What happened to Molly Matheson and Megan Getrum? Tragic murders revisited ahead of new Dateline episode

Molly Matheson, 22, of Fort Worth, and Megan Getrum, 36, of Plano, were brutally r*ped and murdered by a serial r*pist named Reginald Kimbro. He is now a convicted criminal serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the two 2017 murders and four other s*xual assault cases. Kimbro confessed before entering the trial, securing himself a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

Both Matheson and Getrum were murdered within days of each other. The former victim had a history with the killer, given that the two had dated in the past. Megan, however, had never met Kimbro and was taking a hike near her Plano home when she was violently attacked. DNA was the common evidence in both cases that connected the serial r*pist to the murders.

On Friday, NBC Dateline is slated to revisit the tragic and gruesome deaths of Molly Matheson and Megan Getrum, and how authorities finally brought down Reginald Kimbro and stopped his s*xual assault spree across Texas. The episode is titled Wreckage and will air on the network this September 23, 2022, at 9 pm ET.

Trigger Warning: This article will discuss the murder details. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Molly Matheson's mother found her daughter's body is her garage home

Molly Matheson's mother, Tracy, became concerned when she failed to show up to work on April 10, 2017. The worried mother even contacted a friend who lived across the street from her daughter's garage apartment in Fort Worth.

In spite of the friend's assurance that Molly's car was parked outside, Tracy decided to visit the 22-year-old's home to check things out and ensure her daughter's safety personally. She discovered that Molly wasn't there and that the door was unlocked. After calling her name and beginning to search the house, Tracy headed around to the backyard before walking into the bathroom.

Molly's body was found, brutally beaten and strangled inside the bathroom of the floor. Her mother reportedly said:

"That’s where I found her body … on the floor of her shower."

An official press release stated that after murdering her, the killer even tried to get rid of the evidence but left behind a set of cues instead:

"She had been beaten and strangled and Kimbro attempted to destroy evidence by washing her in the shower and washing a load of laundry where he left behind his underwear."

Reginald Kimbro was allegedly linked to the crime via DNA, mobile phone records, power consumption, and security camera footage. According to sources, Molly Matheson attended the University of Arkansas, where she met Kimbro, and the two had a brief romance. Kimbro earlier told police that Matheson called him to her apartment the previous night, but he denied murdering her.

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Megan Getrum disappeared about a week after Molly's murder

Megan Getrum, a 36-year-old Plano woman, was s*xually assaulted and strangled to death by Reginald Kimbro about a week after Molly Matheson's murder while while authorities were investigating him.

On April 14, 2017, Getrum, who had never met Kimbro before, was attacked while she was out for an evening hike in the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve close to her house. Days later, her remains were discovered in Lake Ray Hubbard. Detectives ultimately linked Kimbro to the crime using DNA evidence, witness accounts, and identification, placing him in the Nature Preserve parking lot around the time of Getrum's disappearance.

Kimbro was suspected of rape in 2012 and 2014, but no charges were filed against him, an essential piece of information that was only discovered when police started looking into the deaths of Molly Matheson and Megan Getrum. Soon, other victims stepped forward and detailed their harrowing experiences with the serial r*pist and how he drugged, strangled, and r*ped them.

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Reginald Kimbro's conviction came earlier this year, after a five-year long investigation into the 2017 deaths of Molly Matheson and Megan Getrum. Learn more about the case on NBC Dateline this Friday.