Fingerprints were left on Shannon Weaver’s neck when she was strangled to death in 1990, but Arlington police have yet to find who the prints belong to.
Weaver was 23 years old when her boyfriend found her dead in her bedroom around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 30, 1990. Her infant twin sons, unattended in a nearby crib, were the only known witnesses to the crime, said Detective Kevin Norwood of the Arlington police.
Weaver worked at the Naval Security Station in D.C. about 10 miles from her apartment, No. 10 at 1412 S. 28th St.
“It’s not a good area, but it’s not a bad area,” Norwood said of her neighborhood.
He said there was “no apparent force” into Weaver’s apartment or bedroom.
Weaver was not married, and there is no information on whether she had ever been married. Her boyfriend was investigated, but his fingerprints did not match those of the killer, Norwood said.
No other injuries — other than those related to strangulation — to Weaver’s body were reported.
“There is not much evidence” overall, Norwood said.
Arlington police are reopening the case in hopes that someone will volunteer a tip.
With cold cases, “we are just looking for that piece of information that we need to be able to move forward,” he said.
“Everybody bases cold cases on changes in relationships and on new technology available.”
Norwood said people who previously abstained from giving police information may come forward years later because “their life situation has changed,” and they are no longer close to potential suspects.
The fingerprints left on Weaver’s body remain in a database at the police station.
“If someone gets arrested months or years down the road, [the database] will give [us] a match on that fingerprint,” Norwood said.
Until then, Arlington police are hoping someone comes forward with information that may lead to Weaver’s killer. Anyone who might know anything about Weaver’s death can call police at 703-228-4152.
