Amherst, Nova Scotia — The Government of the Province of Nova Scotia is offering rewards of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder of Sadie Mae Rogers.
, someone broke into an Amherst home and brutally murdered its lone occupant, an 80-year-old housekeeper named Sadie Rogers.
The identity of her killer is just as much a mystery today as it was in September 1981, when Rogers was last seen alive by a neighbour.
"The investigation is ongoing, and we ask if anyone has any information to contact their local police," Cpl. Lisa Croteau of the Nova Scotia RCMP said in an email.
Sadie Rogers was 80 years old in 1981 and lived alone in her home located at 112 Cordova Street, Amherst, Nova Scotia. Rogers, who was never married and had worked for most of her life as a housekeeper, was well known in her neighbourhood and was last seen alive on Saturday evening, September 26, 1981.
Neighbours became concerned after not seeing any activity at Rogers' residence for nearly a week. On Friday, 2nd October 1981, The Amherst Police Department was contacted. Police responded and found Rogers' body inside her home: she had been stabbed multiple times.
When police checked her mailbox, they discovered that mail delivered to her residence on 28th September hadn't been retrieved.
An investigation was launched and although law enforcement interviewed several suspects at the time, no one was ever charged - and it seems that little progress was made in the case in the years that followed.
In 2006 and 2007, someone sent a local newspaper (The Amherst Daily News) anonymous pencil-written letters allegedly containing information about the circumstances surrounding Rogers' murder. Investigators say they have received other tips over the years but are still seeking help from the public to solve a case that grows colder by the day.
Rogers' niece, Dorothy Snowden, said in a 2006 interview:
"To this day I keep asking myself: 'why would someone do something like this?' She didn't deserve to die like that. She had every right to live."
Snowden commented that Rogers' family believed the perpetrator was someone who knew the house due to the way they entered. According to her, the murderer "took the glass out of the front door, reached in and unhooked the latch."
The editor of the Amherst paper at the time said in a 2006 interview that robbery was suspected as the motive for the crime, but it's unclear whether any of Rogers' possessions or money were actually removed from her home.
Nearly five decades later, the case remains unsolved.
Any person with information regarding the person(s) responsible for the murder of Sadie Mae Rogers should call the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1-888-710-9090.
