Tip to Police Leads to Arrests of Three Men in 1989 Murder in Missouri

For more than three decades, Pam Workman had suspected who killed her sister, Kelle Ann Workman, who went missing on June 30, 1989, and whose body was found eight days later in a forest in rural Missouri.

Despite her suspicions, the police had not been able to arrest someone in the case — until this week.

Someone recently came forward with information about the crime, leading to the arrest of three men in connection with the kidnapping, rape and murder of Ms. Workman, 24, the authorities said at a news conference on Wednesday in Douglas County, Mo.

The men — Bobby Lee Banks, 65, of Seymour, Mo.; Leonard Banks, 64, of Gainesville, Mo.; and Wiley Belt, 64, of Ava, Mo. — were each charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and forcible rape, the authorities said.

In an interview on Friday, Pam Workman said she had long believed that Bobby Lee Banks and Leonard Banks, who are brothers, were involved in the crime.

“They were always on my radar,” she said. “I’ve had dealings with them for the last 35 years, and not always good ones.”

On one occasion, Ms. Workman said, she ran into Leonard Banks while grocery shopping, and he “tried to start an altercation” with her.

“He’s not a nice guy,” she said.

Ms. Workman said she did not know Mr. Belt personally, but knew his name from growing up in the area.

The authorities did not say who had come forward with the crucial information that they needed to make the arrests.

Matthew Weatherman, the Douglas County prosecuting attorney, said at the news conference that a person “came forward after almost 30 years of holding this inside,” and that their testimony was “rock solid.”

“It’s as good as a 1989 case can ever be,” Mr. Weatherman said, calling the testimony “the last piece” the authorities needed.

The three men were in custody on Friday and being held on $250,000 bond, according to court records. They are scheduled to appear in court on March 5, court records show.

A lawyer for Mr. Belt did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Court records did not have lawyers listed for Bobby Lee Banks or Leonard Banks.

The authorities said that the three men had been interviewed about the case in the past, but there had never been enough evidence or testimony to charge them.

“It’s just been a sequence of gathering every single fact everyone could put together as best they could,” Mr. Weatherman said, adding that he planned to file a motion to have a speedy trial in the case.

“We’re not going to mess around with this,” he said. “We’re going to go ahead and get this in front of the jury as fast as the judge and the courts will let us.”

Kelle Ann Workman disappeared on June 30, 1989. Around dinnertime, her parents grew worried because she wasn’t home yet. They reported her missing to the police, who began a wide search for her in and around Douglas County.

Pam Workman said she was 22 at the time and living in Kansas City, Mo. The day after Kelle Anne went missing, Pam Workman said, her aunt and uncle knocked on her apartment door and told her the news.

“I will never forget that day,” Pam Workman said. “I can close my eyes, and I can see it like it was yesterday. It’s a day I’ll never forget. That was the longest ride home ever from Kansas City.”

The last time Kelle Anne Workman had been seen, she was mowing the grass at the Dogwood Cemetery in Douglas County, where she worked.

Sheriff Chris Degase of Douglas County said on Wednesday that the killing was “something that’s been over Douglas County for 35 years.”

“We’re very happy that we were able to hopefully bring some closure to the family and get Kelle some justice,” Sheriff Degase said, standing just feet from the cemetery where Kelle Ann Workman had last been seen.

Pam Workman said that over the years she sometimes felt as if her sister’s case had been pushed to the “back burner.” Now, she said, she hopes that the arrests encourage others whose loved ones have been victims in cold cases to not lose faith.

“None of this is going to bring Kelle back,” she said. “But more than anything, there’s justice for Kelly.”