Kimberly Langwell

Welcome to Primetime Crime. I'm your host, Kylie. Let's talk right now in true crime, and then together we're going to work on warming up some cold cases. Let's go. Hey, guys, welcome to this week's episode of Primetime Crime. It's Kylie. We are going to get into a little right now in true crime, and then we're going to get into the episode. So Authorum Labs once again has done it. They have officially helped solve the nineteen sixty four murder of a twelve year old girl named Mary Teresa Simpson, which at this point in time was one of New York's oldest cold cases. So Mary was last seen on March fifteenth of nineteen sixty four walking home after visiting relatives near Elmira, New York, and she'd never came home. Her dad reported her missing that evening, and then four days later, on March nineteenth, her body was discovered in a wooded area near Coiams Hill Road in Southport by a man that was hiking with his sons, and her remains had been partially concealed under some debris and stones. Investigators determined that she had been sexually assaulted and that she had been strangled and her mouth had been stuffed with twigs and dirt, which is just terrible. By the way, I am getting this from dnasolves dot com. I will link it below in the show notes. So there was an extensive investigation. They did hundreds of interviews over the last few decades, but unfortunately the case went cold. In twenty twenty three, police with assistance from the FBI, decided to reopen the case and try to dive into some modern forensic methods. In February of twenty twenty three, the forensic evidence from the case was sent to authorm Labs in the Woodlands, Texas, and they were able to develop a usable DNA extract from the evidence and applied for friendsic grade genome sequencing and they were able to build a comprehensive DNA profile of this unknown suspect. They essentially did narrow in on a suspect and they were able to confirm the suspect's identity, and unfortunately the suspect is deceased and law enforcement is expected to announce the suspects identity on February tenth of twenty twenty six. So just in a couple of weeks at a press conference. So this case was cold for a long time, pretty much from the time it started. And again, this happened in nineteen sixty four, and we're just getting resolution in twenty twenty six because technology is finally catching up and authrom is revolutionizing everything when it comes to this kind of stuff, because they're developing their new technology and using that to identify these suspects. It is wild, It is crazy, and I think twenty twenty six is going to be a huge year for cold cases getting resolution and I cannot wait to bring them to you here on my podcast, because that is what this is all about, is solving these cold cases that have gone unsolved for such a long time. All Right, moving on to Spencer and Monique Tepe News. So there is lots of documents coming out on the ever growing case against doctor Michael McKee, who was Monique's ex husband. There is now reports and evidence that allegedly Michael McKee entered the property of Monique and Spencer on December sixth of twenty twenty five and then left a few hours later. This happened while Monique and Spencer were away. Now there's been a lot of online speculation about whether he entered their actual home and was inside of the home or just on their property. I think the way that it's worded, honestly sounds like he was more or on their property. But he doesn't need to be there. He has no business being there at all. So I think that's really interesting that on December sixth he was there on their property doing god knows what, and then a couple of weeks later they're gone. Now. Interestingly enough, while Spencer and Monique were gone on December sixth, they had gone to one of the Big Ten Championship games in Indiana, and they had gone with a few other couples and Monique ended up leaving early and going back to her hotel room, and one of the friends had asked Spencer, like, what's going on with Monique? Is she okay? And he said that she was upset about something involving her ex husband and just needed to go back to the hotel. So I don't know what is going to come of this, but it is wild to me that this man was so cold and calculated and obviously planned their murder in the way that he did. I don't understand any of this. It makes absolutely no sense to me, and you know, they've gone over his cell phone records and they have been able to tell that during the homicides of Spencer and Monique, that his phone was left at the hospital that he worked at in Illinois, and there was no activity on that phone for seventeen hours from December twenty ninth, twenty twenty five, until after twelve pm on December thirty of twenty twenty five. Basically, he had it off and somewhere else during the time of the murders because he thought he was so smart, but obviously that's not the case. I guess he was obsessed with her. There have been lots of reports of him being abusive, and also there is somebody that came forward and said that he had told Monique that he could kill her and find her at any time, and he would buy the home next to her, and that she would always be his wife. Now, I don't know if anything is going to come out about her filing any stalking charges against him or reporting any of this insane, crazy behavior, because unfortunately, in