The Shadow
Twenty years after her murder, the Covington City Police Department and Virginia State Police are still working to discover the identity of Esther Agnes “Aggie” Albert’s killer.
“Cases like this nature are never cold,” said Covington City Manager and Police Chief J.B. Broughman.
Broughman was a sergeant 20 years ago on Friday, July 3, 1992, when Aggie Albert’s body was discovered at approximately 6:40 a.m. at a side entrance to Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Main Street in Covington.
According to information supplied to the Virginian Review by then-Covington Police Chief Jeff Brown, an autopsy revealed that Albert had been sexually assaulted and died as a result of strangulation.
Twenty years later, the investigation continues.
“Although we’re looking at 20 years, there have been quite a few opportunities where we, along with the Virginia State Police, have really placed things into different investigative avenues and followed different paths to try to solve this murder,” Broughman said.
Albert’s murder, which came as a shock to the community, has haunted law enforcement officials for two decades.
“I was on duty that night and I feel a certain amount of responsibility because I wasn’t there,” said Broughman.
“I’m sure that’s an example of how many members of the Covington Police Department and Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office feel.”
An evidence-gathering team from the Virginia State Police was present at the scene of the crime 20 years ago and Broughman said the state police have been continuously involved ever since.
“We’re very grateful to Captain George Austin and the Virginia State Police,” said Broughman. “They have expertise and manpower and resources that we don’t have.
Fortunately they have been involved in helping us take the lead in terms of following some of these paths. They still are.”
Austin, who is the division commander of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Investigation’s Salem Field Office, believes Albert’s murderer can eventually be brought to justice.
“I certainly believe this is a solveable case and so does J.B. and so does (Alleghany County Commonwealth’s Attorney) Ed Stein,” he said in a telephone interview. “With the help we have on this case, I think we may be able to do something with it.”
Austin’s career path took him to Richmond before he transferred to the Salem Division, which encompasses the Alleghany Highlands.
Even when he was in Richmond, Austin never lost sight of the case.
“This case is important to Covington,” said Austin. “It’s important to me.”
Austin’s roots run deep in Covington. He was raised in Covington and played on the same football team with Broughman at Covington High School for Aggie’s brother, legendary coach Boodie Albert.
With such strong local ties, Austin understands the impact of the still-unsolved murder on the community as well as the more personal impact on the family.
“I knew the family really well. Aggie’s sister, Rosalie, worked with my father at Covington Motors. I’ve been to their house to have dinner. I knew Aggie really well. This one is personal,” Austin said.
When Austin became a captain in 2004 and transferred to the Salem Division, he officially took a hand in the murder investigation.
“I was in Richmond when (the murder) occurred,” Austin explained. “When I came back in June of 2004, I reviewed this case and a couple other cold cases. I got with J.B. and we started working on it pretty heavily in 2005 and 2006. We’ve devoted a lot of resources to this.”
Those resources include two officers working on the investigation full-time.
“We’ve also had a lot of help from J.B.’s crew. Ed Stein has been a big part of this and will be integral in anything we do,” said Austin.
Cold cases can become more challenging as the years pass, but Austin said the Albert case is continuing to benefit from solid work done at the original crime scene.
“On this one, it’s not as difficult as some others,” he said. “There was a lot of good work done on it from the beginning by the Covington Police Department and the Virginia State Police. There was a lot of detail and a lot of evidence that was collected.”
Twenty years may seem like a long time, but the murder hasn’t gone unsolved because of a lack of effort.
“The case was never closed,” said Austin. “We never close rapes, kidnappings or homicides. The Aggie Albert murder has never been an inactive or a closed case.”
Albert’s murder was the second to take place in a 30-day period in downtown Covington in 1992.
Thomas Lynn Lindsay had been found murdered in his apartment on Maple Avenue on June 3.
The Covington Police Department later concluded that Lindsay had been murdered by James Cade Jr.
Cade’s body was discovered on the bank of the Jackson River at the city playground the same morning Albert’s body was discovered. Police ruled Cade’s death a suicide by means of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Albert was a life-long member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and often went alone to the church late at night or early in the morning for many years to do volunteer work.
She was a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, Virginia Society for Human Life, created and produced the Zany Follies and was a member of the Alleghany Highlands Chorale. She was retired from Westvaco where she had been employed as a technician.
Albert was buried July 7, 1992 in Cedar Hill Cemetery.
