March 12 2024 by Nick Hill
www.wdef.com
''On March 12, 1987, Kim Croft, who was just 19 at the time, was found dead outside of the now defunct Country Bumpkin Restaurant in Ringgold.
Croft’s uncle had been tried in her murder in 1994, but was found not guilty, and the case since then, has been closed.
No one has ever been held responsible for her death.
However, after the Coleman-Baker Act was signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, which provides an opportunity to reopen cold cases, the Croft sisters knew they had to act.''
By ANDREW WILKINS, Chattanooga Times Free Press February 26, 2024
"The family gathering at the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office headquarters had the hugs, tears and the whispered, comforting words of a funeral.
But instead of a recent loss, about 10 members of the Croft family came together Thursday, Feb. 22, to seek justice for Kim Croft, who was raped, beaten and strangled in Ringgold nearly four decades ago at the age of 19. They delivered paperwork asking the Sheriff’s Office to reopen her case, a request now permitted under a year-old Georgia cold case homicide law.''
LaVonda Croft Deloney holds a photo of homicide victim Kim Croft as Cheryl Croft reads a statement at the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Chattanooga Times Free Press/Matt Hamilton)
'The Sheriff’s Office didn’t have any new information about the case to share, he said, and the Croft case was the first and only request the office had received under the new cold case homicide law.'
''Though in the minority as a Black person in Catoosa County, Deloney said she never felt any different growing up in Ringgold. But when her sister was killed, Deloney said she began to feel racial division in the community.
White friends of hers began to pull away, Deloney said, and high school classmates could no longer look her in the eye as they passed in the hallway. She attributed that reaction to her classmates’ guilt over what they knew about her sister’s death.''
Mar 13, 2024
Family of 1987 Ringgold murder victim wants cold case reopened - WDEF
37 years ago on Wednesday, a young woman was found murdered outside of a Ringgold restaurant.
''On March 12, 1987, Kim Croft, who was just 19 at the time, was found dead outside of the now defunct Country Bumpkin Restaurant in Ringgold.
Croft’s uncle had been tried in her murder in 1994, but was found not guilty, and the case since then, has been closed.
No one has ever been held responsible for her death.
However, after the Coleman-Baker Act was signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, which provides an opportunity to reopen cold cases, the Croft sisters knew they had to act.''
Sisters lead effort to have 1980s Ringgold homicide case reopened - The Christian Index
The family gathering at the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office headquarters had the hugs, tears and the whispered, comforting words of a funeral. But instead of a recent loss, about 10 members of the Croft family came together Thursday, Feb. 22, to seek justice for Kim Croft, who was raped, beaten...
christianindex.org
"The family gathering at the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office headquarters had the hugs, tears and the whispered, comforting words of a funeral.
But instead of a recent loss, about 10 members of the Croft family came together Thursday, Feb. 22, to seek justice for Kim Croft, who was raped, beaten and strangled in Ringgold nearly four decades ago at the age of 19. They delivered paperwork asking the Sheriff’s Office to reopen her case, a request now permitted under a year-old Georgia cold case homicide law.''
LaVonda Croft Deloney holds a photo of homicide victim Kim Croft as Cheryl Croft reads a statement at the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Chattanooga Times Free Press/Matt Hamilton)
'The Sheriff’s Office didn’t have any new information about the case to share, he said, and the Croft case was the first and only request the office had received under the new cold case homicide law.'
''Though in the minority as a Black person in Catoosa County, Deloney said she never felt any different growing up in Ringgold. But when her sister was killed, Deloney said she began to feel racial division in the community.
White friends of hers began to pull away, Deloney said, and high school classmates could no longer look her in the eye as they passed in the hallway. She attributed that reaction to her classmates’ guilt over what they knew about her sister’s death.''
