Who killed a beloved rural Kansas dog breeder? Family seeks answers

Exactly what happened that summer day in a farm house in Saline County, Kan., remains a mystery to investigators and to the family of the beloved dog breeder who was found dead among her puppies.

Lori J. Heimer had mentioned to her husband, Ronald, that she was expecting a potential customer that afternoon, June 25, 2016. After lunch, Ronald Heimer went back to harvesting crops on their 80-acre spread about four miles outside Assaria, a small town just south of Salina and about three hours from Kansas City.

That evening, one of Heimer’s four daughters, Katie Eberle, and her husband, Austin, found the body.

Lori Heimer had no known enemies. Who would have reason to kill a 57-year-old woman whose passion was to breed poodles and other small dogs for grateful customers from Wichita to Kansas City?

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, brought in to the case by the Saline County Sheriff’s Department, has not revealed how Heimer was killed but said in a news release that she was “brutally murdered.”

Now, nearly seven months later, the eldest of Heimer’s four daughters wants to remind everyone that the case remains unsolved.

“We’re reaching out to Kansas City because the story hasn’t really been (told) here yet,” Genell Heimer of Springfield, Mo., said Wednesday. “Something might ring a bell. I just want them to know about the story.”

Because her mother did business in the Kansas City area, Genell Heimer is hopeful someone here knows something.

The Heimer family has contributed $28,000 to a $37,000 reward in the case. Anyone with information should call the Saline County Crimestoppers at 785-825-8477 or text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637), or go to PD.Salina.org and search for to submit a tip.

Lori Heimer was a jovial person with a loud voice and a distinctive laugh. Her first dog as a child had been a poodle. She loved animals, and the farm was populated with horses, calves, rabbits and other animals. For about 15 years, Heimer had bred poodles and other dogs in a kennel behind the farmhouse. Authorities regularly inspected the kennel, and Heimer kept her dogs clean, well-fed and healthy. She advertised her business in Kansas City and Wichita.

She even drove in bad January weather to meet customer Summer Hogan of Parkville at a midway point with four miniature goldendoodles — a cross between a poodle and a golden retriever — so she could pick her favorite.

“She’s so sweet and super-nice,” Hogan said Wednesday, still speaking of Heimer in the present tense because she had just learned of the murder. “She offered to meet us in the middle, and I thought that was really thoughtful of her. She didn’t have to do that.”

Hogan named the male puppy that she picked Yogi. Heimer kept in touch with Hogan and even her veterinarian when it was discovered that Yogi had a minor health problem. Coincidentally, the day that Heimer was murdered, Hogan posted a video on Heimer’s Facebook page, “Lori’s Poodle Patch,” of Yogi playing fetch.

One of Heimer’s last posts was made on June 23, two days before she was killed. It read “I have 3 Yorkiepoo puppies, 5 poodle puppies and goldendoodle puppies available. Pictures will be posted soon all of my beautiful babies looking for loving, caring families to adopt them.”

Nothing was stolen during the crime, not even a puppy, as far as the family knows. The nearest neighbors, a half-mile away, heard nothing.

In and around Assaria, a town of fewer than 400 residents, everyone knows one another and what kind of vehicles they drive.

Soon, the KBI had detailed descriptions of two pickup trucks that witnesses said seemed out of place. One was an older, “beat-up” maroon flatbed truck, possibly a Chevy, with a white front bumper, silver grill and wide side mirrors. Witnesses said the driver was a man in his 50s or older with salt-and-pepper hair.

The other vehicle was a two-tone pickup, also possibly a Chevy and also beat up and scratched, with dark blue and light blue paint. There may have been animal cages or crates in the back. Witnesses said the driver was a man about 40 with shoulder-length hair and glasses.

The KBI released those details on June 29 and followed up Aug. 9 with a statewide request for assistance from the public. The bureau hasn’t released anything about the case since then, although it reportedly followed hundreds of leads.

Genell Heimer said that the family last met with the KBI before Thanksgiving, but agents had nothing promising to report. The case was assigned to a different agent in December. The family hoped that a new set of eyes might notice something that previously had been overlooked, but they haven’t heard anything more.

“They tell us that cases never get put on a shelf, that cases are constantly worked on,” Genell Heimer said. “But you also know that new cases come up, and if they have any guess as to who did that, they’re going to focus on that one and ours gets bumped down because there is just no clue.

“They’ve always had an open-door policy,” she said of the KBI. “They’ve never been like, ‘OK, quit calling us.’ They’ve been very open. We’re just getting frustrated with the time that’s passing.”

The Heimers have created a Facebook page called “Answers, prayers and support for Lori Heimer and family.”

Hogan, who adores her friendly and playful dog Yogi, supports the family.

“I am completely in shock,” she said. “Who and why would anyone want to do that to such a kind woman?”

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Who killed a beloved rural Kansas dog breeder? Family seeks answers."