James E. Smith was killed with two ax blows to the head at the Hi-Joy Bowl in Port Orchard on Aug. 15, 1961. A custodian who often started his shift at 4 a.m., Smith appeared to have been killed in a scuffle with someone who had broken in through a back window of the building. Many theories on the case have emerged over the years, including that the police chief that initially investigated it was the killer. But Port Orchard police detectives have little hope of solving it, in part because the case is nearly 50 years old and much of the evidence was lost somewhere along the way.