Norwich - For more than 16 years, James Reynolds has been waiting to hear who murdered his wife, Bertha, who was found at the bottom of the basement steps in their Laurel Hill Avenue home.

Now, with the newly formed Southeastern Connecticut/New London County Cold Case Unit taking up the case as one of its first, Reynolds said he has hope.

"We're just hoping we do get some answers here and we do get some closure on it," he said.

Fifteen years ago, the state offered a reward for information leading to the person who killed the 60-year-old woman. A family friend found her, strangled and beaten, in July 1993.

No arrest has been made and no one has provided information that would qualify for the reward.

But now, with the help of the 2-month-old unit, Norwich police are reminding the public that $10,000 is still available to anyone who provides information leading to the conviction of Reynolds' killer.

"Initially we had run into some dead-ends and what we're trying to do with the cold-case squad is reinvestigate and redevelop anything that may … hopefully solve the case," said Norwich Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro Sr.

Reynolds, now 71 and living in Mansfield with his second wife, said he still isn't sure who killed his wife or what exactly happened. He said he met with investigators this week but did not know if they had any new information.

Officials said they hope new investigative tools will help bring the killer to justice.

"There's some technology available now that wasn't available then," Fusaro said. "It's a complete review and a complete reinvestigation from the beginning. We don't want to leave any stone unturned."

Fusaro said any potential witnesses will be reinterviewed and new leads could come from those investigations.

The unit will allow investigators and detectives from local departments and other law enforcement agencies to start over.

"We're more aggressively pursuing it now that we have the resources," said New London Chief State's Attorney Michael Regan. "We're putting more emphasis and fresh eyes on it."

Reynolds' death was ruled a homicide. An autopsy revealed she died of blunt head trauma and strangulation.

The house is located near the downtown area. Laurel Hill Avenue, lined with old, single-family and apartment houses, is an urban, hilly street that overlooks Norwich Harbor and the Thames River.

Immediately after the discovery of Reynolds' body, police were seeking a man whose last known address was in Groton, The Day reported. Police declined then to say whether that man had been found or why he was being sought.

Fusaro said Wednesday that he could not comment on the details of the case because it's being reinvestigated.

"When we got together with the cold-case squad, this is one of the cases we were pushing to work on jointly," Fusaro said. "We have to prioritize them, and we're looking at ones that we're hoping we can quickly develop some information and bring to successful conclusion."

Anyone with information regarding this homicide can call the Connecticut Cold Case Unit tip line at (866) 623-8058. All calls will be kept confidential.

m.naughton@theday.com

Day staff writer Claire Bessette contributed to this report.