TRUE CRIME REPORT

The Murder of Shanda Sharer

Shanda Renee Sharer was a 12 year old girl who was viscously murdered by a group of other teenage girls. The brutality of Shanda’s murder and the ages of the murderers caused this case to gain much media attention.

Shanda Sharer was born on June 6, 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky to her parents Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. Shanda’s parents divorced when she was young and her mother remarried and their family moved to Louisville. Shanda, her mother Jacqueline, and her sister Paige eventually moved and settled in New Albany, Indiana, where Shanda was enrolled at Hazelwood Middle School and eventually transferred to the Catholic school Our Lady of Perpetual Help School. Shanda was known for being athletic and playing a variety of sports, such as basketball, cheerleading, softball, and volleyball.

Shanda Sharer met a girl by the name of Amanda Heavrin at Hazelwood Junior High School after the two of them got into a fight. They eventually worked out their differences and became friends. This friendship grew and the two girls eventually began to exchange romantic love letters to each other and started a relationship.

Amanda Heavrin’s ex girlfriend, Melinda Loveless, became jealous of the relationship between Amanda and Shanda. Melinda Loveless was born on October 28, 1975 in New Albany, Indiana. With a father who became emotionally scarred after fighting in the Vietnam War and a mother who was abused and suicidal, Melinda and her sisters grew up in a neglectful and abusive household. After her parents finally divorced in November 1990, Melinda ended all contact with her father. These events led to Melinda developing depression and getting into fights at school.

14 year old Melinda began dating Amanda Heavrin in 1990, but the relationship began to fall apart and the two split after about a year. In October 1991, Amanda and Shanda attended a school dance together, where they were confronted by a jealous Melinda. Later that October, Amanda and Shanda went to a festival together. At this, Melinda began planning to murder Shanda and even went as far as to threaten to kill Shanda in public. After becoming concerned and disapproving of Shanda and Amanda’s relationship, Shanda’s parents decided to transfer her to the Catholic school in November 1991. Despite this, Amanda would constantly try to talk to Shanda, sending her letters and calling her. Amanda later stated that she informed a youth prosecutor of the threats that Melinda was making toward Shanda, but nothing was done about it.

On the night of January 10, 1992, Melinda, who was 16 at the time, and her 3 friends, 15 year old Toni Laurence, 15 year old Hope Rippey, and 17 year old Laurie Tackett met up at her house. Melinda and Laurie were both friends and Toni and Hope were friends of Laurie who had not previously met Melinda, and all had gone through some traumatic events including parental divorces and sexual abuse. The girls rode together in Laurie’s car to Melinda’s house where she showed them the knife she was going to use to scare Shanda. Melinda explained to the girls that she did not like Shanda because she was a “copycat” and had stolen her girlfriend and then she explained their plan to scare her.

Later that night, the girls drove to Shanda’s house where Melinda told Hope and Toni to go and introduce themselves to Shanda as Amanda’s friend and then invited her to go with them to see Amanda who was supposedly waiting for them at an area known as “the Witch’s Castle” which overlooked the Ohio River. Shanda told them she was not allowed to go out, to which the girls told her that they would come back around midnight and wait for her to sneak out. The girls left for a while and then began heading back to Shanda’s home around midnight. On the way back, Melinda stated that she could not wait to kill Shanda. When the girls arrived back at Shanda’s house around 12:30 A.M., Melinda hid under a blanket in the back seat with her knife while Hope and Toni went to go get Shanda.

Though Shanda was reluctant to go along with them, she eventually agreed to go along with them. On the way to “the Witch’s Castle”, Hope asked Shanda questions about her relationship with Amanda. While asking, Melinda, jumped out from the back seat and held the knife to Shanda’s throat and began asking her about the sexual relationship between her and Amanda. When the girls arrived at the Witch’c Castle, the girls took Shanda inside and tied up her arms and legs with rope. The girls then taunted Shanda, stealing her Mickey Mouse watch from her and dancing around to the tune it played as well as threatening to cut off her hair and telling her that she would be the next remains to be left at the Witch’s Castle. The girls thought of taunting Shanda with fire, but feared that it would draw attention from cars passing by, so they chose to leave with Shanda. Shanda begged the girls to take her back home, but they refused. During this next car ride, Melinda ordered Shanda to remove her bra and then trade it with Hope’s.

After a while, the girls got lost and stopped at a gas station, hiding Shanda under a blanket. The girls then asked for directions and then phoned a friend in Louisville to calm them down, but did not mention the abduction. The girls later arrived at the woods near Laurie’s home where they began to torture Shanda.

WARNING Graphic Detail Below

Hope and Toni became afraid and decided to wait in the car while Melinda and Laurie carried out torturing Shanda. First the two girls made Shanda strip naked, and then Melinda began to brutally beat Shanda. She slammed Shanda’s mouth into her knees over and over, causing Shanda mouth to cut because of her braces. Melinda then tried to slit Shanda’s throat with the knife she had, but the knife was too dull. Hope then exited the car and held Shanda down while Melinda and Laurie took turns stabbing her. They then strangled Shanda with a rope until she was unconscious.

After the torture, the girls placed Shanda in the trunk of the car, thinking she was dead. They then went to Laurie’s home to clean up. While cleaning themselves up, the girls heard Shanda screaming in the trunk, to which Laurie went out and stabbed her a few more times with a knife. Melinda and Laurie then left around 2:30 A.M. January 11. While driving, they heard Shanda crying and making gurgling noises. They pulled over and opened the trunk and Shanda sat up, covered in blood with her eyes rolled to the back of her head, unable to speak. Laurie then beat her with a tire iron and told Melinda to “smell it”. They then drove back to where the other girls were and told them about the torture. Laurie’s mother was awoken by this conversation, to which she scolded Laurie for being out late and having friends over. Laurie then told her mother she would take the girls home and they all left. When they went out and opened the trunk again, Hope sprayed Shanda’s open wounds with Windex while saying, “You’re not looking so hot now, are you?”.

