Juanita Acker

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Decatur Police Department Morgan County Sheriffs Office (AL)

Offense Location:

Decatur, Alabama

Summary:

Juanita Acker, 41, was shot in 1969. Acker was a Decatur resident who worked at Redstone Arsenal. She was shot twice in the face at close range with a .22-caliber pistol, and her 16-year-old daughter and the daughter's fiance found her body at about 1 a.m. the next day. The case remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

In April 1969, Juanita's family home on Decatur's Buena Vista Circle burned down, and she had to temporarily move into a motel along US Route 31. On Friday, May 23rd, 1969, both of Juanita's daughters left for the evening. 16-year old Susan went out on a date with her 21-year old fiance, Nathan; while 12-year old Kathy went to go spend the night at a friend's house. Juanita left a motel key beneath the doormat, so that Susan would be able to come back after her date with Nathan. It was essentially a backup key, so that neither of the daughters got locked out. A motel employee, who started his shift at about 11:00 PM, stated that the phone line from Juanita Acker's room was connected when he clocked in. Again, this was around 11:00 that night, and he later told police that the phone was connected for about seven minutes or so. Investigators said at the time of the May, 23, 1969, shooting that a woman who was a family friend visited Acker at 10 p.m. Acker was shot twice in the face at close range with a .22-caliber pistol. Her 16-year-old daughter and the daughter's fiance found her body at about 1 a.m. the next day.

Additional Details:

A person close to the victim was interviewed and failed a polygraph, but not arrested. The hotel room was not ransacked and nothing appeared missing. According to newspaper accounts of the killing, Acker regularly left a key to the hotel room under a mat. Authorities found that key on top of the mat. Authorities never had "a really good" suspect in the Acker murder, but did talk with one of her co-workers in Huntsville. The suspect passed a polygraph test in the 1960s. One of the investigators involved in the case, Clarence Harris, was told that Acker was set to remarry in August of that year, to a man named Bill Givens, who lived in the Chicago area. A retired state investigator has received new information that's prompting local authorities to revisit three unsolved Morgan County murder cases, the oldest dating to 1967. A retired investigator reiterated the belief that the first two cases - that of Mary Faye Hunter and Juanita Acker - may have been linked. His long-running theory was that Acker had some knowledge of Hunter's disappearance and death, and that is why she was killed.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 01, 2026