a situation like this, women are very much dismissed, made to feel like their feelings and what's going on with them is invalid and basically made to feel like, well, unless you are injured or you get killed, it's not really important. It's not on our radar. I don't know if that's going to be the case here. I don't know if even Monique and Spencer knew to the extent what was going on. I don't know if she knew that she was being stalked, or if he was just so methodical and under the radar that they never even knew that there was something going on. I don't know. It's going to be interesting to see. It does sound like they have a mountain of evidence so far against Michael McKee, so this one is going to be interesting. But I think it's also really important to remember that not only did a wonderful couple, wonderful individuals, Spencer and Monique, lose their lives, but they lost their lives in a brutal way to this alleged horrible human and their kids were there when it happened, which just absolutely destroys me in so many ways. I can't even imagine if the kids even knew what were going on. They're very young, but the fact that they are going to have to live with not only having lost their parents, at such a young age, but having lost their parents while they were there, it's going to stay with them forever. And this demented monster had absolutely no right because he had such a big ego. He couldn't handle rejection and couldn't handle that his wife of seven months was married to somebody else seven years later. Get over yourself. That is just my personal opinion. Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law as always, but allegedly he needs to get over himself. I will be sure to keep you guys updated on that one. But at the end of the day, like I said, they were taken from this world in such a tragic way, and their kids are going to be left behind to pick up the pieces. Their families are going to be left behind to pick up the pieces of this one. And I don't think that they are going to rest until the person that is responsible is behind bars for the rest of time, all right, So that is going to be it for right now in True Crime. I will be sure to keep you guys updated on anything else breaking in the next week or so, but we are going to go ahead and get in to today's episode, which it's one of my favorite and I use that term very loosely because we're talking about horrific topics of conversation here. But one of my favorite types of episodes to share because it is a case that was cold for many, many years that is now solved, and it's solved. We'll get into why, but it's primarily solved because investigators didn't want to give up and somebody finally decided that they needed to come forward and share the information that they knew, because they knew the whole time what had happened, and they kept that secret in for a long long time, basically just to protect themselves because they didn't want to get in trouble, but also they were being a friend to the person that ultimately perpetrated this horrific crime which we're going to talk about. This one is wild, so we are going to go ahead and get into it now. All righty guys, we are jumping into a brand new case today. Today, I'm going to be telling you about the July nineteen ninety nine disappearance and now confirmed murder of thirty four year old mom Kimberly Langwell out of Beaumont, Texas. So for me covering these cases that were once with little resolution and have now had resolution after all of this time. Are my favorite kinds to cover, only because anytime a family gets answers about what happened to their loved one, especially after so many years, I think it's important. I think it's important to share. As a podcast that covers mostly unsolved cases, I think it's important to highlight that time truly is running out for these perpetrators of these crimes. And that's exactly what happened in this case and as of last year, just in December, they got a plea in Kim's case, despite having previously pled not guilty, later accepted a plea deal and will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. Kim's case was one of those where, no matter which way they swung things, it didn't make any sense that Kim would have left on her own. She was not that type of person. She was a devoted mom, which we're going to get into in a little while. So they figured investigators figure that they were working a homicide case here, but they simply didn't have a body and that was a big hold up in bringing charges against the individual who are going to talk about in a little while, because they didn't have a body. So although Kim was considered a missing person, investigators kind of knew what direction this case was going in, but it took twenty five years before answers would finally come to light. But as always, we have to go back to the beginning to find out how we got where we're at today. Also very important to note that Kim's story was also featured on Cold Justice on the Oxygen Network, and I'm going to be referencing that throughout the episode. I'm also going to link a below. I think it was really well done and I very much credit that team and their work for helping keep this case in the forefront because shortly after that aired is when everything started to come out, and that has led us to where we are today with having resolution in Kim's case. So we're going to