Kimberly Randall

A woman is found dead inside a vacant restuarat.
Kimberly Michelle Randall was a 49-year-old mother of two who lived in Weaverville, North Carolina, a town just north of Asheville. In some public records and news reports, she was also identified as Kimberly Jarvis, and some who knew her called her "Raven." Her death in the autumn of 2021 would become one of Asheville's most disturbing unsolved homicides of the year, leaving her family without answers and a community with lingering questions.

The last known sighting of Kimberly was on Sunday, October 24, 2021. She was reportedly near a Shell gas station in Asheville, accompanied by a man who has never been publicly identified. Investigators have not disclosed the nature of their relationship or what they were doing, but this encounter represents the last thread in the timeline of her life that has been shared with the public. It is unknown where she went after leaving the area of the gas station, whether she got into a vehicle, or what her plans were for the following days. This gap in her final movements created a significant challenge for law enforcement.

Three days later, on Wednesday, October 27, officers with the Asheville Police Department were conducting a check on a vacant, abandoned building on Patton Avenue in west Asheville. The property, a former Denny's restaurant, had been closed for some time and, like many empty commercial buildings, could have been accessible to people seeking shelter. During this check, police discovered Kimberly's body inside the desolate structure. The circumstances of the discovery immediately suggested a violent end, and detectives from the department's major case unit quickly launched a homicide investigation, securing the building as a crime scene.

The investigation confirmed their initial suspicions. A medical examiner's report later determined that Kimberly Randall had been brutally killed. The official cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, revealing a violent, close-contact assault. Her death was officially classified as the 10th homicide in the city of Asheville for 2021. Investigators were faced with the difficult task of piecing together what happened inside the empty restaurant. They had to determine whether she was killed at the location or if her body had been brought there after she was killed elsewhere. A vacant building, potentially accessed by many different people over time, presented a complex crime scene.

In the weeks following the discovery, police continued to seek information from the public. On November 15, 2021, the Asheville Police Department released surveillance footage of the unidentified man who was believed to have been with Kimberly shortly before her death. Authorities stressed that they wanted to identify him because he could have "information vital to the investigation," and they did not publicly label him a suspect. Despite this public appeal and the circulation of his image, no arrests have ever been announced in the case.

As of the latest reports, the murder of Kimberly Randall remains unsolved. The identity of the man last seen with her is still unknown to the public, as is the motive for her killing. Her family has been left to grieve without justice or closure. The Asheville Police Department has encouraged anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, to come forward. Anonymous tips can be shared by texting TIP2APD to 847411 or by using the TIP2APD smartphone app. Information can also be provided by calling the department directly at 828-252-1110.