Spotlight on 27-Year-Old Unsolved Murder: Lisa Berry

The unsolved murder of 18-year-old Lisa Berry of Middletown is back in the spotlight after Fox CT highlighted the 27-year-old case in a video this weekend.

On July 21, 1985, 18-year-old Berry went out for a run at 5:30 p.m. at Braeburn Lane in Middletown and never returned home. She was ready to attend Amherst College on a scholarship.

"Her body was discovered on Aug. 1 on Westlake Drive stuffed in a percolation hole, used to test water absorption into the soil, in four feet of water. Her death was ruled killed by drowning," according to the Fox CT video.

Berry, a straight-A, honors society student who was on the track and cross-country teams at Middletown High School had just moved to the Highlands from Hunting Hill Avenue, according to one of her best friends at the time, who wished to remain unnamed.

Her friend spoke to Berry the before night before went missing. The had plans to go out that evening. Berry's route was through the then dirt roads near her home, before most of the condominiums that now populate the Westlake area of Middletown — near Cromwell.

The State of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice has created a deck of cards each with the photos and information of 52 cold cases — unsolved homicides, missing persons, and unidentified remains cases that have occurred throughout the state.

The deck is distributed in hopes of garnering new leads. The unit was established in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney in May of 1998 to focus special investigative efforts on crimes that have gone unsolved for a long time. Police are asking anyone with information — no matter how small — to call the lines below.

Toll-Free Tip Line is (866) 623-8058. Hartford Area Tip Line is (860) 548-0606.