Gwinnett County detectives don't know who took the time to cut typed letters from magazines and re-arrange them into an angry confession letter.
But police believe that letter writer is also a killer, and he or she knows for sure what happened to Eva Kay Wenal on May 1, 2008.
"We absolutely think it was constructed by whoever did kill her," Detective John Richter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The letter was mailed to the AJC's Norcross bureau in the months after Wenal was found dead in the home she shared with her husband. The AJC turned the letter over to Gwinnett County police, who sought the FBI's assistance in examining the document.
Investigators concluded the letter is authentic, compiled by someone who hoped it would get published, Richter said. This week, police released a copy of the supposed confession, in addition to some family photos, to recreate interest in a case that remains unsolved more than four years later.
A homicide investigation that led Gwinnett police to various states remains a cold case with admittedly few clues to go on.
A killing in broad daylight
When he was unable to get his wife to answer the phone, Harold "Hal" Wenal left work and drove to the upscale Sugarloaf Springs subdivision where he and his wife of 20 years rented a home in a quiet cul-de-sac.
A prominent developer, Hal Wenal, then 72, and his wife, 60, were renting a home with plans of moving into a place of their own.
But those plans came to an abrupt halt May 1, 2008, when Hal Wenal found his wife lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Her throat had been cut.
Hal Wenal ran to a neighbor's house for help, but it was too late for his beloved wife. An officer who arrived to investigate said the husband "laid down beside his wife, begging us to help," according to a police report.
There were no signs of forced entry into the home, and no valuables, including Kay Wenal's jewelry, were missing, according to police. Her funeral was held five days later.
A family friend told the AJC in 2008 the Wenals were a happy couple who adored each other. If Kay Wenal had any enemies, friends and family members were unaware.
A neighbor of the Wenals told police he had seen a man at the home the day Kay was killed and a few days before she died.
Based on the neighbor's description, GBI artist Marla Lawson created a sketch of a man investigators hoped to identify and speak with for any information. No one came forward to identify the man.
Three weeks after his wife's death, Hal Wenal, cleared by police as a suspect, spoke to the media, pleading for help in finding the killer. He offered a $100,000 reward from his own money, a reward that would later be increased to $250,000.
"I desperately want to know what happened that day," Wenal said.
Another death; a cold trail
In June 2010, Hal Wenal died of a heart attack without ever knowing who killed his wife. No longer would there would be a reward for information regarding Kay Wenal's death, but the case remained an active investigation for police.
A family member presented detectives with a box of photos and personal items belonging to Hal Wenal in hopes that it may lead to new clues. Among the old snapshots were those of a man bearing a strong resemblance to the sketch of the man reportedly seen at the Wenals' home the day of the killing.
The man is not a suspect or even a person of interest, police have said. But investigators believe it is possible the man, photographed in pictures with both Hal and Kay Wenal, could know others who were in contact with the couple.
Investigators believe Kay Wenal's killer was someone she knew well, and the confession letter is written as though it's from a lover scorned.
"I loved her. She said we could be together," the letter states. "She said she loved me but that was a lie too."
But investigators have no additional evidence to support the theory.
"You can deduce that it's a personal letter," said Richter, a homicide detective.
Despite the time that has passed, family members still hold out hope that the case will be solved and a killer brought to justice. Both Wenals had children from previous marriages, but no relatives in Georgia.
Kay Wenal's sister, Pam Sleeper, told Channel 2 Action News from her Texas home that her family still wants answers.
"Through the grace of God, one of these days, it will be solved," Sleeper said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Gwinnett County police or Atlanta Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
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