(Council Bluffs) The Council Bluffs Police Department has announced an arrest in a cold case homicide.
On Thursday, October 15, Council Bluffs police detectives requested and were granted an arrest warrant for Matt W. Kennedy, accusing him of Murder 1st Degree. Detectives allege that Kennedy is responsible for the murder of his stepsister, Kimberly M. Ratliff.
On the morning of January 12, 1999, Kimberly Ratliff’s deceased body was discovered inside her vehicle, which had been abandoned in the 1400 block of West Broadway. Ratliff was 22 years old at the time of her death.
Matt Kennedy is a 52-year-old resident of Fairfield, Montana; he was living in Council Bluffs at the time of the murder.
Kennedy was taken into custody and is being held in the Teton County Jail, pending extradition to Iowa. The homicide case remains an active investigation. No further information will be released regarding Kennedy’s arrest until he is back in Iowa and the arrest warrant can be formally served to him.