ST. LOUIS – We're going deep into the archives hoping justice will finally come for a young couple that had so much life to live.
Down in the basement of 5 On Your Side is the archive room. Seventy years of St. Louis history is in that room. Old film, tapes and scripts that go back decades.
One from November of 1980, mentions a violent weekend where seven people were killed in the St. Louis area, including a double murder that remains cold to this day.
It's a crime that's been called one of the most intensely investigated cases in St. Louis history.
Nearly 40 years have passed since the murders of Gary Consolino, 20, and Ellen Dooling, 18. But for those who knew them, it still feels like yesterday.
Barb Post went to Nerinx High School with Dooling.
"It's still raw, it wasn't fair, it's not fair," said Post. "She was smart, pretty and talented."
Dooling made such an impact on Post, she named her daughter after her.
"Felt like I was honoring Ellen, her memory and keeping it alive," said Post.
It happened in the early morning hours of November 15, 1980. Dooling was coming home from her second date with Consolino.
They were sitting in a car parked in front of Dooling’s home in St. Louis Hills, hardly a block from Francis Park, when someone shot them both in the head.
Old newspaper articles describe a haunting scene. Dooling’s father discovered the two. He ran down the street yelling for help, yelling his daughter had been shot.
Right from the very beginning it was difficult case for police because they had little to go on. Years went by with no answers. Then in 1987, a young detective by the name of Chris Pappas asked to take a look.
"I remember the case very, very well. It was amazing that the case had gone unsolved," said Pappas. "There were some really outstanding investigators that worked this case."
"You never forget, you never forget it," said Pappas. "These were two really good kids from good families who never had a chance to live their lives."
Pappas spent years chasing down leads.
"Every tip, every bit of information that came our way was looked at," said Pappas.
Then there was a tip in 1989 that lead him to a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in federal prison. The man was from St. Louis, and in 1980 he lived less than two miles from the Dooling home.
"I got an informers tip about an individual who was incarcerated made claims that he committed this double homicide," said Pappas.
Pappas met face to face with the man inside an Illinois prison in 1994. He was hoping for a confession.
"He gave bits and pieces but nothing solid," said Pappas. "Kind of a strong circumstantial case but that's is as far as it would go, at this time he remains a possible suspect."
And the case remains cold. After four decades, Post knows her friend's murder may never be solved.
"God needed her more than we did," said Post.
That's not enough for Pappas. He spent 20 years looking for the person who did it.
"There's always a little part of you that feels a little incomplete because it didn't get solve," said Pappas.
He prays one day that feeling will go away.
"My eternal hope right now that someone will come forward after all these years," said Pappas. "Crime that truly needs to be exposed. Whoever did this needs to be brought to justice, those families deserve closure."
Lt. Scott Aubuchon is the current director of the homicide unit with the St. Louis Police Department. He shares Pappas' hope that somebody might be able to help them solve this case. He said no case is too old.
If you know anything about these murders give Crimestoppers a call at 866-371-TIPS.
