BALTIMORE COUNTY — May 15 marked 42 years since Catherine Marie Britt was shot at a "lovers' lane" in Baltimore County in 1983.
Despite extensive police work over the decades, her killer has never been brought to justice. Baltimore County Police are determined to change that.
Britt, a 22-year-old Eastern Shore native, was in a parked car with her boyfriend at a secluded spot near the Loch Raven Reservoir on Poplar Hill Road when they were ambushed.
1983 'Lovers' Lane' murder still unsolved
"It was around 2:00 in the morning, it was a rainy night, there was very low visibility," explained Corporal Dona Carter with the Baltimore County Police Homicide and Missing Persons Unit.
"The man came out of nowhere, he didn't say anything and he just started shooting into the car."
Cathy was pronounced dead four days later at a local hospital, while her boyfriend survived. A month earlier, in April 1983, a similar shooting had occurred about two miles away, where two other victims survived an ambush shooting in a car.
Britt was described as a "fun loving person" who was set to graduate from Towson University the same month she was killed, Carter explained, with a job in banking set up after college.
At the time, police ramped up patrols and interviews, warning locals to stay away from the secluded areas. They even produced a composite sketch of the suspect, but it proved inconclusive.
"Unfortunately at the time, a couple people were interviewed, and a couple people came forward and said that it may look like a certain individual, but a lot of people said it pretty much looks like everyone at the time," Cpl. Carter told WMAR-2 News.
"His hairstyle and his look was very common for the early '80s, and so he matched a lot of people."
Over four decades later, the case remains unsolved. "We're hopeful somebody out there may know someone who told them something that's relevant to this case," Cpl. Carter says.
If you were in the area at the time and saw something, no matter how small, please contact Baltimore County Police at 410-887-3943.
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