Body Of Woman Missing For 25 Years Believed To Be Found On Ex-Boyfriend’s Property
A 67-year-old Texas man was arrested after authorities found human remains buried at his home that they believe belong to his ex-girlfriend, who disappeared 25 years ago.
Kimberly Langwell, 34, was last seen leaving work just after 5 p.m. on July 9, 1999. She called her 15-year-old daughter to say she would be home for dinner around 6:30 p.m. after stopping by the Beaumont house of her ex-boyfriend, Terry Rose. Langwell’s car was discovered at around 10:30 p.m., abandoned at a pharmacy with her cellphone and other personal belongings inside, investigators said, but her car keys and purse were missing.
The case went cold for years, but in April, investigators said a “reliable informant” told them that Rose had killed Langwell inside his home on the night she disappeared, then buried her on his property, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by HuffPost.
Langwell’s daughter, Tiffani McInnis, said on Friday that she had always been convinced her mother never left Rose’s home.
“It’s hard whenever you’ve known where your mom is this whole time and there’s nothing you can do about it,” she told KFDM after the Beaumont Police Department held a news conference Friday announcing the arrest of Rose and the recovery of the remains.
Investigators said they are still waiting on DNA results to confirm the identity of the remains, but have said they consider the cold case to be solved and are glad that Langwell’s family can finally have closure.
In November, McInnis said on Facebook that she believed her mother’s case had “finally gained some traction” after it was featured on Oxygen’s “Cold Justice With Kelly Siegler.”
Langwell’s sister, Susan Lofgren Butts, thanked the show and the Beaumont Police Department for their investigations on Facebook in November. Without naming Rose, she also referenced that the family had always believed they knew who killed Langwell.
“He made a statement that to me takes away any doubt,” Butts wrote. “He also thought no body, no crime.
“Well, things have changed,” Butts said, pointing out that the evidence at the time was circumstantial but said there was “a lot of it.”
Police Chief Jimmy Singletary became emotional during Friday’s news conference, calling the investigation “extraordinary” and praising the detectives who had stayed on the case for decades.
“They were going to make sure that the family had some kind of closure, and by golly they did,” he said.
Volunteers using ground-penetrating radar tools were able to identify an area of interest “within minutes” of their arrival, the nonprofit volunteer search and recovery organization Equusearch announced on its website Friday. The human remains were recovered at this spot.
“Although positive identification is to be confirmed, the family of Kimberly Langwell will finally have some answers and may be able to start a new grieving process as they bring their beloved Kimberly home,” EquuSearch said.
“I hope he goes to jail forever,” McInnis told reporters on Friday about Rose. “I hope he lives the 25 years that we’ve suffered through, at the very least.”
Rose’s bond was set at $1 million on Friday. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney or when he is next expected to appear in court.
