Cindy Heller

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Fort Worth Police Department (TX)

Offense Location:

Fort Worth, Texas

Summary:

Cindy Heller, 23, vanished after helping a stranger in Fort Worth on Oct. 22, 1984. Her car was later found burned and bloodstained. Nearly three months later, her body was discovered in a creek near TCU. She had been strangled. A fashion merchandising graduate with a promising future, Cindy was one of several young women tied to modeling who disappeared under suspiciously similar circumstances in the area.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On the night of October 22, 1984, Cindy left a jazz dance class and stopped to help a stranded motorist, Kazumi Gillespie, whose car had broken down at a traffic light in southwest Fort Worth. The two spent nearly two hours at a nearby Bennigan’s while Kazumi tried unsuccessfully to reach friends. Around 11:20 p.m., Cindy left to deliver a note to Kazumi’s friends at a nearby apartment—she never returned. Her car was found the next morning in an apartment complex parking lot with blood on the handle and a scorched interior (set on fire). On January 5, 1985, Cindy’s decomposed body was discovered in a creekbed on the TCU campus. She had been strangled.

Additional Details:

Cindy was a recent graduate of Texas Christian University with a degree in fashion merchandising. Though she initially claimed no interest in modeling, she had planned to walk in a fashion show at the Dallas Apparel Mart just four days after her disappearance. Two weeks before her death, she contacted a former sorority sister to help arrange an interview with a Dallas modeling agency. Cindy’s case may be connected to a disturbing pattern of unsolved disappearances and murders of young women in southwest Fort Worth between 1983 and 1985. At least five of the women—including Cindy—had links to fashion, modeling, or shared social circles. Catherine Davis, Angela Ewert, Lisa Griffin, and Mary Till also went missing or were found murdered. Some of the victims knew one another. Griffin had been introduced to Cindy by her boyfriend, and she previously worked with Davis at a local pizza restaurant that Cindy frequented. Despite intensive investigations involving the FBI, psychics, and a dedicated 40-member task force, no arrests have ever been made. Cindy’s parents offered a $150,000 reward in 1985, and community groups raised the total pool to over $200,000, yet no credible leads ever emerged.

Case Last Updated:

May 15, 2026