Nearly 30 years ago on March 20th, 1995, in Greenbelt, a bright, smart, ambitious Roosevelt student, Julie Ferguson, was kidnapped, killed, and found on the side of the road in Glenn Dale. To many, it would be assumed after so long the victim would get justice and find the proposed killer. Sadly, this is not the case, after 30 years, no one has been indicted for this tragic, sorrowful crime.
Close friend Julie Epstein described Ferguson in two words as being “light-hearted” having been friends when the murder occurred. Epstein states that her most fond memory with Julie was in 1995 as she recollects that “white Reebok Classics everybody had to have them and they had to be in perfect condition, Julie lived behind Roosevelt and we would have to walk up hills and sometimes they were muddy. So one day we put plastic shopping bags on our feet and we both slid down and fell on our faces.” Those who knew Julie to this day view her as a light that brightened shadowed rooms and a life full of promise that tragically ended too soon.
Ferguson before her disappearance was a Junior with an avid interest in German and the flute. She worked part-time at Linens ‘N Things in the Greenway shopping center. Although living only a quarter mile from her work her mother wanted her to receive rides from friends and family. On the day of Ferguson’s disappearance, she was waiting outside her workplace at approximately 9:30 PM on Monday. When Ferguson’s friends arrived around 10, Julie was nowhere to be found, only her purse and a coke-cola remained. With utmost worry, her friends asked Ferguson’s mother, she was unaware of her location. Her friends then asked the neighboring liquor store manager and called the police. Ferguson was then confirmed to be missing the following hours, city police U.S. Park Police helicopters were used to search the area.
Julie’s body would only then be found the next morning in Glenn Dale by a motorist, around 4 miles away from where she worked. After an autopsy report, it was found that her throat had been slit. There was no sign of sexual assault. Detectives speculate that she might have been taken near the parking lot of her job as eyewitnesses report a red 4-door sedan parked near where Julie was sitting. Witnesses at the scene reported that they saw Ferguson speak to one of the individuals in the car and then when the witness arrived back at the same location Ferguson had disappeared. At the time that Ferguson was speaking to those who were in the car, there were many people around. She seemed acquainted, there was no indication of a struggle.
Currently there are still advocates for the case that countinue to keep the story alive and with local authorities one being Julie Epstien a close friend of Ferguson and Jenny Meetre a content creator that started publishing podcasts about the case a year ago. Meetre goes under the name Crime Crashers on youtube. The Raider Review additionly has covered the case from the start. With publications written in May following the notice of Ferguson’s death, the articles can be located below.
There were said to be three individuals in the car. They had been in the parking lot 2 hours before Julie’s abduction as well as the crime scene. According to Jenny Meetre, who had multiple mutual friends with Julie and has made a podcast series about the case, they were known to be drug dealers in the area who Julie had known before the time of the crime. One of the individuals was a man who was known for his ‘meticulous grooming’ and wearing multicolored silk shirts, another was a light-skinned black man who had been wearing a hoodie at the time and the last was a black woman. The two male individuals were always seen together. Although the car is connected to the crime, it may have been stolen.
Meetre has come forward about details which has led to further investigation of these individuals and DNA testing. Meetre has also mentioned that having these details publicized earlier would’ve helped this case a lot more, but the police did not make the effort to push the information out. “They have DNA evidence that hasn’t been moved forward the way it should, they have multiple people still on their list that they should be bringing in for questioning that they haven’t, …they didn’t provide this really important information from day one about people seen with her, they never revisited the witness who saw them, …they didn’t do a composite sketch, they took five years to listen to our story and they’re still taking a long long long time to get it done,” said Meetre.
There had been two other theories for this case involving a man named Noel Smith and another man named Doug DeSilva. Both are incarcerated for seperate crimes committed. In Smith’s case, it was murder and he had known Julie before her death because she rejected his romantic advances. Doug DeSilva was also questioned by Greenbelt police about the incident after he got arrested for a crime in another state. These two theories have multiple inconsistencies with not enough connection to the crime.
The murder came as a shock to the community, seeing as violent crime was uncommon in Greenbelt. The announcement of Julie’s death at school was followed by many students seeking counseling afterward. Later, a vigil was held on the football field at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. The police on the case were struggling to find clues, seeing as there were no cameras to capture Julie’s abduction and a complete autopsy had not yet been revealed. Julie’s friend Julie Epstein after Julie’s death decided to take matters into her own hands and advocate for her late friend’s murder attempting to truly seek answers. Epstein states “We were kids when it happened in high school and I knew that when I became an adult and I had some resources or some sense of authority that I would want to do something, so I made a promise to her after she died that I would do something and whoever did it would not get away with it.” Following the years after Julie’s murder Epstein continued to collect articles and information about her case and created a website http://justiceforjulie.wordpress.com
As we come up on the 30th anniversary of this case, those who were close to Julie are still looking for answers. This is an open and active case. There is a $25,000 reward for information that can lead to the arrest of Julie’s killer. Any information that anyone may have should be given by contacting Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS. Any information, no matter how small, is appreciated.
