In the early morning hours of May 3, 1973, smoke from 19-year-old Barbara Jean Kirk’s Las Vegas apartment drew a neighbor who broke through a window and pulled her from the burning unit. Investigators determined the fire had been set after a violent crime: Barbara had been sexually assaulted and then strangled to death with a KFC apron from her workplace, which was found wrapped around her neck along with her nightgown.

Barbara was married to Airman Renzie Kirk, who had left for work at Nellis Air Force Base about an hour before the fire; investigators quickly cleared him. The apartment showed signs of a struggle and a ransacked dresser, suggesting a possible burglary motive. Despite a $10,000 reward offered by her parents in 1997 and ongoing work by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, no arrests have been announced and the killer’s identity remains unknown.

Does anyone have information about Barbara, her neighborhood in 1973, or leads that were not followed up on?