A grim anniversary quietly passed last month: four years since the still-unsolved murder of Scott Ratigan.
The 24-year-old was found dead with “trauma to the upper body” in his Ballston apartment in January 2020. The 911 caller reported a strong smell of bleach in the apartment, according to scanner traffic at the time.
A year later, police released video and images of a “person of interest” in the case. The person had their face covered as they walked down Ballston sidewalks, a few weeks before the Covid pandemic prompted widespread use of masks.
Online communities, including on Reddit, have continued to follow and discuss the case. One such community recently asked followers to “demand an update” in the case, resulting in numerous emails to ARLnow.
Arlington County police, however, have continued to keep details — beyond those already released — close to the vest.
“We want to [assure] the public that the investigation into identifying and holding responsible the suspect(s) responsible for Scott Ratigan’s homicide remains a top priority,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow last week, when pressed on any substantive updates in the investigation.
“To ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation, there are no additional details to provide at this time,” Savage continued. “Detectives continue to follow up on investigative leads and will continue to evaluate the case for any possible future updates.”
Savage also noted that the department is still seeking more tips from the public.
The investigation into the homicide of Scott Ratigan remains open and active. Detectives continue to follow up on every investigative lead and remind the public that any information, regardless of how small it may seem, could be the tip that leads to justice on behalf of Scott and the Ratigan family. The Ratigan family has offered a reward of $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for Scott Ratigan’s homicide on January 17, 2020. Police continue to ask anyone with information related to this incident to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Online sleuths have gone so far as to produce detailed recaps, from a 36-minute YouTube video to a 38-minute episode of a true crime podcast, but a lack of publicly released details has led to forums that abound with rumor, speculation and frustration — but little new analysis that meaningfully advances the case.
In encouraging people to contact ARLnow and the Washington Post, forum users emphasized the need to keep the story “top-of-mind” with the public, so it does not fall into “cold case” status.
“Please do an update on the Scott Ratigan murder investigation,” one of the people who emailed ARLnow wrote. “Keeping that story in the press is important.”
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