Family friend Mike Keller says, "She was a good person. The whole family was. And it tore the family up and it destroyed 'em."
Last summer, the Toledo police cold case unit charged Walter Zimbeck with the murder of Lori Ann Hill. The former Maumee resident recently lived in Tennessee and was a person of interest during the initial investigation.
In January, a Fulton County judge dismissed the charge saying prosecutors built their case around witness testimony, without any physical evidence. Her sister, Rachel Hill Barton, says, "If 12 individuals get to sit in a jury and decide this man's fate, he is going to go to prison. There is no doubt."
Monday night, Lori's family and friends gathered outside the courthouse in Wauseon. It was part vigil, part protest. They were here to remember the high school sophomore. They were also here to call for closure.
"Walt Zimbeck killed Lori Hill and that's the bottom line. And it makes me angry and it makes me sad when I'm standing around here looking at my friends."
Twenty-five years later, Lori's sister says she's struggling with the loss and the crime that remains unsolved. Although the judge dismissed the charges and released Zimbeck, he may end up back in court. The state has filed an appeal.
