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UNSOLVED, STILL OPEN: The 1988 murder of Joyce Chaney remains a cold case
WAVE FILE PHOTO
Harvey Chaney, 52, taught for 28 years, including 23 with Calhoun County ISD. She was remembered as a soft-spoken, dedicated educator who loved art and literature. Her 1988 murder remains unsolved.
WAVE FILE PHOTO
The American and Texas flags fly at half-staff at Jefferson Elementary School, April 20, 1988, following the murder of second-grade teacher Joyce Chaney. School officials brought in counselors to assist grieving students and staff. Classes continued as scheduled as the community struggled to cope with the loss.
WAVE FILE PHOTO
April 19, 1988: Port Lavaca police officers stand outside the residence of Joyce Harvey Chaney, 52, a longtime Jefferson Elementary School teacher, who was found dead in her Bonham Street home. Chaney was reportedly shot in the back of the head with a small-caliber weapon. Investigators collected evidence from the scene and sent it to the DPS crime lab in Austin. Her death remains an unsolved homicide.
More than three decades have passed since the brutal slaying of a beloved second-grade teacher rocked Port Lavaca. On April 19, 1988, Joyce Harvey Chaney was found murdered in her home. The case that has haunted both investigators and the generations of students she once nurtured.
Chaney, 52, a longtime teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, was discovered dead by her son at approximately 5:40 p.m. in her residence on Bonham Street. Initial reports indicated she had suffered a blow to the back of the head. Days later, a medical examiner determined that Chaney had been shot at close range with a small-caliber firearm.
Police at the time said there were no signs of forced entry and that Chaney’s body was found fully clothed in a hallway and showed no evidence of sexual assault. Fingerprints, a bullet and other physical evidence were collected and sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s crime laboratory in Austin. Despite those efforts, no suspect was ever named, and the case remains unsolved.
Chaney had dedicated 28 years to education — 23 in the Calhoun County Independent School District and five prior in Refugio ISD. Students and staff remembered her as gentle, soft-spoken, and passionate about her work. In the days following her death, counselors were brought in to help students cope, and the district flew flags at half-staff in her memory.
“She had a passion for art,” said Candace Brett, who was in Chaney’s second-grade class at the time of the murder. “She was a quiet lady. A good teacher. I remember she taught us cursive writing after Christmas break. That’s when we were going to learn it — she had beautiful handwriting.”
Brett recalled how Chaney would read the novel Heidi aloud in class and occasionally show film adaptations of Heidi and Little Women using the school’s old projector system.
The murder was Brett’s first exposure to death and to violence. That night, she remembered asking her father what the word “murder” meant after hearing it on an episode of Matlock. Moments later, the family received a phone call from the school district, informing them of Chaney’s death.
“I was real scared,” Brett said. “She lived a neighborhood over, and I remember I wanted to sleep with stuffed animals all over my neck because they said she was shot in the back of her neck. Not that stuffed animals would protect me, but that’s how an eight-year-old thinks.”
The tragedy had a ripple effect on her young classmates, many of whom attended Chaney’s funeral with their parents. A permanent substitute teacher was assigned for the remainder of the school year and counselors increased their visits to the classroom.
“Back then, they’d come in and teach social skills,” Brett said. “After that, they came more often. Our school system really brought in the right tools to help our class.”
Despite widespread community concern and the passage of time, no arrests have ever been made in the case. Police have maintained that there were no clear suspects and no signs of a break-in or robbery were found at the scene.
The unanswered questions continue to haunt those who knew her, both personally and professionally.
“I don’t know how it affected me long-term,” Brett said. “But I do know we had loving, supportive parents, and that helped us cope.”
The murder of Joyce Chaney remains an open investigation. Her story is now part of a broader effort by Calhoun County Crime Stoppers to revisit unsolved cases and bring renewed attention to victims whose names risk fading with time.
Anyone with information regarding the death of Joyce Chaney is asked to contact Calhoun County Crime Stoppers at 361-552-2274. Tips can be made anonymously.
CASE INFO:
Victim: Joyce Harvey Chaney, 52
Date of Death: April 19, 1988
Location: Bonham Street, Port Lavaca, TX
Status: Unsolved Homicide
Sources of case information for this article are from The Port Lavaca Wave archives.
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