In the early hours of June 23, 1985, fourteen-year-old Jennifer Leigh Day opened Preston Road Donuts in North Dallas for her usual Sunday shift. She brewed the coffee, stocked the shelves, and rang up her last customer at 6:20 a.m. Fifteen minutes later, the shop was silent. Jennifer’s purse and jewelry sat untouched on the counter, her apron on the floor, and the cash drawer still full.

Three days later, construction workers discovered her body in a field off Preston Road and State Highway 121 in Plano—eleven miles north. Jennifer had been bludgeoned and stabbed through the throat.

Her murder shook a city that believed it was safe. Detectives followed every lead, chased sightings of a white 1970s sedan, and combed the area for evidence, but the case went cold within weeks.

Jennifer’s mother, Patsy Day, turned heartbreak into advocacy, helping other families navigate life after violent loss. Decades later, the case remains unsolved, but her daughter’s story endures as one of North Texas’ most haunting reminders of how quickly ordinary moments can change forever.

If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Jennifer Leigh Day, please contact the Plano Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit at (972) 941-2148, or go to this Plano Police website where you can submit a tip anonymously: https://www.planocoldcases.com/case/1985-7/jennifer-leigh-day

Sources: The Plano Star-Courier, The Dallas Morning News, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, KXAS-TV archives accessed on texashistory.unt.edu

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