Upperville, Va. — LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. -- On August 23rd of 2001, someone shot Ursula Haberland multiple times. The 81-year-old was left to die on her kitchen floor.
"She probably opened the door for them, thinking come in, how can I help you? And then all of a sudden get shot," said Ted Haberland, Ursula’s son.
"If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere," said Sheriff Mike Chapman.
Seventeen years and hundreds of leads later, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has more questions than answers.
"She was an elderly lady. She was killed inside her home. That home was ransacked," he said. "There's no indication that anything was stolen."
No jewelry, cash or electronics were missing from Haberland's home. In fact, her son says $1,000 in cash was left behind, tucked in a desk drawer.
Why would anyone want to kill an elderly lady known for her kindness and generosity? Haberland gave her neighbors vegetables grown in her own garden. She'd deliver homemade jam to their door and even, helped with sewing.
"She would darn their socks, the old fashioned way. If somebody had a favorite pair of wool socks. She could, you know," said Ted, demonstrating a few stitches with his hands.
On the day of her murder, Haberland had just dropped off her daughter at Dulles Airport and stopped at the grocery store in Middleburg before heading home. When her body was discovered the next day, some of the groceries were still in the back of the car.
The only known witness to the murder was Haberland’s beloved Welsh Corgi, Victor.
"He was barking. Incessantly," said Ted. "He wanted to get there, but he couldn’t.
Victor was so distressed by what he heard, and may have seen, it appears he tried desperately to intervene.
"He had dug underneath the chain link fence to get out cause he knew, but he couldn’t get in the house," said Ted.
From that day forward, Victor was terrified of thunderstorms. The Haberland family believes that’s because claps of thunder sound like gunshots.
"To know that somebody’s out there that done this… amongst us," said Ted. "I just pray that they haven’t done it to somebody else."
If you have any information about this case, or any possible leads for the Sheriff’s Office to check out, please call the Crimesolvers number on your screen: 703-777-1919.
