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The upcoming episode of Murder in the Heartland will focus on the murder of Kalee Bruce, who was brutally killed in 1998 at the age of 18. The complicated murder case sent shockwaves through the tourist-friendly town of Traverse City in Michigan.
The episode originally aired about a year back, on January 11, 2022, but it will re-air again on Monday, April 10, 2023, on ID. Titled Groomed for Murder, this episode of Murder in the Heartland focused extensively on the forensic and investigative team, who managed to locate the killer quite soon. The official synopsis for the episode read:
"The tourist town of Traverse City in Michigan is shaken to its core when 18-year-old Kalee Bruce is found bludgeoned to death at her workplace."
The episode is also available for streaming on Apple TV+.
Murder in the Heartland: Who was Kalee Bruce and how did she die?
Kalee Bruce was native of Traverse City, Michigan. Born in 1979, Kalee was a well-mannered young woman with a promising future. Everyone who knew her claimed that she was friendly and was always down to help anyone in need.
At the time of the infamous incident, Bruce was a freshman attending Northwestern Michigan College and working as a clerk at a beach apartment. The brutal murder occurred at her workplace.
On the day of her death, Kelly was reportedly working an evening shift from 5 pm to 8 pm at the front desk. However, she never returned home that night. The following morning, the maintenance supervisor arrived for his shift and allegedly spotted her brutally mutilated body in the utility room.
Kalee was reportedly found among a lot of blood and debris. According to sources, she suffered 19 stab wounds, blunt force injuries to her torso, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and had internal bleeding. Additionally, she reportedly suffered a fractured skull and neck. A metal rod was also driven inside her body, possibly with a mallet. The manner of her death was brutal enough to terrorize anyone in the small town.
The investigation soon began in full flow, leading the police to discover some bloody footprints around her body. This led to the police starting a search for the shoes that the killer wore. After eliminating possible suspects, the police reached Kevin Holtzer, a man who lived in one of the rooms at the Beach Condominiums.
It was an immediate connection as the police had previously found a tire valve core that seemed out of place at the crime scene. However, it turned out that Holtzer worked at a tire factory, making him all the more likely to be the killer of Kalee Bruce. Police also found some DNA samples at the scene that matched Holtzer, eventually leading to the man's conviction.
Holtzer was arrested and charged with the murder of Kalee Bruce. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, with too much proof stacked against him with little defense. Following this, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The upcoming episode of Murder in the Heartland will cover the case in detail when it airs on April 10, 2023.
