Post by Scumhunter on Oct 15, 2016 3:03:59 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: Salt Lake City Tribune website)
From the AMW archives:
Grandmother Of Six Brutally Murdered In Utah
Police say someone brutally beat and stabbed Sherry Black to death in her South Salt Lake City bookstore on Nov. 30, 2010. Now they need your tips to help track down a heartless killer.
Sherry Black kissed her husband Earl goodbye around 8 a.m. as he left for a service call and started to ready herself for the workday that lay ahead.
The grandmother of six had always had a passion for rare and unusual books – and decided to make a living out of it. So, she partnered up with her husband – who specialized in billiard supply and repair – to form “B&W Billiards and Books.” Always the team, the happy couple named the small business to include Earl’s last name, “Black,” and Sherry’s maiden name, “Waycasy.”
The 64-year-old didn’t have far to go on her commute because her “office” was just next door to her South Salt Lake City, Utah, home. A short walk across a gravel driveway into a modest outbuilding and you were transported into a literary world many people wouldn’t even know existed.
"Sherry’s store was not your usual brick-and-mortar store,” said family friend Scott Young, also a rare book dealer. “It was tucked back on a busy eight-lane highway, and one blink and you could practically miss it driving by. She definitely flew under the radar and wasn’t as well-advertised as the established stores downtown.”
Because of the shop’s residential locale, Sherry didn’t receive too many visitors, allowing her to shut down shop when needed to run errands or go off exploring in search of new literary treasure.
But on Nov. 30, 2010, a customer would pay Sherry a visit that would cost the doting grandmother her life.
Cops say Earl returned home from his service call later that afternoon and went down to the shop to check on his wife. What he would find would shake him – and an entire community – to its core: Sherry had been brutally beaten and stabbed, and left for dead on the floor of their bookstore.
South Salt Lake City Police say a frantic 911 call came in from Earl at approximately 1:43 p.m., but it was too late. Sherry Black had already passed away.
Police: Motive Still Unknown In Vicious Slaying
Cops say Sherry's husband found her body on the floor of the bookstore they owned together, "B&W Billiards and Book," in South Salt Lake City.
“Sherry was one of the book dealers in town that everyone liked,” said Young of his longtime friend. “There are people in life that – for whatever reason – you just like more than others; Sherry was that person. She was incredibly humble and you can’t imagine something like that happening to someone you know, let alone her.”
When the news first broke of Sherry’s senseless murder, many acquaintances of hers learned just how humble the 64-year-old grandmother was.
"I still have people come up to me who say they knew Sherry very well and had no idea she was related to the Miller family,” said Young. “Sherry’s daughter, Heidi, was high school sweethearts with – and ended up marrying – Greg Miller, the CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group. Everyone knows who the Millers are in town since they own the Utah Jazz basketball team and a slew of other businesses.”
Young says that Sherry’s unassuming nature carried over into her business practice, as well.
“I don’t think other book dealers realized how extensive her collection really was,” said Young. “She specialized in children’s books; she was smart enough to find different genres that other stores didn’t consider much.”
Young tells AMW that Salt Lake City is peppered with bookstores that specialize in books related to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. He says Sherry also bought and sold LDS books, and was very active in her church.
“She had at least four or five glass cases in the store,” said Young. “Most of her valuable LDS books were kept behind the glass or in her safe. Some of those books can be worth thousands of dollars.”
What’s most baffling to police is that there seemed to be no signs of robbery at the scene of the crime.
"We can’t determine if anything was taken,” said Lt. Dwayne Ruth of the South Salt Lake City Police Department. “We’re talking thousands and thousands of books – piles of them everywhere. This is inventory only she was familiar with in her mind. There was money in the cash register that was left and plenty of things of value that could have been taken, but weren’t.”
Young tells AMW that it’s not uncommon for small bookstore owners to keep few – if any – records of inventory.
“When you have tens of thousands of books and you’re running a store by yourself, you’re spending your money and your time doing things to make more money and acquire more books,” said Young. “You’re not going to waste hour-after-hour trying to go through inventory.”
Cops say this lack of inventory records has made it even more difficult to determine a motive in the case – or if Sherry’s killing was even tied to the rare book industry she loved so much.
Cops Need Help Determining Origin Of Belt Found At Scene
South Salt Lake City Police say there were no signs of a struggle when they arrived at B&W Bookstore that November afternoon. They say there are many theories floating around, one of which being the suspect may have posed as a customer interested in purchasing some books.
“A lot of her customers were by appointment-only and the store is not advertised as well as those you see downtown,” said Lt. Ruth. “It’s also located off of a major highway, so tons of cars pass by every day.”
While speculation still exists as far as a motive in the case, authorities do have one solid piece of evidence: a belt that was left near Sherry’s body.
“A unique ‘A/X’ (Armani Exchange) men’s belt was recovered in the proximity of the victim,” said South Salt Lake City Police Spokesman Gary Keller. "The waist measurement of the person that wore this belt is approximately 36-to-38 inches.”
Investigators say the belt has no direct ties to the Black family and believe this article of clothing was left at the crime scene by the suspect.
“We’ve determined that the Armani belt is a knock-off – it’s not the real deal,” said Lt. Ruth. “It’s well-worn, and we have no idea why it was left behind. Maybe the crime was going somewhere else and was interrupted.”
Cops are asking the community to look at the evidence closely to help them determine who it may have belonged to. They say the belt also contains markings of “323” on the back of the belt buckle. They think this number might be an item or inventory number from a clothing store or thrift shop.
“I know somebody knows that belt,” said Lt. Ruth. “We need someone to say something to the effect of, ‘Those belts are on-sale at this store,’ or ‘I gave that same type of belt away to a thrift store awhile ago.’ I keep thinking that someone out there has suspicions about a family member or friend.”
web.archive.org/web/20110205040555/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=76319
Links with additional/updated information:
fox13now.com/2015/11/30/sherry-black-remembered-5-years-after-murder-in-south-salt-lake/
www.sltrib.com/home/3246787-155/five-years-later-police-still-working
www.sherryblackinfo.com/news-stories/
Thoughts? Sherry's case is being placed in the unsolved on tv section since America's Most Wanted profiled her murder as a web-exclusive case on their old website. Sadly the case appears to still be unsolved.
Admin Note #1: According to most recent online article, Anyone with information about Sherry Black’s murder can contact the South Salt Lake City Police Department at (801) 412- 3633.
Admin Note #2: If you have any (news-related) updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
