51-Year-Old Cold Case Murder Revived In Charlotte County: Sheriff

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FL — More than 50 years later, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has revived its investigation into a the cold case death of a Lee County resident.

Detectives hope to speak with 16 people related to the 1971 death of John Deal, members of the agency’s cold case homicide team said during a news conference. (Watch the news conference below.)

In January of that year, the 71-year-old was “shot and killed on a desolate stretch of Harbor Boulevard in Port Charlotte,” Mike Gandy with CCSO said.

The only evidence found was a men’s hate, broken eyeglasses, a bank notice, a .22-caliber shell casing and fresh blood. Though no body was found, the amount of blood at the crime scene indicated that the victim didn’t survive, Gandy said.

Deal was identified as the victim through DNA evidence and information about his eyeglass prescription from his optometrist.

The bank notice was to Betty Faber, Deal’s tenant, who was 27 at the time of his death, for a $3 service charge for a check that failed to clear.

She was renting an apartment from him in North Fort Myers and had a good relationship, at first. They were “friendly up until an argument between the two resulted in Betty moving out,” Kurt Mehl with CCSO said during the news conference.

During the time she rented from Deal, he also gave her “a great deal of money,” the investigator added.

When Faber was interviewed by the sheriff’s office, she arrived in a car owned by Deal. She told deputies that she had dropped him off in Naples and he allowed her to borrow the car.

She also said that Deal had gland surgery scheduled in Tampa and a man named Ralph was going to drive him, though she didn’t know his last name.

Blood was found in the trunk of the car, but Faber, who worked for a fish company, said it came from fish and shrimp, investigators said.

The current cold case team tracked down Deal’s nephew in Georgia and used his DNA to match the blood sample found at the crime scene decades earlier.

Now, investigators hope to speak with the following people related to the case:

• Andy Naylor, previously lived in Lee and Charlotte counties
• Betty Faber (also known as Betty Cole, Betty Naylor and Betty Bird), previously lived in Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties
• Frank Jenkins (also known as Sonny Jenkins), previously lived in Lee County
• Brenda Jenkins (also known as Brenda Ray), previously lived in Lee County
• Ted Smith, previously lived in Lee and Charlotte counties
• Shirlene McMillan Williams, previously lived in Lee County
• William Duffy, previously lived in Charlotte County
• John Bird, previously lived in Sarasota County
• John Faber, previously lived in Lee and Charlotte counties
• James Harkcom, previously lived in Lee County
• Clarence Whickum, previously lived in Lee County
• Larry Lopez, previously lived in Lee County
• Ida Mae Pinder Dailey, previously lived in Lee County
• John Nelson, previously lived in Lee County
• Donald Naylor, previously lived in Lee and Charlotte counties
• Robert Naylor, previously lived in Charlotte County

“We realize how much time has passed since the murder. We do believe there are still people in the area that have direct or indirect information related to this case,” Mike Vogel with CCSO said. “We hope they will share their information with us, no matter how insignificant they think their information may be.”

Those being sought “are not necessarily suspects,” he added.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office’s cold case team at 941-575-5361 or coldcase@ccsofl.net.

Watch the full news conference about this cold case death: