Valerie Klossowsky:1971, Waverly, Iowa

   

  Valerie Klossowsky was born on March 7th, 1957 to Jeanenne Seeliger Wedemeier and Harold Rae Klossowsky. The couple had three daughters. They had a tumultuous relationship and married and divorced three times. Sometimes people try really hard to make it work for the kids. But sometimes two people are just incompatible. Valerie’s mother was remarried by the Summer of 1971. 


  Valerie lived at 217 Fifth Street Northwest in Waverly, Iowa with her father, her sisters and Grandmother. It’s a lovely neighborhood with sidewalks, large shade trees, and well kept houses. It looks like an ideal neighborhood to raise children. 


 Valerie was 14 in the summer of 1971. She was a student at Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High School and was probably enjoying the free time that summer brings. 


 On June 13th, 1971 someone abducted Valerie. 


 What was her address?  Who were her neighbors? Was she the first victim of a serial killer? 


  She was found three miles west of Denver, Iowa on June 15th, 1971 by two children walking down their gravel road. They saw Valerie lying in a creek bed. She had been thrown from the bridge. This spot is not far from Waverly. It’s a short drive. 

 

   She had been strangled. It was reported that she was nude from the waist down. Did investigators collect a rape kit?  Did they clip and save her fingernails?  What is still sitting in an evidence locker?  DNA from her killer might still be under her fingernails today. 


   A reporter interviewed some of her neighbors after her body was found. Most neighbors said she was quiet and shy. 


  One boy, however, was said to be 16. He claimed that Valerie had “lots of boyfriends” and that when he heard she was murdered he was "not surprised". Everyone else described her as shy and quiet. I wonder if investigators ever talked to that 16 year old boy in Valerie’s neighborhood who sure had a lot of mean and possibly misdirecting things to say about her. 16 is old enough to drive. I wonder if that kid was driving a vehicle on June 13th, 1971. Who was that 16 year old boy? He had some pretty strong negative feelings about Valerie for some odd reason. 


  Another neighbor, an adult, reported seeing a prowler the evening after Valerie disappeared. Was it someone who lived in the neighborhood or a stranger? From my experience it is typically a person who lives nearby. 


  Valerie Klossowsky is buried at the New Hampton Cemetery in New Hampton, Chickasaw County, Iowa. 


  If you have information about her murder please call (800)242-5100. Or email coldcase@ag.iowa.gov 



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