GLENDALE, AZ — Victoria Lacey's case started with a call for help.
In 2012, the 25-year-old knocked on a nearby door in the Glendale neighborhood near 47th Avenue and Friar, saying she had been stabbed. Lacey died that day, and over a decade later, her family still doesn't have answers. But in 2025, her two sisters have gained a newfound sense of hope, as the Arizona Attorney General's new cold case unit reviews the case. Our team worked to learn more about the investigation from Glendale police and the AG's Office. ABC15 also sat down with Lacey's family to learn more about her life before the murder, as they raise their voices for their beloved "Vicki".
Watch part one of this Arizona Crime Uncovered episode in the player above. Catch the full episode on the ABC15 streaming app on your Roku, Fire TV Stick, or other devices starting Friday at 8:30 p.m.
VICTORIA LACEY
August will mark 13 years since the early morning when Victoria's life was taken. Her family was left hurting, including her two sisters, Kaylee Sharp and Crystal Kinnard.
"She's always been Vicky to everybody," said Kinnard, who now lives in Oklahoma. "She's my older sister by 20 months. So our early childhood, we were very inseparable."
Kinnard described her sister as someone full of life and artistic.
Arizona Crime Uncovered is an ABC15 series dedicated to raising awareness for victims still waiting for justice and providing an in-depth look at ongoing cases.
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"Victoria loved to draw," said Sharp. "Like I said, she always lit up the room. She was like a light bulb that, you know, never shut off. Like she always made everyone smile, laugh."
Kinnard said Lacey was the oldest of four, but her childhood years were not easy. As a teen, she went to prison after pleading guilty to multiple crimes, including drug charges.
"Vicky spent a lot of her childhood on the streets, and she made some bad choices," said Kinnard.
But Kinnard said she visited Lacey in prison every chance she had. The two were making plans for life after Lacey's time behind bars.
"We were anxiously awaiting to see her life take off," said Kinnard. "And for her to get that fresh start and finally get what I feel she deserved in life. She deserved a good start. She deserved so much more than she got."
AUGUST 2012
Lacey's family said that after being released from prison, the 25-year-old lived with a roommate in Glendale. Kinnard said Lacey's transition from life behind bars was tough.
"I know that she told me that she was going to try to check into a rehab and get herself fully cleaned up and try to get a good start," said Kinnard. "And I told her that was a really good idea, and I had invited her out here to Oklahoma, and told her maybe like coming out here somewhere fresh would give you that start. And she told me she would think about it, and that was probably about a week before she was murdered."
Kinnard still remembers their mom calling her to explain what happened to Lacey.
"I know that I screamed at the top of my lungs for about 30 minutes, and I lost total control," said Kinnard. "Vicky was my favorite person in the whole world, so it felt like a part of me died that day. Yeah, I'll never forget that moment."
Sharp was just a small child when she lost her older sister.
"I just remember, like, crying, shutting down," said Sharp.
Less than a year after being released from prison, Lacey was gone.
THE CASE GOES COLD
Through car washes and fundraisers, Kinnard and her family worked for weeks to raise money to say goodbye to Lacey.
"The whole time I was there, I was trying to follow any lead I could," said Kinnard. "I would hear, you know, this person saw Vicky on this day, so I would go contact that person and try to go talk to them. And it wasn't really getting me anywhere, but I was doing the best I could."
Kinnard is still waiting for those answers about who killed her sister. ABC15 sat down with the Glendale Police Department to get more details on the investigation.
"What's the motive?" said Officer Moroni Mendez with Glendale PD. "Why? Why did this happen? Why did someone choose to do this to Victoria? And based on any, anything or everything we've gathered with it's unknown."
Lacey was walking in the neighborhood before being beaten and stabbed. A canvas of the area revealed that about 45 minutes before, someone delivering newspapers saw two younger men possibly spray painting a car. But that person hadn't seen Victoria.
"We don't know exactly what Victoria was out doing that morning," said Officer Mendez. "After speaking to family and friends, they did mention to our investigators that that was something typical and common for Victoria to do to, you know, leave the home and go on walks."
Since 2012, Glendale police told ABC15 people who knew Lacey had been interviewed.
"They've been interviewed to kind of try to piece the timeline, piece the story of what happened that night," said Officer Mendez. "Who she was with, what went on, where she went and came from. And it's just a difficult situation because sometimes people don't want to talk. People don't want to talk, and it's very important that they do."
AG'S COLD CASE UNIT
2025 has brought a new sense of hope for Lacey's loved ones. In January, the Arizona Attorney General's Office announced a new cold case unit, with Lacey's case being one of five they are reviewing.
"The medics got there, all she was able to share was her name, and she did not know who had stabbed her," said Attorney General Kris Mayes.
ABC15 sat down with the Supervising Special Agent leading the unit. Working decades with Glendale police, Roger Geisler was at the scene the morning Lacey died.
"So that is a case that, again, there's somebody out there who knows," said Geisler. Whether the assailant spoke to a girlfriend or a friend or family, or somebody who knows. You know, getting that information so that we can resolve that for her family."
Geisler said without as much technology, like ring cameras or frequent surveillance video, they are hoping to get more information from people who may have been in the area. He told ABC15 he wants to ensure that Lacey's family knows the case has not been forgotten.
That's why Lacey's sisters spoke with ABC15. They are now raising their voices in hopes that someone will come forward.
"She wasn't perfect by any means, but she definitely did not deserve this," said Kinnard.
Both sisters said they would not stop fighting for their sister and answers in her case.
"She deserves justice," said Kinnard. "Our family deserves peace, I just hope and pray every day."
If anyone has any information or tips in Lacey's case, you are urged to call the AG's office or Silent Witness.
