HOUSTON -- As the Houston area attempted to recover from Hurricane Alicia 25 years ago, Houston police were investigating a brutal triple murder the day after the storm struck.

Elizabeth Shumate, Joanna Brown and Frances Ivey came face-to-face with their killer or killers that day. They had been tied up and shot execution-style at their real estate office near Memorial and State Highway 6.

The night of Hurricane Alicia was the last time Helen Ivey saw her mother alive as the family gathered to ride out the storm.

“With Hurricane Ike and everybody hunkering down and preparing for that and over and over the news media would bring out Hurricane Alicia, and it was all in our face again,” said Ivey. “(It) made us think about and wonder could this ever be solved.”

Fifteen years ago, Sgt. David Calhoun, the lead detective in the murder case, went on the Oprah Winfrey show in an effort to get more attention to the case.

“One day you feel guilt. You sit down and you read the report. Did I miss something? Have I overlooked something,” Calhoun said during his show appearance.

Calhoun is now retired and said he remembers every time a lead would come in, he would get a real high. Sadly, none of the leads ended with an arrest.

Now, the Houston Police Department's Cold Case Squad is hoping someone who reads this story can help solve this mystery.

“We are really going to need someone with some direct knowledge of this incident to clear this,” said Sgt. Mike Peters.

Whatever happens, Helen Ivey knows nothing will bring her mother back.

“I wish I could see her. I wish my children could have gotten to know her, and they'll never know her,” she said.