9 INVESTIGATES: Family waits for answers year after Stanly Co. woman's death

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — Sunday marks one year since the suspicious death of a Stanly County woman and investigators still haven't said if Amy Boger was murdered or took her own life.

Channel 9 anchor Liz Foster learned they are still waiting for evidence to be processed as her grieving family waits for answers.

"Something horrible has happened to Amy.”

One year later, those words in a voicemail he received still sting Jeff Branch.

His mother called to tell him his cousin Amy Boger had been found in her Oakboro home dead from a single gunshot.

"I don't sleep. I think about it constantly,” Boger's aunt, Joy Harris, said.

(Click PLAY to hear Amy Boger's aunt talk about her)

One year later, Amy's family members aren't the only ones waiting for closure. Investigators still haven't ruled her death a homicide or a suicide.

"Time has stood still,” Harris said.

Boger's uncle, Joe Lowder, was Oakboro's police chief at the time and the first officer who arrived at her home after the 911 call.

"It’s something I'll never forget. It's emblazoned on my brain and I wish that upon no one,” Lowder said.

Boger’s family members in law enforcement have not been involved in the investigation.

"Not being able to put my hands into this investigation is a nightmare for me but I understand," Lowder said.

Stanly County Sheriff George Burris received help help from North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI.

“Do you typically do that if it were a suicide?” Foster asked.

"Well, this case was very concerning, just some of the things surrounding it, and suspicious,” Burris said.

Burris said key pieces of evidence still haven't been processed in the SBI's crime lab.

"To know that a big piece of the puzzle is resting on somebody else doing their job, it is frustrating,” Burris said.

(Click PLAY to hear family members talk about what kind of person Amy was)

Investigators told Foster that Boger’s estranged husband, the town's former police chief, was the last person to see her alive.

Foster contacted him but hasn’t heard back.

Burris isn't calling anyone a suspect at this point.

Boger’s family just wants answers, but they do not believe she took her own life.

"She would have never done anything to allow her 14-year old daughter to come home and find her like that," Lowder said.

Foster contacted the SBI and the attorney general's office to find out if a timeline exists for when the remaining evidence will be processed.

Foster contacted the SBI and the Attorney General's office to find out if a timeline exists for when the remaining evidence will be processed.

A representative for the attorney general sent a statement that reads in part, "This is a complex case that requires the state crime lab to test multiple submissions and multiple items of evidence in sequence. The crime Lab is working as quickly as possible while maintaining the quality needed to ensure accurate results."

Cox Media Group