The girls then left with Shanda still in the trunk and drove to a nearby gas station where they filled an empty 2-liter soda bottle with gasoline. They then drove to a location that Hope knew of off U.S. Route 421. Toni stayed in the car while the other 3 girls got out and removed Shanda, who was still alive, and wrapped her in a blanket. They carried Shanda to an open field, where Laurie ordered Hope to pour some of the gasoline on Shanda, which she did. Melinda then took a match and set 12 year old Shanda on fire. The girls quickly left, but Melinda worried that the fire would go out, so they went back. Melinda then poured the rest of the bottle of gasoline on Shanda.

At around 9:30 A.M., the 4 girls went to McDonalds for breakfast, where they joked about how the sausages they were eating looked like Shanda’s body. Melinda and Laurie then dropped Hope and Toni off at their homes, where they told other friends about the murder. Melinda then called and told Amanda about the murder and planned to meet up with her to prove it. Melinda along with Laurie and another friend, Crystal Wathen, who they had told about the murder to go and pick Amanda up. At first, both Crystal and Amanda did not believe what they were told, until Melinda showed them the trunk and Shanda’s clothes that were covered in Shanda’s blood. Horrified Amanda ordered to be taken home, but before departing, she told Melinda she loved her and promised that she wouldn’t tell anyone what happened.

Memorial left in the area where Shanda was found

Later that morning, 2 brothers who were going hunting came across the body on the side of the road. Police were called at around 10:55 A.M. At first, investigators thought that this was a drug deal gone wrong and was committed by locals. That same day, Shanda’s father who she was staying with at the time of her abduction, noticed she was missing. At about 1:45 P.M. they went to the Clark County Sheriffs Department to report their daughter missing. At about 8:30 that night, Toni and Hope went to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department with their parents, telling a hysterical story of something that happened to their victim Shanda and saying that 2 other girls were also involved. The Sheriff then contacted the department in Clark County, which they were able to get a match on a missing person’s report.

Dental records were obtained and used to identify the body that had earlier been discovered, which was positively identified as Shanda. Toni and Hope were placed under arrest and on January 12, 1992, Melinda and Laurie were also arrested for the murder of Shanda. The girls were all charged as adults for their actions, but they avoided the death penalty by taking a plea bargain.

The girls’ mugshots, (top left) Melinda Loveless, (top right) Laurie Tackett, (bottom left) Toni Lawrence, and (bottom right) Hope Rippey

During the trial, the troubled backgrounds of the 4 girls were used in their defense. With the combination of suffering from abuse and mental disorders, the girls were treated with leniency. Oddly, they didn’t seem to take into account how much pain they were putting Shanda and her family through whilst carrying out their brutal crimes. What they went through didn’t seem to matter to them when they were doing the same things and worse to little Shanda.

After almost a year long trial, Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, and Hope Rippey were sentenced to 60 years in prison. Toni Lawrence was sentenced to 20 years. However, none of them carried out their full sentence. Toni was released on parole on December 14, 2000. After serving 14 of her 60 year sentence, Hope was released on parole on April 28, 2006. Laurie was then released on parole on January 11, 2018, 26 years after Shanda’s murder. During her prison sentence, Melinda began training dogs, and Shanda’s mother even donated a dog to her by the name of Shanda in a way to honor her daughter. Melinda Loveless was eventually released on parole on September 5, 2019.

Feeling destroyed after his daughter’s brutal murder, Shanda’s father Stephen Sharer later passed away in 2005 of alcoholism, Jacque stating that he, “died from a broken heart.” In 2011, Shanda’s mother Jacque and sister Paige went on Dr.Phil, where they talked about what happened to Shanda, as well as confronting 1 of Shanda’s murderers, Hope Rippey, during the interview.

Though the girls have all been released and claimed to have changed, that still does not change the horrible crime they committed and it never will change because Shanda cannot come back. They can use the defense that they had tough upbringings, but they still knew better and were fully aware of what they were doing. There are plenty of people who have had terrible upbringings like the girls, but they didn’t let this guide them down a path of destruction. Shanda’s mother Jacque told Hope during their Dr.Phil confrontation that to make it up to Shanda and her family she could’ve, “…stayed in prison and served out [her] sentence.” That was the last thing all 4 girls could’ve done for Shanda’s family because nothing else can even come close to fixing what happened, not even a prison sentence.

It is so horrifying to think of what Shanda went through in those hours. Any of those girls could have done something to stop what was happening, but they chose to hurt an innocent child. Shanda was a sweet and outgoing young girl and that should remain her legacy.

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Shanda_Sharer#Aftermath

The Disappearance and Murder of Alexis Murphy

Alexis Tiara Murphy was a 17 year old girl who went missing from Nelson County, Virginia on August 3, 2013. Her killer was found guilty back in 2014, but Alexis’s remains were not discovered until December 2020.

Alexis Murphy was born on June 5, 1996 in Nelson County, Virginia. Those around Alexis described her as a beautiful and vibrant young woman. In an interview, her mother Laura Murphy stated, “She could make you smile…I miss her so much.” Alexis was also well known for her social media presence, especially on the app Vine which she loved to make videos with.

On August 3, 2013, Alexis left the home where she lived with her mother and grandmother to run some errands before taking her high school senior pictures. Before leaving for work, Alexis’s mother recalls seeing her one last time as she gave her money for her hair, saying that Alexis was happy and laughing.

After she left her home, Alexis headed to Lynchburg, Virginia to complete her errands. She was last seen at a Liberty gas station in Lovingston, Virginia, a local spot known for teens hanging out.

It was discovered by Alexis’s grandmother the next day that Alexis had not made it home before her curfew. At this, her parents filed a missing persons report. Alexis’s many friends and followers on social media were a huge help in spreading awareness to help find her, using the hashtag #FindAlexisMurphy. A search for Alexis was conducted by the Virginia state police and the FBI.

On August 6, 2013, Alexis’s car was found abandoned in a theater parking lot in Albemarle County, Virginia. Nearby surveillance footage caught Alexis’s car pulling into this parking lot the day after she went missing at around 10:30 P.M., but investigators could not tell who was behind the wheel from the footage. Investigators then went back to check surveillance footage from the gas station that Alexis was last seen at, getting a new lead on Alexis’s whereabouts.

