The Unsolved Murder of David Kelm | Part 1 of 2 | Tuesday September 13, 2022
The Unsolved Murder of David Kelm | Part 2 of 2 | Tuesday September 13, 2022
46 year old David Kelm was shot in his own home in the Masterson Station area of Lexington Kentucky on April 23, 2019, and died of his injuries at the University of Kentucky Hospital that same evening.
Years and 6 newly assigned homicide detectives later, his family has no answers, and no justice.
Join Wendy and David as we talk to talk to his mother, Jessica Profitt, and sister, Rachel Romero, about who David is, and how their lives changed forever that night. Learn about David growing up, the things in life he enjoyed and where he was in life when it was taken by evil.
You will walk away from these 2 episodes as perplexed as his family and friends, asking how a man is killed in his own home, and why no one has been brought to justice.
Know that these episodes are very emotional, as Jessica and Rachael recount how they learned David died.
And just as importantly, please share these episodes far and wide with everyone you know. It is our hope that David’s name goes remembered, and someone comes forward with information to close this case.
Show Transcripts
Part 1 of 2
Rachel Romero:
At one point, our lead detective took me out on the rooftop and he was standing there with two other detectives. I was like, what is going on? I didn’t know but then when I looked up and he was, had his arm crossed with the left hand over the top of the right arm, I did not want to hear what he had to say.
Wendy Lyons:
Warning, the podcast you’re about to listen to may contain graphic descriptions of violent assaults, murder, and adult language. Listener discretion is advised.
Wendy Lyons:
Welcome to the Murder Police podcast. The unsolved murder of David Kelm, part one of two.
Welcome to the Murder Police podcast. I am Wendy.
David Lyons:
And I’m David.
Wendy Lyons:
Today we are going to be discussing the April 23rd, 2019 murder of David Kelm in Lexington, Kentucky. We have with us today David’s sister, Rachel and David’s mother, Jessica. Rachel, thank you for coming. How are you doing today?
Rachel Romero:
I’m good, Wendy. Thank you and David for having me.
Wendy Lyons:
You are most welcome. Jessica, thank you for coming. How are you today?
Jessica Profitt:
I’m doing good, thank you. Thank you and David both for having me.
Wendy Lyons:
Absolutely. This is a case that we’re happy to discuss and get into and share with people David’s story and subsequently David’s murder. It is unsolved still to this date so I think all of our common goal is to find a lead to maybe help solve this murder.
David Lyons:
That and to memorialize David. We appreciate the opportunity to let people know who David is through your eyes and family so because in this whole process that gets lost. The hope again is to maybe budge the case and get somebody held accountable for it, but even in the criminal justice system, when you start to get some relief from having that, it’ll still scoot past who David is. This is an opportunity to really let people know who David is.
Wendy Lyons:
Well, I agree. Well, why don’t we have one of the two of you or both to chime in and tell us, I guess Jessica, we should start with you, you’re his mother. Tell us David as a little David. When he was a child growing up, what kind of baby he was. Just tell us a little bit about him so our listeners can learn who he was.
Jessica Profitt:
Okay. He was my first blessing in life. He was born January the 11th, 1973, all nine pounds and five ounces in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When he was born, he was a thumb sucker. When they’d bring the babies down to feed, I could hear him sucking his thumb and he sucked his thumb til he was about eight and we had to get some hot sauce or something to put on his finger and finally, but he didn’t have to have braces, but he was a good baby. He was a big baby. He ate well, he played well by himself and he loved his baby sister when she came along three years later and they had a bond from day one and they did till the day we lost him.
David Lyons:
How long were you in labor with David? Did he make you wait?
Jessica Profitt:
Oh, Lord. It was induced, 13 hours.
David Lyons:
Oh my. What’s that comedian say? One time that there’s things that feel good that I want to do for four hours so yeah, went a long time. I was just curious if he made you work for it and I guess he did.
Jessica Profitt:
Oh yeah, he did. His dad was standing there and he had a magazine and he said, look at this, this is funny. I go, don’t show me that again. I told him, the doctor, I said, gosh, that hurt. She goes, well, we didn’t know you were going to have a football player. Oh, yeah, he loved his sister. He was real protective of Rachel. They had a bond that nobody could break even in death.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, he was just a great big brother.
David Lyons:
What’s your earliest memory of David? Can you think back that far?
Rachel Romero:
I remember when he fell out of the tree in the front yard and broke his leg.
Wendy Lyons:
How old was he?
Rachel Romero:
He was eight, yeah, he was eight.
Jessica Profitt:
He was climbing in the tree and I went to the front door and it was a little tree, but he was high up in the tree. I said, you get out of that tree before you break your leg. I turned around and this blood curdling scream, I thought he was hit by a Mac truck and he fell and broke his leg.
David Lyons:
What part of his leg broke and how bad was it?
Jessica Profitt:
It was the left leg. He had to have a cast. I had to take him to the emergency room, but it wasn’t a compound fracture. He screamed because they had to set it.
Rachel Romero:
My dad liked to draw so he drew a Darth Vader on his cast. I remember that.
Jessica Profitt:
And Mickey Mouse.
Rachel Romero:
Mickey Mouse on mine. I had to have a…
Jessica Profitt:
Correction.
Rachel Romero:
Cast on my leg for…
Jessica Profitt:
She was pigeon toed.
David Lyons:
Do they still call it that?
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah. She had a foot, well, she gets it from me because I have it. They say it comes from Native American. They were all pigeon toed.
Rachel Romero:
Anyway, I remember my dad drawing Darth Vader on Davey’s cast and then Mickey Mouse on mine. We actually kept the cast for a long time. Davey was kind of, he didn’t really want me to, we loved each other, he didn’t really want to be bothered with me though.
