TX TX- CHERYL Lynn SPRINGFIELD, 21, left naked, beaten & strangled w. cord, beside the Xmas tree @ home, Fort Worth, 25 December, '80, *New initiative*

[dotr]

November 26, 2024​

Woman Promises to Find Justice for Murdered Sister

After nearly four decades a Fort Worth murder case has gone cold, but a sister’s promise to find the killer remains strong.

www.nbcdfw.com

''It's been nearly four decades since Cheryl Lynn Springfield was found beaten and strangled on Christmas Day 1980.
Circumstances surrounding her death and unanswered questions have tormented the woman's sister, Jan Tunnell Webster, since that day.
"I stood over her casket, and I put my hand over hers, and her little fingers were wrinkled and I promised her I will find out who did this," said Webster.
She vowed she'd never break that promise after her only sister was murdered.
Springfield was just 21 years old when she was found dead inside a quaint home on Whittier Street in Fort Worth.''

''She had her whole life ahead of her. The spunky, happy brunette had been working things out with her ex-husband, Scott. The two had planned to spend Christmas together with their young son, but instead, her ex-husband – who was ruled out as a suspect – found her body.

Springfield was naked and bloody next to the Christmas tree. Detectives say she was strangled with a cord that was still tightly wound around her neck''.

 

[mlhenn]

MURDER - Cheryl Lynn Tunnell-Springfield | Solve the Case

On Christmas morning, 12/25/1980, Leon Scott Springfield went to the residence of his ex-wife to bring toys for the children. When he entered the residence he found the victim deceased on the living room floor. It was later determined that she had been strangled. A neighbor had seen the victim...

www.solvethecase.org

Summary:
On Christmas morning, 12/25/1980, Leon Scott Springfield went to the residence of his ex-wife to bring toys for the children. When he entered the residence he found the victim deceased on the living room floor. It was later determined that she had been strangled. A neighbor had seen the victim talking to an unknown male around midnight on Christmas Eve.

Additional Details:
A neighbor on Whittier Street told detectives they saw Springfield speaking with someone outside the home in the early morning hours that Christmas day. The witness, however, couldn't give a good description of the person. Fort Worth police were able to lift a partial fingerprint as well as DNA from the scene. All these years later, though, there has still been no match.

Case Last Updated:
Jan 24, 2025

 

[tarabull]

old short thread

UNSOLVED Thread 'Fort Worth, TX 1980 Cheryl Lynn Tunnell-Springfield Cold Case murder'

Dec 22, 2018

Episode 21 of The Murder in My Family podcast is out now with the 1980 Fort Worth, TX case of Cheryl Lynn Tunnell-Springfield. She was strangled and beaten in the early morning hours of Christmas. Her nude body was discarded under the Christmas tree only feet from where her young son slept.

Although the case is unsolved, police and Cheryl's sister Jan are confident they know who murdered Cheryl.

Cheryl's sister Jan discusses Cheryl's case and her efforts to get justice for Cheryl over the last 38 years. http://themurderinmyfamily.com/episode-21-cheryl-lynn-tunnell-springfield/

• morf13
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Cold Cases

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