ALABAMA 1990 COLD CASE SOLVED – — ARREST SHOCKS COMMUNITY | HO

Cleburn County, AL — In the predawn hours of September 23, 2021, a phone rang in the Kim family home for the first time with news, not hope. After nearly three decades of heartbreak, the voice on the line delivered the words Mary Kim had waited 29 years to hear: “Mrs. Kim, this is Detective Sawyer with the Cleburn County Cold Case Unit. We got him.”

Just blocks away, law enforcement quietly moved in on a modest brick ranch house outside Montgomery, Alabama. There, 61-year-old Edward Alan Klene was placed in handcuffs, bewilderment etched across his face. The arrest marked the stunning conclusion to one of Alabama’s most haunting unsolved mysteries—the disappearance and murder of 23-year-old Elizabeth Kim in 1990.

A Small Town’s Nightmare

Cleburn County, nestled against the Georgia border, is a patchwork of pine forests and farmland, where everyone knows your name and secrets rarely stay buried. But for nearly three decades, the disappearance of Elizabeth Kim haunted the region. On a mild Tuesday evening in May 1990, Elizabeth left her home for a short walk to visit a friend. She never arrived.

Elizabeth Kim was not just another missing person. She was a vibrant young woman with big dreams—a graduate of Cleburn County High School, a full-time bank employee, and a dedicated night student at the local community college. Her goal was clear: save enough money to transfer to Auburn University and become the first in her family to earn a college degree.

“She was the glue of our family,” her older brother Michael Kim recalled. “Stubborn as hell, but with a heart twice the size of Alabama.”

The Night She Vanished

May 8, 1990, began like any other day. Elizabeth jogged through the quiet streets of Heflin, worked her shift at First Alabama Bank, and planned a study session with her friend Lisa Winters. At 7:30 p.m., she left home wearing jeans, a navy Auburn sweatshirt, and white sneakers, carrying a backpack with her textbooks.

She was last seen by a neighbor entering the park along her usual route. “She waved at me,” recalled Mrs. Simmons, who lived across from the park. “I’ve known that Kim girl since she was knee high.”

Elizabeth never reached Lisa’s house. By 10:30 p.m., her mother Mary returned home to find the house empty. Calls to Lisa confirmed Elizabeth had never arrived. Panic set in, and by midnight, the Cleburn County Sheriff’s Department launched a search.

The Search and Early Investigation

The initial investigation was exhaustive. Deputies retraced Elizabeth’s route, volunteers combed the woods, and the FBI joined the search. Flyers with her photograph appeared on every storefront. Elizabeth’s backpack was found two days later, hidden under a bush at the edge of the park—her textbooks still inside, no signs of struggle.

The case quickly shifted from a missing person to suspected abduction. Detectives interviewed sex offenders, ex-boyfriends, and transient workers. Hundreds of tips poured in, but no substantial leads emerged. The only physical evidence—a partial footprint and several cigarette butts—yielded no immediate answers.

For months, the Kim family led the search, organizing walks and vigils, refusing to let Elizabeth’s memory fade. “My daughter is still missing, but the truth is not,” Mary Kim told a crowd at the first anniversary vigil. “The truth is out there, and someday it will come to light.”

Decades of Waiting

The years passed, but the Kim family never gave up. Elizabeth’s bedroom remained untouched, her college fund jar still on the dresser. Her father, Robert, retired early to devote himself to the search, becoming a certified private investigator. The strain fractured the family, but they remained united by loss.

Technology evolved. DNA analysis became standard in criminal investigations, but the evidence in Elizabeth’s case was limited. In 2012, Robert Kim died of a heart attack at the sheriff’s department, still chasing leads.

Mary Kim continued the fight, maintaining a website and organizing annual remembrance walks. “Someone knows something,” became her mantra, repeated in every interview and printed on t-shirts.

