Florida woman's killer identified after nearly 4 decades; suspect used 3 different names

Four decades after a Florida woman was murdered, the Jacksonville Sheriff's cold case unit said its investigators solved the case after connecting the suspect to three different aliases. 

Annie Mae Ernest, 38, was found on Sept. 9, 1985, law enforcement said. During the investigation, detectives interviewed a man named "Robert Vance," who was believed to be the last person known to have contact with Ernest. 

Vance agreed to take a polygraph test, but then didn't show up for the interview, detectives said. Law enforcement went to his apartment but found it empty and abandoned — and attempts to locate Vance were fruitless.

However, during their search, law enforcement learned that "Robert Vance" was an alias for Robert Richard Van Pelt. Detectives expanded their search for both names but couldn't locate anyone with either moniker. 

In July 2023, Ernest's family members reached out to cold case detectives and asked for a case review. During the subsequent investigation, Jacksonville detectives were able to determine that Van Pelt had fled to Tampa right after Ernest's murder. There he used another alias, "John Leroy Harris."

While in Tampa, Harris was suspected of shooting another woman in 1988, according to local police records. That victim survived the shooting, but Tampa police records said that Harris died by suicide shortly afterward.

Jacksonville investigators, using "evidence from both incidents in the separate cities, applicable state and local records and an in-depth fingerprint analysis" were able to determine all three names belonged to the one man: Van Pelt.

The cold case unit presented the Van Pelt information to the Florida State Attorney's Office of the 4th Judicial Circuit. And last month, the case was determined to be "Exceptionally Cleared – Death of Offender."

"If Van Pelt were alive today, he would be charged with the murder of Annie Mae Ernest," the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.  

In:
• Florida

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor and journalist at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]