talk about Kim, who she was as a person, and what led to where we are today. Kimberly Anne Langwell was born on February twenty fourth of nineteen sixty five in Houston, Texas, to her father Stratton H. Langwell and mother, Betty L. Clark. She had a sister named Susan as well. Her greatest joy in life was her daughter Tiffany, who was born in December of nineteen eighty three, when Kim was only eighteen. Kim raised Tiffany as a single mom and did everything she could to be there for her daughter. Kim is described as a hard worker, often working three jobs to provide for her and her daughter. She was funny, although she is described as having a very dry sense of humor. But I love, personally a dry sense of humor, so I could definitely get behind it. Kim moved to Beaumont and spent most of her adult life there. Her daughter Tiffany was her priority, but she did have a few romantic relationships over the years, one of which had ended about six months before she went missing. And in this relationship, she was dating a man named Terry Rose, who at the time was forty two years old. Terry was a record driver and actually at one point in time had his own company. Kim and Terry were together for about seven years, but then Kim learned of an alleged affair between Terry and one of Kim's friends, and that prompted her to end the relationship with him. Now, like I said, they were together for about seven years, but their relationship wasn't perfect. Terry was allegedly obsessed with her. They fought a lot, and Terry had admitted one point in time that he had slapped Kim in the face. Now, despite their breakup, Terry was very much trying to keep Kim in his life, and Kim was okay with this. She thought, if I just keep in touch with him and try to keep things civil, eventually everything will calm down and he will stop obsessing over her. That is the thought that she had. Now, Tiffany said in the Cold Justice episode that she personally did not like Terry and did not want her mom around him, and I'm sure she has her reasons for that because at the time that Kim went missing, Tiffany was fifteen years old, so Tiffany was definitely around for all of the relationship between Terry and her mother. There are also friends that recall Terry being abusive, and there were times that Kim had expressed that she was afraid of Terry and even confided in a friend once that Terry said that if she ever left him that he would kill her. And given where we're at now discussing this case about Kim, that statement is so so chilling. But Terry wasn't the only odd guy in Kim's life. In nineteen ninety nine, Kim was working at a local refinery and things were very much starting to look up for her. Her boss, however, at this job, was oddly obsessed with her. Now he is named Frank McCormick, and later on in this investigation, he later on admitted to having a crush on Kim, even so much so that he would write her love letters. And it was excessive. It wasn't just one letter here and there. It was multiple love letters, very detailed, really odd, even to the point where Kim didn't really know what to make of it, but gave the love letters to one of her good friends to hold on to them if anything were to ever happen with her losing her job, and then she could come back and say, look at how my boss treated me. This isn't appropriate, this wasn't appropriate. And interestingly enough about Frank is he was a supposedly happily married man. But the letters are weird. They go over them in detail. On the Cole Justice episode, there was one where he's talking about whisking her away for this vacation in Italy. I want to say it was, and it's just all really bizarre to be as a boss giving letters like that to one of your employees. But then also you are a married man, so again it's just not acceptable. So, like I said, Tiffany was fifteen years old around the time that her mom went missing. Now, Kim had recently started dating a new man named Ken, and Ken and Kim worked together, and Ken genuinely seems like a super good guy. He got along really well with Tiffany and seemed like he had a really good relationship with Kim. Now, interestingly enough, shortly before her disappearance, Kim and Ken had gone on vacation to Mexico. They went to Camtkun and they had a great time. They had just returned back shortly before she went missing, and Terry had actually loaned her money for this trip, about five hundred dollars, believing that she was going on this trip with some girlfriends, but later allegedly found out that she went on this trip with another man and was very upset by this. But in my opinion, it's just one more way that Terry is trying to weasel his way back into Kim's life because they are on good terms even though they've broken up, he's giving her money to go on vacation, hoping to stay in her good graces, seemingly so he can weasel his way back in, because in my opinion, Terry is that kind of person. He's very manipulative and very controlling, and I think this is just another example of that. Now, Ken does recall that on the day that Kim went missing, he realized and recognized that she was actually wearing one of the T shirts that they had gotten on their trip from Cancun, and he all these years later, when they interview him in the Cold Justice episode, he recalls this and remembers that very very vividly, Ken is a good guy through and through. I really feel bad for him given