More than 25 years later, the West Liberty community is finally getting the answers they’ve been searching for. 

Muscatine County Deputies got the break they’ve waited a long time for when they made an arrest in a 1992 murder case. 

55-year-old Annette Cahill of Tipton, Iowa was arrested at her home on Thursday without incident. Cahill has been charged with the murder of 22-year-old Corey Wieneke of West Liberty. 

Cahill made her first court appearance Friday morning by closed circuit video. 

Investigators say they received a new tip that set this case back into motion over the last six months, but would not give any more details on the investigation at this time. 

However, authorities says they’ve never stopped trying to find Wieneke’s killer, and say they’re “relieved” to mark this case from open to closed. 

Muscatine County Sheriff, C.J. Ryan, was one of the officers who has been assigned to this case since day one. 

Before his death, Corey Wieneke was a bartender at a local tavern called Wink’s with his uncle, Ken Wieneke. Ken says while they’ve never stopped looking for answers, there were times where they wondered if it would be ever solved. 

“I mean, you kind of give up hope because that’s another lifetime almost,” said Ken.

Ken says he misses having his nephew by his side.   

“He was a go-getter you know?” said Ken. “He liked people, people liked partying with him and that’s what they’ll remember about him you know?” 

Wieneke was coming back from Iowa City around 7a.m. the morning of his murder. Investigators say they believe Wieneke knew his killer, and the incident was the result of a “heated argument” between the two over Wieneke’s involvement with another woman. 

Ken says it’s hard to imagine how different things could’ve been. 

“Maybe he’d be running this place, not me now,” said Ken. “I don’t know, that’s never going to be something to happen.” 

Back then, the bar was known as Wink’s Tap, and has since been renamed to Wink’s Bar and Grill. But despite a different name, the inside remains the same, with pictures of Corey Wieneke hanging on the wall. 

“He got to be a young gentleman and next thing you know they take you away from him,” said Ken.

Everything changed for the community on that dreadful Tuesday morning in October when the 22-year-old’s life was tragically cut short. 

“You want to throw up, you know? You don’t think anything like that can ever happen to your family.” 

For Ken, it’s been years of rumors and unanswered questions. 

“Well we heard this, we heard that, and I look at them…just look at them and shake my head like well if you know more than I do, good,” said Ken. “I mean, I don’t know.” 

While he may be able to fill in the blanks now, it doesn’t bring back his nephew. Ken says it’s especially hard knowing Wieneke’s parents lost their only child. 

“They took it away…how do you tell them you’re sorry? Sorry doesn’t cover that.” 

But he hopes now, his family can finally lay the last 25 years to rest. 

“I’ve been asked a million times, who did it? Who did it? I don’t know. So maybe I do know now, I don’t know. we’ll see.”

Cahill is being held at the Muscatine County Jail. Her bond was been set at $1 million. If convicted, she would be facing life in prison without parole.