|
|
| |
| |
Criminal Records - Most Wanted |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Profile |
|
| |
Name: Unknown David "Ray" Ninemire Killer
|
|
| |
Race: White, Hispanic |
|
| |
Height: 5'5" |
|
| |
Other Physical Characteristics: Police describe the killer as a young-looking white or Hispanic person with a small build. |
|
| |
Wanted for :
Homicide, Westwood, KS;
Aug 15, 2003
Aggravated Robbery, Westwood, KS;
Aug 15, 2003
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Location(s) |
|
| |
Last Seen : |
|
| |
Possible Location : |
|
| |
Last Known : |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Traits |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Case Story |
|
| |
Kansas Town Shaken By Violent, Random Crime |
|
| |
Westwood, Kan. is a quiet town of 1,700 people, and folks there aren't used to a lot of action. Since the city was founded almost 60 years ago, it had gone without a murder, but in the early hours of August 15, 2003, that streak came to a violent end.
Police say that at around 6:00 a.m., someone entered the Apple Market grocery store and approached one of the store's clerks from behind. Witnesses say the suspect was wearing a long black trench coat, black pants, a wide-brimmed black hat and a shaggy black wig and beard that covered most of their face.
According to Lt. Daniel Brewster of the Westwood Police Department, when the elderly clerk turned to greet the person, she was presented with a black semi-automatic handgun and told she was being robbed. The suspect grabbed her by the shoulder and began walking her to a customer service window. As she was being forced along, the clerk screamed and fell to the floor.
Hearing the scream, store clerk David "Ray" Ninemire sprang into action. Lt. Brewster said that Ray was a fixture in the neighborhood, having worked in the Apple market for many years.
"If everybody was like Ray, we could close down all the police stations across the country," Brewster said. "There wouldn't be any problems."
He was a simple, church-going man who routinely provided meals to the less fortunate around the holidays. Quite simply, friends and family say he was a mentor for all to follow.
Ray -- who was covering the night shift for a coworker -- rushed to the front of the store in an attempt to break up the robbery. The suspect opened fire on the 68-year-old clerk, shooting Ray in the leg and severing his femoral artery. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Search For A Faceless Killer |
|
| |
After shooting Ninemire, the suspect started towards the store exit. Just as the suspect was leaving, two other customers walked into the bloody crime scene. Though they posed no threat to the fleeing killer, the cold-blooded murderer fired at them. One of the customers, a woman, fell to the floor and was struck by bullet fragments that had ricocheted off the store's stone wall. The suspect then walked out of the store, leaving Ninemire to die on the floor.
Police describe the killer as a young-looking person, approximately 5'5" tall, with a small build and a thin frame. Initially the killer was described as a white or Hispanic male, but now cops say they cannot rule out the possibility that the suspect is female. The disguise the suspect was wearing makes it hard to nail down the suspect's age, ethnicity, or even gender. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
A Local Hero Remembered |
|
| |
Ray's son Kirk Ninemire is reminded of his father by the many trappings he made that still inhabit his home and the community. Ray built a grandfather clock that still stands in his son's home, and every chime serves as a poignant reminder that the coward who killed his father is still on the loose.
Ray also built models of Noah's Ark -- complete with little wooden animals -- for each of his grandchildren. Several banners that Ray fashioned still hang in the Apple Market grocery store. Kirk even has the white picket fence that Ray built when he was in high school. He remembers his father as a man's man: an artistic craftsman with a heart of gold.
This small town has been hit especially hard by Ray's tragic death.
"It's not like a big city, where you don't know who died and who was affected by it," Lt. Brewster said.
But Ray's legacy lives on. Kirk says the city council is in the process of building a memorial for Mr. Ninemire. The monument will be a place where mourners can leave flowers, forever preserving his memory.
"No one realized how many lives he touched," Kirk said, surprised that people are still leaving flowers and cards more than four years after his death.
He said that Ray's funeral was one of the largest the funeral parlor had ever seen. "The funeral was supposed to go until 7:00 or 8:00, but we were still shaking hands at 10:15."
As is often the case, it's not how Ray died that made him special; it's how he lived.
-- Scott Kaptur |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|