the circumstances surrounding everything that happened. So in the Cold Justice episode, he recalls the events of what happened that evening. He says that they made plans that evening Friday, July ninth of nineteen ninety nine, and Kim had got off work around five pm, and she called to let Tiffany know that they had plans that night and they were going to go to dinner with Ken that evening around six thirty pm. She told Tiffany that she had to make a stop on the way home and basically said she needed to stop by Terry's house to assist him with some type of home renovation project. But she said that she wasn't going to be there long and that she would be home asap so that they could go on and go to dinner. Six thirty pm came and went, and Kim did not show up back at the house, Ken and Tiffany both grew very concerned because they knew that this really wasn't like him. She was pretty reliable and she just wasn't the type that wouldn't show up. But they both did try to reach out to Kim on her cell phone, but they didn't have any luck. And like I said, this was very out of character for Kim not to be where she said she was going to be, and it was also very unlike her to not answer her phone, especially to her daughter. Her daughter, Tiffany was her world. So they were both at the house and they decided that they were going to reach out to Terry since that was the last known place that she was supposed to be. Tiffany told Terry that they were all supposed to meet for dinner, and Terry said that Kim had already left, but oddly enough, he didn't seem concerned. He actually was very angry in the conversation. He didn't seem concerned about Kim's whereabouts or ask what he could do to help. He was basically more upset that he wasn't invited to dinner. Either way, Ken and Tiffany decided to just keep waiting. They knew something must have come up that caused Kim to be running late, and they just expected that she would be home any minute. By ten pm, there was still no sign of Kim, and Ken decided that he was going to hit the streets and go look for her. He checked local bars and different shopping centers to try to see where she could be. By ten thirty, he found her car. It was parked in the Ekerts parking lot located at six four seven zero Feelin Boulevard in Beaumont, Texas. Now, he did say, since it was later in the evening, that it kind of stood out to him because her car was one of the only ones in the parking lot. Ken got out and checked her car and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but it was just kind of an odd spot for her car to be, And again Ken rationalized in his head that Kim must have made other plans. Something came up, she parked her car, a friend picked her up, and she is out with a friend. Maybe there was an emergency. I don't think your mind ever goes to a worst case scenario, at least back in nineteen ninety nine it didn't. And I think today we're much more vigilant about stuff like this. But again, hindsight is twenty twenty and Ken's thoughts and feelings make a thousand percent sense to me. So the next morning, Ken went back to the parking lot, hoping that Kim's car would be gone, but unfortunately, it was still there. They called the Beaumont Police Department and a missing person's report was filed. Kim's car was found with her cell phone, but her keys and purse were missing. Of course, investigators had to start at square one. They questioned everyone close to Kim. Ken had an alibi because he was with Tiffany, and there was nothing about Ken that gave off any type of red flags. Next up was Frank, Kim's boss, and he said that he had gone to the grocery store that evening to get snacks for a poker game, and Terry's alibi was that he was at home till around nine thirty pm and then he went to a local pool hall to play pool, pretty much located in the same shopping center as the Ekerts where Kim's car was left and abandoned. Police did search Terry's home and there wasn't anything found there that was out of the ordinary, no evidence that a crime had taken place or anything that really stood out to them. In nineteen ninety nine, there was a witness who had come forward and said that she saw Terry's wrecker in the Ekker parking lot around six forty five pm that evening. Now, when they were reviewing the case for the Coal Justice episode, that witness had passed away, so that statement really couldn't be used as evidence. But when the Coal Justice team was in the process of reinvestigating the case of Kim, they go to Terry's house, which was located at one six' five y Five Lindbergh drive In, Beaumont, texas and this was the same home that he lived in When kim went. Missing they went to try and talk to, him and of Course terry tried to escape using a back, fence but they ended up cornering him and he does agree to talk to, them ALTHOUGH i will say it was kind of a stand offish type of. Interaction his arms were, crossed he seemed very, uncomfortable and it's. Insane you guys have to go watch. It knowing what we know, now it is a crazy. Interaction and they ask him his theory about what he thinks, happened and he says he doesn't even know what to think about. It he talks about their breakup and the reason That kim visited that. Day, now he had initially told investigators That kim had come over to help with some construction that he was doing at the, house and he said something about them putting up two, boards