A screenshot from the gas station footage of Alexis

In the gas station footage, Alexis is seen entering the gas station by herself, but on her way out, a man with a large duck tattoo on his neck holding the door open for Alexis. The man’s unique looking car, a camouflage Suburban, was also caught on the gas station’s surveillance footage. Finally, the footage shows this Suburban leaving the gas station and Alexis’s car following right behind it.

The FBI later found Alexis’s cell phone on an abandoned property, which was about a mile away from where she was last seen. The same camouflage Suburban was found parked at this location. The man staying on this property was Randy Taylor. He was the same man on the gas station surveillance footage as he had the identifying duck tattoo. Staff at the gas station recall seeing Randy come there often, stating that he would park some distance from the store and just watch people go in and out, making them feel uncomfortable. On August 10, 2013, Randy Taylor was arrested in connection to Alexis’s disappearance.

While being investigated, Randy made it adamant that he had not done anything to Alexis nor did he know where she was. However, while searching Randy’s trailer, investigators made several discoveries tying him to Alexis. Immediately upon searching, investigators discovered a diamond earring stud in the carpet, along with a strand of black hair on one of Randy’s pillows and a fingernail. These items were tested for DNA, which later confirmed they belonged to Alexis. Randy tried to protect himself by claiming that Alexis did come over to his trailer, but she was with another man, Damien Brown, who she later left with too. Damien had his own criminal record and crimes that he was being investigated for, which also included the disappearances of other young girls in the area. Though Damien stated he knew of Alexis, he claimed that he was never with Alexis and he had a solid alibi. He also stated that he didn’t even know who Randy Taylor was.

(Left to Right) photos of Randy Taylor, Alexis Murphy, and Damien Brown

After the police notified Alexis’s family that they had made an arrest, the family was asked about what they knew of Randy Taylor. Although his name was not familiar, Alexis’s mother Laura realized that Taylor was the same man who had sold a car to her from a used car lot he’d previously worked at.

It was also discovered that just 45 minutes before he was seen at the gas station with Alexis, Randy had purchased 2 pornographic videos, making the investigators feel that there was some sexual motivation behind Randy’s involvement with Alexis’s disappearance. After getting a search warrant, investigators looked through Randy’s trailer again, where they discovered a bloodied T-shirt balled up with a hair extension and 2 false eyelashes under his couch. These items were tested, to which they matched Alexis’s DNA. In Randy’s trailer, investigators also found a book with pornographic photos replaced with the face of the daughter of one of his coworkers.

On September 24, 2013, Randy Taylor was indicted on two felony charges. Then on January 2014, he was indicted again on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder and abduction with intent to defile.

Randy Taylor’s trial began on May 1, 2014. Taylor pleaded not guilty to his charges, making his previous claim that Alexis was with Damien Brown and he didn’t know what happened after she left his trailer. However, all of the circumstantial evidence and evidence found in his home and on his property pointed to him as the suspect. Even though Alexis’s body had not been found yet, Taylor was found guilty and charged for first-degree murder in the commission of an abduction and abduction with intent to defile. Taylor tried to negotiate for a lesser sentence, stating that there was a 3rd person involved and that he would reveal where Alexis was in exchange for a 20 year sentence. This negotiation was declined and Randy Taylor was sentenced to 2 life sentences on July 23, 2014.

On December 3, 2020, remains were found on a private property near Lovingston, Virginia. The remains were tested and were positively identified as those of Alexis Murphy on February 5, 2021. The identification was later announced publicly on February 17, 2021.

Thinking about what Alexis went through in her final moments is so horrific and I only hope that she is at peace now and that her family is finally at peace being able to finally put their daughter to rest. What happened to Alexis was absolutely sickening, but thankfully her killer will never be out to harm anyone again. We will all continue to carry on Alexis’s memory and she will be remembered as the energetic, fun, and beautiful young woman she was.

“Keep hope alive, you’re somebody” -Alexis Murphy

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Alexis_Murphy

https://youtu.be/

Instagram.com/pinkforalexis

The Murder Of Milly Dowler

Milly Dowler was a 13 year old girl from England who was kidnapped and murdered back in March of 2002. Her killer, Levi Bellfield was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crime.

Amanda Jane Dowler, who eventually went by Milly, was born on June 25, 1988 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England to her parents Sally and Bob Dowler. She had an older sister named Gemma, whom she was incredibly close with.

(Left to Right) Milly, Bob, Gemma, and Sally Dowler

On March 21, 2002, at approximately 3:07 P.M. Milly left her school with a friend and stopped at a cafe to eat before she had to return home. It was stated that she called her father at approximately 3:47 P.M. and told him that she’d be home in half an hour, but she never showed up. Milly was last seen by one of her sister’s friends at around 4:08 P.M. walking along Station Avenue. Camera footage from the area did not show Milly, but a red Daewoo Nexia was seen driving past this area around the same time that Milly disappeared.

After she did not return home by 7:00 P.M., Milly’s parents reported her missing. A nationwide search was executed to find Milly and special detectives were brought in to investigate her disappearance. Milly’s disappearance was broadcasted across the media on shows like Crimewatch UK, and a young musician, Will Young, whose concert Milly previously attended even made a plea across the media to help find Milly.

a shot from a video of Milly Dowler at home

At first it was believed that Milly had run away. It was reported that a “mock leaving-home” letter that belonged to Milly had been found, in which had shown that she was feeling unhappy. On April 23, 2002, a body was discovered in the River Thames, which was then speculated to be Milly. Later investigations revealed that the body actually belonged to a 73 year old woman named Maisie Thomas who had previously went missing in March of 2001. The investigation into Milly’s disappearance continued and a reward of £100,000 was offered for any information that would help find Milly. Milly’s parents continued to send messages to her phone in hopes that she would reply someday. That same month, police informed them that their daughter was more than likely dead. This unfortunately was later confirmed in September of 2002.

On September 18, 2002, mushroom pickers discovered naked human remains in the Yateley Heath Woods near Yateley, Hampshire. Dental records later confirmed that the remains were those of 13 year old Milly Dowler. None of the items that were with Milly at the time of her disappearance were ever recovered. Her cause of death could not be determined because of the severity of the decomposition, and the discovery of her body then led to the case being classified as a homicide investigation. Over 6,000 motorists in the area that Milly’s remains were found were questioned, but there were no leads with this. Milly’s father was even suspected to be involved, but he was proven innocent.

