Account
Dec 04, 2010
May 30, 2023
Janet
Kirkup
84
52
67 inches
160 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
In the summer of 1992, 53-year-old Janet Sue Kirkup, a female from Jackson, Michigan, was on a road trip with her husband, Robert, in their recreational vehicle. The couple had been facing financial difficulties after a failed business venture and the repossession of their home in California. They embarked on an extended vacation in their RV, traveling east and visiting relatives along the way. Janet, a woman with graying blonde hair and blue eyes, who often wore several rings and kept her fingernails long, maintained contact with her three daughters through phone calls and letters. However, after a visit to Robert's relatives in Genesee County, Michigan, all communication from Janet abruptly ceased. When her daughters tried to reach her, Robert would offer excuses as to why she was unavailable to speak with them. For months, Janet's daughters were left to wonder about their mother's whereabouts. In January 1993, they received a six-page letter from their father, Robert, explaining that Janet had been missing for some time. He claimed that she had run off with a wealthy man in another RV and that he had last seen her at an airport hotel in Buffalo, New York. Initially, the story seemed plausible to her daughters, who knew of their mother's unhappiness with their financial situation and the frequent arguments between their parents during the RV trip. However, as time passed with no word from Janet, their attempts to locate her were unsuccessful. One of her daughters eventually filed a missing persons report. The subsequent police investigation found no trace of Janet after the summer of 1992 and could not identify the man Robert claimed she had left with. Authorities began to suspect foul play. In 1999, they located Robert in Michigan and questioned him. He reiterated his story but made a slip by saying, "I had nothing to do with her death." After being pressed by investigators and one of his daughters, Robert confessed to killing Janet. He stated that on August 14, 1992, during a fight at a campground near Buffalo, New York, he strangled her after she allegedly tried to stab him. He claimed to have buried her body in a wooded area in New York but could not recall the exact location. Robert Kirkup was ultimately sentenced to five to fifteen years in prison for the murder of his wife. Despite his confession, Janet Kirkup's body has never been found. This case presents the painful reality of a family torn apart by domestic turmoil, culminating in a confession of homicide without the closure of a final resting place for the victim.
Aug 05, 1992
Jackson
Michigan
Jackson County
9395
Michigan State Police
Jackson
Michigan
Jackson County
48161
Jackson Post, Michigan
5177804580
State
Law Enforcement
17-1116-98
Michigan State Police
Gray or Partially Gray
Blue
Blue
06/16/2026
