MARYVILLE, Tenn. — The roof and shutters at 509 McGhee Street in Maryville may be blue now but the building still holds a mystery that dates back to 2002, when they were painted green.
Helen Mills, a Maryville shop owner, was found dead inside the business over Labor Day weekend around 22 years ago and police said the person who killed her is still walking free.
"This is her old shop here, this is Herbal Health Concepts," said Debbie Segar, Mills' daughter, on a hot summer morning in Maryville. "And she was part of the community. People had questions. They came here, they needed a product they came here. She was very helpful."
When 10News first covered Mills' murder in the early 2000s, reporters spoke to people who knew her business and the area around it.
"She was a nice lady, very friendly, very nice, very attentive," one person told 10News.
According to the Maryville Police Department, Mills was found around 4 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2002.
"The Maryville Police Department received a call of a dead body, a dead person, at a little herb shop, which is located almost directly across from City Hall," said Tony Crisp, the Maryville Police Chief. "We're in a different building today, but our old police department is in the same location we're at now."
Crisp took office as the city's police chief the next day on Sept. 1, 2002. He said Helen's husband, Doug Mills, along with her son, found her body when they came to pick her up from work. The family planned to leave for vacation soon after.
"Mr. Mills went up to the door first, the door was locked. He knocked on it, she did not respond," Crisp said. "So then, the son came up and put the key in, went in and had found her."
Crisp said Mills was found behind the counter at her store. The building that held the herb shop had been a number of businesses before Mills died, and after she was found dead inside of it.
People who worked nearby also spoke to 10News after her body was found.
"For a guy to come in and strangle somebody, you're definitely a cold-blooded killer," a business owner who worked next to Mills' shop told 10News in 2002.
Crisp said he responded to the call, where officers and crime scene technicians processed the area and gathered some evidence.
"The investigation became cold after a while," he said. "I know several things that we initiated back then. We offered some reward money, and there was other people that offered reward money —even the family themselves."
Doug never gave up his search to figure out who killed his wife. He hired a private investigator to take a look at the case and upped the reward money for information leading to an arrest.
"Whoever's done this horrible thing, no matter where they go, they're going to see it," Doug told 10News in the early 2000s. "They know we are after them. I want them to know I am not going to give up. We are going to pursue this, and you're going to get caught. You're not going to get away with it."
Crisp said people with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working on the case and that there is a detective who has been hired recently to go over evidence in Maryville's cold cases.
Police don't think robbery was the motive in Mills' killing, and Crisp stopped short of sharing why investigators think Mills was killed.
"We have a person of interest, perhaps, it would be safe to say," Crisp said. "But I would stop short of saying anything other than that."
Crisp said the person is still alive, but he's not sure if they're still in the area. He also said the business should have been open when Mills was found dead and that whoever killed her locked Mills in her business after they left.
Crisp said police think Mills knew who killed her.
"We do believe she was strangled from behind," Crisp said. "So that would be indicative that, that person knew her as well. So, you know, strangulation is more of a personal type of crime. But again, we would be speculating beyond that."
Mills' daughter showed up at the crime scene thinking something had happened to her father since he was in poor health. She said she was shocked to find out her mom died and also surprised her body was found locked inside the business.
"For her to be inside is questionable," she said. "Because she was expecting them to come pick her up, and the door was locked."
Segar said her mom was in great physical shape and very aware of her surroundings.
The past 22 years without her mother has been hard, she said.
"My dad died in my arms the very day (he was) renewing the $10,000 reward," Segar said. "Money has made people come forward. I'm hoping for compassion. Someone, someone knows something. They just need to come forward."
Arthur King, a detective in Maryville, put some fresh eyes on this case and said he thinks about it a lot.
"It's very puzzling as to why, because she was a kind, gentle soul," King said. "Had no enemies in the area, just out working and trying to do her job."
King said anyone who knows what happened needs to contact police.
"If someone has information, we'd love to hear from them," he said. "Or the person responsible. Just come in and tell us what happened, why it happened."
King said it can take a while to get things associated with the crime scene to be tested and returned from the FBI crime lab. However, he said advances in technology could likely bring evidence to light that could connect police to the killer.
He also said it's possible the person who killed Mills could be currently living a normal life as if nothing happened.
"And I'm the kind of person that would want to come forward and do the right thing and clear this matter up," King said. "But everybody's different. Their mind is different."
Anyone with information on the case should call Tennessee Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165.