There were many claims made by multiple people regarding Milly’s disappearance and death, which were later proven untrue. A man by the name of Paul Hughes was later suspected after it was discovered that he made several death threats to Milly’s sister Gemma, and he even claimed to have killed Milly, which was found to be a lie. Paul Hughes was later jailed for 5 years for these threats and claims. A woman by the name of Lianne Newman of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire called Milly’s parents’s phone repeatedly pretending to be Milly, which is absolutely sickening. Lianne Newman was later jailed for 5 months because of this. Another man by the name of Gary Farr of Retford, Notting Hampshire repeatedly sent emails to investigators on Milly’s case as well as her family claiming that Milly was smuggled out of the country to work as a prostitute and stripper and that her death was just a coverup. Gary Farr’s allegations were proven to be untrue and he was deemed to be a psychological danger to the public. All of these allegations caused much stress to investigators and Milly’s family, but they did not give up on figuring out what happened to Milly and finding who did this to her.

The red Daewoo that was stated earlier to have been seen on camera in the same area that Milly was last seen was never found, but investigators knew that the car belonged to a woman named Emma Mills. Emma Mills was the girlfriend of a man named Levi Bellfield, who later stated in an interview that he was driving that car the same day the Milly disappeared. On February 25, 2008, investigators confirmed that Levi Bellfield was their prime suspect.

Detectives continued to investigate Levi Bellfield until he was finally charged with Milly’s abduction and murder on March 30, 2010. At this time, Levi was already serving 3 life sentences for murder and attempted murder. His trial for Milly’s murder began on May 10, 2011, in which the jury found him guilty. There were multiple circumstances that linked Bellfield to Milly’s disappearance and murder. Besides the car situation and his other murder convictions, it was also discovered that Bellfield was previously charged for the attempted abduction of an 11 year old girl named Rachel Cowles, whom he offered a ride in the same red Daewoo on March 20, 2002.

Later on January 27, 2016, investigators revealed that Levi Bellfield had admitted to the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Milly Dowler. After the trial was over, Milly’s family spoke out about their treatment during investigators. Milly’s family stated that her portrayal during the trial was not a reflection of the girl that Milly truly was. She was portrayed as a depressed and unhappy girl, when in reality, she was known for being a, “happy, vivacious, fun-loving girl.” Along with the trial and investigation, Milly’s family lost their privacy and people felt open to make statements and assumptions about their family and Milly. Milly’s mother stated, “The lengths the system goes to protect his human rights seems so unfair compared to what we as a family have had to endure.” It’s so saddening to see how Milly’s family was treated after everything they were already going through with the kidnapping and murder of their beloved daughter and sister as well as the harassment that they had to deal with.

Despite what Milly’s family was put through, they did not let anything stop them from carrying on Milly’s legacy. Following her death, Milly’s parents created a charity called Milly’s Fund. This charity is used to “promote public safety, and in particular the safety of the children and young people.” A monument called the Amanda Dowler Memorial Garden was also created at the school Milly attended before her murder. It is very heartbreaking and saddening what happened to Milly and what her family was put through afterwards, but they still managed to turn this into something that could help others. It is fortunate that the person responsible for Milly’s murder was put to justice. She may not be here on this Earth, but Milly’s legacy will continue to live on through her family, memorial, and others who share and know her story.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Milly_Dowler

Catalina de los Ríos y Lísperguer

Catalina de los Ríos y Lísperguer, also known as La Quintrala because of her fiery red hair, is infamous for being one of the earliest known female serial killers. Her crimes spanned between 1622 to her death in 1665. She is said to have killed about 40 people.

Catalina was born in October of 1604 to a wealthy family of landowners in Chile. She was the daughter of the Spanish nobleman Gonzalo de los Ríos y Encío and his wife Catalina Lísperguer y Flores.

Growing up, Catalina was mainly looked after by her father and grandmother. Despite her family’s wealth and social status, Catalina did not receive good education and was semi-illiterate until her death. Catalina was considered a beauty by others; she had a white complexion, a tall stature, fiery red hair, and intense green eyes. She was a mix of Amerindian, Spanish, and German.

The first homicide accusation against Catalina was that she had murdered her own father by poisoning a chicken dinner she had prepared for him. It is believed this happened when she was 18 years old in 1622; her father was ill in bed at the time. Though Catalina was reported to the authorities by her aunt, she was never prosecuted for the murder, either due to the lack of evidence against her or her family’s influence.

After both of her parents died, Catalina’s grandmother Águeda Flores took over as her guardian and began looking for a man to marry. At age 22 in September of 1626 married the 42 year old Spanish colonel Alonso Campofrío de Carvajal y Riberos. According to a historian, Alonso was well aware of Catalina’s cruel ways toward others, but he loved her regardless. A year after their marriage, Catalina gave birth to their first and only son, Gonzalo, who unfortunately passed away between the ages of 8 and 10 years old. Catalina’s sister also died in 1628, which caused Catalina to gain even more land in Chile.

In approximately 1624, Catalina invited a rich “feudatario” to her home, where she later killed him. When she had him in her arms, she killed him with knives and then blamed the crime on one of her slaves. The accused slave was later executed for the crime. She also supposedly beat and stabbed another former lover by the name of Enrique Enríquez de Guzmán to death, with reason that he had been playing with her feelings since he had refused to give her a cross, which is a symbol of his nobility, in exchange for a kiss. Enrique even threatened to brag about their affair publicly as well as taking advantage of “loose” women, referring to Catalina, enraging her even more. It is also rumored that she had cut off the ear of Martín de Ensenada, and she killed a knight of Santiago in front of another man after a romantic date.

Through inheritances, Catalina became a land owner of multiple places in Chile. According to legend, the terrible acts that Catalina committed began to grow even more after her husband’s death. It began when a black slave by the name of Ñatucón-Jetón was killed without any motive or explanation, and La Quintrala left his body unburied for two weeks.

This same year, La Quintrala’s tenants became fed up with her cruelty and rebelled and fled towards mountains and neighboring villages, but she had them brought back by force by royal authority.

