ROSWELL — The Roswell Police Department is asking for your help finding answers to the unsolved murder of an 8-year-old boy that happened more than 30 years ago.
Wednesday, May 15 marks the 31st anniversary of the homicide of Joshua Harmon. Joshua was 8-years-old at the time of his death. The Roswell Police Department, with the support of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, is asking the public to help to generate new leads for this case. The department is seeking any information that may help Joshua’s family get answers.
The Case: On Sunday, May 15, 1988, 8-year-old, Joshua Harmon was reported missing to the Roswell Police Department by his mother. At the time of his murder, Joshua’s family lived in an apartment complex called “Roundtree Apartments.” Today, that apartment complex is known as “River Crossing at Roswell”.
Joshua regularly played outside in the area of his apartment building and the other buildings in the immediate vicinity. He searched for turtles around the lake in the complex and played in the “fort” in the woods behind his building.
On May 15th, Joshua had been playing outside — both with friends and alone — all day. Joshua’s mother recalls that he was in and out of the apartment throughout the day. When Joshua’s mother started making dinner she asked her husband, Joshua’s stepfather, to let Joshua know to stay close to home. When Joshua’s stepfather could not find him, Joshua’s mother called the Roswell Police.
A neighbor informed the family that Joshua had stopped by their residence at about 7 p.m. to ask if his child, Joshua’s friend, could come outside to play. The family was spending time together and eating dinner so the boy could not come outside. Joshua told the neighbor that he was going to be waiting for the neighbor boy in the woods at the fort where the children commonly played together. This is the last reported sighting of Joshua alive.
After extensive searches over the next nearly 48 hours, Joshua Harmon’s lifeless body was located in the woods of the apartment complex on Tuesday, May 17, 1988. Joshua was beaten and strangled to death. Joshua was buried under loose dirt and pine straw. Logs were placed on top of his body to conceal him from immediate discovery.
Evidence was collected during the investigation that is still available. Police say while there have been incredible advancements in forensic technology since 1988, science is not all that can be used to catch this killer. Authorities say they are hoping that the community will help with this case so that Joshua’s murderer can be identified and held accountable for this crime.
Along with reviewing all of the available evidence, the Roswell Police Department is reaching out to witnesses from the original investigation. The department is also looking for new witnesses that may know, or have heard, something about this case over the years.
How You Can Help: The department is asking for anyone who may have any information about this case to please call Crime Stoppers or the Roswell Police Department to share that information. Police say they believe that in the last 31 years the killer may have spoken to someone about this incident and disclosed their involvement.
If you have information and would like to speak with an investigator, please call Detective Jennifer Bennett at 770-640-4380 or she can be reached by email at jbennett@roswellgov.com.
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