Katharina Buczek
On the evening of September 15, 2002, she left the newsroom late with a man named Brian – a friend and weatherman at the outlet. They first went to the grocery store around 10:00 p.m. in Jennifer’s car before she dropped him off and went back home.
And once there, she phoned her ex-boyfriend, Dave. The pair spoke pretty routinely, so there was seemingly no cause for alarm. Dave also confirmed that he was still hours away in his Montana home. Then, Jennifer and Dave hung up at about 1:30 a.m.
The young journalist had the next few days off of work, so her appearance at the office the following morning was not initially expected. However, due to a staff shortage in the newsroom, Jennifer’s boss decided to reach out.
He called her to ask if she would be willing to go in and take a shift. But, when Jennifer never answered or even tried to call him back, he became concerned.
Jennifer’s mother, Sherry, also grew worried. Sherry had tried to contact her a few times as well, but she never picked up the phone.
This was very uncharacteristic of Jennifer, so a few KRBC employees decided to head over to her apartment and check-in. And one of the first red flags they noticed was that Jennifer’s blinds had been left closed. This was unusual since she always left them open for her cat, Mr. Binx, to gaze out the window.
So, after they could not get through to Jennifer in person, her boss finally contacted the police for a wellness check. And the officers’ discovery was devastating.
Jennifer had been assaulted, strangled, and left dead in her apartment. In addition, authorities found evidence of blunt force trauma to her head. The journalist’s purse and phone were also missing.
But, no murder weapon had been left on the scene, and there were no signs of forced entry into her apartment. This, coupled with testimonials from Jennifer’s coworkers about how she was a stickler for safety, led investigators to believe that she had known her perpetrator personally.
Unfortunately, though, Jennifer’s case has not progressed much further than these preliminary findings. Investigators have named two main suspects– Brian and another man named Ralph– but no charges have ever been filed.
Authorities first looked at Brian since he was the last person to have been with Jennifer. He also reportedly hoped to forge a romantic relationship with her, but Jennifer apparently told friends she was not interested.