Catalina continued to cruelly torture the slaves as well as Indigenous people that lived in the area almost daily. She would beat and whip them brutally, and then she would order their bodies to be washed in water that was usually contaminated with salt, chilis, and even urine. Days later when their wounds began to heal, she would whip them again. This daily torture took the lives of so many people. In 1633, Catalina attempted to kill a cleric from La Ligua named Luis Vasquez after he confronted her about her cruel actions. After reports of Catalina’s actions, she continued to avoid persecution for years because of her money and social status. However, authorities did make her leave her estate, but she still never faced justice.

Catalina died at 61 on January 15, 1665. Despite her actions, Catalina had a lavish funeral in the Church of San Augustin because of the donations she made to the church. Her estates have been left untouched and abandoned because no one wants to be associated to the believed cursed land. She is recognized in Chilean pop culture as “the epitome of the perverse and abusive. woman,” and the oppression many faced under Spanish authority.

Sources: https://youtu.be/kxcB16wmAVc

https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/la-quintrala-0012488

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_de_los_R%C3%ADos_y_Lisperguer

The Unsolved Murder of Alexandra Anaya

Alexandra Anaya was a 13-year old girl from Hammond, Indiana who went missing on August 13, 2005. Part of her remains were found on August 16, 2005, and although there was a suspect in custody, Alexandra’s murder remains unsolved.

Alexandra Anaya was born on November 4, 1992. She lived with her mother, Sandra Anaya and her two younger twin sisters, Romy and Roxy, in Hammond, Indiana. Alexandra’s mother described her as, “a beautiful child, kind and gentle who loved her twin sisters..Alexandra also loved animals and her hope was to be a veterinarian when she grew up.” Alexandra’s hobbies included playing soccer and volleyball and riding horses as well as volunteering at animal shelters, just a few of her many joys in life.

Alexandra and her two sisters, Romy and Roxy

On the morning August 13, 2005, Sandra left her house to run some errands only to come back and discover that Alexandra was not in her bedroom and could not be found in the house. Sandra knew this was out of the ordinary for several reasons; Alexandra didn’t have a history of running away and she was quite content and happy with her life at the moment. Sandra later called the Hammond Indiana Police Department to report her daughter missing.

3 days later, on August 16, 2005, a 14-year old boy was out riding a speedboat on the Calumet River in Chicago, Illinois with his parents when he spotted what he thought was a mannequin. As the family approached, the boy’s parents realized it was not a mannequin but human remains. Authorities were then called in do to an investigation.

WARNING! graphic detail below

Upon investigating, the only part of the remains that were found were the child’s torso; the child’s head, arms, and legs were missing and have never been recovered to this day. The remains had been weighed down with chains and straps, most likely to prevent the discovery. The child’s cause of death could not be determined by autopsy, but the examiners ruled this death as clearly a homicide.

Alexandra’s mother, Sandra, was later called to the police station for more information regarding Alexandra’s disappearance. Sandra began telling investigators that at the time of her disappearance Alexandra had a scar on her chin and she had a sprained ankle, unbeknownst to her that only a torso was found. A DNA test was taken and a few weeks later, the results came in that the remains did belong to Alexandra, to which her mother broke down.

Following the investigation, Alexandra’s former stepdad and the father of her two younger sisters, Rudolfo Herediea, was being charged for stalking the family of Sandra after they had split up. He admitted to stalking and even making a key to enter Sandra’s home, but he was later acquitted of his charges. Rudolfo was a prime suspect in Alexandra’s murder because it was reported that he had been molesting Alexandra for years during the time he and her mother were involved, as well as the fact that he lived about 1.5 blocks from where Alexandra’s remains were found. Sandra ended her long term relationship with Rudolfo in the spring of 2005 upon learning from her daughter what he had done.

It’s been 15 years and there still haven’t been any charges made for Alexandra’s murder. It is believed that Alexandra knew her killer, and Sandra and the investigators believe they know who, but it’s a matter of having enough evidence to charge the killer. Police lieutenant Ron Johnson stated, “I never don’t think about it. It’s always on my mind,” when talking about Alexandra and the investigation. Although he has since retired, Johnson still follows her case.

This case was so heartbreaking to learn and read about. It’s even more heartbreaking knowing the circumstances and knowing that the person who committed such a horrid crime against an innocent and defenseless human hasn’t been brought to justice. Sandra Anaya stated that she hopes the rest of her daughters remains will eventually be found and her killer will pay for what they did. What happened to Alexandra was inhumane and I hope whoever did this is revealed soon; both Alexandra and her family deserve peace and justice.

Sources: http://www.angelizdsplace.com/child123.htm

https://youtu.be/bCi8Nj813qs

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-hammond-anaya-cold-case-st-0208-story.html

The State of Arizona vs. Jodi Ann Arias

Today’s post is about Jodi Arias, who is known for murdering her boyfriend Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008. The two had been dating since September 2006 until Travis’s murder.

Travis Alexander was born in 1977 on July 28 in Riverside, California to Gary David Alexander and Pamela Elizabeth Morgan Alexander. He and his seven siblings moved in with their paternal grandparents when their father died when Travis was about 11 years old. He later grew up to become a salesman and motivational speaker.

Jodi Ann Arias was born in 1980 on July 9 to her parents, William and Sandra Arias, in Salinas, California. She met Travis Alexander at a PPL conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in September of 2006. Jodi eventually converted to a church that Travis was a member of, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was even baptized by Travis on November 26, 2006. The pair eventually began dating in February of 2007. Jodi then moved to Mesa, Arizona to live closer to Travis, but later moved to Yreka, California in April of 2008 to live with her grandparents.

Travis and Jodi dated on and off throughout their whole relationship; their relationship was never really committed, much to Jodi’s dismay. They traveled back and forth to visit each other during their time together. Lots of Travis’s friends observed Jodi when they were together, and they stated that her behavior worried them.

In early 2008, Travis told his friends that Jodi would be joining him on a work trip to Cancún, Mexico on June, 15, 2008, but he later changed his travel companion to another female friend. On May 28, 2008, a burglary at Jodi’s grandparents house and a .25-caliber automatic Colt pistol was missing (and has also never been recovered). A shell from the same pistol was found near Travis’s body.

