ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Right now, there are 57 cold cases in Anchorage. 28 have been reopened and are being reinvestigated to try to catch killers on Anchorage streets.

One of those cold cases has been frustrating police for more than 14 years- the murder of Jerry Dillivan.

In 1995, 25-year-old Jerome "Jerry" Dillivan was dropped off at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Muldoon.

"He called here and it was about 6:30 at night," remembers Jerry's mother Julie Dillivan, "He said he got off work, and he and two of his buddies, Jeff and Mike were going to go up to Skyline up here and have some beer- a 12 pack. He said he was going to be home by 9 o'clock."

But Jerry Dillivan ran into some people drinking behind the Texaco station and never made it home that night.

"I was very worried," remembers his mother. "I thought maybe he spent the night at a friend's house, but if he said he would be home, he'd be home. It was just unusual for him to not come home."

25-year-old Jerry Dillivan would never make it home.

On the morning of November 21st, 1995, his body discovered behind what was the Texaco station on Muldoon.

Police told CBS 11 News after the murder that Dillivan had run into some people drinking behind the Texaco after being dropped off at the intersection there.

"The scene was fairly gruesome," Det. Scott Jessen said in 1999, "It was a beating death. A lot of violence that had occurred over there."

The suspected motive for the crime was robbery. Whoever killed Dillivan took his new leather jacket and his wallet, and had beaten him so badly, he was unrecognizable.

"His buddy Mike called the next day about 4 o'clock," remembers Jerry's mother. "He said I think it's Jerry. I said what? I didnt hear the news. He said I think it's Jerry. I said Mike, what are you talking about? And he says, well, watch the news. At that time they didn't even have a name for Jerry. They just said that they found a body."

Police thought they got a huge break in the case the night of the murder when a man walked into a nearby 7-11 convenience store and bought a pack of cigarettes with money that had Dillivan's thumb print and blood on it. The surveillance cameras in the store got clear photos of a suspect.

"I'm asking for the public's help to look at theses photos because they're very identifiable," said Det. Mark Huelskoetter in 2002. "Somebody out here is bound to know who the guy in the photograph is."

"We put that picture many times in the media, hoping that we would retrieve some tips," says Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz with the APD Homicide Unit.

No tips came. With no witnesses or new evidence, the murder of Jerry Dillivan went cold.

"Unless somebody calls us and tells us who did this- we're not going to solve it," Det. Jessen told us in 1999. "The only outside hope we have is if we get a fluke hit in the finger print identification system computer, and so far that hasn't even panned out. We have put prints after prints in there- haven't got any matches, so unless somebody comes forward, we are dead in the water."

Every year for the last 14 years, Dillivan's mother calls Anchorage Police to see if there have been any breaks in her son's case. Every year, she gets the same answer: nothing yet.

"The longer it is, it seems like there's less chance of this case ever getting solved," she says. "Are people going to remember? I just wish somebody would come forth and say something."

Now, Jerry Dillivan's murder is one of 28 cold cases being reopened and reexamined by Anchorage Police detectives. Through the new investigation, they hope to find the final piece of the puzzle that could finally turn the cold case of a young man's murder into a closed case.

But detectives say they still need people to come forward with new information.

"Evidence is one thing," says Sgt. Markiewicz, "but then you still have to have witnesses, you still have to have people to come forward tell us what they know."

Until that happens, until someone comes forward with information about who killed Jerome Dillivan in 1995, his family will hold onto hope that his killer will be brought to justice.

"Time is supposed to heal. But I can't heal until somebody is brought to justice," says Julie Dillivan. "It has changed my life, I mean, not only did they take his life- but they took part of me."

If you have any information about the 1995 murder of Jerome "Jerry" Dillivan, call Anchorage Police at 786-8900 or Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP.

To contact Andrea Gusty, call 907-273-3146.