Jessica Profitt:
He played a lot by himself. He liked Tonka trucks. I said, do you really like those trucks? He goes, yeah. He said, I like those trucks. I said, oh, okay. You’re going to be a cement truck driver? He said, no, I’m going to be the truck.
David Lyons:
Oh, wow, yeah. Life goals.
Jessica Profitt:
You’ve got to have them.
Rachel Romero:
I remember Halloween, he was probably seven, seven maybe and he dressed up as Popeye and I was at gypsy.
Jessica Profitt:
He loved Popeye.
Rachel Romero:
I remember that. We had a dog, Bojo, that was in Michigan. I use to run away a lot. I’d climb the fence and run down the street to a lake that was close by our house. Davey fell in the ice, didn’t he? Behind the house, the pond.
David Lyons:
How old were you when you’d run away? Five?
Jessica Profitt:
No, she was younger than that. Probably about three.
Wendy Lyons:
Where were you going?
Jessica Profitt:
To the lake.
Rachel Romero:
To the lake.
Jessica Profitt:
She went down to the lake. What was so bad, her timing. There was a child serial kidnapper/murderer. Well, I couldn’t find her and something told me to go to the lake and there she was with a little stick drawing in the sand and swinging.
Rachel Romero:
And Bojo.
Jessica Profitt:
And Bojo.
Rachel Romero:
The dog.
David Lyons:
No fear.
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah, she would run away.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, so I kind of just follow Davey. I remember we were on the swing set and they kept saying, say a cuss word. They wanted me to cuss. Of course, they wouldn’t so I said the cuss word and then I got in trouble.
Jessica Profitt:
The bar of soap.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah.
David Lyons:
We used to do that with my youngest brother. We would send him into my mother loaded with foul language and he didn’t know what it meant just to watch the explosion when he would do it so it was like-
Rachel Romero:
To watch him get in trouble, yeah.
David Lyons:
Oh, for sure.
Jessica Profitt:
One time Davey got real upset with me because I had just gotten Rachel a little tricycle and she left it behind the car and I backed out and ran over it. Oh, he was so angry. You just bought that for her. She didn’t care.
Wendy Lyons:
She had a lake to go to.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, right.
Jessica Profitt:
Exactly.
Wendy Lyons:
How long were you all in Michigan before you came to Kentucky and what brought you all here?
Jessica Profitt:
The economy was that and I was a hairdresser, cosmetologist, stylist, whatever they want to call me. I came to Kentucky to take a test to be a cosmetology. I had relatives here. My dad was from Breathitt County and my mother was from Rowan County so I had a lot of relatives down here. I brought Rachel and Davey with me. He was seven and Rachel was four and I met Michael’s dad.
Wendy Lyons:
Tell our listeners who Michael is.
Jessica Profitt:
Michael is my youngest son. His dad was from Kentucky and we were married 17 years. I have eight biological grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
David Lyons:
How old is your great-granddaughter?
Jessica Profitt:
She was a year old in June.
David Lyons:
Well, you talked about how he played with the trucks and wanted to be the truck. What other things did he do when he was little as he grew up? Did he start to get any sports or any hobbies or anything?
Jessica Profitt:
He didn’t really like sports. I put him in little league baseball and that didn’t last very long.
David Lyons:
Just didn’t have an interest in it?
Jessica Profitt:
No, he didn’t.
Rachel Romero:
He also got into karate.
Jessica Profitt:
Karate, he was good in that. At Sin The’ that used to be in Lexington.
Rachel Romero:
Sin The’, martial arts.
David Lyons:
How about school when you got to Lexington? What schools were he at?
Jessica Profitt:
Nicholasville we came too.
David Lyons:
Oh, that’s right.
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah. He did well in school. He was good and he met his high school sweetheart there, Angela Owens. They had my two first grandsons together and they were together 16 or 17 years, but we always stayed very good friends with Angela.
David Lyons:
Well, that’s an interesting part about this too, that we need to let everybody know what that connection is that Angie is, Wendy knows her, lost her life in February in Nicholasville to domestic violence. We have a few episodes to memorialize Angie and that violent death that she went through. Just to tie this together as we’re sitting in a room with people that were related and in court that was the high school sweetheart. It’s just never ceases to amaze me how there’s a connection between people sometimes.
Wendy Lyons:
Ironically, Angie and I, as I said on that podcast we did about her, we worked at Long John’s corporate office and that’s where years ago I met Jessica and Rachel. We had initially met back in, I guess, ’91, ’92. Of course, Angie and I remained friends and then Angie and David years later did divorce. It’s so funny how I lost contact with Rachel and Jessica and then maybe a little before David died, we got brought back together on Facebook and then friended each other like you do and caught up and I guess the rest is history so they say.
The three of us would often talk about the relationship that Angie was in with her new husband and how we all knew it was a very volatile, not good relationship. Then them losing David and how that affected all of them. Angie came back to you all at David’s death. There was a little bit of a reunion wasn’t there?
Jessica Profitt:
Yes, absolutely.
Wendy Lyons:
For that month and a half before that got abruptly cut short. It was really neat to bring you all back together because you all had also lost contact with her for years.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes, that’s true.
David Lyons:
I still remember in the wake of David’s death when I was just being made aware of it is that Angie came to the house one night.
Wendy Lyons:
Well, she called early in the morning crying, saying David’s been killed. She saw it. Then I think she reached out to maybe Rachel, because I was getting ready to get my son ready for school and she never would call that early. When the phone’s ringing at six, you know something’s not right. She was bawling. I remember asking you, is there anything that you can find out about this because at that time, I believe you might have been over that unit or maybe you were a commander over another sector.
Then she did come over, you’re right. We sat down and talked about what could be done and how we could solve this and ways that we could all pitch together because even though I hadn’t seen David in all those years, we kind of all grew up in those late teen, early twenties with she and I being friends and with the birth of their two sons and their wedding and helping her plan, all that and the baby showers. There were great memories with David there as well and so it didn’t affect me obviously like it affected those of you who he’s your son, but there was still that pain in knowing what you all were going through and because I did know him and because Angie, despite being divorced from him for all those years, she was beside herself because they were just truly high school sweethearts, weren’t they?
