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Unsolved Murder

The Murder of Norma Jean Jay

● No Suspects Elderly Victim Arizona
Victim
Norma Jean Jay
Age at Death
59
Date of Death
July 17, 2006
Location
Three Points, Pima County, AZ
Cause of Death
Stabbing
Suspect Identified
No
Reward
Case Status
Unsolved — Open
Norma Jean Jay | 1946–2006
Full NameNorma Jean Jay
Age59
LocationThree Points, Arizona
OccupationSubstitute Teacher / Beautician
ChildrenLee Allyn, Leonie Dodd
The Victim

Norma Jean Jay

Norma Jean Jay was 59 years old and lived in the remote community of Three Points on the west side of Tucson, Arizona. She worked as a substitute teacher for the Altar Valley School District and as a beautician. She was also an artist who crafted beaded jewelry, enjoyed painting the desert scenery around her home, and taught art to others, including her children.

Her son Lee Allyn described her as a nice, caring person with a free spirit and a little bit of a hippie at heart. She carried canned goods with easy-open lids to hand to people experiencing homelessness. She chose Three Points specifically for its rural seclusion. She had two children: Lee, who grew up knowing her, and a daughter, Leonie Dodd, whom she had placed for adoption as a baby. Leonie would not learn her mother's identity until 2017, through a DNA ancestry kit, only to discover Norma Jean had been murdered eleven years earlier.

The last confirmed contact with Norma Jean was on July 16, 2006, the day before her body was discovered. On the day she was killed, she had an appointment scheduled with a domestic abuse counselor, which she did not keep.

01
Background

What We Know

In the early morning hours of July 17, 2006, a neighbor called 911 to report that Norma Jean Jay's manufactured home in the 11400 block of South Cherokee Lane, near South Sierrita Mountain Road in the Three Points area, was on fire. Emergency services responded and extinguished the blaze. Inside, they found Norma Jean's body lying naked on her bed. She had been stabbed repeatedly. The Pima County Sheriff's Department described the crime as a "very violent" homicide and immediately launched a murder investigation.

Evidence at the scene indicated a deliberate effort to conceal the crime. The killer had poured a cleaning solution over the scene to destroy evidence and compromise DNA, and then set the home on fire as a secondary attempt to eliminate anything that remained. Despite the damage, crime scene technicians recovered a fair amount of evidence, including the murder weapon and foreign DNA. That DNA, however, has never been matched to any known individual in any law enforcement database.

The last confirmed contact with Norma Jean was on July 16, the day before she was found. A previous boyfriend was cleared by investigators early in the investigation. On the day of her murder, Norma Jean had a scheduled appointment with a domestic abuse counselor, which her daughter Leonie later identified as significant evidence of an ongoing relationship with a person of concern. That appointment was never kept.

Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

July 16, 2006
Last Confirmed Contact
The last confirmed contact with Norma Jean Jay is made on July 16, 2006. She had a domestic abuse counseling appointment scheduled for this day that she did not keep.
July 17, 2006 — Early Morning
Neighbor Reports Fire — Body Discovered
A neighbor calls 911 to report Norma Jean's manufactured home is on fire. Emergency services respond to the 11400 block of South Cherokee Lane. After firefighters extinguish the blaze, Norma Jean's body is found on her bed. She has been stabbed multiple times. A murder investigation begins immediately.
July–December 2006
Evidence Processed — Leads Exhausted
Crime scene technicians recover the murder weapon and foreign DNA despite the fire and cleaning solution used to compromise the scene. The DNA does not match any known individual in law enforcement databases. A previous boyfriend is cleared early in the investigation. By late 2007, investigators have exhausted their leads and turn to the public for help.
2017
Daughter Discovers Family Through DNA Test
Leonie Dodd, who had been given up for adoption as a baby and grew up in Colorado with no knowledge of her birth mother, uses a 23andMe DNA kit to search for her biological family. She is connected to a second cousin, which leads her to Norma Jean, and then to the news that her mother was murdered eleven years earlier. Leonie later moves to Tucson to be near her half-brother Lee Allyn, and the two siblings begin advocating together for the case.
2006 — Present
Case Remains Open — No Suspect Identified
The Pima County Sheriff's Office continues to list Norma Jean's case as active. No suspect has ever been identified or charged. The foreign DNA recovered at the scene has not been matched. The 88-Crime organization offers a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
02
Investigation

The Investigation

The investigation has been managed by the Pima County Sheriff's Office since the morning Norma Jean's body was discovered. The crime scene yielded more evidence than investigators might have expected given the fire and the cleaning solution poured over it before the blaze was set. The murder weapon was recovered inside the home. Foreign DNA was also collected. That DNA has been tested and compared against law enforcement databases on multiple occasions but has not produced a match.

Investigators cleared a previous boyfriend in the early stages of the investigation. The appointment in Norma Jean's diary and appointment book for a domestic abuse counseling session on the day of her murder has been noted by her family as a significant detail. Her daughter Leonie believes it indicates Norma Jean was experiencing difficulty in a relationship around the time of her death, and that whoever was causing her concern may be relevant to the investigation. The Pima County Sheriff's Office has not publicly named any person of interest.

The family has expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation. Leonie Dodd said in a 2021 interview that she felt investigators had dropped the ball and that the family is aware of evidence pointing to a potential direction that has not been fully pursued. The Pima County Sheriff's Office has maintained the case is still active. No arrest has been made in nearly 20 years.

03
Help Solve This Case

If You Have Information

Norma Jean Jay was murdered in her home in Three Points, Arizona in July 2006. Her killer has never been identified. The Pima County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate and the 88-Crime organization offers a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. If you have any information about this case, no matter how small, please come forward.

Pima County Sheriff's Office
(520) 351-4600
Homicide Unit — Cold Case
88-Crime Anonymous Tip Line
(520) 88-CRIME
$1,000 reward — Tips can be submitted anonymously
View 88-Crime Case Page →
In Memoriam

She Is Not Forgotten

Norma Jean Jay carried canned food in her car for people she passed who were struggling. She taught art to her children and to others. She made beaded jewelry. She painted the desert. She lived quietly in Three Points because she liked having land and being a little bit to herself. She had a free spirit and a kind heart, and someone took her life in her own home and then tried to burn away the evidence that they had been there.

Her daughter Leonie spent years not knowing her mother existed, then found her through a DNA kit, and then learned she had been murdered. She moved to Tucson to be close to her half-brother Lee. The two of them have her now, even if only in the way that loss allows. They are still asking for answers. They believe someone knows who did this.

Norma Jean Jay was murdered nearly 20 years ago. No one has been charged. She is not forgotten.

"I spent a long time trying to find her and to learn that somebody had taken her from me before I even had the opportunity to meet her — yeah, it makes me angry."
Leonie Dodd, Norma Jean's daughter — KGUN9, 2021
Sources
Tucson.com / Arizona Daily Star | KGUN9 (2021) | KOLD News 13 | 88-Crime — 88crime.org | Pima County Sheriff's Office
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