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Lee Rotatori's 1982 murder case remained a mystery until recently, when advanced DNA technology helped in solving the decades-old homicide in February 2022, linking the perpetrator to a dead man named Thomas O. Freeman. His body was later found buried in a shallow grave months after the killing.
On the Case with Paula Zahn sets the stage for this very mysterious case in an upcoming episode titled Room 106, which is scheduled to air on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at 10 pm ET, on ID.
Rotatori, 32, was found dead at an Iowa hotel with a single, fatal stab wound at the heart. Sources stated that at the time, the victim was temporarily residing at the Best Western Frontier Hotel in Council Bluff, Iowa, while looking for permanent residence.
With the chilling murder case solved and investigators left with yet another mystery of Thomas O. Freeman's death, officials continue to work on the case, searching for possible links between the murders.
Lee Rotatori's Killer Thomas O. Freeman was found buried in a shallow grave
Authorities state that Thomas O. Freeman, who worked as a truck driver in 1982, murdered Lee Rotatori, with this information being disclosed to the public in February 2022. Detectives suspect Freeman killed her while traveling through Council Bluffs.
Despite the fact that Rotatori's killer, Freeman, was subsequently identified, he will never be brought to justice for the murder, given that the perpetrator himself was killed shortly after the hotel incident.
Thomas O. Freeman's body was discovered on October 30, 1982, in a shallow grave outside of Cobden, Illinois, in a forested area. Authorities believe the man was shot to death and buried for about three months, before his remains were discovered.
No one ever found out who killed Freeman and if his murder was connected to that of Rotatori's. Authorities do believe that linking him to Lee Rotatori's murder may help them crack both cases.
Police Captain Todd Weddum reportedly commented on the situation, claiming that he is "not a real big believer in coincidences." Moreover, authorities believe Rotatori's husband, Jerry Nemke, who once served time in prison and has a history of violence in connection to a homicide case, was possibly involved in the case. Nemke was initially investigated during the early stages of his wife's murder.
Captain Weddum further stated:
"With [Nemke's] known history of being in the area of where our suspect lived and where our suspect died, it raises suspicions of his involvement. That he possibly could've been involved."
How was Thomas O. Freeman linked to Lee Rotatori's decades-old murder?
Although the police had discovered some forensic evidence at Lee Rotatori's murder scene, no suspect was identified at the time, owing to the lack of modern forensic technology. Other strategies, such as reward money, were also considered, but no leads surfaced, and the case eventually went cold.
The evidence collected from the 1982 crime scene was analyzed again as forensic technology developed over time, and an unidentified male profile was discovered. However, neither the State, nor the Federal databases contained a match for it. After obtaining no results for years in 2019, the profile was forwarded to Parabon Nanolabs, a business that provides DNA phenotyping services to law enforcement.
In 2021, Parabon Nanolabs got the biggest break in this case when they found that the DNA belonged to Thomas O. Freeman using a method of identifying familial relationships from genetic information, working alongside a then-18-year-old student named Eric Schubert. Freeman's daughter's DNA was then submitted and matched.
Find out more about Lee Rotatori's 1982 chiling murder mystery on On the Case with Paula Zahn this Sunday, October 2, 2022, only on ID.