A New Era in Cold Case Investigation

In 2019, Cleburn County Sheriff Marcus Wade established the county’s first dedicated cold case unit. Detective Eliza Sawyer, known for her meticulous approach, and James Martinez, a forensic genealogy expert, took charge of the Kim case.

Their first step was digitizing the entire case file—hundreds of pages of interviews, timelines, and evidence. Advances in forensic science provided new hope. The hair found on Elizabeth’s backpack, previously only suitable for mitochondrial DNA analysis, was sent to a specialized lab capable of extracting nuclear DNA from rootless hair shafts.

In June 2021, the lab delivered a breakthrough: a full nuclear DNA profile suitable for matching. The profile was uploaded to CODIS, the FBI’s national DNA database. No direct match was found, but the team turned to genetic genealogy, comparing the profile to public ancestry databases and constructing family trees from distant relatives.

By September 2021, the search had narrowed to a specific family line in eastern Alabama. Voluntary DNA samples from relatives led investigators to Edward Alan Klene, a former Cleburn County resident living outside Montgomery.

The Suspect: Hiding in Plain Sight

Edward Klene had never appeared in the original investigation. In 1990, he was a 30-year-old delivery driver for a beverage distributor, with a route that included stores in Cleburn County. He moved away months after Elizabeth’s disappearance, blending into a quiet life—marrying, working, and volunteering in his community.

“He created the perfect cover,” Detective Sawyer explained. “A stable marriage, a steady job, community involvement. Who would look twice at someone like that?”

Investigators obtained a search warrant for discarded DNA. Surveillance teams collected a soda can Klene threw away at a Montgomery gas station. The lab confirmed the match: the DNA from the can matched the hair found on Elizabeth’s backpack. The probability of error was 1 in 7.2 trillion.

The Arrest and Community Shock

On September 23, 2021, tactical teams surrounded Klene’s home. At 5:15 a.m., Detective Sawyer knocked on his door. Klene answered in pajamas, confused but compliant. He was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Elizabeth Marie Kim.

Inside Klene’s garage, investigators found a locked cabinet containing newspapers from May and June 1990, all covering Elizabeth’s case. Klene never asked who Elizabeth was, never claimed innocence—behavior that struck detectives as highly unusual.

News of the arrest spread rapidly. Residents gathered at the park where Elizabeth’s backpack was found, creating an impromptu memorial. “He was just the beverage guy,” said Tom Wilson, former manager at the Piggly Wiggly. “Nothing about him stood out. That ordinariness made the revelation all the more disturbing.”

The Legal Process and Justice Delivered

Klene was booked on charges of kidnapping and murder. The case moved deliberately. District Attorney Caroline Winters built a comprehensive case, combining DNA evidence with work records and witness testimony. In December 2021, a grand jury indicted Klene on all charges.

The trial began in May 2022, nearly 32 years after Elizabeth vanished. The defense challenged the chain of custody for the hair sample, but the prosecution’s case was overwhelming. After four hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict: guilty on all counts. Klene was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Mary Kim addressed her daughter’s killer in court. “I forgive you, not for your sake, but for mine. I’ve carried this burden long enough.”

A Legacy of Hope and Change

The resolution of Elizabeth Kim’s case reverberated across Alabama. The success of Cleburn County’s cold case unit inspired similar efforts statewide. The Kim family established a foundation to support cold case investigations and help families of missing persons.

Elizabeth’s story became a symbol of persistence and hope. The park where her backpack was found was renamed Elizabeth Kim Memorial Park. Annual remembrance walks shifted from vigils to celebrations of justice.

“Cold cases are never really about the past,” Detective Sawyer reflected. “They’re about bringing justice into the present, about fulfilling promises made long ago.”

For Mary Kim, now in her late seventies, the fight continues. “I tell other families that their loved one matters. The truth is worth pursuing, no matter how long it takes. And they are not alone in the waiting.”

As the evidence box moves to the solved cases archive, the community of Cleburn County finds closure at last. Justice, delayed but not denied, has finally arrived.