Jessica Profitt:
Yes, absolutely. David, I remember talking to you first and in our conversation you said, or I told you I was David’s mother and you said, I can’t wait to tell my wife that I know you and you were David’s mother and we talked for a long time.
David Lyons:
We did. Again, there’s that circle of how these connections end up.
Rachel Romero:
Mom said, oh my gosh, Rachel, David, when I talked to David, his wife is Wendy and that was Angie’s best friend. We had lunch with her at Long John’s in the corporate office. I was like, no way. I do remember that call. Angie was one of the ones that I first called when I found out about Davey. It was like four in the morning, but I just thinking about my nephews and I was like, I’m calling her. She took it like the rest of us. She was upset.
Wendy Lyons:
Yes, she was hysterical.
David Lyons:
When she came over one night and we sat up in the kitchen, she had a notebook and pages of notes. I think really it was cathartic for her to bounce those things off, stuff that we’ve all talked about since then, too. For me to watch that for somebody that had been divorced as long as they had been, it struck her and struck her hard. Well, let’s kind of pick it up a little bit then is that he marries and how long were they married again?
Jessica Profitt:
About 17 years.
David Lyons:
Wow, long time.
Wendy Lyons:
Unfortunately, Angie and David did divorce. The boys were young. I think the youngest was seven, eight months when they separated and the oldest was roughly three-ish. Angie moved on and remarried. What happened to David at that point because I kind of lost track of him then. I know initially there was a little bit of time sharing with the boys. I think a lot of it Rachel was organized at your house. Where did David, where did his life go after they separated?
Rachel Romero:
Yes, Davey ended up remarrying. He worked at UPS since he was 17. He also worked part-time at Green’s Toyota in the parts department. He met a lady there who he later, he remarried and they had a son together, my nephew, one of my nephews. Then they just had their life. They were married for 17 years.
Wendy Lyons:
David goes ahead and remarries, has another child. I do recall he and Angie initially, before he had that child, shared custody for a little bit. I think some of those transactions you helped organize.
Rachel Romero:
Oh, yes. Davey and the boys would come and stay at my house on every other weekend. I looked forward to it. It was so fun. I mean, I got to spend time with my nephews and my brother. At the time my little brother lived with me so it was the whole package right there. Yeah, we spent a lot of time together.
Wendy Lyons:
Then eventually those visits kind of tapered off I think?
Rachel Romero:
Yes, they did.
David Lyons:
Well as an adult, did he have any other hobbies? You talked about how he worked at UPS and Green’s Toyota. Did he engage in any other hobbies or interest as an adult?
Rachel Romero:
Oh, he’s always loved music. He plays the guitar and he can play the acoustic and electric guitar. He, I guess comes by that naturally. Our dad’s side of the family, back to my grandpa’s grandpa have an ear for music and a talent. He enjoyed all music. Of course, we were raised on Hank Williams Jr., Elvis, motown, all that.
David Lyons:
When music was music.
Rachel Romero:
Being kids of the nineties, eighties, nineties, we liked all the classic rock. He enjoyed music. He liked to work on things, cars.
Jessica Profitt:
He was a perfectionist.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, he was.
Jessica Profitt:
Any little thing in the house. If there was a mark, he would repaint the whole wall.
Rachel Romero:
He also was into landscaping. We actually worked for a company, the Gardener of Lexington. It’s not in business anymore, but he enjoyed his lawn and landscape being perfect and he’d come over and do mine. He also liked crime TV. He always liked the case, Crystal Rogers case was going on and he would call mom and was like, oh my gosh, did you see this new part of the show? He’s like, you know he did it. Just going crazy about it. He enjoyed that. He remodeled his house. He put in tile floors and he stayed busy. He was one that he didn’t sit still. He was like, my little brother. They don’t sit still.
Wendy Lyons:
He goes through this marriage and he’s married for a while. Then they had some rocky issues and separated. Then they were estranged when David was murdered, is that right? They were not together at that point?
Rachel Romero:
No, they were not.
Wendy Lyons:
Okay, so on this night leading up to this April 23rd, 2019, how did you all find out about it? How’d you learn of it?
Rachel Romero:
Well, Landon and I were actually just getting in bed and there was a knock at the door and I thought it was wrong house so I didn’t open the door. Then they come to the back and they were banging and I seen flashlights and I was like, what is going on? I opened the door and it was an officer. He had my nephew with him, my youngest nephew. I didn’t know what was going on. Figured my brother was at work still for him to show up in the police car or I didn’t know what happened, what was going on. The officer asked me if I could keep my nephew.
Wendy Lyons:
This is David’s youngest son with his new wife, right?
Rachel Romero:
Yes. I kind of was still in shock. I didn’t know why. I said, what’s going on? He said, well, we cannot reach his mother. We have tried to reach out to the mother, she’s nowhere to be found so we didn’t know what was up with her. I didn’t know what was going on so he had to stay with me.
Wendy Lyons:
Did the officer tell you at that point what was going on?
Rachel Romero:
No, just that he needed to stay with me. That he couldn’t reach his mother so I said, okay. Then the officer quickly came back and told me that, yeah, he came back and told me that I needed to follow him to the police station and bring my nephew because he had to have an adult with him. He was there.
Wendy Lyons:
He was there when the murder happened?
Rachel Romero:
Yes. I was like, what are we doing? The officer said, your brother’s been shot. He’s on his way to the hospital. We need you to bring your nephew to the police station and so we did. He followed us to the police.
Jessica Profitt:
You brought Landon to my apartment.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, I had to.
