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Short family murders | Special task force finds a few new leads

Mike, Mary and Jennifer Short were killed in 2002. The case has gone unsolved for 20 years. Investigators hope a new task force can change that.

Grace Holland

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Published: 11:27 PM EDT June 29, 2022
Updated: 1:56 PM EDT June 30, 2022

A decades-old murder case now has new leads.

It's been nearly 20 years since someone murdered nine-year-old Jennifer Short and her parents. In the last year, investigators formed a special task force in hopes to solve the case.

A little girl smiles from a faded polaroid photograph on the Henry County Sheriff's desk in Martinsville, Virginia.

"It's been a reminder ever since I've been here," Lane Perry said.

Perry has served as the sheriff for more than 15 years. His predecessor put a photograph of Jennifer Short on the desk to remember her death. 

Sheriff Perry kept it when he took over.

"Every day that picture is looked at multiple times a day so that we don't forget that case," Perry said.

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