Victoria E. Freile

Jeffrey M. Newland%27s body was found Oct. 22 in a field off Golf Avenue

Deputies said he was fatally shot%2C but the circumstances around what led to his death remain unclear

Last month%2C the family announced a %245%2C000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction

After following some initial leads%2C %27nothing significant has been developed since%27

Six months after a Fairport man known for helping others was shot to death in a Pittsford cornfield, more questions than answers remain about his slaying.

Jeffrey M. Newland's body was found Oct. 22 in a field off Golf Avenue. Monroe County sheriff's deputies said he was killed by a gunshot, but the circumstances around what led to his death remain unclear.

"Having this question, having this mystery out there leaves so many people unhealed in their grief," his widow Lori Newland said Tuesday afternoon. "Finding out won't bring Jeff back to us. But it may bring healing — in terms of fear (of what happened to him or could happen to others) — for our community, for our family."

Dec. 10:Widow of Jeffrey Newland: 'Who did this and why?'

Jeffrey Newland, 49, left the Fairport home he shared with wife and their two sons before dawn the morning he was killed. When he uncharacteristically failed to return text messages and phone calls left by his wife and sons, his family said they knew something wasn't quite right. When he also didn't come home for dinner, the family went looking for him.

That evening, his abandoned car was discovered on the shoulder of Golf Avenue, a car jack wedged underneath, a spare tire on the grass. But none of the tires were flat.

The following morning, his body was found in a nearby cornfield. But how he got there remainsunclear.

Monroe County sheriff's deputies and the Newland's family are still searching to find out what happened. Last month, the family announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

But nothing new has surfaced, said Cpl. John Helfer of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Shortly after the slaying, "deputies followed up on multiple leads, but nothing significant has been developed since," Helfer said.

Sheriff's deputies are asking anyone with any information about Newland's death to contact police.

"Even if you think it's an insignificant detail, we want to know," Helfer said.

Sometimes, he said, the smallest of details can break a case.

Trained as a lawyer, Newland worked much of his adult life as a professional mentor and motivator. He was the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters until 2009, when he left to run a mentoring program at Lifespan of Greater Rochester that paired older people with city high school students in an attempt to boost graduation rates. He also founded Rochester Mentors, a coalition of groups that worked to promote and coordinate mentoring programs.

Six months later, Lori Newland said the family is moving past the shock of the sudden death. Today, "it's a different sort of grief and absence," she said.

Anyone with information about the case should call the Monroe County Sheriff's Office at (585) 753-4178 or Crime Stoppers at (585) 423-9300.

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/vfreile