CBS News
Missouri woman’s 1989 cold case murder solved after person comes forward with “rock-solid” tip; 3 men arrested
Authorities in Missouri say a 35-year cold case killing has been solved, thanks to someone who came forward with information about the crime.
Douglas County authorities announced Wednesday that three men have been arrested and indicted on first-degree murder, forcible rape and first-degree kidnapping charges in the 1989 killing of 24-year-old Kelle Ann Workman. Court records show that the men do not yet have listed attorneys. All three are jailed on $250,000 cash-only bond.
The three suspects were identified as Bobby Banks, Leonard Banks and Wiley Belt, who are all in their 60s, CBS affiliate KOLR-TV reported.
Workman was last seen cutting the grass at a rural cemetery in southwestern Missouri on June 30, 1989. Her body was found submerged in a creek more than 10 miles away a week later.
“I think we’re able to give Kelle some justice and hopefully give the family some closure, knowing that these guys are not here running around and simply getting away with it,” Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase said at a news conference.
Douglas County Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Weatherman said the information from the person who came forward is “rock-solid.”
“There was a person that came forward after almost 30 years of holding this inside that came forward and finally told us the last piece we needed to slide it all together,” Weatherman said.
Asked if he was confident in the case, Weatherman said, “It’s as good as a 1989 case can ever be.”
Workman was last seen at the Dogwood Cemetery near a Baptist church in a rural area of Douglas County. Several people joined police in searching for her. Her body was found on July 7, 1989, in a creek near Oldfield, Missouri.
Shana Beebe, Workman’s first cousin, told KOLR-TV that she can still remember the investigation when it began.
“I was a teenager at the time, and from what my initial memories were was Kelle’s mother came into our home to get my father to let us know that Kelle was missing. She was in a panic. It was very emotional. That’s kind of where the fear set in, because this wasn’t Kelle’s normal behavior at that point,” Beebe told the station. “We remember sitting around as like family in a group in and out for like search parties. It was lasted over a period of days. When she was finally discovered, it was a relief, but it was also heartbreaking. Two of our uncles actually were present when they found her body. Very emotional for them. To this day, they really can’t talk about it. They have a hard time with it.”
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Renad Atallah is an unlikely internet sensation: a 10-year-old chef, with a repertoire of simple recipes, cooking in war-torn Gaza. She has nearly a million followers on Instagram, who’ve witnessed her delight as she unpacks parcels of food aid.
CBS News
We interviewed Renad via satellite, though we were just 50 miles away, in Tel Aviv. [Israel doesn’t allow outside journalists into Gaza, except on brief trips with the country’s military.]
“There are a lot of dishes I’d like to cook, but the ingredients aren’t available in the market,” Renad told us. “Milk used to be easy to buy, but now it’s become very expensive.”
I asked, “How does it feel when so many people like your internet videos?”
“All the comments were positive,” she said. “When I’m feeling tired or sad and I want something to cheer me up, I read the comments.”
We sent a local camera crew to Renad’s home as she made Ful, a traditional Middle Eastern bean stew. Her older sister Noorhan says they never expected the videos to go viral. “Amazing food,” Noorhan said, who added that her sibling made her “very surprised!”
After more than a year of war, the Gaza Strip lies in ruins. Nearly everyone has been displaced from their homes. The United Nations says close to two million people are experiencing critical levels of hunger.
Hamada Shaqoura is another chef showing the outside world how Gazans are getting by, relying on food from aid packages, and cooking with a single gas burner in a tent.
Shaqoura also volunteers with the charity Watermelon Relief, which makes sweet treats for Gaza’s children.
In his videos online, Shaqoura always appears very serious. Asked why, he replied, “The situation does not call for smiling. What you see on screen will never show you how hard life is here.”
Before dawn one recent morning in Israel, we watched the UN’s World Food Program load nearly two dozen trucks with flour, headed across the border. The problem is not a lack of food; the problem is getting the food into the Gaza Strip, and into the hands of those who desperately need it.
The UN has repeatedly accused Israel of obstructing aid deliveries to Gaza. Israel’s government denies that, and claims that Hamas is hijacking aid.
“For all the actors that are on the ground, let the humanitarians do their work,” said Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s director in the Palestinian territories.
I asked, “Some people might see these two chefs and think, well, they’re cooking, they have food.”
“They have food, but they don’t have the right food; they’re trying to accommodate with anything that they can find,” Renard said.
Even in our darkest hour, food can bring comfort. But for many in Gaza, there’s only the anxiety of not knowing where they’ll find their next meal.
For more info:
Story produced by Mikaela Bufano. Editor: Carol Ross.
See also:
“Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index
Delicious menu suggestions from top chefs, cookbook authors, food writers, restaurateurs, and the editors of Food & Wine magazine.
