Rhode Island : Kimberly Morse
This week we are navigating advocacy in Rhode Island. North Providence, to be exact. North Providence has a population of 34,000 people and is considered the smallest officially incorporated town in the smallest state in the country. Other than that, this small town isn't known for much. They have a couple of parks and schools, but that's about it. The city of Providence is just a short drive away, and it is the largest city in Rhode Island and has much more going on, with almost 200,000 people living there.
Kimberly Sue Morse was born on January 24th, 1967, to parents Edwards and Ruth Morse in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The couple already had three teenage children when Kimberly came along. She had one older brother and two older sisters. Being the baby of the family with such a significant age gap between her and her siblings, they were all fiercely protective of Kimberly. She was an outgoing girl all of her life; she loved her family and meeting new people. Everyone that knew her would say she was a goal-oriented person that was kind to everyone. Kimberly grew up in Maine and graduated high school in 1985. After she graduated, she would travel and take different jobs, all in the service industry. She loved working with people. That is how she thrived at waitressing and other customer service-based positions. Kim was also very interested in fitness, she even became a bodybuilder. She would eventually move on to entering bikini competitions at local establishments to win cash prizes. This young woman was outgoing, beautiful, and full of life. She was known to frequent the local clubs and bars, where she would be the life of the party.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
In 1997, Kimberly moved to Rhode Island, where she took a job at Foxy Lady Gentlemens Club as a part-time dancer. She was around 30 years old and decided the part-time, flexible schedule would allow her to continue her education. So Kimberly enrolled in Warwick Academy of Beuty Culture, hoping to become an Aesthetician. Yes, she was a party girl who loved having a good time, but Kim did not touch drugs. She was not a big drinker or into a risky lifestyle. She didn't live a dangerous lifestyle, and she was very cautious, so much so that she carried pepper spray with her everywhere and took self-defense classes. She knew her line of work could put her in harm's way, so she took the necessary steps to protect herself as much as she could.
Kimberly had quite a few admirers, to say the least. She had regulars at the club that would shower her with gifts. These gifts could be anything from electronics, helping pay for bills, trips, and even a Jeep.
In the summer of 1999, Kimberly’s father dies, and she and one of her sisters decide to take a road trip to the other sister's house in Ohio that winter. During this trip, an ex-boyfriend of Kim’s kept calling and texting her. He was not happy that Kim broke up with him.
January 18, 2000, Kimberly went to work at the Foxy Lady Club. She signed out like usual and was escorted out to her vehicle, which was the standard procedure for the dancer's safety. This was about 1:45 am. We know Kimberly made it home to her basement apartment, where she lived alone. We also know the door to her apartment was unlocked, possibly slightly opened, when she arrived home. She took off her gloves and set down her key before being attacked from behind.
Kimberly was stabbed multiple times, and then her throat was slit before she was dragged to the bathroom, stripped of her clothes, and put into the bathtub. We do not know if the killer then stayed around the apartment or left for a while. We know that 15 hours later, neighbors would call the fire department to report the smell of smoke coming from the basement apartment. Once there, the firemen were able to put out the fire but knew they needed police on the scene. It was something out of a horror film. Blood was everywhere, dragging marks going from the kitchen where the front door was to the bathroom and then the remains of a woman inside the bathtub. This woman had so much going on, she was looking forward to so much just to be killed inside her home.
January 19th, 2000, was a Wednesday, and Kimberly was supposed to be in class at Warwick Academy at 9 am. She only had another month before she would graduate and be on her way to quitting her job as a dancer and starting to work in a career she was excited about. Her friends, co-workers, and classmates would all try to call her that day, but all calls and messages would go unanswered. They wouldn't know what happened to Kim until that evening when the firefighters would find the gasoline-soaked burned body of their loved one.
As for the crime scene is concerned, there are various things that are unusual. Authorities believe the person that did this had to have known Kimberly. There was rage behind their actions, which usually means someone very close to the victim. However, there were items taken from the apartment. Items of value, like a computer and camera, which were gifts from patrons, a safe thought to contain cash, was taken, along with jewelry and a stuffed teddy bear. I wonder if the police knew who gave her this stuffed animal because that would be a great start to the investigation. However, it could have been taken from someone that was jealous of the gifts she was getting from other men and therefore took all of the items she received as a final act of keeping others away from her.
This teddy bear leads me to believe that it had to be someone that was infatuated with her and either gave that to her or didn't want her to have something from someone else. Again it is strange that this person would either hang out around her apartment or leave and come back. DNA would be collected from the crime scene. However, in 2019 law enforcement stated there had been no match, which would lead us to believe it had been tested, but they also stated they have no plans to do additional testing until “all other efforts are exhausted”. Maybe they only have a small amount left, and they don't want to waste it in case they find the actual killer and need it for a conviction. So many questions in this case, even when it comes to the physical evidence.
The police have been very tight-lipped about this case. They did provide an update about an anonymous email they received in 2014. This tip led them all the way to Michigan. The detectives on the case would work with Michigan state police in a rural area. This tip would lead to several people being crossed off the persons of interest list, but no suspects were named, or arrests actually made. So what did they find out in Michigan? Did someone that knew Kimberly reside in that area? It has been years since that tip came in, and we still do not know who killed Kimberly.
Let’s talk about possible suspects, well first off, the ex-boyfriend of Kim’s that she had recently broken up with is who law enforcement looked at first. This was a bodybuilder type of guy that may or may not have been into steroids at the time of Kim’s death. I would assume this is person of interest number one because he was the last significant other of Kim’s and in the months before her death, they were not exactly on good terms. Kimberly’s family has even stated they believe this guy is involved. They told authorities that Kimberly was afraid of this man and that he had even tried to break into her house at one point. Kimberly wanted to change the locks and remember I said she was very cautious about her safety. This could be partly because of this man. We have to take into consideration Kimberly’s work at the Foxy Lady. She had admirers, people that would give her lavish gifts. Did one of these men get jealous enough to commit murder? Or did she reject someone and they couldn't deal with that? Police do believe the person that did this horrific crime had a key to her apartment. With no forced entry and how cautious Kimberly was, there was no way she would have left her door unlocked, especially with the fear of the ex-boyfriend breaking in. Could it have been someone that worked for the apartment complex? A maintenance man or property manager. There were 15 persons of interest at one time, but honestly, that's the last thing we know about this case. The podcast Murder She Told has interviews with Kimberly’s family and friends and was an amazing resource when learning all about Kimberly.
If you know anything about the murder of Kimberly Morse, please contact the North Providence Police Department at 401-233-1430 OR call their anonymous tip line at 401-719-1449.