but when they reinterviewed him for Cold, justice he said that she had come over to get some of her things that she had left. There he made no mention at all of the home renovation project that he had previously talked, about so his story very much did change over the. Years he then went on to deny Giving kim any money for her trip To mexico and denies knowing anything about her going To mexico or it being with another guy and being upset about. It, Now kim's Sister susan said this is not true because she said he became angry when he found out that she went on this trip with another man instead of taking a girl's trip like he was led to believe. Now, previously When terry was initially, questioned he did say that there were times that he got physical With, kim physically abusive with, her but during the second, interview he denies having any interaction with her that was any type of physical abuse and said that he never said. That so, basically All terry did in this conversation he had with investigators in twenty twenty three was make himself look worse and honestly watching it make himself look. Guilty so With Coal justice and their team getting involved and kind of going back through, everything they were confident that they Thought terry was responsible For kim's. Death they discussed it with THE da and believed that they had enough evidence to pursue charges Against Terry. Rose the team talked With kim's old, Boss, frank and although the letters That frank had given To kim were. Creepy he didn't seem to be lying about not being involved In kim's, disappearance and plus he had an, alibi and he was very willing to talk with. Them he went down to the police, station he gave them an. Interview it's all on The Cole justice, Episode and, HONESTLY i think he was probably pretty embarrassed the way he acted back, then and then With kim going. Missing i'm sure he was maybe even a little scared that people were going to be pointing the finger at. Him, so, yes the letters were, weird probably not the greatest thing to, do given that he was, married but that doesn't mean that he was involved In kim's, disappearance and he. Wasn't as the episode Of Coal justice, Ended tiffany And kim's Sister susan were very hopeful That kim's case would be solved with the renewed, interest AND i don't think they truly had any idea what would happen. Next In april of twenty twenty, four a tip came in from a informant That kim had been murdered and buried somewhere on the property Of Terry. Rose police ended up getting a search, warrant and On june tenth of twenty twenty, Four Texas Equa search began to Search terry's. Property they dug away into the, concrete they dug into the. Driveway they basically tore this home. Apart they brought in ground penetrating radar and cadaver. Dogs three days, later On june, thirteenth a discovery was Made buried beneath the floorboards Of terry's. Home they found a three by five foot area with no steel rebar under the bedroom. Floor now they knew that there was something really odd about, this so they had to keep. Digging now they had to take care when they were trying to access the, area and it was a quite tedious. Process it wasn't something they could easily, accomplish and it took them a while to access the area that they needed to, Access but they did and they found human remains wrapped in a. Blanket the remains were later positively identified of those Of Kimberly. Langwell Terry, rose at this time now sixty eight years, old was arrested and charged with the nineteen ninety nine death Of Kimberly. Langwell that arrest came twenty five years after her. Death twenty five whole years of this man living his, life running his, business flying under the, radar putting up billboards looking for information On kim's, disappearance and the whole Time kim's remains were beneath his feet at his. Home terry initially pled not guilty and his bond was set at one million. Dollars In august of twenty twenty, five he was deemed competent to stand trial and the trial was scheduled For december of twenty twenty. Five he was offered a plea deal and offered forty years in. Prison he. Denied terry was facing up to ninety nine years or life in prison if he was convicted on murder. Charges he was facing as little as five years in, prison WHICH i can't even fathom anybody getting five years in prison for, murder but here we. Are so he was set to go to, trial and On december, second just six days before his trial was set to, Begin terry accepted a plea deal and the sentencing hearing was scheduled For december. Sixteenth, Now terry's attorney says That terry intended to very much present a case for sudden passion during the sentencing, hearing and, basically if the judge agreed that this was a sudden, passion it would reduce the maximum sentence to the next lowest, level which was a second degree, felony which would be punishable by two to twenty years in prison and up to a ten thousand dollars. Fine so there is an exchange between the judge And terry when he entered his. Plea so the judge, asked are you pleading guilty because you did what they charged you? With And terry said sort. Of the judge, said, no we're not playing hold, on do you not understand Mister? Rose And terry said most of, it but that's, okay and the judge, said, no it's not, okay and then she goes on to, say Mister, rose this is not a, game And terry, Said i'm not playing