Lisa Marie Kimmell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 18, 1969 Covington, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Disappeared | March 25, 1988 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | c. April 2, 1988 (aged 18) Casper, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Homicide |
| Body discovered | April 2, 1988 |
Dale Wayne Eaton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 10, 1945 U.S. |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder First degree sexual assault Aggravated kidnapping Aggravated robbery |
| Criminal penalty | Death; commuted to life imprisonment |
| Imprisoned at | Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution |
The Lil' Miss murder is the name given to the murder case of Lisa Marie Kimmell (July 18, 1969 – April 2, 1988),[1] a young American woman who disappeared while traveling from Denver, Colorado, to her family's home in Billings, Montana. Her case was given its name due to her vehicle, a Honda CR-X, which had the distinctive personalized license plate reading "LIL MISS", a fact widely publicized in efforts to recover her.
Kimmell remained a missing person for eight days before her body was discovered floating in the North Platte River near Casper, Wyoming. Evidence from a nearby bridge revealed she had been bludgeoned and stabbed to death there, before being thrown into the water. Kimmell's murder remained a cold case for 14 years, until DNA profiling linked Dale Wayne Eaton to her kidnapping, rape, and murder. In 2002, Kimmell's missing car was recovered from Eaton's property, where he had buried it after her abduction and murder. Eaton was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death in 2004. His death sentence has since been overturned.[2]
At the time of her disappearance, Kimmell's case was profiled nationally on the series Unsolved Mysteries, and her murder has been subject to various true-crime documentary segments. A book, Rivers of Blood, was published in 2009 which details her disappearance and murder.
- ^ Scott 2009, p. 302.
- ^ [email protected], Ellen Gerst 307-266-0544 (24 January 2022). "Death penalty off the table for Dale Wayne Eaton". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
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