Family hopes reward helps in four-year old murder case

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Vorvis family joined together and passed out flyers along a strip their loved one frequented.  Outside, they stayed strong, but earlier, inside the police department, Billy Vorvis' elder brother broke down.

Peter Vorvis said through tears, "My brother was the sweetest guy you could ever know. He did not deserve to die like that."

It was four years ago Billy was found stabbed inside his home on Grove Street around 5:00 in the morning.

Detectives believe he may have been robbed and that the crime was not random.

His family hopes a reward of $10,000 will encourage someone to come forward.

His niece, Tina O'Connor, said the entire family scraped together the money.

Billy was one of six children.  He did not have kids of his own, but his nephews and nieces, like O'Connor, loved him like a father.

"This has been so hard on our family. But we have faith in the Clearwater Police Department and we would put up a million if we could," said O'Connor.

The family was inspired to do this now, four years later, because they saw other families going through the same thing, taking the same course of action.

Cold case detective Tom Dawe says it keeps the case alive.  "The people in that area are still the same people who were there four even 10 years ago.  We are thinking if we get this out now with a reward, we'll have new information we did not have in past," said Dawe.

The family hopes someone out there can ease their pain.

Billy's nephew George Lakiotis said, "When he died, part of our family died too. You just don't feel safe."
Anyone with any information is urged to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS.