The nine-year-old case of Ursula Haberland remains a mystery for Loudoun County investigators. Haberland, 81, emigrated from Germany in 1952, settling down in Loudoun County in 1955. She was an active woman in her community and church and loved by her neighbors.
Ted Haberland, Ursula’s son, said he was last aware of his mother’s location the day before she was found dead in her home on Aug. 23, 2001. She dropped off his older sister at the airport after a visit. After not hearing from their mother or being able to reach her on her home phone, Haberland said he called a close friend to check on her early the next morning.
Twenty minutes later, the voice on the phone told him his mother was dead and the house was “turned upside down.” He immediately drove an hour to Upperville, where he was met with the scene that he still lives with daily.
“It’s been very difficult,” Ted Haberland told The Washington Examiner. “A day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about it.”
Haberland said the kitchen floor and cabinets were marked up with bullets and the house was in shambles, despite nothing being missing, except a ring that they thought might have been given as a graduation gift.
Loudoun County investigator Kelly Poland said the murder was a shock to the community, but the sheriff’s office is still actively working the case.
“It really gripped the community,” Poland said. “She was a very well-loved individual.”
Haberland said his family that thinks his mother surprised a transitory worker from one of the nearby estates who was looking for money, and the culprit shot her from behind. He said there have been no suspects to his knowledge because the fingerprints on the scene did not match anyone in the system.
Poland said the county will “never stop looking” for the person responsible.
“Over time you sort of become numb,” Haberland said. “For her life to have ended that way, we just can’t accept that,” he said.
An award of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to the resolution of the case. Anyone with information should call the Loudoun County sheriff’s office at 703-777-0475.
