Before a McLean County jury acquitted Kirk Zimmerman of murder charges in 2019, residents of the Bloomington-Normal area were captivated by the case against the State Farm staffer accused of killing his ex-wife, Pam Zimmerman.

The case caught the attention of producers with NBC’s Dateline program.  The June 2019 episode on the Bloomington case will be rebroadcast on Friday, May 29, on local NBC affiliates at 9 p.m.

The show included portions of a lengthy interview with the couple’s twin daughters and son — all teens at the time their mother was killed in her east side Bloomington office. Pam Zimmerman’s neighbor and the office manager who were the first to locate her body riddled with multiple gunshot wounds described what they saw for the national audience.

I also was interviewed by Dateline host Keith Morrison for the program known for its focus on true crime. What struck me most about Dateline’s work on the Zimmerman story was the time they invested in learning about the case and the people involved. Courtroom footage from Zimmerman’s trial was available because a Dateline team was at the trial shooting video and taking exhaustive notes.

The interview process differed from the in-and-out style of most journalists.  I was in front of the cameras for most of the afternoon as Morrison, followed by producer Cassandra Marshall, quizzed me about the case. Most of those questions were based on their extensive knowledge of the case rather than written notes.

The second broadcast of the Bloomington case will also be reminder of all that was lost with the death of Pam Zimmerman, a dedicated mother and talented businesswoman who was loved and admired by those who knew her best.  The questions surrounding her death — why someone would want her dead and the likelihood of holding someone accountable for her death– remain unanswered.

If you missed the first run of the Dateline segment on the death of Pam Zimmerman and the long legal process against her former husband, it’s worth tuning in Friday night.