Naman Shrestha
In Beaumont, Texas, Kimberly Langwell led a content life with her teenage daughter, Tiffani McInnis. However, when she didn’t return home from work one evening in July 1999, concerns grew among her loved ones. For the next two decades, Kimberly’s family searched for answers and her whereabouts, but to no avail. When the investigation was reopened in the 2020s, shocking truths were uncovered that led to the apprehension of the killer. All the intricate details are covered in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Kimberly Langwell’s Hidden Grave,’ which also features insightful interviews with Kimberly’s loved ones and officials who worked hard to solve the case.
Kimberly Langwell’s Remains Were Found Under a House Decades After Her Disappearance
Born on February 24, 1965, in Houston, Texas, Kimberly Ann Langwell was the beloved daughter of Betty L. Clark and Stratton H. Langwell. She grew up in a loving and supportive household along with her sisters, Susan Butts and Toni Lynn Cross, and a brother named Norman Ray Langwell. Later, Kimberly became a single mother to her beloved daughter, Tiffani M. McInnis. In order to provide for her and give her the life she deserved, she used to work three jobs. As Kimberly looked forward to seeing her daughter achieve great things in life, her life was tragically cut short as fate intervened.
On July 9, 1999, she left work after 5 pm but failed to show up for her dinner plans with her teenage daughter, Tiffani. The following day, Tiffani and her aunt spotted Kimberly’s abandoned car in the Westmont Shopping Center parking lot, with her keys and purse inside. Her disappearance remained a mystery for more than two decades as her loved ones kept searching for answers. 25 years later, on June 13, 2024, her remains were found buried under a property in Beaumont, Texas, wrapped in a blanket. The authorities also found other items with the remains, including a key chain, a pair of broken sunglasses, and a lighter. The autopsy later determined that Kimberly had died of a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Kimberly Langwell’s Killer Evaded Justice For More Than Two Decades
After Kimberly Langwell’s sudden disappearance, the authorities interviewed several of her family and friends, including her daughter, Tiffani. She told the detectives that her mother stopped at her ex-boyfriend, Terry Rose’s, house on her way home from work on July 9, 1999. As per Tiffani’s account, Terry told her that Kimberly had left his house and that he didn’t know where she went afterward. Later, in an effort to find the missing woman, Tiffani alleged that Terry paid for a billboard to have her photo displayed and raise awareness about the disappearance. Due to a lack of evidence and leads, the case went cold for more than two decades. Although the investigation was reopened in 2023, the Beaumont Police didn’t get a break in the case until 2024 when Terry’s friend and former employee, David Wayne Wiley, decided to talk to the detectives.
He alleged that during a meeting with Terry at a Walmart on an evening in July 1999, he saw him driving Kimberly’s car. The suspect allegedly asked him to follow him to the Westmont Center, where he parked the car before getting home in David’s car. David also told the investigators that Terry went on to admit to killing Kimberly and burying her remains under his house on Lindbergh. The witness claimed that he lied in his 1999 interview because he was afraid that it could land him in trouble. Thus, the authorities obtained a search warrant for Terry’s home, where they found Kimberly’s remains beneath the floorboards of his bedroom using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs. In June 2024, the police arrested Terry Rose and charged him with his ex-girlfriend’s murder. Over a year later, in August 2025, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
However, right before his trial, Terry entered a guilty plea on December 2, 2025, and accepted the maximum term under the agreement to avoid a life sentence. About a couple of weeks later, on December 16, his sentencing hearing took place. The prosecution presented a recorded jail phone call, in which Terry demonstrated his lack of remorse. In the call, he stated that he “had a bad day. I dealt with it wrong. I f**** up, and then I’ve got to deal with it.” He also hoped that Tiffani would die in her 40s or 50s. Blaming Kimberly, he claimed that if she “would have been honest and said, Look, I was out messing around on you. I could have just walked away, not had a problem, and none of this s*** would have been a problem.” Eventually, he was sentenced to 40 years for killing Kimberly Langwell. Following the sentencing, Tiffani was relieved that justice was finally served for her late mother.
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