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Dec. 22, 2024, By Kyani Reid lengthy article.
www.nbcnews.com
''In 1992, Jacob’s grandmother, Hazelle Fenty, was found dead in a Daytona Beach, Florida, church.''
Hazelle Fenty with her grandsonsJacob Cockcroft
'December 4, 1992, was no ordinary day for Hazelle Fenty. It was her 76th birthday. “My father said that she had called him earlier in the day and they had talked, and he’d wished her happy birthday and she was in pretty good spirits,” Jacob told Dateline.''
''She attended Indigo Lakes Baptist Church in Daytona, where she was an ordained deacon and worked as a secretary. According to Jacob, that afternoon, Hazelle “went over to the pastor’s house, John Nichols' house, and had lunch with him and his wife.” Then Hazelle and the pastor went back to the church to do some work.''
“When the police arrived, they found her lying on her stomach. There was blood on the floor around the head area,” Flynt said. “She was wearing her blouse, bra, and a T-shirt, and her pants and underwear had been removed. Her shoes were still on.”
The detective says Hazelle’s throat had been slit and she had been sexually assaulted. “Nothing had been disturbed as far as her purse, so we don’t believe robbery was the motive,” he noted.
Authorities believe Hazelle’s murder was a crime of opportunity. “We believe the motive was the sexual assault,” Det. Flynt said.
Jacob Cockcroft finds that one of the most disturbing parts of the case. “Sexual homicides of the elderly is a really rare phenomenon and so it makes it a really kind of bizarre case,” he said. “It’s incredibly violent.”
“As DNA technology changes from year to year we’re hoping that’ll be one of the things that help solve this case,” he said.''

Grandson taking on investigation into 1992 murder of Daytona Beach woman Hazelle Fenty
On December 4, 1992, Hazelle Fenty was found murdered in a Daytona Beach church. It was her 76th birthday.

''In 1992, Jacob’s grandmother, Hazelle Fenty, was found dead in a Daytona Beach, Florida, church.''

'December 4, 1992, was no ordinary day for Hazelle Fenty. It was her 76th birthday. “My father said that she had called him earlier in the day and they had talked, and he’d wished her happy birthday and she was in pretty good spirits,” Jacob told Dateline.''
''She attended Indigo Lakes Baptist Church in Daytona, where she was an ordained deacon and worked as a secretary. According to Jacob, that afternoon, Hazelle “went over to the pastor’s house, John Nichols' house, and had lunch with him and his wife.” Then Hazelle and the pastor went back to the church to do some work.''
“When the police arrived, they found her lying on her stomach. There was blood on the floor around the head area,” Flynt said. “She was wearing her blouse, bra, and a T-shirt, and her pants and underwear had been removed. Her shoes were still on.”
The detective says Hazelle’s throat had been slit and she had been sexually assaulted. “Nothing had been disturbed as far as her purse, so we don’t believe robbery was the motive,” he noted.
Authorities believe Hazelle’s murder was a crime of opportunity. “We believe the motive was the sexual assault,” Det. Flynt said.
Jacob Cockcroft finds that one of the most disturbing parts of the case. “Sexual homicides of the elderly is a really rare phenomenon and so it makes it a really kind of bizarre case,” he said. “It’s incredibly violent.”
“As DNA technology changes from year to year we’re hoping that’ll be one of the things that help solve this case,” he said.''