On the night of February 7, 1997, 45-year-old Ricci Lynn Ellsworth went to her job as an overnight desk clerk at the Memphis Inn in Shelby County, Tennessee, and was never seen again. Sometime between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. on February 8, she vanished. The scene left behind at the motel suggested a violent struggle had taken place. Her purse, wallet, and wedding band were found in the office, and her car was still locked in the parking lot.
Investigators discovered a significant amount of blood at the scene, with droplets and smudges leading from the office out to the parking lot, where the trail ended.
The investigation quickly focused on Ellsworth's ex-boyfriend, Michael Dale Rimmer, with whom she had a tumultuous past. Years prior, in 1989, Rimmer had been convicted of raping Ellsworth. While incarcerated for that crime, he reportedly told fellow inmates that he intended to kill her upon his release. Witnesses at the Memphis Inn on the night of her disappearance described a man matching Rimmer's description who had blood on his hands. One witness reported seeing a man put something heavy and wrapped in a blanket into the trunk of a maroon Honda. Approximately a month later, Rimmer was arrested in Indiana while driving a maroon Honda. Forensic testing revealed that blood found inside the car matched the blood from the crime scene at the motel, and both were confirmed to be Ellsworth's.
Although Ricci Ellsworth's body has never been found, her ex-boyfriend, Michael Rimmer, was convicted of her murder in 1998. The case went through a lengthy legal process, including a new trial being ordered in 2012 due to issues of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective defense counsel in the original trial. In 2016, a second jury again found Rimmer guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. He was subsequently sentenced to death. The disappearance of Ricci Ellsworth remains a somber case, as her family has never had the closure of laying her to rest. The evidence presented in court, particularly the DNA match of the blood found in Rimmer's car to the blood at the crime scene, created a strong circumstantial case against him, leading to his conviction despite the absence of a body.Last Seen: Feb 8, 1997