Jessica Profitt:
I go, what’s going on? She goes, mom, Davey’s been shot. We always called him Davey. I know you probably picked up on that. I did, I gave him that name. I go, shot? I’m thinking he works for a United Parcel so maybe there was a robbery in his truck and it’s not going to be so bad.
David Lyons:
It launches you into those questions because you’re trying to figure out, I’m trying to put myself in your shoes where the police show up. They’ve got a relative there that then they asked you to follow down and then they finally tell you that you’d been shot and was going to the hospital and the imagination just has to go wild.
Wendy Lyons:
About what time of evening was it, Rachel?
Rachel Romero:
This was about 10:00, maybe something a little bit to 10:00. Of course, I’m sure he had to tell me a couple times that he got shot because I’m looking around for my shoes and I can’t find them and they’re right by the door. I was so upset. I mean, I couldn’t believe. All I kept hearing in my mind was your brother is shot, your brother just got shot, your brother just got shot.
Wendy Lyons:
You didn’t know his condition at that time? You just knew he had been shot and you were going to the police station?
Rachel Romero:
Yes. I wanted to go to the hospital to be with my brother to find out what’s going on but circumstance, I had to take my nephew. If been able to get ahold of his mother, I could have went to the hospital and be with my brother in his last minutes.
Wendy Lyons:
Jessica, did you go with Rachel or did you meet her there?
Jessica Profitt:
Rachel brought her son to my apartment so she could go with my grandson that was there at the murder.
David Lyons:
Even if they just were having a conversation, that’s the crux of it is having an adult when they are under 18.
Jessica Profitt:
He was a minor, yeah.
David Lyons:
That’s pretty important.
Jessica Profitt:
Or juvenile they said.
David Lyons:
Yeah, and there it is. The needs of the system stepped in front of what you would’ve liked to do and assist or which, but I’m sorry that you even went through that is that that’s where these things collide, kind of like we headed to before.
Jessica Profitt:
Right.
Wendy Lyons:
When did you get into the story of what happened? When you got to the police station, did they give you details of how this night unfolded?
Rachel Romero:
No. I was kind of learning as being in the questioning room what-
Wendy Lyons:
Had you asked your nephew as you were driving what was going on?
Rachel Romero:
Yes, I did ask him. I said, what is going on? What happened? He said, daddy got shot. I mean we both, he was in shock, I was in shock. At one point our lead detective took me out on the rooftop and he was sitting there with two other detectives and I was like, what is going on? I didn’t know. Then when I looked up and he had his arm crossed with the left hand over the top of the right arm, I did not want to hear what he had to say.
Wendy Lyons:
Hey, you know there’s more to the story so go download the next episode like the true crime fan that you are.
David Lyons:
The Murder Police podcast is hosted by Wendy and David Lyons and was created to honor the lives of crime victims so their names are never forgotten. It is produced, recorded, and edited by David Lyons. The Murder Police podcast can be found on your favorite Apple or Android pod platform as well at murderpolicepodcast.com where you will find show notes, transcripts, information about our presenters, and a link to the official Murder Police podcast merch store where you can purchase a huge variety of Murder Police podcast swag.
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Part 2 of 2
Jessica Profitt:
… came to my apartment after they left the police station. And when they came down the hall, I knew. Do you remember that?
Jessica Profitt:
And I just looked down, and I… I think I collapsed. Yeah, that’s how I found out.
Wendy Lyons:
Warning. The podcast you’re about to listen to may contain graphic descriptions of violent assaults, murder, and adult language. Listener discretion is advised.
Wendy Lyons:
Welcome to the Murder Police Podcast, the Murder of David Kelm, Part 2 of 2.
Rachel Romero:
So, at one point, our lead detective took me out on the rooftop, and he was standing there with two other detectives, and I was like, “What is going on?” I didn’t know. But then when I looked up and he had his arm crossed with the left hand over the top of the right arm, I did not want to hear what he had to say.
David Lyons:
Something inside told you that that’s why they took you out there, to break the news to you.
Rachel Romero:
And I looked at him, and I just said, “No. No, don’t say it,” and I almost passed out. It was horrible. And then, he told me to pull myself together, that I had to tell my nephew. And I said, “All right.”
Rachel Romero:
It took me a while. When I got myself together, coming through the rooftop door, and my nephew was sitting there in the chair with his hands between his legs, just nervous. And I got down on the floor in front of him, and I grabbed his hands, and I said, “Daddy didn’t make it.” And then he looked at me. And that face… And I love him so much. That face. I just said, “I’m so sorry.”
Rachel Romero:
And he just hugged me. He just grabbed me. And then we hugged for a long time. And then he had to excuse himself from me. But he came right back. He had just… Yeah, that ripped our hearts out. Life changed that day forever, for all of us.
David Lyons:
I can’t imagine getting that news and then having a job of delivering that news. God bless you for that.
David Lyons:
And Jessica, when were you brought into the loop that Davy had passed? Was it around the same time? Or…
Jessica Profitt:
Rachel and my grandson, David’s son, that was there at the murder, came to my apartment after they left the police station. And when they came down the hall, I knew.
Jessica Profitt:
Do you remember that? And I just looked there and I goed… I think I collapsed.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah.
Jessica Profitt:
That’s how I found out. It was Rachel, just the look on her face.
Rachel Romero:
And to help her in the door to sit down. And we just all kind of huddled together. And my nephew, we just comforted him as much as we could, and we got the same from him. And-
Jessica Profitt:
Well, I told him, I said, “Come on, honey. Lay down. I know this is really hard.” And he took off his little jacket, and I went and got a cold wash cloth and washed his face, while he just laid in our arms.
David Lyons:
And how old is he?
Jessica Profitt:
He was 15 at the time.
David Lyons:
Got you.
Wendy Lyons:
So, after this happened, were you all allowed to go to the hospital at that point, or were you not allowed to go see Davy?
Rachel Romero:
We got to see him.
