Durham family longs for closure in woman's unsolved 1989 murder

Police have made no arrest and have no real leads in the 1989 murder of Cindy Kirk.

Sechler went looking for her sister on the afternoon of Aug. 21, 1989.

"I pulled up behind, got out of the car and saw blood everywhere, a tremendous amount of blood," she said.

"I started to go in the house, but I saw a lot of blood, I think on the stoop, and I thought, 'wait a minute, I probably should run get help first."

She sought out a neighbor, who went inside.

Over the past 30 years, Sechler said, she's been living a nightmare. With her husband, Gary, Sechler has been in a dogged pursuit of the killer, doing her own research and amassing a file on the case. Although they's moved to Pennsylvania, the Sechlers have been in regular contact with Durham police in their ongoing struggle for justice.

"I think they latched onto the homicidal maniac theory," Gary Sechler said.

The Sechlers think it's more likely that Kirk was killed by someone she knows, someone who knew her schedule and her habits. They have identified three people of interest and have shared those names with police.

"We have told the police all the three people and what we think the motives are, and we get absolutely nowhere," Gary Sechler said.

They have questions about the relationship between Kirk's husband, who remarried shortly after her death, and the Durham investigator leading the case. They also see money as a motive, claiming that Kirk's widower stood to collect up to $400,000.

"That was a lot of money in 1989, and it is today," Gary Sechler said.

The Sechlers want police to re-interview people in Kirk's inner circle.

They believe the murder weapon could still be in the woods behind her home and that there are potentially two witnesses that could shed light on the case – a man in a green car, and a housekeeper who worked across the street from Kirk's house.

Kirk's husband, Bill Kirk, lives with his new wife in Cary.

He did not want to speak on camera, but said that after 30 years he has been able to make peace with his former wife's death.

"It is traumatic. You never outgrow it. You never forget it,” Bill Kirk said. "You do the best you can to live your life. I have accepted that if the killer is still alive he won’t be caught."

Beverly Sechler has been unable to make that move.

"It's totally broken our family apart," she said.

"This is a solvable case," her husband added.

Durham Police have repeatedly said that their investigation into the death of Cindy Kirk is not closed, but they did not have anything to say publicly about it right now.