on the floor was the body of 67-year-old audrey nichols.he been shot in the head at close range with a .32-caliber bullet. >> the phone that they believe that she was using was found right in that area, i believe in the hallway just outside the bathroom. >> the police officers knew mrs. nichols. she had worked for the michigan state police for 17 years analyzing traffic accidents. she had retired just four months earlier and lived alone. her three children were grown and living elsewhere. >> we all felt violated by it just because so many of us were alone. it was very shocking to us. it was numbing. and there was a lot of anger, an awful lot of anger. >> since police arrived within five minutes of the call, the killer wasn't inside the house long. none of the drawers or closets had been ransacked, but audrey's purse was missing. >> looked like the house had been selected for a break-in so that somebody could go in and find something of value, probably to purchase for drugs. >> a preliminary look at the evidence left no doubt about what had