Family, Friends Hold Vigil For Murdered Raleigh Teenager

Penny Vinson, Beth Ellen's mother, says the tears she cries today are as fresh as the ones she cried six years ago.

"It's hard, it's really difficult," Vinson says. "The pain is exactly the same, maybe even worse."

Beth Ellen was only 17 when she was found stabbed to death. Her body was left in a ditch near a warehouse in Raleigh. Her killer has never been found.

"The pain that I feel is pain I never knew existed," says Vinson.

For the first time Wednesday, Vinson visited the site of her daughter's death. Twenty-four people gathered for a vigil to remember the teenager.

Penny Vinson believes it is important not to forget her daughter or the fact that the person who murdered her is still out there.

Sgt. Chris Morgan of the Raleigh Police Department believes time may be to his advantage.

"The trail is not cold at all. We just have to pick it up and go another way," he says. "People change. People tell people things that may get back to us, and peoples' attitudes change."

Investigators have been re-interviewing people and are following up on new leads all the time. Morgan says he has taken a personal interest in the case and is determined to see it solved.

"If I were the person who murdered Beth Ellen Vinson, I'd be very worried," he says.

Raleigh police have 17 unsolved murders, 12 of them are over a year old. One of the cases is 19 years old, and the police department is still following leads.

If you have any information on the Beth Ellen Vinson case, you should call the Raleigh Police Department at919-890-3555.