Nearly 20 years after Tom Dorr was found with his throat slit and multiple stab wounds, lying in the middle of a blizzard in the wooded area across from his house in Westchester, authorities are announcing a new reward for information in the cold case.
The Dorr family used to live in Pleasantville, and police said Tom's adult stepson, Jeffrey Sawyer, was a heroin addict and often fought with his parents. Investigators said Sawyer and his mother have not been cooperative since Dorr's killing in January of 1996, and even tampered with evidence at the crime scene near their home.
Investigators say there's no doubt in their minds who did it.
"We focused on the family members, the wife and the stepson," said Westchester County Police Lt. Jeff Hunt. "And right off the bat, they asked for their attorney privileges."
Sawyer and his mother moved to Connecticut soon after Dorr's murder. On Wednesday, the Westchester County Crime Stoppers and a private foundation announced they are adding to the reward money for a total of $6,000.
"Cold cases sometimes get put to the back burner, and we really would love for somebody to come forward," said Robert Allo of Friends of Tom Dorr.
"We believe somebody out there knows something," said Derickson Lawrence of Westchester County Crime Stoppers.
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George Longworth, commissioner of the volunteer fire department in Pleasantville, of which Dorr was a member, said, "He was viciously murdered. His throat was slit. All the evidence was covered up. People know who did and are not saying anything."
Each year, the fire department still gathers to honor their brother.
"He was just a working man he he knew what he had to do when the fire alarm went off, and he was good at it you knew he'd be there," said Longworth.
