DeLand police have reopened a 44-year-old cold case in an effort to bring closure to a murder victim’s family.
On February 10, 1981, 68-year-old Mellie Coger was brutally beaten and murdered. Her body was discovered inside her home on East Michigan Avenue, according to the DeLand Police Department.
“Investigators have reviewed case reports and supplemental reports and have tracked down witnesses and re-interviewed them,” said DPD in a social media post on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
In addition, detectives have re-submitted physical evidence for analysis due to new advances in DNA technology that are available today. DPD stated that this evidence was initially collected in 1981 during the execution of a search warrant.
“The DeLand Police Department is committed to ensuring justice is done for victims and their families no matter how long it may take and holding those responsible for crime accountable,” said DeLand Police Chief Jason Umberger.
The police chief added that investigators are “edging closer to handing off the case to the State Attorney’s Office for grand jury presentation.”
Law enforcement has been in contact with Coger’s family as the case is re-examined by detectives.
“Our family has never given up hope that justice will be served for our grandmother,” said Coger’s granddaughter, Tamra Crane. “We are deeply grateful to Corporal (Roger) Spires and the DeLand Police Department for their dedication in reopening her case. We remain hopeful that the new evidence will bring the answers we’ve been waiting for over the past 44 years.”
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Mellie Coger is asked to contact Corporal Spires with the DeLand Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division via phone (386-626-7422) or email ([email protected]).