TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Almost five decades after a Tucson mother was found murdered in her midtown home, her family is still waiting for answers, and detectives say new DNA testing could finally provide them.
On March 22, 1976, 52-year-old Ruby Sherman was killed inside her home near Broadway and Craycroft. Her son, Rick Sherman, was the one who discovered her.
"Then I called 911, they didn’t stay on the line. Called my sister… I’d say five, six minutes, seven minutes. Everybody in the world shows up. They haul me outside. By that time, I found my kids were in the backyard," Rick Sherman said.
Police never found the murder weapon, and nothing was stolen — leaving the motive a mystery. For decades, the case sat unsolved. This year, Tucson Police Detective David Miller reopened the file.
"Justice looks different to everybody," Miller said. "As a detective, we want to be able to bring a positive resolution."
Miller says evidence from the original investigation was carefully preserved and is now being retested using modern forensic tools.
"That lab work is still being worked on at this point," Miller said, "and hopefully it will give us some good results that will advance the case or possibly even lead to a suspect identification."
Rick says he’s encouraged by the renewed effort, even after living most of his life without closure.
"At the time, the technology did not permit them to do the things that they can do today," he said. "I don’t know how much of the items they still have left — the blouse around her neck, the sheet she laid on — but I’m sure they’ve sent items for testing."
For Rick, the loss of his mother still feels as painful now as it did nearly 50 years ago.
"I could not imagine a world that my mother wasn’t in," he said. "She was always there. I was on Virginia Beach one night and called her… she told me, ‘go sober up, call me tomorrow, things will be different.’ And I can’t do that. I can’t call her tomorrow and things will be different. So they took that away from me."
Detective Miller says even the smallest piece of information could help bring new clues.
"Somebody may have not come forward or mentioned something back then because they didn’t realize what significance it would have," he said.
Rick believes the person responsible may no longer be alive, but knowing what happened would finally bring peace.
"I believe the person’s dead already," he said. "So I don’t think there will ever be justice. Not for my mom, for me would be peace to know what happened. My mom, I don’t think it matters. I know she’s with my father in heaven."
Anyone with information about the 1976 murder of Ruby Sherman is asked to contact Tucson Police or call 88-CRIME.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