On June 2, Jodi and Travis apparently called and missed each other’s calls all throughout the night. At around 5:39 a.m., Jodi drove out and purchased gasoline and then arrived in Redding, California at about 8:04 a.m. and rented a car, planning to drive to Utah for a PPL work conference and to meet a coworker. She finally set out to Salt Lake City, Utah, on the evening of June 3, 2008.

On June 4, 2008, Travis Alexander was murdered by his then on-again-off-again girlfriend Jodi. He had about 27 to 29 stab wounds all over his body and a gunshot wound to his head. The medical examiner stated that Travis’s jugular vein, carotid artery, and trachea were slashed and his hands sustained defense wounds, showing he tried to protect himself. The medical examiner also stated that Travis might have been already dead when he was shot it the head.

WARNING ⚠️ graphic crime scene images below

Jodi arrived in Salt Lake City on June 5, 2008. She met up with her coworker, Ryan Burns, and they attended their work meeting. Ryan later stated that he noticed Jodi had dyed her previously blonde hair dark brown and she had multiple cuts on her hands. She later left Salt Lake City and drove west to California. During this, she called Travis and left multiple voicemails for him, while also accessing his voice mail system. Jodi later returned the car in Redding, California on June 7, 2008.

After missing an important conference call on June 4, 2008, a group of friends went to Travis’s home on June 9. They believed he had been out of town, but they were concerned about him. After finding a key to Travis’s master bedroom, they entered the room and found large pools of blood and followed it to the master bathroom, where they found Travis’s body. His friends called 911 and the operator asked if Travis was possibly suicidal or if there was anyone they knew that could possibly want to hurt him, to which they responded that Jodi was possibly a suspect. They stated that prior to his murder, Travis stated that Jodi had been stalking, accessing his Facebook without his consent, and slashing his car’s tires.

While searching Travis’s home, investigators found a camera that had been damaged in the washer machine. Police were able to recover what was on the camera, and found several photos of Jodi and Travis in sexually suggestive positions. They also found a final photograph of Travis taken at 5:29 p.m. while he was taking a shower. There were several photos taken moments later of an individual bleeding on the bathroom floor, whom was obviously Travis.

The very last photo of Travis Alexander moments before his murder

While recovering evidence, a bloody hand print was found along the bathroom hallway, which contained DNA from both Jodi and Travis. On July 9, 2008, Jodi was indicted in Maricopa County, Arizona for first-degree murder. Jodi pleaded not guilty on September 11, 2008. She gave multiple statements about her involvement in Travis’s death. In these statements, Jodi claims that she was not in Mesa on the day of Travis’s murder and had last seen him in March earlier that year. She claimed that intruders probably broke into Travis’s house and killed him. However, two years later, Jodi claimed that she killed Travis in self defense, stating that he was physically abuse toward her.

On May 18, 2009, the court ordered for Jodi to take an IQ and competency test. Years later in January 2011, a defense filing gave details of Jodi’s attorneys trying to gain access to text messages and emails from Travis Alexander. Originally, the prosecution claimed that there were no available text messages or emails, but were later forced to turn over about 8,000 messages to the defense. However, there were no out of the ordinary messages found on Travis’s phone.

Jodi’s trial against the State of Arizona began on December 10, 2012. It received a mass amount of media attention and was seen nationally. During the trail, multiple people testified against Jodi, including her coworker Ryan, Travis’s friends and past partners, and expert witnesses. They claimed that Jodi stalked and days before his murder, Travis called her a sociopath. Travis’s ex partners also testified against Jodi’s abuse claims. Jodi testified as her own defense during the trial. She described her relationship with Travis, and claimed that he was both physically and emotionally abusive toward her. She claimed that she killed him in self defense after Travis became enraged because she dropped his camera. The prosecution testimonies against Jodi rebutted her claims.

In a September 2008 interview with Inside Edition, Jodi stated “No jury is going to convict me….because I am innocent. You can mark my words on that.” Jodi addressed these statements at her trial, stating that at the time of the interview, she had planned to commit suicide. She said, “I was extremely confident that no jury would convict me, because I didn’t expect any of you to be here.” During a cross-examination with the prosecutors, the prosecutors were able to point out several of Jodi’s lies and inconsistencies, and finally she admitted to stabbing and shooting Travis.

Jodi during her Inside Edition interview (link included)

On October 21, 2015, Jodi’s sentencing retrial began. Several pieces of evidence were used to prove that Jodi killed Travis in cold blood and it was not self-defense. Finally on April 13, 2014, Judge Stephens sentenced Jodi to life in prison without the chance of parole. She was ordered to pay more than $32,000 to Travis’s siblings. She is now imprisoned at the Arizona Department of Corrections. Jodi’s trial cost was estimated to be about $3 million.

This is honestly one of the craziest modern murder cases that I’ve known about. Of course it is great that justice has been served for Travis’s brutal murder. If this case interested you, I definitely recommend watching the movie documentary on the case called Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret. It shows the relationship between Jodi and Travis leading up to his murder and Jodi’s trial.

Resources-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Travis_Alexander

Grateful Doe

Grateful Doe was the nickname given to a formally unidentified car accident victim. The victim was identified as Jason Callahan in 2015, 20 years after his death.

Jason Patrick Callahan was born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on April 18, 1976. He was a huge fan of the American rock band The Grateful Dead. At the time of his death, the 19 year old left his home to go follow The Grateful Dead on tour on June 1, 1995. This was the last time his mother remembers seeing him.

On June 26, 1995, Jason was still following the Grateful Dead. He got a ride from another Grateful Dead fan, 21 year old Michael Hager. At about 1:30 P.M., the car that the two young men were riding in crashed into a pair of trees in Emporia, Virginia. It was determined that Michael had possibly fallen asleep behind the wheel since neither of them had drugs or alcohol in their systems at the time of their deaths. Neither of them were wearing their seatbelts, which more than likely contributed to both their deaths. Jason died of blunt force trauma caused by the accident.

