Two years have passed since Dr Geetha Angara, a senior chemist at Passaic Valley Water Commission's Totowa treatment plant was found murdered in a water tank with 9 million gallons of water.
A vigil and memorial service has been arranged for Angara at 2 pm on Saturday in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Who killed her? The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office which inquired into the case extensively has a suspect -- a colleague of Angara, 43. But they have no evidence to prove that he killed her.
So the killer goes to office as if nothing happened, investigators believe. The inquiry focused on three employees. Of these, one refused to take a lie-detector test, one passed the test and one was tested with inconclusive results.
Prosecutor James Avigliano said the likely killer is hiding in plain sight, reporting to work as usual and maintaining normalcy.
"We have an individual who just doesn't say anything. Thinking you know who did it and proving it are two different things," Avigliano told the media.
"We have no evidence and no motive. The case has been investigated exhaustively. My detectives worked like hell on this," Avigliano added.
As the prosecutor's office gradually wound up the inquiry, the family of Angara approached other agencies to take up the investigation, which was supported by lawmakers, including Congressman Rush Holt.
Finally, Avigliano invited state officials and the state Attorney General's Office and the State Police agreed to take up the case. But they want a little more time as they are in the middle of prosecuting another high profile case of Melanie McGuire, who was accused of killing her husband and dismembering his body.
"But it give us hope and some relief that finally justice will be done and there will be closure," Jayakumar Angara, husband of Geetha, said.
"Life has been terrible after the death of Geetha and the children are still unable to reconcile to the loss of their mother," Jayakumar, a banker, said.
They have three children, two daughters, 21 and 11, and a son, 15.
The death haunts the employees at the plant too. They too speak about a possible killer working among them.
Angara was responsible for ensuring the quality of drinking water piped to 8,00,000 people in 17 northern New Jersey communities.
On February 8, 2005, as usual, she went down to the plant's lower level to calibrate instruments. The area was deserted; only huge pipes and the tank around.
Avigliano has described a possible scenario of what could have happened later.
Investigators believe it was not a premeditated killing, but one that happened on the spur of the moment. She might have seen something she was not meant to see or she might have argued with someone, making the person angry.
The killer, a man, struggled with Angara and then choked her. The autopsy report showed marks around her neck with deep muscle injuries. She passed out, and the killer removed the heavy grate on the water tank and pushed her into the 35-feet-deep water. The killer replaced the 50 pound grate and returned to work as usual.
The police found the body only the next day. They concentrated on the case as an accident till the prosecutor's office appeared on the scene a day later. By the time, most of the evidence was lost. As the body was in chlorinated water, possibility of DNA or fingerprint samples were not there.
But the prosecutor's office interviewed nearly 85 employees, took their DNA samples and conducted polygraph tests on some. There were no unauthorised persons at the water tank complex that day.
Howver, no motive could be established. The EPA officials looked into the records of the plant, but no irregularity was found. Using high-tech cameras, the bottom of the tank was searched, but did not yield anything.
Jayakumar says the killer is still there and he could do anything.
"What happens if he chooses to do something to the water supply," he asks.
The family is also planning to file a wrongful death suit against the commission.
Still, some employees believe it was an accident. But Jayakumar terms it as an insult to the memory of Angara.
Police interviewed a few people repeatedly. One was a plant supervisor. Another was a lab technician who, on the morning of Angara's disappearance, told the chemist about two filters that needed to be calibrated. He was the last to report seeing Angara alive. But the police found him not guilty.
On the night of February 8, 2005, Angara's family members became concerned when she did not return home as usual.
Her car was found at the plant even though all other employees had already left. So, somebody informed the police about the her disappearance. When the police arrived, they found her purse, cell phone and coat at the treatment plant, along with a broken beaker.
Authorities soon decided to drain out the water from the tank. It took several hours to drain out 9 million gallons of water. When the water level was a few feet deep, divers found the body of Angara at about 7 pm on February 9.
Her two-way radio, clipboard and a broken beaker were found in the tank directly below the steel grate. But the body was found about 100 feet away.
The grate was set firmly into the tank. It would have been difficult for the 5 feet 5 inches tall Angara who weighed 175 pounds to lift it, investigators noted.
The grate had no handle, and a tool would be necessary to lift it. Suicide or accidental death was ruled out immediately because the grate was removed and then almost reattached.
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