SAN ANTONIO – It’s been more than nine months since 90-year-old Ruth Bateman Clay was found dead inside her East Side home.
She was shot in the neck -- possibly the victim of a stray bullet that happened to break through a wall into her bedroom.
The crime has stumped San Antonio police, who have not been able to identify a suspect.
See another cold case reenactment by KSAT here.
Police said Clay was last seen alive on Dec. 23, 2013, when her friends dropped her off at her home in the 300 block of Como after attending a Christmas party. When they didn’t hear from Clay, they checked on her on Dec. 25 and again on Dec. 28. They were not able to contact her.
Ten days passed before police were called to Clay’s home on Jan. 3. She was found on the floor of her bedroom. She had been shot in the neck.
“Around the time that she might have been shot (on Dec. 23), there was a call for shots fired in the area,” said San Antonio police Chief William McManus. “The detectives believe the shot may have come from a nearby business.”
Police are asking anyone who might remember hearing the shot or who may have seen someone shooting a gun, possibly from the 400 block of Spriggsdale, to call them.
“Any morsel of information that we can get, we can follow up on,” McManus said. “Maybe it will lead to something, maybe not.”
McManus said he met Clay on several occasions.
“A woman lives to be 90 years old and then she’s hit by someone firing a shot -- random or not -- (it’s) just unfortunate,” he said.
If you have any information on the crime, call Crime Stoppers at 210-224-STOP.