BRIGHAM CITY — The Box Elder County Sheriff's Office announced a $10,000 reward Friday for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons who killed Brad Perry. It's the first time a reward has ever been offered in the nearly 17-year-old slaying.
The money was donated by business leaders in Brigham City.
The sheriff's office has received several anonymous letters and phone calls in the past from people with credible information, said Box Elder County sheriff's detective Scott Cosgrove, the lead investigator in the case. Law enforcers are hoping the reward will prompt someone to step forward.
Perry was murdered May 26, 1984, while working a graveyard shift at Perry Texaco in Brigham City. He was tied up in a back room, stabbed numerous times with a screwdriver and struck in the head with several heavy objects, crushing his skull.
No one was ever arrested in the case, which eventually appeared to hit a dead end. Investigators never had a lack of suspects, however. In fact, there have been nearly 300 suspects over the years, Cosgrove said. Some people who had absolutely nothing to do with the crime tried to take responsibility for it.
But just when it appeared the case was hitting a dead end, advances in the field of forensics and DNA evidence revived the investigation in 1998.
In October of 2000 two search warrants were filed in court. Detectives believed they had two legitimate suspects.
But the investigation seemed to get sidetracked with a public and heated feud between Perry's family and Box Elder County Attorney Jon Bunderson. The Perrys claimed Bunderson was dragging his feet in the investigation and not releasing what evidence he had to the family.
Bunderson said the Perrys were jeopardizing the case by giving too much information to the media. But both sides have apparently buried the hatchet for now.
The Utah Attorney General's Office recently became involved in the case and is actively working with Cosgrove. The AG's office is assisting with investigative, forensic and legal matters, Cosgrove said. Many witnesses are being re-interviewed with the help of the state.
"Every time we turn over a rock we find something that was missed or we need to check into," Cosgrove said.
The Perrys' attorney, Amy Hugie, said she's impressed with the work the attorney general's office has done and said the case is moving forward but that more things are happening "behind the scenes" than in the public eye. Hugie also hoped the reward will do the trick to solve the case.
"I hope this might be able to help the Perrys get some closure and help the authorities be able to solve the murder by getting whatever information they are looking for," Hugie said.
Cosgrove agreed the case is very active. Issuing a reward is not a sign that detectives are making a last-ditch effort for evidence, he said.