Amy Hooper was brutally murdered in her own home. Could a necklace in her hand be a clue to her murderer?

Amy was born to Hollis Hooper and Joy Long in November of 1971. Amy was the baby of the family, with two sisters who were 8 and 10 years older. Joy fondly recalls that Amy was ... "kind of spoiled. The girls played with her like she was a baby doll." Friends and family describe Amy as kind, loving, and sociable, and a little bit too trusting. She was also a huge animal lover.

In 1992, Amy Hooper was on the cusp of her adult life. She had recently returned to Columbus, OH, and had gotten her own apartment. Wanting to pursue a career in fashion, Amy got a job at Westlake Mall with a leather store. She also sometimes designed displays for a department store there.

The weekend before Amy was murdered was a busy one.

Holly, Amy's sister, was headed to Cleveland for the weekend, and she and Amy had worked out a deal for Amy to care for her dog and also borrow her car. Amy confessed to Holly that she was going to Bowling Green State University (BSGU) that weekend to visit her boyfriend. Holly did not want Amy to take her car to Bowling Green, so Amy came up with a plan to swap cars with her mother. Amy would take her mom's car to BGSU, and her mother would use Holly's car for the weekend. She did not tell her mother what her plans were.

Amy spent the weekend with her boyfriend before she returned to Columbus on Sunday evening. It had been a momentous weekend for the pair; Amy's boyfriend had given her a diamond ring which she was now wearing on her left hand. After returning to Columbus, Amy hung out with her friends for the evening.

The day that Amy was murdered.

Monday morning came early for Amy on March 9th, 1992. Having borrowed her mother's car for the weekend, she needed to return it to her so that Joy could go to work. Amy arrived at her mom's around 6:30 AM, and the two happily chatted away while Joy got ready for work. Joy would later tell Law Enforcement that Amy seemed happy and normal that morning.

Amy left her mother's house, driving Holly's car back to her apartment, to get ready for a manager's meeting at work. Amy was a reliable employee - in the 6 months that she had worked at the leather store in Westlake Mall, she had never missed a day of work.

Around noon, Holly began to reach out to Amy so that she could retrieve her car as the two had planned. She tried to phone her several times but could not get ahold of her. Holly phoned her dad, Hollis, so the pair could go to Amy's apartment to see about her car. The pair repeatedly knocked on Amy's door, but she did not answer. Holly spotted her car in the lot and used her spare key to take it back. The pair then left. Holly phoned her mom at work to see if she knew anything about Amy, but the two did not connect.

At around the same time, friends and colleagues are also becoming concerned about Amy. She had uncharacteristically missed the manager's meeting, and no one could reach her. Friends and coworkers began to exchange messages and phone calls to see if anyone knew where she was.

Around 3:30 PM, Amy's employer phones Joy at work. She was Amy's emergency contact, and they were concerned for her welfare. Alarmed by this, Joy reaches out to Holly and Hollis, and they all head to Amy's apartment.

After not getting an answer, Amy's family asks management to let them into Amy's apartment. An employee from the apartment complex and Amy's father enter her apartment around 4:00 PM.

Inside, they find a horrifying scene. Amy is discovered in an upstairs room, naked and lying on the floor with her hands bound behind her back. Law enforcement believes that she was intentionally posed. She had been beaten to death in the head and stabbed several times. An autopsy would reveal that Amy was stabbed post-mortem.

Curiously, the police find a wood and leather heart-shaped medallion, which was painted in the colors of the African flag in Amy's hands.

Amy's sister, Sandy Green, would later tell a news station that she recalled Amy purchasing the necklace at a Reggae festival that the two attended. Why the killer would place that object with Amy, though, has led to much speculation. Amy was known to date black men, and some wondered if this necklace was tied to that. Many wondered if it could have been left by an ex-boyfriend or potentially someone who was upset by her dating black men.

It did not appear that there was any forced entry so that, coupled with the ferocity of the crime, led Law Enforcement to believe that Amy likely knew who attacked her. They also believe that she may have answered the door in her robe. The only thing that stood out was that a telephone cord had been ripped from the wall. Her roommate and current boyfriend have reportedly been cleared of the attack.

Police found the knife used to stab Amy at the scene. They do not, however, know the instrument that was used to bludgeon Amy to death.

Where the case stands today.

The Franklin County Sheriff is still actively investigating Amy's case. They do have DNA evidence from the scene. A reward of $5,000 is offered for information that can lead to an arrest or an indictment in the murder of Amy Hooper. You can submit an anonymous tip to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at http://stopcrime.org/submit-a-tip/.