24 Years Later, Investigators Still Seek Answers in Unsolved Murder in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Wednesday, October 13 marks the 24th anniversary of the unsolved murder of a Tuscaloosa man, and the multi-agency Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit is still seeking any information on possible suspects.
Joseph Todd Jowers, 32, worked at the now-closed Classics Lounge on 37th Street, where he taught line dancing and sang karaoke. Jack Kennedy, the commander of the VCU, said on October 13, 1997, Jowers was walking a woman to her car at about 2:10 a.m.
An unknown assailant then shot Jowers in the head. Investigators believe the shooter may have hidden in some bushes nearby before escaping through a wooded area behind the south part of the parking lot.
When questioned, the woman Jowers was escorting was not able to describe the shooter. In a Tuesday press release, it was said that Jowers may have been robbed of some cash he earned at his other jobs as a carpenter and a handyman.
"The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit regularly reviews and continues to investigate cases that have not been closed, or where no arrest has been made," Kennedy said. "We would like to release information concerning one of these cases in the hopes that someone will come forward with information to help solve the crime."
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Tuscaloosa County Violent Crimes Unit at (205) 464-8690, the Tuscaloosa Police Department at 205-349-2121, or CrimeStoppers at 205-752-STOP (7867).