Photo by Jim Davis. Two residents of Chapel Oaks Drive hold candles during a vigil for a 71-year-old woman who was killed inside her home last week.

Published on: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

By Jim Davis

Family members, friends and local leaders participated in a candlelight vigil last Thursday night in front of the Chapel Oaks home of a 71-year-old woman who was killed Feb. 9.

Geraldine Joyce McIntyre, who had to use a walker and wheelchair to get around, was found not breathing and suffering from multiple stab wounds around 3 p.m. Feb. 9 by police and fire units, a source said. Paramedics transported McIntyre to a local trauma center, where she was later pronounced dead.

McIntyre was living with her adult daughter, who is disabled. Her daughter was in the hospital at the time of the murder. For the few weeks leading up to her death, McIntyre had been living alone.

McIntyre was known throughout her close-knit neighborhood as a friendly woman who on warm days would sit outside on her porch and greet passersby. Family members say she had no enemies. They say she would have given anything she had to anyone.

“At the end of the day, we just want justice done,” said Dan Brooks, McIntyre’s nephew. “We want the people caught, and then maybe, we could start healing from there.”

McIntyre was in a wheelchair and often left her front door unlocked because she received daily food deliveries. Family and friends think that may be why she was targeted.

Residents who live on Chapel Oaks Drive also said she left her door unlocked and that she was very kind and would help anyone in need.

The suspect is described as a black male, between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9, approximately 30-45 years old, with a slim build and dark complexion. The suspect may have been wearing a dark brown or black leather jacket, black skull cap and black pants. He may have been carrying a black bag.

For several days, police officers and detectives went door to door in the neighborhood passing out fliers and talking to residents about the incident, looking for more information regarding the homicide.