New info on 1979 Payless murders

An unsolved triple murder that took place 32 years ago Friday may have new information, according to San Mateo Deputy Police Chief Michael Callagy.

"Detectives diligently continue to investigate this case. Recently they have developed some new information which they believe is important to this investigation,” Callagy said in a press release about the 32-year anniversary of the Payless murders.

Callagy added the investigation is open and ongoing and no further information is currently available.

On Feb. 4, 1979, three Payless employees — Michael Olson, 24-years-old and married with a new baby; Billy Baumgartner, a 17-year-old Hillsdale High School senior and 16-year-old Tracy Anderson — were shot execution-style by someone or some people who fled with $20,000 and the weekend’s receipts. The triple homicide is one of San Mateo’s oldest unsolved cases and carries with it a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

On that quiet evening, it was "Sunday Dollar Days” at Payless, located at 19th Avenue and Concar Drive, a site now housing Rite Aid. The three were closing up the store sometime after 7:40 p.m. and police theorize somebody may have rigged the back door open and waited for the opportunity to strike. Olson and Baumgartner were found dead in the accounting office. Anderson, perhaps, feared something bad happening and possibly fled to the warehouse. That’s where police found him clinging to life. He was rushed to the hospital, but ultimately died, according to police.

Over the years, the San Mateo Police Department spent thousands of hours investigating the case. In recent years, police have pored over original case notes and evidence, and generated and explored additional investigative information, according to the department. Officers are in regular communication with the victims’ families to update them on the progress of the case, according to the department.