a, game and the judge then, said we're about to go to trial next. Week, okay do you understand. This, obviously despite What terry, said he was playing, games AND i love that the judge called him out on. It she did sentence him to the full forty, years and he is not allowed to appeal given the grounds of the plea deal and given his, Age Terry rose will never see the light of day. Again and to, me that's. Comforting. Now LIKE i, Said terry had taken out a billboard looking for information Into kim's, disappearance and that is just so sick knowing that he is the one who killed her and then buried her in the floor of his. House that is sick. Behavior and the judge called him out on, it and she said putting up a billboard is insane and, psychotic and she confessed a desire to impose a harsher sentence and said that there was part of her that wishes that she had not accepted the plea agreement and that they had gone to trial because she does think that a jury would have given you life or ninety nine. Years, Now LIKE i, said Despite terry's, age he's in prison for forty. Years he will likely never get out of. Jail AND i think that that is a comforting. Thing so we need to talk a little bit about, this, informant BECAUSE i say it all the. Time loyalty, shift people, Change people have a really hard time living with information that they, know and sometimes they finally come. Forward it might be decades, later but they come, Forward so here is all the information about this. Informant so the investigation was reopened in the spring of twenty twenty, three but everything came to light in twenty twenty four when one Of terry's lifelong friends Named David, wiley changed his initial nineteen ninety nine statement to. Police, Now David wiley Knew kim to Be terry's ex, girlfriend and he had testified that he Met terry at A walmart In beaumont on an evening In july of nineteen ninety, nine shortly after he had gotten off work and he Saw terry Driving Kim langwall's, car And terry had Instructed david to follow him To Westmont, center where the car would later be, found and that is Where terry parked the car and Then david drove him home back to his. House david revealed that sometime that weekend That terry had confessed that he had Shot kim in the back of the head and he dug a hole in the slab and buried her under the. House the house On, lindbergh and he indicated that it was the front bedroom that was closest to the, street which is exactly Where kim was. Found, Now david admitted that he lied to police in nineteen ninety nine because he was afraid that he was going to be getting himself involved in something that could cause a lot of trouble for. Him and he kept this secret for a long. Time nineteen ninety nine to twenty twenty four is a hell of a long. Time and he said in court That terry was a close friend of, his but he felt that he had to come forward because he couldn't live with it any. Longer and that is WHAT i mean WHEN i say loyalties. Changed things, shift people. Change people wake up one day and realize they've been living with a horrific secret for such a long time and they need to come. Forward and although it Took david a heck of a long time to come, Forward i'm so glad he did. Now, Tiffany kim's, daughter also did file a wrongful death lawsuit Against, terry AND i truly hope she takes him for everything he, has WHICH i know probably isn't much at this point in, time but at least it's a step in the right. Direction And i'm so glad that this monster is not on the streets anymore and can't hurt anybody. ELSE i feel so badly For kim because in her, HEAD i think she was trying to remain civil and friendly With. TERRY i don't think she ever thought that he was really going to harm, her although he had made threats in the. Past terry is probably one of those type of guys who can be very charming and who can get on your good, side AND i believe That kim was just doing all that she could to try and keep him happy and be in good graces with. Him they were together for a long, time so it makes sense that they still had some type of friendly relationship following the. Breakup but he is a horrific human and he deserves to be exactly where he. Is so that is a story Of Kim. Langwell my thoughts and prayers go out To kim's, family her Daughter, tiffany who never stopped searching for, answers who never gave up. Hope her Sister susan again never stopped searching for, answers never gave up. Hope The Cold Justice team for really putting this story back out, there re looking at, everything kind of going back through all the case, files talking to all of the witnesses going back through. EVERYTHING i truly do believe that their involvement helped reignite this case and got it to where it is, now because had it not been, reopened they probably wouldn't have gone back and talked To David, wiley which means that he wouldn't have come out and let everybody know what happened that. Day so thank you guys for listening To kim's. STORY i always love sharing these ones that have been solved after so many years BECAUSE i think it gives other families that are searching for answers in their loved ones cold. CASE i think that it gives them a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel that one, day maybe their loved one's case will be solved. TOO i hope you guys have a fantastic. Weekend stay, safe stay, aware AND i will see you next. Week. Bye