JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After nearly four decades, the murder of a Jacksonville mother is solved.
Annie Mae Ernst, who was 38-years-old at the time she was murdered, was found dead in the 1100 block of Market Street in Jacksonville in September 1985. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says original investigators in the cold case, located a person of interest named Robert Vance. He was believed to be one of the last people to speak with her before her murder, according to police.
Detectives interviewed Vance who agreed to take a polygraph, but JSO says he failed to show up for the test the following day.
Detectives went to Vance's apartment, where they found it abandoned and were not able to find him. The investigation revealed that "Robert Vance" was just an alias for Robert Richard Van Pelt. When investigators still could not find him, the case was suspended.
The case remained cold for 38 years until a family member of Ernst contacted 'Project: Cold Case' in Jacksonville in July 2023. Ryan Backmann with Project: Cold Case says he advised the family member to reach out to JSO to ask about the case.
The family member followed that advice and JSO's Cold Case Unit looked back into the murder of Ernst. It was determined through database searches and fingerprint analysis, that Van Pelt fled to Tampa after the Ernst murder and lived under the name, "John Leroy Harris." JSO says an incident report was found from 1988 in Tampa, stating that Harris had shot a woman, then committed suicide following the shooting. The woman survived the shooting.
JSO says "Robert Vance" and "John Leroy Harris" were just aliases for Van Pelt and if he were alive today, he would be charged in Ernst's murder. Due to his death, the case is closed.
First Coast News was given the following statement from the family of Annie Mae Ernst, provided by Project: Cold Case:
"My brother and I are so thankful to have our mom's case resolved. We never gave up hope in the 38 years since this happened that the person responsible would be identified. We have found peace in knowing that he has not been able to hurt anyone else since taking his own life in 1988. We are so appreciative for the support and guidance provided by Project: Cold Case since contacting them in July. Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank Detective Sullivan. We are forever grateful for his effort and commitment in resolving our mom's case."
