Detectives in Volusia County are hoping that an increased reward of $100,000 will help bring 15-year-old Laralee Spear’s killer to justice three decades after she was abducted and murdered.
On April 25, 1994, Laralee was walking home from her bus stop outside DeLand when she was abducted in the middle of the afternoon.
According to the sheriff’s office, Laralee was then killed near a burned-down residence located approximately a quarter-mile away from her family’s home on Deerfoot Road.
For 30 years, VCSO detectives have been trying to solve this case. They have learned over the course of the investigation that prior to Laralee’s murder, people were gathering at the abandoned property to hang out and shoot guns.
The sheriff’s office believes that “someone out there knows something that could help this investigation.”
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case.
If you have any information regarding this cold case that could help investigators, please contact the VCSO Major Case Unit via phone (386-254-1537) or email ([email protected]).
“Let’s come together, and let’s give Loralee the justice that she deserves,” stated Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood.