Dateline: 5 harrowing details about Pam Zimmerman’s murder, explored

Dateline covered the murder of Pam Zimmerman in November 2014 was a terrible shock to her town in Illinois. Pam was a 53-year-old financial planner who was found shot in her office. The sad crime quickly caught the police's attention and later aired on Dateline.

This case is still officially unsolved, even though a trial took place. The police found several strange facts that made the case hard to win in court.

Here are five important facts about the Pam Zimmerman story, as told by Dateline.

Dateline: 5 harrowing details about Pam Zimmerman’s murder

The killer did not break in

The police saw that the killer did not force their way into Pam Zimmerman’s office. She was shot four times, but nothing was broken. This suggested that Pam knew the person who attacked her. She likely let them inside, or the person had a key. This fact quickly made the police look at people who were close to Pam, like family or work contacts.

The missing gun and four shots

The police found that Pam was shot four separate times. This detail made them think the killer was very angry, not just trying to steal something. The gun used was a 9mm handgun. But the police never recovered the actual gun. The missing gun was a major weakness for the prosecutors. If they had found the gun, it would have provided strong physical evidence to link a suspect to the crime.

The money fight is the motive

The people trying to prove guilt decided that Kirk Zimmerman, Pam's ex-husband, was the main suspect. The reason they gave for the crime was money problems and anger from their divorce in 2012. Dateline talked about the specific fight that happened just before Pam died. Pam had sent Kirk a letter.

The letter demanded he pay about $4,000 for old expenses for their children. The prosecution said Kirk, who worked at State Farm, was short on cash. His anger about this money, plus the fact that Pam had just gotten engaged, drove him to kill her.

The suspiciously erased computer data

The investigation found that Kirk Zimmerman had erased things from his computer and phone. Police saw that he had deleted text messages. He also wiped certain things he had searched for on Google. The prosecution argued that deleting these records proved he was guilty and was trying to hide what he did.

But the defense argued against this. They said that deleting old messages does not mean someone is a killer. The missing data made him look suspicious, but it was not strong proof.

The not guilty verdict despite doubts

Because the police accused Kirk Zimmerman of killing his ex-wife, the court trial began. The police's evidence was based on clues, not direct proof. The police could not give the court any physical evidence, like DNA or fingerprints, that proved Kirk was the killer. The defense lawyers strongly argued that this lack of proof meant he was innocent. Dateline reported that the defense suggested police should have checked on other suspects, like Pam’s fiancé.

In May 2019, the jury talked for less than eight hours. They decided Kirk Zimmerman was not guilty. The jurors said they could not convict him because the police did not have enough proof to be certain he was guilty. Even now, Pam Zimmerman’s murder is officially unsolved.