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah, they… Well, again, they tried to reach out to his wife, and they were unsuccessful, so I just went there. Me and my nephew just went there, and we talked to the doctor. And yeah, we were the only family that had signed in. And then, after that, we went to Mom’s.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, we sat down in a room. Or, when we got there, we waited on the surgeon to come and talk to us. And he took us in the little room, the little chaplain room, the room you don’t want to go in, ever. And he explained to us what was going on, what he did, how he tried to help my brother, and that that was unsuccessful.
Jessica Profitt:
But they did try to save him. There was the paramedic. He said that he thought he would be okay. And there was 30 medical team-
Rachel Romero:
I had called the fire department. Major Brian Dawson, he was the first one on the scene. We didn’t know what was going on. And I wanted to know, so I had called the fire department and asked who went to that address, that that was my brother. And he explained to me how, when he first got there, that my brother was on his hands and knees and saying, “I’ve been shot.” But that was after everything. That was the next day.
David Lyons:
So the next day, you reached out to the fire department, and they called you back?
Rachel Romero:
Yes.
David Lyons:
Yeah.
Wendy Lyons:
So, Davy was conscious for a little bit.
Rachel Romero:
He was, when we got… Or what I got is that when they got there-
Wendy Lyons:
He stabilized.
Rachel Romero:
… He was in distress.
Wendy Lyons:
They stabilized him. And they thought they-
Rachel Romero:
Yeah.
Wendy Lyons:
… could save him?
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, they stabilized him. And the one paramedic thought he would be okay, his vitals and everything. They got him stable and there was a team of 30 doctors and nurses waiting on him before he even got there in the ambulance, and he didn’t make it.
Wendy Lyons:
Unfortunately, that evening Davy passed. Where did you all go from there? How did you pick up the pieces? What did you do next?
David Lyons:
Well, you mentioned that their life changed, and how does it change? Because, fortunately, not everybody in the world has to face what you all faced and what you’re dealing with today. But how does it change you?
Rachel Romero:
Well-
David Lyons:
As a sister and a mother?
Rachel Romero:
Oh, it’s just like missing an arm or missing a foot. I mean, it’s not a whole life. It’s something is missing.
Jessica Profitt:
I feel that it’s an empty chair we have now. And it was the darkest day of my life, and I prayed that God would take me and let him live.
David Lyons:
I think any of us, as parents…
Jessica Profitt:
Because I’m an old lady.
David Lyons:
… But I think any of us, as parents, would say that prayer over and over again.
Jessica Profitt:
I just-
David Lyons:
I think we would.
Jessica Profitt:
… Immediately, everything flashes before you; holidays, birthdays, just that time that you would spend on a normal basis, or a weekly basis, or monthly. Any time you see your family, you just think about those days are gone.
Jessica Profitt:
But I did see him the Monday before the Tuesday that he got shot. And when he left, he was stalling around outside. I could see his truck lights still on. And I looked, and after we found out what we found out, I was like, “I wish we could go back a day, and I could go out there and just grab him, make him stay,” you know? But I’m glad that I got to see him one last time.
David Lyons:
And I think we all do that. With the people I’ve lost in my life, is you go back to the last time you saw them, and what you might do differently if you had a crystal ball and [inaudible 00:11:03].
Wendy Lyons:
Yeah.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes.
Wendy Lyons:
That’s true.
David Lyons:
… be the last time, yeah.
Jessica Profitt:
But I do remember something kind of funny. I had some jewelry, and I wanted Davy to keep it for me, because I figured I would die before he did. And it was some jewelry from England, my birthstone, my class ring. And he goes, “Mom, are you crazy? I’m not going to… You’ll die before me,” or that I would die before him. And I said, “Davy, you never know.” And I regret those words.
Rachel Romero:
Life’s a dance, like Garth Brooks.
David Lyons:
Well, it’s pretty clear that we’re talking about this because this is an unsolved case. And one of the things that I know that was really tearing you up, Jessica and Rachel, because we have talked about it before, is this was in 2019, which sometimes they take time. How many detectives have you had in leading this case so far?
Jessica Profitt:
We’re on our sixth detective.
David Lyons:
Wow. That’s got to be frustrating.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, we’ve been tossed around, but we still keep fighting for justice.
David Lyons:
And again, and I think that’s why we want to do this too, is to keep that fire in there.
David Lyons:
For me, even after doing this for a living, is I know what that’s like to leave a case and how that feels. And because there’s still, up to this day, I can ride around and think of some of mine that I didn’t lay down, and it haunts you forever. You feel very fortunate and blessed if you close one, that that’s the go. I know what it’s like from that side, but I couldn’t begin to probably appreciate the frustration of, like you said, being tossed around and having six.
David Lyons:
And I think I know the reasons, for the most part is, without going on a political stoop, and I’m not going to hit it too far, is that the Lexington Police Department, like every police department in the country, is short people, and people are leaving earlier than they’ve ever left. And we’ll leave it at that.
David Lyons:
I remember, I think my first police chief, somebody had said he was quoted one time that you can only give a community the policing it wants, and there’s consequences. Everything has a consequence. And I know a lot of people that were there when I was there two years ago have left, where they’re just done. And they get their time in, and they go on and they do different things.
David Lyons:
The sad part is there’s people like you that are left with what those ramifications are. And so, I keep thinking, what? Four years and six detectives, and that just runs through the frustration that’s got to be, because it… Am I right or wrong? Does it feel like you’re starting over every time?
Jessica Profitt:
Yes. It feels like the ride that never comes.
Wendy Lyons:
Ripping that scab off a new time to start the story over again.
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah.
Wendy Lyons:
Relive the story again for a new detective, just to make you wonder how long before we have to retell the story to the next detective. And I would be incredibly frustrated, and I know you all are because we talk about this. We’ve talked about it many times, and I can’t imagine what you all are going through. I can’t imagine losing my brother or my son. And then, to have to keep reliving it and reliving it.
