New DNA testing, fresh leads and continued resolve keep Short family case active
By Debbie Hall
Davis’s office. “If I had just one goal I could accomplish during my career, it would be to solve the Short family case,” Davis
said.
Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis was a patrol officer on Aug. 15, 2002. He had been on the job for only two years when he and another deputy responded to a call at the Oak Level home where Michael and Mary Short lived with their 9-year-old daughter, Jennifer.
“I was one of the first responding patrol officers,” Davis said. “That call came in as a well-being check.”
At the scene, authorities found Michael Short, 50, and Mary Short, 36, dead. Both had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head. The phone line to the home had been cut, and two .22-caliber shell casings were found — one near each of the bodies.
Jennifer was missing. Authorities initially thought she had escaped and scoured the area around the home. They later believed she had been abducted by her parents’ killer or killers. About six weeks later, human remains found in Rockingham County, North Carolina, were determined to belong to Jennifer. She, too, had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head.
Authorities believe the murders and abduction occurred between midnight on Aug. 14, 2002, and 9 a.m. the next morning. It remains unclear how long Jennifer was alive after her abduction.
Although the anniversary this year marks more than two decades since the Short family incident, the case isn’t cold, and Davis hasn’t forgotten.
“I have been with this case since the initial 911 call. This investigation is extremely active,” he said, with authorities pursuing new DNA testing, fresh leads, and the same goal: to bring those responsible to justice.
As the lead investigative agency, “we have an investigator assigned to the case who works on it nearly daily. We are assisted by special agents from the Virginia State Police and the FBI,” said Davis.
Over the years, multiple people have been interviewed, and authorities continue to follow up on leads.
“In 2023, a new task force was created — two Henry County Sheriff’s investigators, special agents from the Virginia State Police, and members of the FBI,” Davis said, of the agency’s decision to have fresh sets of eyes reviewing the evidence. “We gave them the case file in its entirety.”
The task force “has made substantial progress over the last two years,” Davis said, including securing additional funding through the FBI for DNA testing.
Currently, evidence collected in 2002 is being processed at DNA Labs International using “the most advanced technology available,” he said.
While the Short case is unsolved, Davis said it has led to other charges. “We have put numerous other child predators in jail,” he said, adding those individuals came to investigators’ attention during the Short investigation.
He was quick to add, “make no mistake. The Short case remains extremely active.”
Authorities continue to seek information from anyone who:
– Had contact with the Shorts between Aug. 1 and Aug. 14, 2002;
– Had a mobile home moved by Michael Short’s company, M.S. Mobile Home Movers, in 2002 and has not yet spoken with investigators;
– Had contact with Michael Short during his trips to South Carolina in the spring and summer of 2002, particularly in Bennettsville, Florence, Conway or Myrtle Beach.
A reward of more than $60,000 is still being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
“If I had just one goal I could do during my career, it would be to solve the Short family case and bring justice to the family. Nothing would be more gratifying to me than to bring those responsible to justice,” Davis said. “I am passionate about the Short case.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751, Crime Stoppers at 276-632-7463, or the FBI Tip Line at 1-800-225-5324.
