also released a photo of a man who was seen talking to the ex-husband at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria shortly before her death.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 866-411-TIPS(8477) or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637). Callers never have to give their names or appear in court.
Culp, 36, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant, died instantly. Her baby, who the family planned to name Kelley, was delivered by Caesarean section but died two days later.
Kelley would have turned 11 years old this week.
With the anniversary of the mother and child’s death approaching, Fairfax County cold case investigators are hoping someone will come forward with information. The family has offered a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest or indictment.
On Jan. 16, 1998, Culp was sitting in her car in Springfield at the Fullerton Industrial Park, where she worked in an electronics company’s accounting department. She was shot twice at close range.
Police said two men were seen sitting in a reddish-maroon Ford Ranger pickup in the area minutes before the shooting. One man was wearing a dark jumpsuit with a hood over his head. He was later seen running away from Culp’s car. He was black. The other man was described as white, in his 30s and about 6 feet tall with sandy brown hair.
“Somebody out there knows who committed this murder,” said Fairfax County police Officer Shelley Broderick. “It’s just a matter of that person coming forward.”
Investigators believe the shooting was a murder-for-hire, according to affidavits. Four years after the slaying, police obtained a warrant to search the home of her ex-husband in the hopes of finding evidence including secret audiotapes of Sherry’s phone conversations. Police have also released a photo of a man who was seen talking to the ex-husband at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria shortly before her death.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 866-411-TIPS(8477) or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637). Callers never have to give their names or appear in court.
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