LENOIR, N.C. — Cold case detectives from Florida are in the Tar Heel State to investigate a murder that's been unsolved for nearly 35 years.
The case at hand centers around Robert Hecht, who was 58 years old when he was found murdered in Punta Gorda, Florida on November 27, 1988. A news release from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office in Florida on Wednesday said his car, a 1989 Lincoln Town Car, was spotted the next day, November 28, parked near Lowell's Food Market on East Harper Avenue in Lenoir, more than 700 miles away from Punta Gorda.
According to police, Hecht was seen in a Punta Gorda bar on the night of November 26, 1988, talking with a man then known only as "Ray". Witnesses at the bar in Punta Gorda said "Ray" told others he was from Tennessee and Kentucky, while witnesses in Lenoir said a man matching his description was seen leaving Hecht's car and entering the store. Lenoir Police said a blonde-haired woman was also seen in the passenger seat of Hecht's car around the time "Ray" was spotted. The car would eventually be recovered when it was found parked in Lenoir on December 1, 1988.
The case would go cold for decades until 2022. A connection was drawn by investigators with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office to a man named Kenneth Ray Miller, who died in 2007 in his mid-50s. Lenoir Police connected Miller to Hecht's stolen car and believed he lived with his family in Kingsport, Tennessee, about 100 miles northeast of Lenoir.
Detectives are now seeking to talk with the woman Miller was spotted with, and don't believe she's a suspect in Hecht's murder. Rather, they want to talk to her to see if she can help in their investigation. Investigators are also looking for information about Miller's connection with Lenoir and with Kingsport beyond his family.
Anyone who can offer information should call Det. Kurt Mehl with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at 941-763-0582, Det. Mike Vogel with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at 941-763-9394, or the Lenoir Police Department at 828-757-2100.