Wendy Lyons:
And the frustrating thing is somebody knows something. Somebody knows, and for three years they’ve concealed it. But somebody knows. And our goal is to get this story out and hope that somebody will feel enough like a piece of crap to tell the story of what happened to David. Because not only does David need justice, but you all, as his family, deserve answers.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes, absolutely. He was getting ready to retire with UPS. He was a father, a brother, an uncle, a son.
David Lyons:
As we say, living his best life.
Wendy Lyons:
Yeah.
David Lyons:
Despite any problems. And that’s the big injustice of having somebody taken violently from any of us and that is where they take him in their station of life, and-
Jessica Profitt:
He’ll forever be 46.
David Lyons:
Exactly. It stops there, doesn’t it? Yeah. It-
Wendy Lyons:
Well, and I think the other sad thing about this, and you all would agree, those two sons of his, not the third, but the first two that he had with Angie, both those kids lost their parents to murder.
Jessica Profitt:
Within three years.
Wendy Lyons:
Yes.
David Lyons:
Two years.
Wendy Lyons:
They lost both their parents to murder.
David Lyons:
I think about that a lot, knowing them.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes.
David Lyons:
And just how unfathomable that must be. It’s just the-
Rachel Romero:
And Angie, we loved her. She didn’t deserve that either.
Jessica Profitt:
No.
Wendy Lyons:
And she had been through tragedy herself because her second husband after David had committed suicide, and she was dealing with that. And then, when Davy was murdered, as I said earlier, she was heartbroken.
Jessica Profitt:
Oh, yes.
Wendy Lyons:
So then, she relived that. And then, ultimately, herself ended up being a victim of murder, and her husband committed suicide. So all this dark tragedy involving the two of them constantly circles in my mind. And it’s just as-
Rachel Romero:
It’s too much.
Wendy Lyons:
It’s too much.
Rachel Romero:
It’s… My nephews are on my heart every day. I really can feel with them what they’re going through. I mean, I just want to grab them up and-
Jessica Profitt:
Angie loved her children.
Rachel Romero:
… hold them, protect them.
Wendy Lyons:
Yes.
David Lyons:
Oh, absolutely.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes.
Wendy Lyons:
Everything was about them.
Rachel Romero:
And children that weren’t hers.
Wendy Lyons:
Right.
Rachel Romero:
I mean, she fostered-
Wendy Lyons:
Many.
Rachel Romero:
… a bunch of children and adopted two-
Wendy Lyons:
Right.
Rachel Romero:
… that she fostered from birth. Angie just loved life and Davy did too. And it’s a sad story that the two of them didn’t stay together because I remember those days at Long John’s, they were just young and in love. And David would sometimes swing by and see her if he could. And then, planning the wedding and planning the baby shower for the first baby, and then the second baby. And they had their little apartment here in Nicholasville that they had gotten, and then their first little house. And there was just a lot of good memories there, and it just… It’s very tragic, and it makes you realize how fleeting life can be that so young it can just stop.
Rachel Romero:
And you look back and you think, “What a horrible thing.”
Jessica Profitt:
Well, I watched those kids grow together, Angie and my son, David. And I can still hear her laugh.
Wendy Lyons:
Oh, yeah.
Jessica Profitt:
And that brings me a lot of joy, because nobody laughs like she did.
David Lyons:
Absolutely.
Rachel Romero:
It’s funny you say that because I just had made a post on Facebook memorializing her seventh month anniversary of her death. And in one of those pictures, it captures it and she’s laughing so hard, and you can hear that laugh in your mind when you look at that picture.
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah.
Wendy Lyons:
Yeah. It was contagious.
Rachel Romero:
It was-
Wendy Lyons:
I mean-
Rachel Romero:
Yes.
Wendy Lyons:
… You couldn’t help but laugh with her.
Rachel Romero:
It’s like you wanted to make her laugh more.
Wendy Lyons:
Yes. And Rachel, I know you and she… And Jessica, you and she were so close. I mean, you and her were big, big buddies because your sons were born-
Rachel Romero:
Nine months apart. Yes.
Wendy Lyons:
They were close.
Rachel Romero:
Yes. Yeah, yeah. Angie… I love Angie. We had a great relationship, and it sucks that it took my brother getting shot for us to actually come back to each other. But we both had said, “I’m glad that we’re back together.”
Wendy Lyons:
You put the hard feelings behind-
Rachel Romero:
Yes.
Wendy Lyons:
… and you moved on. And then, unfortunately, as we know, that abruptly got ended.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah.
Wendy Lyons:
Soon after you all reconciled.
Rachel Romero:
Yes, yes it did, unfortunately.
Wendy Lyons:
So my hope, and I know what it’s your all’s hope… David, you and I have talked about this, and I’ll say it again. Somebody knows something of who killed David Kelm on April 23rd, 2019. And I just wish somebody would feel it in their heart to tell. And I know people say, “I’m not a snitch. I don’t tell,” but if… Put yourself in this family’s shoes and realize you too would want answers. And it’s only fair that Rachel and Jessica, and the rest of the family get some sort of answer, and somebody needs to pay for what they’ve done.
Rachel Romero:
That’s another thing.
Jessica Profitt:
Absolutely.
Rachel Romero:
He was shot in his home. I mean this wasn’t on the streets or-
Wendy Lyons:
Somebody came in with an intention to kill him.
Rachel Romero:
To kill him, yeah.
Jessica Profitt:
A shoot to kill.
Wendy Lyons:
It wasn’t a drive-by. It wasn’t a mistaken person. It was a very intentional.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes.
David Lyons:
We probably glossed over, but I’ve never heard any risk factors in David’s life that we… In investigations, we assess our victims through risk factors. And it’s not victim blaming, but for us, if I’m managing a case, for example, we look at the victim to see what kind of walk they were walking in their life. Not to label them, but that usually is where you start to find out where you might have it. And I’ve heard no risk factors. I mean, there’s-
Wendy Lyons:
Yeah.
