Cold case solved 21 years after hospital worker raped and murdered

The cold case rape and murder of a young mother has been cracked 21 years after her body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a stairwell.

Jennifer Watkins was reported missing on November 6 in 1999 when she did not pick up her children after her shift at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs.

Hairs, fibres and semen were found on the plastic used to wrap her body in, which has now been linked to hospital maintenance worker Ricky Severt.

Severt died in a car accident in 2001.

He had denied ever seeing Ms Watkins on the day her of disappearance but DNA from his surviving family members has satisfied investigators that he was the killer.

"After all these years, we are grateful to finally give Jennifer Watkins' family the answers they deserve," CSPD Chief Vince Niski said in a statement.

"I am proud of all the Cold Case detectives throughout the last 21 years who have never stopped working for Ms. Watkins. Not for one moment did they ever lose sight of what was most important: Finding the truth for the Watkins' family."