East Bay

East Bay Family Seeks Help Solving Year-Old Unsolved Murder

An East Bay family is planning a memorial this weekend in Concord in hopes of finding answers a year after their loved one’s unsolved murder.

Emily Courchesne, 37, was found shot to death in her uncle’s home in Byron on Oct. 6, 2017.

Saturday, Emily’s mother Marjorie Courchesne will hold a memorial combining two of Emily’s loves, softball and funny mustaches.

They hope to release balloons with mustaches painted on them but one of the aims of the lighthearted memorial is to keep some attention focused on the unsolved murder.

"This is where she lives now," said Marjorie pointing to an urn with Emily’s ashes.

Thursday marks one year since she last spoke to Emily.

In 2017, Emily was taking care of her uncle’s farmhouse but after not communicating with anyone for a couple of days, Majorie got concerned.

"I called the farm and one of the farm people went out to check on her and then she called the police," said Majorie.

Emily was dead and even now, her mother doesn’t know many details about how it happened.

"She was shot. That’s all I know," she said.  "I don’t know where she was shot. They haven’t released the autopsy."

The department put out an advisory Thursday asking the public for any tips to help crack the case. Marjorie said the last year has been devastating for her and her family.

"We would like some closure," Marjorie said. "We want to know what happened, why it happened, you know, who did this to her."

Anyone with information about the murder is asked to call the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

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