Washington, D.C.
On the morning of Thursday, April 17, 1986, the offices of United States Senator Daniel J. Evans were operating with their typical Capitol Hill urgency. But as 8:30 a.m. came and went, an uncharacteristic silence fell over the senator’s communications team.
Sally Swisher Heet, the senator’s 35-year-old press secretary, was notoriously punctual. She had arranged an early breakfast meeting between Senator Evans and a reporter from The Washington Post. She never arrived. Calls to her condominium in Northeast D.C. rang out unanswered.
By early afternoon, alarm turned into action. Her press assistant, Monica Gliva, contacted Sally’s stepbrother, Jim Hudson. Together, they went to check on her at the brick apartment building on the 500 block of E Street NE, just blocks from the Senate office buildings where she worked.
What they discovered would shatter Capitol Hill’s insular world and spawn one of Washington D.C.’s most baffling, long-standing cold case investigations.
The Scene on E Street
In the lobby, Hudson and Gliva were met by an ominous sign: Sally’s mailbox swung wide open, her mail still sitting undisturbed inside.
Upstairs on the third floor, inside her apartment, the scene was horrifying. Sally lay dead on her living room floor, having suffered more than a dozen violent stab wounds.
The forensic contradictions of the apartment immediately puzzled detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD):
No Signs of Forced Entry: The door locks were intact, suggesting Sally either let her attacker inside voluntarily or was forced through the threshold at knife-point immediately upon entering.
The Mailbox Clue: Because her mailbox downstairs stood unlocked and packed with delivery, detectives theorized she was confronted the previous night—Wednesday, April 16—moments after arriving home from the Senate office around 8:30 p.m.
Neatly Folded Clothes: Sally was found unclothed, yet investigators found her garments neatly folded nearby—a chilling, orderly detail in sharp contrast to the sheer savagery of the fatal assault.
No Obvious Theft: Valuables had not been ransacked, and robbery was quickly eliminated as the primary motive.
No Recovered Weapon: The knife used in the assault was missing.
Senator Evans, visibly grief-stricken when briefed by police, publicly mourned her as an “outstanding press secretary, close friend, and confidant”.
A Rising Star in Political PR
Born in Richmond, Indiana, on August 16, 1950, Sally Heet built her reputation through intelligence, poise, and sharp media instincts.
After graduating with honors in communications from the University of Washington in 1972, she excelled in the Pacific Northwest public relations sphere. She worked for the Dorothy Matin Agency and Jay Rockey Public Relations before climbing the ranks to become vice president and manager of corporate communications at Rainier National Bank in Seattle.
When former Washington Governor Dan Evans was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1983 following the death of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson, he recruited Heet to anchor his Washington, D.C. press operations. Colleagues described her as warm, fiercely independent, and a mentor who routinely made time to speak to university students and young PR professionals.
Her life was defined by dedication and order, making the violence visited upon her inside her own home all the more incomprehensible.
Investigating the Theories
Detectives pursued dozens of leads across political corridors, Capitol Hill watering holes, and the victim’s personal network. The investigation centered around three primary theories:
1. Targeted Acquaintance
Supporting Evidence: There was no sign of forced entry, her clothes were found neatly arranged, and the excessive overkill of multiple stab wounds frequently indicates deep personal animus or familiarity.
Counter-Evidence & Challenges: Extensive background checks of colleagues, friends, acquaintances, and romantic partners yielded no credible suspects, history of threats, or documented stalking.
2. Lobby Ambush / Home Invasion
Supporting Evidence: Her mailbox was left wide open downstairs, suggesting an offender may have surprised her in the entryway, shadowed her up the stairwell, or forced their way through the door behind her as she entered.
Counter-Evidence & Challenges: Nothing of significant value was reported missing, running counter to the patterns of opportunistic burglaries and robberies common in the area during that era.
3. Serial or Stranger Predator
Supporting Evidence: Multiple violent urban homicides occurred in Washington D.C. during the mid-1980s targeting lone women traveling near transit and residential corridors.
Counter-Evidence & Challenges: There was no confirmed signature weapon, clear link to a known perpetrator, or identical pattern documented in the immediate neighborhood at that time.
Despite hundreds of interviews by MPD homicide detectives, the leads gradually dried up. No suspects were ever charged, and Sally Heet’s murder drifted into the cold case archives.
Modern Forensics and the Fight for Closure
In recent years, the investigation into Sally Heet’s death has regained momentum.
Led by family members—including her niece and goddaughter, Heather—advocates established the dedicated public campaign Who Killed Sally Heet? to centralize case details, archive media reports, and keep public scrutiny alive.
Behind the scenes, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department cold case investigators have submitted physical evidence preserved from the 1986 crime scene for advanced forensic and DNA testing. Emerging tools unavailable four decades ago—including touch-DNA extraction, modern STR profiling, and forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG)—remain the most promising path toward identifying the perpetrator.
“Today marks decades since Sally was murdered. Her memory remains strong, and so does the commitment to seeking justice on her behalf. She is not forgotten.”
— WhoKilledSallyHeet.com
How to Help
The Metropolitan Police Department offers a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the homicide of Sally Swisher Heet.
D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Branch: (202) 645-9600
Text Tip Line: 50411
Anonymous Tip Line: (202) 727-9099
Case Memorial & Family Updates: WhoKilledSallyHeet.com