Horrifying final moments of Syracuse mom mysteriously killed by explosive device planted inside her

In 1996, a fisherman found a woman who was severely injured because of an explosive device inside her.

At the time of her discovery, Carol Ryan was still alive but brutally beaten and naked - but sadly died at the hospital after five hours of surgery. It was only five years ago her son reached out to the media with her story, which "haunts" him every day.

Shawn Hamilton said: "I have a picture of my mom, right next to my coffee pot, because it’s the first thing I do in the morning, say good morning every morning to her and there’s not a day that passes that I don’t."

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His mother's killer is yet to be found, but despite 25 years passing since her death, he refuses to give up. Captain Brogan, who is on the unsolved case, said: "We’re constantly meeting to discuss new avenues, the gentlemen sitting here with me, recently took over the case, but I can tell you just in the recent time that they have taken over, we’ve met with our lab partners, and DA partners to discuss the case."

Carol was last seen alive on James Street in Eastwood, having just left the East Room Bar at closing time - 2am. Hours later, she was left to die in Jamesville - where she was found beaten, tortured and left on Route 91.

Investigators said someone planted an explosive device inside her and detonated it. Describing her final moments, Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said: "Carol was technically still alive, although not feeling any pain, she was comatose and unconscious. It’s an especially evil, sadistic kind of person that would commit a crime like this. Because Carol wasn’t the type of person to hurt anybody. This was just pure evil."

Years have gone by, and detectives have chased hundreds of leads that have even taken them out of state, and are still on the lookout for new ones.

In August 2016, investigators offered a $10,000 reward for any tips that lead to an arrest and conviction in the cold case murder of Carol. They hoped someone would be willing to come forward with new information that may be the key to solving the cold case and help bring a sense of closure to the Ryan family.

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During a previous news conference, Shawn made a plea for someone to come forward with information that could help solve his mother's murder. He said: "Just help my family. I have three kids now. They are always asking questions about who their grandmother is, how she died. They are absolutely the hardest questions I have ever been asked in my life."

Investigators are also hoping modern technology can help crack this ongoing case. Chief Assistant District Attorney Rick Trunfio said: "The Forensic Science Center has been there every step of the way since we formed the Cold Case Task Force. They have been reviewing evidence. We were just there a couple weeks ago with the detectives going over things. What are the new technologies, what are the new possibilities."