Who killed this young mom in Clovis in 1985? Unsolved killing still haunts daughter
The anniversary of the shooting of 23-year-old Shannon Saville Cagle will reach 38 years later this month, and her only daughter says she remains haunted by the unsolved killing of the mother she can’t remember.
Desiree “Dezzi” Apodaca was just 3 years old on July 23, 1985, when her mother was shot several times in their Clovis home. The crime scene showed no signs of a forced entry and revealed little evidence, according to investigators.
“I find myself looking at the pictures constantly, because it’s the only memories I have,” Apodaca said.
No arrest has ever been made in what investigators say was a targeted killing of the young mother. Apodaca spoke Monday on a video-conference call from an undisclosed location, because she still feared for her safety.
“It’s been a rough road,” she said. “There’s the anger; there’s the guilt. It’s always kind of lingering in your head: The unanswered questions.”
Apodaca said by all accounts her mother was bright, bubbly and happy.
“Not really a hippie, but free and unique and beautiful,” she said.
The killing of Shannon Saville Cagle
Saville Cagle worked at Best Stores, a now defunct department store on Blackstone near Bullard avenues, according to Fresno Bee archives.
She left the store about 6 p.m. on the day of the murder in her blue van, archives say.
Her husband — Apodaca’s stepfather — discovered her about 7:30 p.m. at their home in a rural subdivision on Mesa Avenue, which is northeast of Bullard and Highland avenues, according to investigators.
He parked behind the home, leaving 3-year-old Desiree in the truck, and went inside, police say.
Police in 1985 said it was possible someone followed her into the home or was waiting for her when she got home, adding that the doors and windows showed no signs of being pried open, and nothing was stolen.
Detectives were never able to find enough evidence to make an arrest, according to Ernie Burk, an 11-year homicide detective who retired in 2004. It still weighs on his mind.
“I do think about cases like this. You have the possibility of evidence concealed from us,” he said on Monday. “It’s just the frustration we didn’t have anyone come forward.”
Burk said he believes a key piece of evidence was kept from investigators though he declined to divulge what it was publicly.
He said the case had little evidence, noting Saville Cagle was shot multiple times but only one shell was recovered, suggesting there was an effort to clean up the scene.
DNA evidence wasn’t a tool investigators used yet in 1985, and Burk said he couldn’t perceive it being much help decades later with the scant evidence collected from the scene.
“The case is close but not quite there,” he said. “I believe, at this point, it would take an individual to come forward with key information on the weapon and the suspect who owned the weapon.”
A weapon has never been recovered.
Who killed Shannon Saville Cagle?
Saville Cagle and her husband were close to ending their relationship, according to Burk. He was also the beneficiary of her life insurance.
Burk said the husband had an alibi and was not suspected of pulling the trigger in her death, but was considered a person of interest in potentially being involved.
Apodaca said she believes he was involved and that the life insurance payout played a role.
The Fresno Bee is not naming Apodaca’s stepfather because he was never arrested. The case was never submitted to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, according to office spokesperson Taylor Long.
Attempts to reach the stepfather for comment were unsuccessful.
Months after the killing in September of 1985, sheriff’s detectives released a composite sketch drawn by a Fresno Bee artist based on an eyewitness account of a man seen in the neighborhood not long before the time the shooting was suspected of happening.
Along with the drawing, detectives described the man as white, between 32 and 35, around 160 to 170 pounds and having blond hair.
Apodaca said she hopes the passage of time would help witnesses or anybody with information to come forward and help find the killer.
“A change of heart. Maybe (they’re) confident enough to come forward,” she said.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 7:48 AM.
