DNA might be key to solving St. Pete woman's murder, five years later

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Saturday marked five years since the brutal murder of a St. Pete woman and her mother hopes new DNA technology could help track down the killer.

August 18 is an emotional and painful day for Tracy Pulido's mother, Linda. Since her daughter’s death, she has been on a mission to find the killer and is hoping the anniversary will shed new light on the case.

"She was happy-go-lucky. Every birthday and Mother's Day she would send me roses. She had a good heart. She loved her son very, very much. Very good mother," Linda Swingle-Baggett told FOX 13 News on the anniversary of her daughter’s death.

She holds on to memories of her daughter, 42-year-old Tracy Pulido.

Back on August 18, 2013, Tracy didn’t pick up her son from a friend's apartment. A concerned neighbor went into Pulido’s apartment using a spare key and found Tracy's bloodied body in her bedroom.

There were signs of a violent struggle in the living room, but no signs of a break-in.

Police believe Tracy knew her killer.

Swingle-Baggett now hopes new DNA evidence could track down the killer.

She's set to meet with St. Pete Police next week after learning new technology - on the verge of being released - could shed new light on the killer's DNA.

She believes the person responsible may be the same person Tracy told her about a week before the murder.

"Tracy and I talked on the phone and she did tell me someone threatened her life. I guess she didn't think anything of it and she just let it go," Swingle-Baggett said, adding she never found out who that person was, but says Tracy told her the confrontation happened in her apartment complex.

A memorial still stands in her memory at the residence.

"I'm not going to give up. I'm not gonna rest. I'm not gonna give up. Somebody out there saw something. If you saw something, say something," Pulido’s mother said.

There is a $3,000 reward for any tips in this case. Investigators are asking anyone with information on to contact the St. Petersburg Police Department.