David Lyons:
… Which again, makes it that much more difficult. But it also, it comes back to what Wendy said, that the solvability still remains there because of the lack of those risk factors.
David Lyons:
So I guess what we’re looking at in this case, and like Wendy just said, is somebody to have a conscience and a heart to come forward with even a small amount of information.
David Lyons:
I can tell you the longer it goes on, and I don’t like to put it in the context of going long, the likelihood increases that other people know something because people talk. It’s very rare that somebody holds any of this silent. And what I’m getting at with that is for both of you, from my experience, is that even though it’s taking time, time isn’t always a true enemy. And there are opportunities that can develop. And I don’t know if that helps, but-
Rachel Romero:
It does.
Jessica Profitt:
Yes.
David Lyons:
… because it is true, is that… And I can tell you too, from experience, that I would have a hard time believing that these detectives, one through six, when they walk and they transfer… Or I think it was Detective Cobb retired, and I can tell you personally, you carry these, and they’re thinking about you all the time. I have no doubt.
David Lyons:
I guess my advice is to keep your head up, keep the faith, keep praying for sure, that this is a prayerful event, and try to be patient with the things in front of you. Because I’ve got to imagine that… Yeah, tell me if I’m right or wrong, that every time you pick up the newspaper or again on the news, and you see where somebody in Lexington has been murdered, it feel… Am I right or wrong that it’s like, “My-
Jessica Profitt:
Yeah.
David Lyons:
… God, there goes that time that I need on Davy’s case.” And there’s a truth to that too, but hang in there.
David Lyons:
The one thing that drives those men and women that do that kind of work is you. Is that none of us get into that murder business except for the reason of trying to bring something back to people that are hurting.
Jessica Profitt:
Right.
David Lyons:
So that’s why they’re there.
Rachel Romero:
I guess the hardest thing for us is the communication just… I know it’s not going to be solved overnight, but just a phone call, a return-
David Lyons:
Exactly.
Rachel Romero:
… Or we had one detective that had to leave for military, and a letter would’ve been nice. Something, you know?
David Lyons:
It would. And coming from your position too, I understand that completely. Because on the other side, it’s just a big working thing and, unfortunately, it gets very impersonal. And probably more impersonal than it ever should be, granted.
Rachel Romero:
And it’s so… I can’t imagine what they’re dealing with on a daily, and I know my brother’s case is in there. It’s in there, and we have a detective, but my mom and I, and our good friend, Leany, we won’t stop. We are constantly trying to get an answer, you know?
David Lyons:
Sure.
Rachel Romero:
Anything we can do to help the case or just get answers. And we also joined a couple groups, Survivors of Gun Violence, Anita Franklin-
David Lyons:
Yes, a beautiful woman.
Rachel Romero:
… in Lexington, started that, and her son Ricardo Franklin has-
Jessica Profitt:
She was the first one to contact us when-
Rachel Romero:
… took over.
Jessica Profitt:
… Davy was murdered.
Rachel Romero:
Yeah, she was the first to contact us. So, that is an amazing group. All those girls.
David Lyons:
Just a sidebar for the listeners is eventually I’d love to have Ricardo come and talk about his mother and his brother.
Rachel Romero:
Yes.
David Lyons:
And how Anita… I don’t want to go too far because, but I’ll just tell the listeners that we’ll do that one day or we’ll try to do that because she was a beautiful woman. And-
Jessica Profitt:
Yes, she was.
David Lyons:
… the tragedy she suffered and how she tried to turn it into something, and did turn it into something.
Rachel Romero:
We all share that same pain.
David Lyons:
Sure.
Rachel Romero:
And I love those girls. I’m glad to be a part of that group.
Jessica Profitt:
And Sheriff Witt.
Rachel Romero:
And Kathy Witt.
Jessica Profitt:
… were so-
David Lyons:
For sure.
Wendy Lyons:
Yes.
David Lyons:
Yeah, we have a wonderful sheriff here.
Jessica Profitt:
But my friend, and Davy’s second mother, Leany, her and I, we’ve had many meetings with different detectives. My friend Leany, which we’re trying to get her to talk.
Rachel Romero:
Mom!
David Lyons:
Leany is here in the studio.
Jessica Profitt:
Right. I would like her to be a part of this. And we worked on a notebook, The Notebook, and had a meeting. We worked on it seven hours one night.
Wendy Lyons:
Leany, we’ve had you in here in the studio with us during this podcast recording, and you’ve been over there so quietly observing, and we’re glad to have you join in. Why don’t you tell our listeners a little bit about us and your relationship with Jessica and Rachel and Davy, and share how this has affected you, and as well as Davy’s family?
Leany:
Hey, I’m Leany, and my son was friends with Jessica’s youngest son. And they started being friends at daycare when they were four. They’re 41 now. My son grew up with Jessica’s kids, with Davy and Rachel and Michael. We were there all the time, so we saw Davy and Angie start dating, Davy and Angie fall in love, Davy and Angie get married, have their two sons. So we’ve been through this. So we’ve been through this since 1986 together. I’ve seen a lot, done a lot. Davy was like a son to me. I sold him his first car, and let him make payments when he was working at Kroger’s.
Leany:
This has taken a toll on us too because we loved Davy and we loved Angie. Together, we all came up with, let’s put all the facts together, and a get a notebook together, and put what we know together, and for us to keep and refer to. But let’s also give a notebook to the police department so they don’t have to ask questions, and they’ve got this information in front of them. If they need to look or refer to anything, they can refer to it, and it’s there in black and white, and information. And so, we’ve worked long and hard on that. And it’s what? About 60 pages?
Jessica Profitt:
Exactly.
