NATCHEZ &045; The crime tape that once roped off Norman Long’s work building is covered in several years of dead leaves &045; but it’s still peeking to the top, as a reminder of sorts.

It’s a reminder the Adams County Sheriff’s Office has taken note of.

On Sept. 20, 2002, Long’s badly beaten body was found inside the metal work building behind his Fife Street trailer.

The death was ruled a homicide, but no one was ever arrested.

Nearly three years later investigators at the ACSO are hoping a cold case will get a little warmer.

&uot;We’ve uncovered a few new leads that hopefully have put us one-step closer,&uot; Maj. Jody Waldrop said.

Long, 76, was an ice deliveryman who made the ice in the building behind his home. He delivered to local businesses by pulling a trailer holding the ice machine behind his Cadillac. Many around town called him &uot;The Iceman.&uot;

Charles Cole, owner of Crossroads Truck Stop in Roxie, said he saw Long a couple of times a week, when he requested ice.

&uot;I had an icemaker and it went out so I started buying from Norman,&uot; Cole said. &uot;Norman was a fine worker. I had him work on my icemaker a few times.&uot;

Cole said he knew Long lived alone and came in badly beaten up not long before his murder.

Long’s body was found after the sheriff’s office received a call from a concerned business owner who hadn’t gotten a scheduled ice delivery.

Authorities found him lying dead on the floor of the work building surrounded by disarray caused by a messy living style, ice making tools and various household items.

The cause of death determined by an autopsy was blunt force trauma to the head. He also had cuts, scratches and bruises on the rest of his body.

Investigations began, but were hampered by the fact that Long was a recluse, said Waldrop, who worked for the Natchez Police Department at the time of the murder.

Long was not married and has no family in the Natchez area.

&uot;He kept people who bagged ice for little wage and there were people in and out at all times,&uot; Waldrop said. &uot;And it was a well known fact that he kept a large amount of money on him and pulled it out in front of people.&uot;

Investigators determined the murder motive to be robbery. Long always carried his wallet on him, but no wallet was found in the building.

&uot;They interviewed numerous people but no arrest was ever made,&uot; Waldrop said. &uot;Several of those people are suspects.&uot;

Though Long’s body was found on Sept. 20, investigators then and now think he may have been killed on either the 18th or 19th. He kept a calendar and marked off each day as it passed &045; the last X was on the 17th.

Though the case was never closed, ACSO investigators officially started fresh investigations in January 2004, at the prompting of Sheriff Ronny Brown.

&uot;We visited the crime scene, which two years later was intact,&uot; Waldrop said.

No physical evidence was ever found and investigators had a hard time working through Long’s cluttered living conditions, Waldrop said.

Investigators have conducted several interviews of people connected with the case, and are hopeful the case will be solved soon.

&uot;This man was a good man liked by a lot of people, and he didn’t deserve to die this way,&uot; Waldrop said.

Waldrop and Brown asked anyone with any information that may assist in the investigation to call the sheriff’s office at 601-442-2752 or Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.