With Jason’s body, several items were found. This included two scalped Grateful Dead tickets, which were dated for June 24 and June 25, 1995, a dollar in quarters, and a yellow Bic lighter. A note was also found with Jason, which read “Jason, Sorry we had to go, see ya around, call me #914-XXXX Caroline T. & Caroline O. Bye!!!!”. The phone number could not be traced back to the person who wrote the note and it is unknown who the “Carolines” are.

At the time of his death, Jason was wearing a red, tie-dyed Grateful Dead t-shirt, Levi’s jeans, white socks, and black Fila running shoes. He was estimated to be between 15 and 21 years old. He had brown eyes and long curly brown/dark blonde hair that had been dyed a reddish color. Jason also had a star tattoo on his upper left arm and another on his right arm that was slightly faded. He was also wearing a beaded necklace and his left ear was pierced, but there was no jewelry in it. Examiners noted the Jason also had a scar on his back, was Caucasian, and had no dental work but his teeth were well cared for.

After the deaths, Michael Hager was immediately identified, but authorities could not identify Jason. They tried to identify him through fingerprints, but that was unsuccessful. Michael Hager’s family was interviewed, but they told authorities that they had no idea who the other young man might be.

Facial reconstructions were made for Jason. Due to the severe lacerations on Jason’s face caused by the accident, his autopsy photos could not be released to the public for his identification. Another facial reconstruction was made in 2012 by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and at least 221 missing people were ruled out as the victim. Jason remained unidentified and was eventually given the nickname “Grateful Doe”.

In January 2015 in Queensland, Australia, a Reddit user by the name of Leila Betts came across the case of the Grateful Doe while researching unsolved mysteries. Leila started getting more information about the case and later posted an article to Imager with information about it, such as his cause of death, what he was wearing, the items found on him, as well as the facial reconstructions of Jason. Leila posted this in hopes that someone would recognize Jason, which worked!

Leila got a message on Reddit from a guy named Steve regarding the Grateful Doe case. Steve recognized the facial reconstruction and said it looked like one of his old roommates from Illinois whose name was Jason. He described Jason as a young, free, hippie surfer. Steve said that at the time of his death, Jason was working at a local McDonald’s and enjoyed discussing topics like Atheism and hallucinogens, and he was a huge “Dead Head” (name given to Grateful Dead fans), much like the unidentified Grateful Doe. Steve said he hadn’t seen Jason since 1995 and showed photographs of Jason to Leila, which obviously had a striking resemblance to the Grateful Doe.

comparison of Jason to the Grateful Doe facial reconstruction

Jason’s case began to grow in the mainstream media not long after this. The photos that Steve shared with Leila comparing Jason to the Grateful Doe went viral and was eventually seen on Facebook by a woman named Margaretta Evans. She stated that the young man in the photos was her son, Jason Callahan. In early 2015, a DNA test was conducted to see if Jason really was the Grateful Doe, and it was a match. The spokesperson for the Myrtle Beach police, Lt. Joey Crosby, said that Jason’s mother failed to report him missing due to the nomadic nature of the Grateful Dead fans; “she attempted to report it when he went missing but didn’t know which jurisdiction to report it to.” Jason’s family all assumed that he had just went off to go live on his own elsewhere after not hearing from him.

post by Margaretta Evans, Jason’s mother, on Facebook

Although this case is finally closed and the Grateful Doe is now identified, it still makes me sad how everything played out. Jason went so many years without being identified, something that I’m sure could’ve easily happened at the time had he been correctly reported missing. It’s great that we now have social media to bring attention to cold cases like this, but this case in particular just gives me a melancholy feeling. In the end, Jason Callahan is now identified and that is all that matters.

Resources-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jason_Callahan

The Unsolved Halloween Murder of James Adamski

The murder of James Adamski occurred during the early morning hours of Halloween in 1982. It has been 38 years and his murder still remains unsolved.

In 1982, James Adamski was 18 years old and he lived in Cheektowaga, New York with his mother, father, and younger brother.

On October 30, 1982, James dressed up as Alice Cooper for a Halloween party at the 5&23 Bar about 4 miles from his home. At the time, the legal drinking age was 18 in New York, which allowed James to attend this party. Before he left for the party, James’s younger brother, Andy, remembers James giving him a kiss on his forehead and saying, “Have a good time trick-or-treating, kid.” That was the last time Andy saw his brother.

Many friends of James recall seeing him at the bar. They said that he was heavily intoxicated and at some point he got into an altercation with some other party goers, but it was settled before things got physical. James decided to leave the bar and was last seen walking towards his home around 3:30 a.m. on October 31, 1982.

The next morning, James’s parents discovered that he was not in his room and became worried. His mother knew something was wrong because this was an uncharacteristic behavior of James. He never stayed out all night without letting his parents know first, so they knew something had to be wrong.

James parents reported him missing and extensive searches were made for James for weeks, but there was no luck.

Then on December 26, 1982, two rabbit hunters found James’s body in a shallow grave in a wooded area about 4 miles from where he was last seen. James was still wearing his Halloween costume. It was reported that James was likely beaten to death with some type of blunt instrument and he suffered numerous wounds from blows to his forehead. The medical examiner suspects that the murder weapon was possibly a baseball bat, a 2×4 plank of wood, or a tire iron.

Newspaper article reporting the identification of James’s body

People who knew James and people who attended the Halloween party at the bar were questioned about James’s murder, but it led to no suspects. James didn’t have any known enemies; police also determined that the bar altercation was not related to his murder, so the individuals involved in that were ruled out.

Police believe that James was possibly picked up as he headed home, still very intoxicated, by either a stranger or someone he knew. It is possible that he either willingly got into the vehicle or he was forced to. After getting in, it is believed that James possibly got into an altercation with the driver or multiple passengers, or they already had intentions to harm James. James was then beaten to death and his killer(s) drove his body to where it was found and buried it in a shallow grave.

Flyer for information about James’s murder

James’s brother Andy stated that the murder caused a lot of pain in his family. He says his mother was never the same afterwards, always terrified that the person who killed James would kill Andy too. Both of James parents passed away in the 2000s without ever knowing who killed their son. Police believe that James’s murder will only be solved if someone who knows something about the murder comes forward. However, I believe with the amount of advanced technology in the world, there’s a chance that we could get more information about James’s murder and eventually find out the truth.

