COLD CASE KANSAS
Roxanne’s Killer Remains at Large
Family Offers Reward for Tips that Solve Cold Case
by Paul Fecteau
Roxanne Zwiesler enjoyed life
surrounded by friends and lovers, many
of whom were well known in Topeka. She
had turned 39 and left behind her a whirl
of nights at upscale clubs and exclusive
parties, venues at which all eyes focused
on her. Her allure was due in part to her
statuesque beauty--she stood five foot nine
in flats and always wore heels--but she
also had a reputation for informed, frank,
and wildly funny conversation. On June
13 or 14 in 1994, Roxanne’s life ended,
and the friends and lovers with whom she
had shared so many good times found
themselves suspects in the investigation of
her murder.
Roxanne spent most of what was
to be her last day--Monday, June 13, 1994-
-at work. The same qualities that had made
her social life flourish had also helped her
career. She had a degree in business from
Washburn and an impressive resumé but
had settled into a job she loved. She worked
in the lingerie department at the Jones
Store where she had a reputation for helping
women flatter themselves and men do the
same for their wives and girlfriends.
That day, someone phoned
Roxanne at the Jones Store. A nearby
coworker heard her say, “Now I’m in
trouble.” The remark may have had an
innocent explanation but would seem
ominous in the future.
That evening, Roxanne went
to dinner with a friend and arrived home
at about ten. Three-years divorced,
she resided alone in the Brandywine
Apartments, near the intersection of
25th and Wanamaker. Her second-floor
apartment overlooked an adjacent parking
lot to the south. Friends dropping by for a
visit often parked there, cutting across the
grass to Roxanne’s building. It was, in fact,
easy to do so without being seen.
A woman who had the apartment
west of Roxanne’s said she heard a
disturbance later that night, but she was
unable to be more precise. A man who lived to change at 29th and Wanamaker, images
in the apartment to the east did not hear
anything.
Roxanne had the next day--
Tuesday, June 14, 1994--off from the Jones Rox, as Michelle called her, had taken off
Store and planned to meet a friend for
coffee that morning and drop by her sister
Rhonda’s house that afternoon. She did not way out the door. Michele turned on 27th,
show up at either engagement. When her
friend and then her sister called to find out
why, they got a busy signal--repeatedly.
Roxanne’s family had always
played a vital role in her life. She had three
brothers--Bob, Joe, and John--and three
sisters--Teresa, Rhonda, and Michele--who
were as much a part of
her social calendar as her newsworthy
friends. At that time, none of her siblings
was more involved with Roxanne than
Michele, the youngest in the family. When
18 tmi . OCTOBER 16-30, 2008
Roxanne Zwiesler , shot to death
in 1994, probably knew her murderer.
Roxanne’s line continued to be busy,
Michele went to check on her.
As Michele waited for the light
of the unthinkable flickered in her mind.
She pushed them aside. After all, the odds
were that something had come up and
on some adventure, not noticing that she
had knocked her phone off the hook on her
parked in the empty lot, and hurried to
Roxanne’s apartment.
The second she touched the
apartment door, the reassurance she had
mustered in response to her fears faded
away. With a slight push, the door swung
open--it had not been latched. A note a
friend had left wedged against the jam
fluttered down to the welcome mat. Michele
called out her sister’s name. There was no
response.
Inside, Michele saw a laundry
basket on the living room floor. A couch that
normally sat against a storage closet had
been pushed out, and the closet door was
$10,000 REWARD
open. Michele entered the bedroom, and Roxanne’s family is offering a $10,000
the unthinkable became real. reward for information that leads to
Roxanne lay unclothed on the the indictment of a suspect. Details
bed. She had been shot in the head. about this reward will be made avail-
Michele ran to the apartment next
able at coldcasekansas.com.
door, and the man living there dialed 9-1-1.
In minutes, police swarmed on the scene.
One of the patrol cops pointed out that the
screen on the front window had been slit.
Later, as detectives examined the
scene, they discarded initial impressions
that Roxanne had fallen victim to an
intruder: the slit in the screen had been
made from the inside. The killer had
probably cut the screen to make it appear
as though a break-in had occurred. He had
left the closet door open to make it look like
he had been hiding inside. Roxanne had
known the person who took her life.
Based upon this deduction, the
ensuing investigation focused on the men in
Roxanne’s life, all of whom were prominent
Topeka professionals. One took a lie
detector test which he passed. Another had
his office searched, and nothing was found.
Detectives never settled on a particular
suspect, but their inquiries revealed that
recreational drug use played a role in the
night life of Roxanne’s social circle. The
media reported this fact, and speculation
grew that the murder had been drug related.
Author
The investigation’s focus on
Topeka’s drug culture yielded no results.
The feeling that Roxanne’s murderer would about the
go unpunished grew. Though the killer was
in all likelihood a man still prominent in local Paul Fecteau works as
society, the case went cold. a special investigator for
Roxanne Zwiesler remains alive,
still vivacious and elegant in the memories a security company and
of those who knew her. Unfortunately, her serves as an Adjunct
killer is probably still alive too, and may very
Professor of Criminal Justice
well be in Topeka.
If you have any information that could help at Washburn University. To
bring him to justice, please contact the
detectives at the Topeka Police Department suggest a cold case for this
at 368-9400. column, e-mail him at paul@
coldcasekansas.com.
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