Tuesday marks 15 years since unsolved murder

KANNAPOLIS — A family is without closure 15 years after their father was murdered at a Kannapolis car wash.

Tuesday marked the anniversary of William Nelson's death. Kannapolis police are making a new push to try to track down his killer.

On July 22, 1999, Nelson was shot and killed at Whitley's Car Wash on North Ridge Avenue in Kannapolis.

He was found inside his work van around 1:30 in the morning. 

After years of going through evidence, interviews and photos, police aren't any closer to finding the killer.

Lt. Terry Spry says, "The investigation never dies. We don't believe in pushing things to the side, filing it away, and nothing ever being done with it."

Jessica Howell lost her father when she was just 14 years old. She remembers her father as someone with the biggest heart. "He'd give you the shirt off of his back. He is just that kind of person. If he could help out he would."

Spry says they review a cold case every six months. This time they're trying something new.

Police are now using social media to try to generate new leads.

They've posted Crime Stoppers information on their Twitter and Facebook pages.

Spry explains, "(We're) hoping the public would know something and share that information."

Howell and her family refuse to give up on finding who killed her father. They're hoping someone will finally come forward, not just for closure but to get a dangerous person off the streets.

There is a $6,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Nelson's killer.

WSOC