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Morgan County Cold Case Team Hopes To Solve Murder Mystery

Last updated on Thursday, April 21, 2016

(MORGAN CO.) - The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is trying to bring closure for some families of cold cases.

It launched a cold case team about a year ago to look into those cases, including the murder of 24-year-old Ronli Ratliff.

The team is made up of three volunteer investigators from Mooresville, Martinsville, and Beech Grove.

It was in 2004 when firefighters put out a house fire on Dayhuff Road in Mooresville. Inside the home, they discovered the body of Ratliff - she was killed before the fire and the fire set to cover up the crime.

Cold Case Investigator Rich WitmerWitmer is working on the cold case with help from two other investigators. He said they are giving a fresh look to everything.

Investigators are now in the process of interviewing witnesses, family, and friends of Ratliff, which it includes a list of 25 to 30 names.

It was the 12 year anniversary of Ratliff's death last week. Witmer is now hoping with new light on the case, they can finally put together the pieces to find the person responsible for the crime.

"Our hearts obviously go out to the family and it's something that we never get over," says Witmer. "If this case is successfully prosecuted, Ronli is still gone, but it does bring a sense that there's an accountability factor that hopefully we can bring this case to a closure."

Witmer says there are a number of cold cases waiting to be looked at in Morgan County after this one.

If you know anything about the murder of Ronli Ratliff in Mooresville you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at (317) 262- TIPS.

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