A mother was murdered 24 years ago. Her family is still seeking answers

Patricia Gertsch Hodges spent her retired years doting on her five children and nine grandchildren. She cooked, went bowling and enjoyed basking in the sun on St. Pete Beach.

The 64-year-old lived alone in an apartment at 6100 Ninth St. N. She often drank coffee with a neighbor.

It was that neighbor who found Hodges stabbed to death in her apartment on April 18, 2002. On the 24th anniversary of her murder, Hodges' children are still seeking answers about who was responsible.

Hodges' murder is among 215 unsolved cases in St. Petersburg dating back to the 1940s, according to Wallace Pavelski, who is the only detective in the police department's cold case unit.

As the investigation has changed hands over the years, Hodges' family has been left to wonder if her killer will ever be brought to justice. They hope that public awareness could lead to a tip that cracks the case.

"I'm tired of sitting here waiting," said Shawn Gertsch, 58. "It's a lot of emptiness."

Gaining hope, then losing it again

Hodges had lived in her apartment for three years before she was found dead in 2002. Detectives at the time said she was either stabbed or cut with a knife, according to Tampa Bay Times archives. Her door was locked, and there were no signs of forced entry or struggle.

Five years after the murder, police said the killing may have stemmed from an attempted sexual assault. (Pavelski told the Times this month that he couldn't confirm that detail, citing the ongoing investigation.)

In 2013, Hodges' children told the public that they realized the killer stole their mother's jewelry. A heart-shaped pendant necklace that said "No. 1 Mom" and "No. 1 Grandma" was missing, along with a ring.

Early in the investigation, police identified several potential suspects, Shawn Gertsch said. It is not clear how many suspects were identified or who they were.

"You always think about it," said Scott Gertsch, 67. "Why and what and how come. Why do we have nothing? How come we have nothing?"

Three weeks before Hodges' murder, another older woman was brutally beaten to death at her home in Lakewood Estates, about 10 miles south of Hodges' apartment. Jean Ault's case - also unsolved - led the Gertsches to wonder ifthe same killer might be responsible.

While Pavelski said he has not ruled out the possibility, he was hesitant to divulge more information. He said investigative leads and techniques should be kept within the police department until an arrest is made.

He did offer one update: He's working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to reevaluate the evidence from Hodges' case and see whether any of it can be forensically tested.

In many ways, Shawn Gertsch feels he has become his own detective. He's submitted public records requests, sent letters to politicians and recorded every effort and detail in a notebook.

This year's anniversary is particularly heavy because it is the second one without their older sister, Sue Heeman.

As updates from police dried up over the years, Heeman would keep pressing them, Shawn Gertsch said. He joked that she was able to stay polite with authorities while he's more likely to "throw fireballs."

When Pavelski began leading the police department's cold case unit in 2022, he was the latest in a string of detectives to take on the investigation into Hodges' murder.

Shawn Gertsch said he reached out to Pavelski a few weeks ago because it had been a while since he last heard from investigators. He said he hopes the detective won't give up on finding his mom's killer.

"I'm working on all the cases. I'm not going to stop," Pavelski said. "I know how many cases we have, and I want justice for all the families."

‘What was taken from us'

The Gertsch brothers remember their mother as a loving soul who always put up with their antics.

"Her grandkids were her purpose in life after us," Scott Gertsch said. "I guess we could be a handful for her, so she was used to it with the grandkids. She could control them better."

"She would do anything for any one of us at any time," added Stacy Gertsch, 62.

She instilled a tradition of cooking whatever food they requested on their birthday, a tradition the brothers carry on with their children.

On a recent afternoon at Shawn Gertsch's home, the brothers reminisced on what she would make for them.

Scott always requested ham, mashed potatoes and corn. Shawn wanted burgers. Stacy asked for goulash.

"I owe what I have today to her," Shawn Gertsch said. "She gave me support. She never bitched about anything, which I look at today as kind of remarkable. As long as you kept your nose clean, you were an angel."

On Saturday, Shawn Gertsch visited his mother's grave at Memorial Park Cemetery. He sprinkled the remainder of his father's ashes over the site.

Even though they divorced a long time ago, he said he wanted his parents to rest together.

The brothers hope renewed attention to the case will spark tips.

"It's unimaginable how that kind of upper body trauma would happen to an older woman, let alone my mother, a grandmother," Shawn Gertsch said.

"It's a horrible feeling," Scott Gertsch added. "Even if that person would've been caught within days, weeks, months, years, it's still a horrible feeling, what was taken from us."

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 2:04 PM.