In the autumn of 1996, 19-year-old Kimberly Greene-Medina was navigating the complexities of a troubled marriage and raising two young daughters in Aurora, Colorado. She had expressed her intention to leave her husband, Michael Medina, just two days before she vanished on October 29, 1996. According to her husband, Kimberly left their home on foot that evening to go to a nearby convenience store at Mississippi and Buckley Road but never returned.
He did not report her missing until two days later, on October 31, 1996. Kimberly was last seen wearing a maroon sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a distinctive ocean blue 'Super Shuttle' work jacket with yellow lettering, along with tan hiking boots. Her family and friends were immediately concerned, stating that it was highly uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning, especially considering she had two young children.
The initial investigation into Kimberly's disappearance yielded few leads. A police bloodhound tracked her scent for a distance before the trail went cold near a highway. For years, the case languished, leaving Kimberly's loved ones in a painful state of uncertainty. Michael Medina maintained that his wife had left him. However, details emerged about their volatile relationship, including two prior arrests for domestic violence against him. Friends of Kimberly also told police that she had instructed them to call the authorities if she ever failed to show up for work, fearing her husband might harm her. The case remained a cold case for many years, with no sign of Kimberly and no arrests made.
A significant breakthrough in the case came nearly a decade later from an unlikely and tragic source. In 2005, Michael Medina's second wife, Becky Garel, came forward with a chilling confession he had made to her. He had admitted to killing Kimberly, reportedly by beating her with a baseball bat and burying her alive. This confession came to light during the investigation into the death of Medina and Garel's own infant son, for which Medina was later convicted and sentenced to 48 years in prison. Based on this new information, authorities reopened Kimberly's case, and in 2011, a grand jury indicted Michael Medina for her murder. In November 2013, he was found guilty of first-degree murder in the disappearance of his wife and sentenced to life in prison. Despite this conviction, which brought a long-awaited sense of justice to her family, Kimberly's body has never been recovered. The case is a somber reminder of a life cut short, leaving a family to grieve without the closure of a final resting place for their beloved daughter, sister, and mother.Last Seen: Oct 29, 1996
