EVERETT -- His obituary gave no hint to the violence that ended his life.
Louis Holmes, 43, a husband, father, grandfather and brother, died at home, according to the short death notice printed in 1977 in The Herald.
Holmes was shot inside his Everett house. He staggered outside. His crumpled body was found near the driveway.
The slaying has not been solved.
More than three decades later, detectives included Holmes in the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. The Everett man is featured on the six of diamonds.
Snohomish County sheriff's cold case investigators hope the playing cards will generate new tips for unsolved homicides and missing persons cases. The cards have been handed out in jails and prisons around the state. Inmates are offered a $1,000 reward for information that helps detectives solve the cases.
Holmes' killing is one of the oldest in the deck.
Detectives believe he was shot Aug. 27, 1977. The next morning a friend discovered his body outside.
Holmes, who was born in Kansas, had lived in Everett for 30 years. The father of eight was a welder with Burlington Northern Railway, according to his obituary. He also had three grandchildren.
There was no evidence of a break-in, Snohomish County sheriff's detective Jim Scharf said. Detectives investigated several people as possible suspects but weren't able to make an arrest.
They need someone to step forward to help them solve the slaying.
"Based on the investigation, it was probably someone he knew," Scharf said.
