ITHACA, N.Y. — A “very credible” anonymous tip has brought Ithaca Police investigators a little closer to solving a 32-year-old murder case in Ithaca.
In August, The Ithaca Voice published an update on the case of David Malcom, who was killed in February 1987. Shortly after the article went online, Deputy Chief Vincent Monticello said the Ithaca Police Department received an anonymous tip through their online tip submission page.
“Although I can’t say what it is, the information is very credible and we would like to look into that a little bit more, but we really need to talk to this individual and we can even keep that person confidential,” Monticello said.
Malcom was found stabbed to death on Feb. 12, 1987, in the former American Red Cross shelter office on West Court Street in Ithaca. Police believe he was murdered the afternoon before. At the time, police did not have enough evidence to pin down a suspect and the case went cold by the end of 1988. The case has been revisited over the years, but in 2016, police reopened Malcom’s case and really “started from scratch,” Monticello said in August.
• Read more: Police continue to investigate 32-year-old unsolved Ithaca murder
Stories published in local newspapers after Malcom’s death described the 26-year-old American Red Cross shelter worker and Cornell University graduate as someone who was caring, loved to travel, and loved to help people.
Monticello said he couldn’t elaborate on the information they received but said it’s “credible” and something they need to look at more closely. He said he hopes the person who submitted information will come forward and speak to police confidentially. “To get some resolution to this case, it’s important we have a conversation,” he said.
Monticello was a beat cop around the time Malcom was murdered and said he wants to see this case get closure.
“On a personal level, I’d like to see a resolution to this case because having worked it the last four years, also going back to when I was a young police officer, I’ve seen how it affected a lot of people, a lot of David’s friends, his sister,” Monticello said. “It’s important to her and a lot of friends that we have some resolution to this case. So, we are appealing to the public – and not only to this person that contacted us but if there’s somebody else out there that has credible knowledge of what happened on Feb. 11 (1987), we need to talk to that individual or those individuals as well.”
Anyone with information can call 607-272-9973 ext. 3230.
Featured image: From left, David Malcom and his sister, Hope, posed in 1973. (Provided by IPD)