Pam Zimmerman’s Death Featured in Dateline Episode on Bloomington Murder

A new episode of Dateline, airing Friday, May 29 at 10/9c on NBC, features the story of Pam Zimmerman, who was murdered in Bloomington in 2014.

The logline for the episode reads “A businesswoman and mother of three is killed in her office.” Years later, Zimmerman’s murder remains unsolved, but new information continues to emerge thanks to interviews with her family, friends, and investigators.

Here’s what you need to know about Pam Zimmerman’s death:

1. Pam Zimmerman Was Found Shot to Death in Her Office

On November 4, 2014, Zimmerman’s body was found in her office, located at 2103 E. Washington St. in Bloomington, Illinois. She had been shot four times and died from her injuries.

According to her obituary, Zimmerman was a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner; she owned her own business, as Pamela S. Zimmerman, CPA, CFP.

2. Pam’s Ex-Husband Kirk Zimmerman Was Accused of Murdering Her over Child Support

8 months after Zimmerman’s body was found, JG-TC reports that Pam’s ex-husband Kirk Zimmerman was charged with her murder based on an investigation conducted during that time.

Before their divorce in 2012, Pam and her ex-husband Kirk had three children together. While Kirk was being tried for Pam’s murder, JG-TC reports that the state argued that Zimmerman’s motive for killing Pam was to avoid child support obligations.

Pantagraph cites that, during Zimmerman’s trial, forensics accountant Tom Beyers testified that Kirk was having financial troubles at the time of Pam’s murder and was possibly going to have to appear in court over child support owed to Pam that was past due.

10 days before Pam’s death, she allegedly sent Kirk a note informing him of her intent to take him to court over $3,900 in child support money. Pantagraph reports that the defense argued to jurors that the $4,000 Pam was owed was not a motive for Kirk to kill her, and that he never even saw the letter.

3. Kirk Zimmerman Was Ultimately Acquitted of the Murder Charges Against Him

At the end of Zimmerman’s murder trial, the jury found him not guilty, acquitting him of his charges. The trial lasted 5 weeks, and the jury reached their verdict after 7 hours of deliberation over the course of two days.

During the trial, WGLT reports that prosecutor Brad Rigdon claimed it was a “well-planned murder,” executed by “because he hated her and because he knew as long as she was alive, he was going to go broke. He took her life so he would not have to pay her any more money,” Rigdon said. Defensive attorney John Rogers responded that “It’s ridiculous to think that anyone would go to that horrific extreme over that minuscule amount of money,” adding “This relationship was one of indifference.”

WGLT also reported that Zimmerman’s alibi for November 3, 2014 was “botched” when Zimmerman’s girlfriend arrived early at his house and he did not answer the door; the defense argued that Zimmerman was asleep on his couch at the time.

4. Pam’s Fiancé & One of Her Clients Emerged as Potential Murder Suspects

Two names that popped up as potential suspects, but were quickly dismissed, were Pam’s last client, Eldon Whitlow, and her fiancé Scott Baldwin. Pantagraph reports that Zimmerman had an hour-long conversation with Whitlow shortly before she was killed; he was ruled out as a murder suspect, in part because police determined that his gun was not the murder weapon.

Pam’s friend Julie Koh, who testified at Kirk Zimmerman’s trial, was the one who ultimately found Pam’s body, per reports from WJBC. A concerned call from Scott prompted her to look into Pam’s whereabouts. She told Dateline “My home phone rang, and it was Scott. He said, ‘I haven’t heard from Pam. I’ve been trying to reach her since last night.’”

According to Heart of Illinois ABC, Heidi Zimmerman testified that, two days after her mother’s death, Scott Baldwin approached her and her siblings, saying “I want you to know I had nothing to do with this.”

5. Pam Zimmerman Is Survived by Her 3 Children

After her untimely death, Pam Zimmerman was survived by her three children who were teenagers at the time of her murder. She had a son named David and twin daughters named Heidi and Rachel.

Her obituary, in Pantagraph.com, remembered Pam as “an example for what we all want to see more of in this world today. Above all else, Pam was a kind, caring and devoted mother who would tell anyone who asked that the greatest treasures in her life were her three children.”

According to WJBC, her kids were home at the house concerned to find that she was not home from work. David told Dateline “I walk out into the hallway, the lights were still on. Her bedroom is dark, and looks like no one had been there.” One of her daughters added “We made up every possible excuse there could have been for why she wasn’t coming home.”

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