A nearly six-decade-old cold case involving a Calgary woman who went missing and was murdered in Las Vegas has finally brought a measure of closure to her family.
Anna Sylvia Just, who was 29 when she was last seen, was identified through a DNA swab provided by her sister, who resides in Calgary.
“The fact when we first reached out to collect her DNA, maybe some renewed hope from herself,” said Staff Sergeant Sean Gregson with the Calgary Police Service.
“She’s 97 years old right now. I can’t imagine the kind of shock that would come after this long.”
Las Vegas Metro police confirmed Just was killed due to a money dispute with individuals connected to organized crime.
“Anna was wanting her money back, basically. And, things went south from there,” said Jarrod Grimmett, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMPD) homicide detective.
Boarding bus
Just was last seen boarding a bus in Calgary in 1966. She was then reported missing by her sister.
The last significant clue about her disappearance came in 1968, when her personal belongings — including her passport, plane tickets, a suitcase, and bloodied clothing — were discovered abandoned in a desert near the Nevada suburb of Henderson.
“Finding those type of items were indicative of foul play,” said Grimmett.
When the possessions were found, Las Vegas police reached out to the family, who collected her belongings.
Just was never found.
In June 1970, kids playing in the desert found human remains that went unidentified for years, but no connection was made to Just.
“Unfortunately, again, technology plays a part with DNA not being a factor in there,” said Gregson.
“In 1970, the connection just wasn’t made. That was two years later, after the belongings were found.”
Reopening the case
It was in September 2024 when Calgary investigators reopened the file after finding her name, among other missing women, in newspaper clippings.
Officers contacted LVMPD asking for any relatives, which linked them with Just’s sister living in Calgary.
She provided a DNA sample, and last month, the link was made between the unidentified human remains and Just’s sister.
The Clark County Coroner’s office had put Just’s DNA into the missing persons database NamUS in 2010.
“The fact when we first reached out to collect her DNA, [it gave her] maybe some renewed hope,” said Gregson.
“I can’t imagine the kind of shock that would come after this long.”
Initial reports had connected Just to notorious organized crime associate Tom Hanley. Investigators believe he had a role in her death.
“Tom Hanley and his crew, for lack of better terms, yes, they were involved in the death and disappearance of Anna Just,” said Grimmett.
However, no one has been charged.
Hanley died in prison in 1979, and his associates are no longer living.
Geoff Schumacher of The Mob Museum in Las Vegas says Hanley was extremely violent.
“He killed people. He firebombed businesses. He beat people up. I mean, that was kind of his stock and trade,” Schumacher said.
“At that time, late ’60s, he was probably a suspect in every murder that occurred in Las Vegas.”
Schumacher adds that the discovery of a body in the desert is what Hanley was known for.
“It’s definitely the M.O. of Tom Hanley. He has two other cases where he buried a murder victim in the desert,” he said.
Given that all individuals believed to be responsible for the murder are now deceased, the LVMPD has officially closed the case, with no one left alive to charge.
Family’s statement
Just’s family released a statement about the case to CTV News Wednesday.
“Our family has wondered for almost 60 years what happened to Aunt Sylvia,” the statement read.
“It has been decades of heartache and tears, particularly for her parents, sisters and brother. We hoped the initial investigation would have given us some answers sooner, but at least now we know where, but not why. Her murder remains unsolved,” the family said.
“Aunt Sylvia was loved, and to this day, is missed.”
