Cold Case: The Trail of a Killer

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Council Bluffs, IA - Someone brutally murdered a Council Bluffs woman more than a decade ago. But the case quickly went cold as investigators searched for missing clues. The unsolved murder bothered detectives when it happened back in 1999. Now, nine years later they say an arrest is way overdue.

For a city that doesn't experience many murders, an open case is like an open wound for Council Bluffs detectives. Sgt. Jerry Mann says, "As a policeman, part of our job is to speak for the dead. We'd love to do that in this case."

Case 99-001909 - the murder of Kimberly Ratliff.

"I just keep telling myself it wasn't her," her mother, Paula Ratliff said in January of 1999. "It was someone else." Her daughter, just 22 years old, was found dead inside her 1988 Plymouth Sundance. The wound was so deep, she was nearly decapitated.

Kimberly left work at Airlite Plastics around 11:30 the night of Friday, January 8, 1999. That was the last time anyone saw her alive - anyone except her killer. Her body was found Tuesday, January 12, about 10:30 in the morning.

Police believe the killer drove Kimberly's car, with her body still inside, to 15th and Broadway in Council Bluffs, where People's Natural Gas used to be. Employees didn't notice the car until Tuesday because no one used the back side of the building.

Sgt. Mann says, "The crime scene was not at that location. The crime scene happened somewhere else. We don't know." Mann was the supervisor the day Kimberly was found. He remembers the brutal death and brutal weather that day.

"That Saturday night was a negative nine, Sunday a low of 12, Monday a low of eight. That's why the body was a problem."

Kimberly's body was frozen, so investigators never could pinpoint her exact time of death. But they know something happened after midnight Friday. They also know it happened somewhere else, because there was little blood found in the car for such a deep wound.

Sgt. Mann says he can't comment on whether the investigation led to DNA or fingerprints in the car. He says, "That would be for us to know and for the suspect to wonder about."

The family was so frustrated, Kimberly's step-father started his own investigation. He drove around with a sign in his truck offering a reward.

Old classmates from Lewis Central High School want answers, too. "You need to come forward," Jill Schieffer, a friend of Kimberly's, says. "Anybody who knows who did this come forward anonymously. The family deserves closure. They're good people. They deserve peace."

The trail of a killer ran cold in 1999. Nine years later, it's still frozen. Sgt. Mann says it would take first-hand knowledge of the crime to break the case.

Kimberly's family declined an on-camera interview with Action 3 News. Her step-father says Kimberly had gotten involved with drugs and may have gotten in the middle of a bad situation she couldn't get out of.

Like police, Kimberly's family believes someone knows something. They hope that enough time might have passed, and someone will come forward to help solve this cold case.

If you know anything, call 326-2509. Sgt. Mann is waiting for you call.

Reported by Michelle Bandur, mbandur@action3news.com.

Posted by Jen Kucirek, jkucirek@action3news.com.