For Hometown News
In May 1974, a young man was found murdered inside a home on Benson Junction Road in DeBary.
James Aslinger was found dead about a week shy of his 31st birthday, his body exhibiting signs of violent trauma that resulted in the case being declared a homicide. The identity of his killer has never been determined and the trail of clues has long grown cold for Volusia County Sheriff's investigators. While the case has grown cold, it has been far from forgotten.
In fact, just last year the Sheriff's Office's Major Case Unit established a cold case squad that's dedicated to poring through old case files in an effort to revive unsolved cases and bring killers to justice.
As part of the new effort, the Sheriff's Office has unveiled its first in a series of cold case homicides of the week. The first one out of the box was the Aslinger case. The victim's picture and a brief information box are posted on the Sheriff's Office's Facebook page and website. Other cases will be published on successive Mondays.
Anyone with information about Aslinger's murder is asked to contact the head of the Sheriff's Office's cold case squad, Investigator Chuck Lee, at (386) 254-1535. Anyone who has information, but prefers to remain anonymous, can call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at (888) 277-8477 and even qualify for a reward if the information pans out.