In the quiet town of Albia, Iowa, a tragic event unfolded on February 2, 1984, forever altering the community. On that cold day, 29-year-old Timothy Charles Earney, a male resident, was found deceased in his home located at 322 N. Eighth Street. The grim discovery was made by his live-in girlfriend, Dorothy Kempf, who had been residing with him for about a month.
The circumstances of Timothy's death were violent; he had been shot twice in the head. The narrative of that day began when Timothy dropped Dorothy off at her job at Kendall School at 7 a.m. with the arrangement to pick her up at 1 p.m. When he failed to arrive, a sense of unease prompted her to walk home. It was upon her return that she found him lying on the living room floor, his life tragically cut short.
In the ensuing investigation, a significant lead emerged. Dorothy informed law enforcement that her estranged husband had previously made threats to kill Timothy. This information led investigators to consider her estranged husband a person of interest in the homicide. Despite this promising lead and the initial momentum of the investigation, no arrests were ever made in connection with Timothy Earney's murder.
Decades have passed, yet the case remains an open and unsolved homicide, a lingering shadow over the community of Albia. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation continue to hold the case file, hoping that one day a new piece of information will surface and bring closure to the long-unanswered questions surrounding the death of Timothy Earney.
