MINNEAPOLIS — The pain of losing a child is something that never leaves a parent.
"Whoever did this was pretty sick. And they're still out there," said Donn Barber.
Now in their mid-80s, Donn and Louise Barber are reminded every New Year of what happened to their 31-year-old daughter Anne.
She was found on January 1, 1996, after missing for two days, in the trunk of her car in the parking lot of the Kmart in South Minneapolis. Anne was stabbed many times to the face.
The Barbers would like to see the killer brought to justice while they're still alive.
"And it would be a load off our dear Brad. Our son-in-law has gone through so much because of it," said Louise Barber.
Brad Dunlap who was with reporters, crying on camera when Anne's car was found, was named by Minneapolis Police as the chief suspect. He and Anne were living with the Barbers while they built a new house.
Police searched the home three times but never pressed charges.
Months prior to Anne's death, Brad, who was a licensed insurance agent, purchased a $1 million policy on Anne and increased his own life insurance policy to $1 million. But the Barbers say that came at the advice of a financial planner whom the couple had recently met.
The Barbers say there was no trouble in Anne and Brad's marriage and Brad's grief was genuine.
"Of course around here was tough. He was running around the lake and someone spit on him and called him a bastard. We'd take him out to a restaurant and all these people would be looking and pointing. So he had to leave town. It was unbearable," Donn Barber said.
But the Barbers say Dunlap calls them as often as their own sons do. They exchange gifts. They visit him in Arizona. And they say he keeps Anne's photo at his desk and leaves a wreath on her grave every year.
"He is like another son. He is definitely another son. We love him dearly,"
Frustrated that police put all their focus on Brad, the Barbers say they don't have high expectations that police will solve the case. But it would be a welcomed surprise.
"Oh would it ever. It would be wonderful," Louise Barber said.
Minneapolis Police declined an interview but said the case is open and they are following all available leads. In 2013, MPD announced the case was "re-opened" based on a tip, and that they were taking a "fresh look" at the evidence.