Jennifer Leigh Day Disappeared from a Donut Shop and Found Murdered: What Happened?
Jennifer Leigh Day Was Found Murdered & Her Killer Has Gotten Away With It.
The Unsolved Murder of Jennifer Leigh Day: A Dallas Teen’s Tragic End
On a quiet Sunday morning in June 1985, a routine shift at a Dallas donut shop turned into every parent’s nightmare. Fourteen-year-old Jennifer Leigh Day vanished from her workplace in broad daylight, only to be found murdered three days later. Nearly four decades later, her killer remains free, leaving a family desperate for justice and a community haunted by unanswered questions.
The Disappearance
June 23, 1985, began like any other Sunday for Jennifer Leigh Day. The 14-year-old arrived at Preston Donuts in Dallas at 5:30 a.m. for her weekend shift, speaking with the shop owner at 5:35 a.m. to confirm she had arrived safely. Working alone that morning, Jennifer served customers until approximately 6:20 a.m.
Just fifteen minutes later, everything changed.
At 6:35 a.m., a customer entered the donut shop to find it eerily empty. Jennifer was nowhere to be seen, but her personal belongings told a disturbing story. Her purse and jewelry remained on the counter, untouched. The cash register showed no signs of tampering or theft. It was as if Jennifer had simply vanished into thin air.
“Instantly, I was thinking something’s wrong,” her brother Jeff Day later recalled. “And then seeing the police presence at the shop made it — that drove it home to me. In my mind, she had probably been abducted and... it was brutal.”
The Discovery
The search for Jennifer ended in heartbreak three days later. On June 26, 1985, an excavation crew working near Preston Road and White Road in Plano — approximately 11 miles from the donut shop — made a grim discovery. Jennifer’s naked, bloodied body lay discarded at the site, bearing the brutal evidence of her final moments.
The medical examination revealed the horrifying truth: Jennifer had died from multiple stab wounds to the neck. The teenager who had loved life and brought joy to those around her had been taken in the most violent way possible.
The Investigation
From the beginning, investigators believed Jennifer had been abducted from the donut shop. The crime scene analysis suggested a quick, efficient attack — no struggle inside the shop, no theft, just the sudden disappearance of a young girl.
One of the most promising leads emerged from a witness who had parked across the street from Preston Donuts at approximately 6:32 a.m. — just minutes before Jennifer was discovered missing. The witness reported seeing a male and female get into a large, dark-colored car in front of the donut shop and drive away. Could this have been Jennifer with her abductor? Or were the witnesses seeing something unrelated to the crime?
Despite extensive investigation, the case eventually went cold. Tips were followed, suspects were questioned, but no arrests were made. The brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl became another unsolved case file in a growing stack of cold cases.
A Brother’s Quest for Justice
For nearly 40 years, Jennifer’s family lived with the pain of not knowing who had taken their beloved daughter and sister. The case remained dormant until 2024, when Jeff Day decided he could no longer accept that his sister’s killer might never face justice.
Jeff reached out to the Plano police chief, asking if anything could be done to advance the investigation. His persistence paid off when Detective Aaron Benzick contacted him, expressing interest in taking a renewed look at the case as part of a departmental initiative.
The investigation gained additional momentum through Solve the Case, a nonprofit organization Benzick founded in 2023. The organization provides free tools and services to help solve cases of murder, missing persons, and serial offenses, creating a nationwide database where the public can both add cases and contribute to solving them.
New Hope Through Technology
Modern investigative techniques offer new possibilities in Jennifer’s case. Detective Benzick has been reviewing the case since 2024, focusing particularly on DNA evidence processing capabilities that weren’t available in 1985.
“Specifically in recent years, new abilities to process items of evidence for DNA is a focus we use to look at helping unsolved cases,” Benzick explains. “In combination with any new DNA techniques, we also want to promote our cold cases publicly to solicit tips and identify witnesses that would be willing to come forward and help provide information that they know on these cases.”
The renewed investigation represents more than just technological advancement — it symbolizes a commitment that some cases, no matter how cold, should never be forgotten.
The Girl Behind the Headlines
According to her obituary, “Jennifer Leigh Day was a sweet young lady that loved life. She was taken much too early, but she will never be forgotten by her family and those who knew her.”
These simple words capture the essence of who Jennifer was — not just a victim or a case file, but a vibrant teenager with her whole life ahead of her. She had dreams, aspirations, and people who loved her. In 1985, she was just beginning to explore her place in the world, working a part-time job that gave her independence and spending time with friends and family who cherished her.
The Ongoing Search for Justice
Today, Jennifer Leigh Day’s case remains open and active. The Plano Police Department continues to receive and investigate tips, with Detective Benzick leading the renewed effort to solve this decades-old mystery.
Anyone with information about Jennifer’s murder is urged to come forward. Even the smallest detail — something that seemed insignificant at the time — could provide the breakthrough needed to finally identify her killer.
How You Can Help
If you have any information about the Jennifer Leigh Day case, no matter how small or seemingly irrelevant, you can email the investigative team at coldcases@planotexas.org. Your tip could be the missing piece that brings closure to a family that has waited nearly four decades for answers.
The brutal murder of Jennifer Leigh Day represents not just a personal tragedy for her family, but a failure of justice that has persisted for too long. As technology advances and witnesses reconsider what they know, there remains hope that her killer will finally be held accountable for this senseless act of violence against an innocent teenager.
If you have any information about this case, please contact the Plano Police Department Cold Case Unit at coldcases@planotexas.org. Even anonymous tips can make a difference in solving this 39-year-old mystery.