Hoping to spark renewed interest in a homicide case gone cold, Virginia State Police yesterday released new details in the unsolved slaying of a Goochland County real estate agent found shot to death in her office seven years ago today.

The investigation has faltered for lack of clues since the body of Joan Wood Weigelhofer, 59, was discovered by a relative inside her office at Busy Bee Realty at 4119 Broad Street Road (U.S. Route 250) on Aug. 14, 2003.

During a news briefing yesterday, authorities released new information to “generate some life and new leads for this case,” agency spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

The new details are:

•Weigelhofer was fatally shot with a .40-caliber pistol.

•The victim was likely familiar with her killer because there was no sign of forced entry into the business after it closed for the day.

“She was working by herself after her co-workers left around 3 [p.m.],” Geller explained. “She stayed behind to finish up some work. When she was there by herself in the office, she would not open the door to a stranger.”

Those reasons “lead us to believe that she must have known her attacker to open that door and let that person in,” she added.

“She was a Realtor and she came in contact with a lot of different people,” Geller said.

Police also emphasized previously disclosed information about a vehicle spotted parked outside the business after it had closed. A passer-by reported seeing a late-model, dark-colored green or black sport utility vehicle about 4:45 p.m., Geller said. Weigelhofer’s body was discovered about 6 p.m.

“Who that individual was, that’s the unknown right now,” Geller said. “We’re not sure if [the slaying] has anything to do with the SUV that was parked out front. So we’re just hoping to identify it to see if there is any possible connection, or if the person [driving] it could help us.”

Geller said the release of the new information is not tied to police identifying a potential suspect or a person of interest in the case.

Weigelhofer’s family has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information can call Virginia State Police at (804) 553-3445 or e-mail the case investigator at: terence.collins@vsp.virginia.gov.

Mark Bowes is a staff writer for The Times-Dispatch.