Controversial Billboard Seeks Answers to Woman's Slaying

The political placards are gone from the heart of the Del Ray section of Alexandria, replaced by a stark white billboard bearing a startling question: "Do you know who killed Nancy Dunning?"

The sign was erected days after friends and supporters gathered nearby for a vigil to mark the two-year anniversary of Dunning's slaying. The popular real estate agent and civic booster was found shot to death Dec. 5, 2003, inside her two-story home.

Alexandria police said they have no suspects in the case. Recently, they launched a Web site to encourage people with tips to come forward, anonymously if they wish. Police said the investigation remains a top priority.

"We do not consider this case a cold investigation," Alexandria Police Chief Charles E. Samarra said in a statement. "We still believe that Nancy was targeted and that her murder could be connected to an event or relationship in her recent past."

The billboard was first put up Dec. 5 across the street from Mount Vernon Elementary School, not far from the crime scene. It was moved in part because the message had upset some schoolchildren, according to organizers.

Dunning's son, Chris Dunning, said plans to erect the sign, as well as a vigil organized by a committee offering a $100,000 reward, took the family by surprise.

Dunning said his father, outgoing Alexandria Sheriff James H. Dunning, and his sister, Liz Dunning, were notified about the event just days before it occurred. Neither James nor Liz Dunning, who lives out of the state, attended, but Nancy Dunning's sister, Patty Moran, spoke at the Dec. 5 vigil.

Chris Dunning called the billboard a well-meaning gesture but criticized it as an ineffective method to solve the slaying and said it is a painful reminder for family members. Dunning and his father found Nancy Dunning's body in the entryway of the family's home after she failed to show up for a scheduled lunch.

James Dunning did not return a phone message.

"There's no one who's going to drive by [the sign] and have an epiphany and say something" to police, Chris Dunning said. "I'm all for things that will really help the investigation, but I don't need to drive by a huge sign with my mother's picture on it every day on my way to the office."

Members of the reward committee said they have no plans to stop publicizing the case. They said they plan to increase their efforts by distributing smaller signs throughout the city early next year, and they might approach television shows such as "America's Most Wanted" to help get out the word.

"For the past two years, we've tried to be very careful," said Gayle Reuter, a member of committee. "We've held back on doing things because we wanted to be sensitive. But the bottom line is the word we're getting from the police is that they believe very strongly that someone in our community knows something that they're not aware they know or haven't felt comfortable coming forward. So if we don't do something, if we don't put this back in the public eye, then nothing will ever happen. We couldn't do that to Nancy."

Police investigating Dunning's killing have said they think she was targeted by someone she knew. Federal prosecutors have joined the investigation, pursuing the theory that someone might have been recruited to kill her.

In January 2004, police sought the public's help to identify a man captured on tape by security cameras at a Target store where Dunning, 56, was shopping the day she was killed. That never yielded a solid lead.

Chris Dunning said that he plans to get more involved in the reward committee and that he is "tired of watching things being done without our input."

The memorial, he said, preempted plans he and his father had made to mark the anniversary.

"We had our own private plans to meet," Dunning said. "My dad and I wanted to spend time together and do our own private thing, and [the memorial] was just dropped at our feet."