TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Wednesday, October 13, marks the 24th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Joseph Todd Jowers who was shot and killed as he left a Tuscaloosa bar that fateful morning in 1996.

Captain Jack Kennedy with the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit says they are releasing information concerning the cold case in the hopes that someone will come forward with information to help solve the crime.

“If you are responsible for this crime and this is for anyone else that’s out there, if you are responsible for shooting or hurting or murdering someone your best course of action is to turn yourself into us,” said Kennedy.

Jowers, 32, was shot while leaving the now-closed Classics Lounge on 37th Street in Tuscaloosa. He worked there teaching line dancing and singing karaoke. Jowers was walking a woman to her car at about 2:10 a.m. when someone shot him once in the head.

Investigators believe the shooter may have hidden in nearby bushes and later escaped through a wooded area behind the south part of the parking lot. The woman was unable to describe the shooter. 

Police also say that Jowers may have been robbed of money earned at his other jobs as a carpenter and handyman.

“This family has been traumatized by the loss of their son throughout all these years. And at the same time the person who committed this crime needs to answer for that. We are not going to stop or rest; we will always stand by our victims and families, and we are always going to be searching for the truth,” Kennedy said.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the Tuscaloosa County Violent Crimes Unit at (205) 464-8690, the Tuscaloosa Police Department at 205-349-2121 or CrimeStoppers at 205-752-STOP (7867).