Torres: Only one shot to get it right in homicide
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While the mystery surrounding a woman found dead in Satellite Beach continues, her reason for being in Satellite Beach should no longer be puzzling.
Catherine Looby was Catherine Gachet when she grew up in Satellite Beach and graduated from Satellite High School on May 24, 2000. While it's been reported that she was back in town to care for her ailing father in Melbourne, she simply may have been visiting old friends on Feb. 19, a Thursday.
That's the night investigators say she was seen on a surveillance camera near Shell Avenue. Her exact reason for being in that area is unknown but she clearly knew the area well. What she didn't know was that night would be her last.
Workers found her body at a construction site the following morning. Investigators have since released the surveillance camera image hoping someone will remember seeing her. It's a grainy image and I'm hopeful that there is forensic evidence at the scene that will produce more useful results.
The ongoing investigation might seem to be going painfully slow.
But when there is little room for error, it's better to be safe than sorry. Carpenters like to say, "measure twice, cut once."
"We only get one shot at this," Maj. Tod Goodyear with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said, referring to the homicide investigation, now entering its 12th day. In a time when television shows lead us to believe crimes are solved and prosecuted neatly in an hour during prime time, reality can be hard to take.
More: Investigators searching for clues
Looby's body was discovered by construction workers behind a home under construction. The 32-year-old woman was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans, though her clothes were partially removed.. Her 2012 silver Toyota Camry was nearby.
The homicide capped off a tough few days for the beachside city. Investigators arrested three teens for a brutal crowbar attack on another teen earlier that week allegedly over drugs.
According to social media, Looby is married and her husband is in the Navy, stationed in Norfolk, Va., and she was recently working at an engineering firm in San Diego. According to friends she was working at a Viera gym as a spin instructor while back in Brevard.
When she was a student at Satellite, Looby graduated from the Youth Leadership Brevard program.
The sheriff's office has released very little information about the case and the crime scene in part by design and in part because they are still awaiting certain results. Investigators are expected to meet with the Medical Examiner early this week to see if his office's findings match their initial findings.
"We don't want to put too much out there yet," Goodyear said. "We want to take our time and not jump the gun. There is a lot going on here with this case."
The exact cause of death — not revealed yet by investigators — will likely be known once they compare notes with the Medical Examiner.
Investigators continue to canvass the neighborhood for potential witnesses or tips as well as speak to her close friends — many are out of the area — to see what was going on in her life at the time of the homicide.
This is one investigation that might yield answers from far away. Or maybe the answer goes no further than the sandy backstreets of a laid back beachside city where investigators are taking their time because, well, they only get one shot at it.
Contact Torres at 321-242-3684 or at jtorres@floridatoday.com. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter @johnalbertorres or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FTjohntorres.