Leany:
It’s a lot.
David Lyons:
Was it also cathartic to write all that down? Do you think it helped metabolize what’s going on by actually putting it on paper and organizing it? Did it give you a sense of control of where-
Leany:
Some.
David Lyons:
… this was going?
Jessica Profitt:
Yes, it did because we didn’t put anything in there that wasn’t true.
David Lyons:
Sure, sure.
Jessica Profitt:
From day one, I owe Leany because she’s… And her son, which was Michael’s, my youngest son’s, friend to her son, Ryan, helped us on the notebook too.
David Lyons:
I would have to think that it would probably at least get that feeling of getting that on paper, and seeing it in front of you for you too, just to [inaudible 00:29:22].
Leany:
It did. It did. And it helped when things weren’t clear, and you’d think what happened, you could refer to the notebook.
David Lyons:
Sure, sure. Yeah. So the detectives have that? I know that if I was a detective I would be grateful for that. If I was on-
Leany:
They have a copy of it. Yes, they do.
David Lyons:
… I would be grateful because that would be a place to… For all those thoughts are put together. So I’ve often wondered what happened to Angie’s little notebook that night. She had a spiral-bound notebook up in the kitchen, and we’d rip-
Leany:
Oh.
David Lyons:
… her for two or three hours with her with that.
Leany:
Yes.
David Lyons:
So, yeah.
Leany:
Yeah, she’s been our rock. We started off as a group, family group, and it just kind of grew apart. The three of us are still fighting for justice.
David Lyons:
We’ll help you fight.
Leany:
Thank you.
David Lyons:
We’ll that [inaudible 00:30:11]-
Rachel Romero:
Thank you.
David Lyons:
… as much as we can.
Leany:
That’s encouraging.
David Lyons:
Yeah. And again, don’t forget to pray.
Leany:
Oh, I pray.
David Lyons:
That’s big. That’s big.
Leany:
We pray all the time.
David Lyons:
That’s a huge thing, it is.
Jessica Profitt:
We do.
Rachel Romero:
We were so proud of our notebook because we even put it in plastic sheet protectors.
David Lyons:
Oh, sure.
Leany:
It was very professional.
David Lyons:
Yeah. I’ll have to take a peek one day, if you get a chance.
Jessica Profitt:
Oh, yes.
Leany:
We’ve all got a copy.
David Lyons:
I’d love to look through it.
Wendy Lyons:
We also had in here with us, Rachel’s youngest son, Landon. Landon, I understand you have something that you would like to share.
Landon:
I just want to say that he was a really good uncle, and he was just cool. And one of my favorite memories, it was whenever we were at our other house, and he would mow the lawn for us, and give me five bucks. And I’d go, every time the ice cream truck goes by, I would spend it on ice cream. He’d like, “Give me an ice cream,” and all this. And then, so I’d give him an ice cream. He was like, we would get him some ice-cold water and popsicles. And-
Wendy Lyons:
Landon, didn’t Dave, your uncle Davy, didn’t he give you some special card collection and something else?
Landon:
Oh, yeah.
Wendy Lyons:
Figures?
Landon:
He gave me these. He gave me some of these UPS trucks and cars. It was an airplane, and the semis, and… Yeah, a Jeep and…
Wendy Lyons:
The cards, were they Pokemon?
Landon:
Oh, yeah. He gave me a lot of Pokemon stuff because-
Jessica Profitt:
And figures.
Landon:
… Yeah. Because his… This one likes Pokemon.
Jessica Profitt:
And he outgrew them.
David Lyons:
And how old are you, Landon?
Landon:
I’m 11.
David Lyons:
Okay. Good deal. Well, thanks for saying those kind of things about Davy, because that’s what we’re doing here today too, is not just talking about the case but about, again, leaving people with an impression of who Davy was. And that’s very special.
Landon:
Oh, yeah. And we hope to get justice for him.
Wendy Lyons:
In closing, again first, I want to thank you all for coming out and sharing David’s story with us and our listeners. I guess I’m just going to go ahead and reiterate. Please, if you know anything of the murder of David Kelm on April 23rd, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky, even if it is a small minute detail, something you may have heard, something you may have seen, share that with police for this family.
Wendy Lyons:
Rachel, Jessica, Leany, and Landon, thank you all for coming out, sharing the story.
Jessica Profitt:
Thank you for having us, and you’ll never know how much it means to us. And I love you both, and the critters.
Wendy Lyons:
And the critters.
Rachel Romero:
Yes. Thank you, Wendy and David. This is real special. We appreciate it a lot, me, my family, and everybody here. And yes, they love all the critters too.
David Lyons:
I’m grateful that you all came and shared, and thank you for sharing the difficult parts too. We have to keep him alive out in the world. Davy-
Rachel Romero:
Right.
David Lyons:
… Davy has to live on. He deserves that, and you deserve that.
Rachel Romero:
Thank you.
David Lyons:
So thank you for making that possible.
Rachel Romero:
I hope you one listener somewhere will know something to help.
David Lyons:
That’s what this is about.
Rachel Romero:
Yes.
Jessica Profitt:
Thank you.
David Lyons:
Thank you all.
Jessica Profitt:
Thank you all.
David Lyons:
The Murder Police Podcast is hosted by Wendy and David Lyons, and was created to honor the lives of crime victims so their names are never forgotten. It is produced, recorded, and edited by David Lyons.
David Lyons:
The Murder Police podcast can be found on your favorite Apple or Android podcast platform, as well as at murderpolicepodcast.com, where you’ll find show notes, transcripts, information about our presenters, and a link to the official Murder Police Podcast Merch Store, where you can purchase a huge variety of Murder Police Podcast swag.
David Lyons:
We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, which is closed captioned for those that are hearing impaired. Just search for the Murder Police Podcast and you will find us.
David Lyons:
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David Lyons:
Lock it down, Judy.
