A $500,000 reward and a fresh plea for information could offer the family of a cab driver the last chance at discovering how he ended up dead in his taxi.
William Anthony Rogers' Tuesday night cab shift was winding down after he spent hours picking up and dropping off weary passengers across Sydney.
But two hours before he was due to finish, in the early hours of October 4, 1988, he activated the safety button on his taxi radio, alerting police to a potential problem.
When officers arrived, they found the 36-year-old motionless in the driver's seat, slumped over with a fatal bullet wound in his chest.
His cab had rolled backward into a fence at Ashfield, in Sydney's inner west, with the engine and the parking brake off and the car in first gear.
The window was wound down and the taxi sign was off, indicating to police the cab was engaged at the time of the shooting.
The pay meter showed a fare of $10.70.
No one has been charged over the death and on Tuesday NSW Police announced a $500,000 reward for information to help them solve the cold case more than 30 years on.
His sister Madeleine Rogers pleaded for anyone who might be able to help the investigation to come forward, saying the family felt this was their last chance to find out what happened to her brother.
“He was playful, he was inclusive, we just really enjoyed having him as a brother and it left a really great hole when he was gone,” she said.
Mr Rogers lived a full but short life, his sister said.
"He's been gone for so long and we still don't have any answers," she said.
"He was very important to our family, he really was."
Homicide Squad commander Danny Doherty said Mr Rogers was going about his normal duties when he was shot down in cold blood.
“This was a callous and cowardly act,” he said.
Detectives are investigating potential links between the killing and another cold case murder earlier in the same year in Kings Cross, where the same gun was used.
"We've always kept an open mind into what may have happened," Detective Superintendent Doherty said.
"Whilst it's the same weapon, whether it is the same gunman isn't something we've been able to identify.
"We may never know what the motive is, but we hopefully can get those answers if someone comes forward."
Anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, is urged to contact police.
A 1991 coronial inquest found the death of Mr Rogers was caused by a gunshot wound inflicted by an unidentified person or people.
While waiting for police to arrive on that fatal day in 1988, witnesses described seeing a man shake and kick the driver before running away.
He was described as being in his 20s, between 180cm-185cm tall, of slim build, with dark collar-length hair, and wearing light-coloured jeans, a matching jacket and a western-style long-sleeve shirt.
NSW Police's Unsolved Homicide Squad began re-investigating the death in March 2023.
