Our card this week is Jenny Lin, the Queen of Hearts from California. In 1994, the brutal murder of a 14-year-old inside her parents' safe suburban house left a community shaken to its core, because not only had a bright and talented life been suddenly snuffed out, but police struggled to find a motive. And the more clues they uncovered, the more investigators realized the nightmare they were dealing with: Jenny Lin’s murder was more than a crime of opportunity —it had been carefully planned. For nearly 30 years, Jenny’s murder has weighed on Alameda County and terrorized detectives as they’ve pondered the same question over and over since 1994: why Jenny? If you have any information about the murder of Jenny Lin on May 27, 1994, please contact the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office at 510-667-3636, or call the Jenny Lin hotline at 855-4-JENNY-LIN. There’s currently a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Jenny’s killer. To donate to the The Jenny Lin Foundation, visit: jennylinfoundation.orgTo learn more about The Deck, visit www.thedeckpodcast.com. To apply for the Cold Case Playing Cards grant through Season of Justice, visit www.seasonofjustice.org
In 1994, 14-year-old Jenny Lynn was brutally murdered in her safe suburban home and the motive for the crime was difficult for police to determine. The community was shaken by the sudden loss of a young and talented life.
The detectives investigating a Nashville home invasion found the curtain of the broken window completely intact, challenging the homeowner's belief that it was impossible for an adult to enter the home without damaging it.
The transcript mentions various events and suspicious activities in a neighborhood such as the barking of a dog and sightings of an unidentified man by a resident. The incident underlines the need for households to maintain high-security standards.
After the murder of Jennifer Beard and the unlikelihood of the victim's surviving husband, John, being her killer, police work with a sketch artist to create a composite of the man John saw near their home at the time of the murder.
Detectives investigate other leads that present themselves in the case, including a suspicious man with disturbing possessions, but ultimately circle back to the Lin family and their acquaintances.
In this episode of The Deck, the host urges listeners to tune into part 2 of Jenny Lynn's story who was brutally murdered in May 1994 and describes what could be the turning point in the case.