Happy Halloween, stay safe!

Resources-

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/unsolved-37-years-later-investigators-still-search-for-clues-in-lancaster-murder/71-ba70ad6f-195d-4bf6-b3bd-e47f3cd94590

The Kidnapping of Sayeh and Sara Rivazfar

Now a New York State Trooper, Officer Sayeh Rivazfar has shared her kidnapping story from 1988 in hopes to help others and bring awareness to the dangers of the people that are around them. Her story continues to encourage those who hear it.

In 1988, 8 year old Sayeh and her 6 year old sister Sara were kidnapped by their mother’s ex boyfriend, Warfield Wike Jr, who also went by the nickname “Ray”. At the time, the two girls were living in Pensacola, Florida, with their mother, Patricia, and little brother, Arash Rivazfar. The children suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of their mother, who was more obsessed with going out, partying, and using drugs/alcohol. Sayeh was often left to look after of her two younger siblings because of their mother’s neglect.

Sayeh’s mother began dating Wike a year earlier in 1987. Sayeh recalls quickly sensing that this man was “weird” as a child for several reasons. First, he preferred the company of children, which is odd since he is a full grown man. Sayeh said that he would also come into the room she shared with her sister as they tried to sleep. Sayeh also stated that a year before the kidnapping, Wike molested her on multiple occasions.

On the night of September 22, 1988, while the girls’ mother was out, Wike used a crowbar and snuck into the family’s apartment. He then proceeded to grab Sayeh as she slept and carry her out to his car. Sayeh says she remembers opening her eyes to see Wike carrying Sara to the car, but she was tired and fell back to sleep. He then drove both girls into the woods.

WARNING ⚠️ graphic detail below

When Wike got the two young girls alone, he took Sayeh out of the car and repeatedly raped her on the trunk as Sara remained in the car. After the rape, Sayeh says that Wike took both her and her sister further into the woods. That is where he told her to “say her prayers” and proceeded to slit her throat, barely missing her jugular vein. Sayeh recalls this moment, saying she looked down and saw blood on her hands, then fell to the ground. In this moment, Sayeh made the smart decision to play dead, as Wike began attacking Sara.

Sayeh says she remembers laying on the ground and hearing her sister screaming and crying and feeling the ground moving from her kicking and struggling, until she didn’t feel any movements anymore.

After attacking the young girls, Wike walked over Sayeh’s body, thinking she was dead, and left. Once he was away, Sayeh ran to help her sister, but came to realize there was nothing she could do. So 8 year old Sayeh began walking down the road on her own, trying to find help.

A mugshot of Ray Wike and a photograph of Sara Rivazfar

The following morning, an older couple were driving down the road when they spotted the 8 year old flagging them down, waving one hand in the air and using the other to hold her throat where she had been cut. They quickly grabbed Sayeh and called 911 for help, rushing to the nearest hospital. At the hospital, detectives asked Sayeh what happened and she explained that she and her sister were attacked by a man named Ray and that her sister was killed. It was also determined that Sayeh had suffered a cut throat (obviously) and two lacerations to her vagina, consistent with forced penetration.

Police later found Sara’s body about 75 feet from the dirt road where Sayeh was picked up. When her body was found, Sara’s hands were tied behind her back and her throat was severely cut. Evidence was found all around the crime scene, which include pieces of a shirt, tire tracks, footprints, and blood stains.

After Sayeh’s statement and talking to the girls’ mother, officers determined that Ray Wike was the suspect and immediately went to his residence. An officer had a dispatcher call Ray’s house when he initially didn’t come outside. The dispatcher then told Ray to go outside and he was arrested on the spot. A warrant was issued and officers searched Ray’s house and car, finding several pieces of evidence from each.

Sayeh Rivazfar talking about she and her sister’s kidnapping

Ray Wike was then indicted for murder, attempted murder, sexual battery, and kidnapping. In court, Sayeh testified against Wike, showing her strength at such a young age. Wike was his own defense in court and testified that someone else possibly used the car because he had been drinking and smoking weed that night, which was obviously a lie. Wike was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to death. He later died in prison before he could be executed in 2004 due to cancer. Sayeh and her brother Arash were also removed from their mother’s custody and sent to live in New York with their father.

It is unbearable to think of what Sayeh and Sara went through. We can only imagine what Sayeh must’ve felt in those moments that she was attacked and having to helplessly hear her sister being attacked as well. Sayeh’s strength and courage to not let that incident control how her life turned out has helped her make it to where she is. She is now a New York State Trooper, has a family of her own, and continues to share her survival story to help others. Sayeh has stated that much of her strength comes from her father, Ahmad Rivazfar; she believes that his Iranian heritage is what caused the courts to initially award custody of she and her siblings to her mother when her father was the more obvious fit parent. Sayeh states that she “was not a victim,” she was “a fighter”. Sayeh’s story is one that can encourage people to never give up and always fight for your life, no matter how big or small you are.

Sayeh, her father Ahmad, and a picture of Sara

Resources-

https://www.statetroopers.org/blog/181-a-survivor-and-a-fighter-state-trooper-sayeh-rivazfar-shares-her-story-of-overcoming-horror-to-reach-her-goals

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Twenty+years+since+Sara+Rivazfar+raped+%26+killed.-a0188214018

The Murder of Michelle Busha

Michelle Busha was a formerly unidentified homicide victim committed by a former Minnesota State Trooper in 1980. Her murder was solved in 1989, but she was not identified until 2015. She was formerly known as Blue Earth Jane Doe.

Michelle Yvette Busha was born on November 2, 1961. Before her death, Michelle was 18 living in Bay City, Texas, with her mother, stepfather, and sister. Michelle’s mother and stepfather were Jehovah’s Witnesses and homeschooled both Michelle and her sister. Because the sisters were so isolated, Michelle grew a rebellious soul.

Michelle first ran away when she was 17. The police found her over 1,000 miles away in the town of Burlington, Colorado. They then contacted her father and brought her back to her home in Bay City.

Michelle then left home again at 18 after an argument with her father. Her father, Don Busha, admitted to slapping Michelle during the altercation, which prompted her to leave. She was last seen traveling to Louisiana in December 1979. She contacted relatives while in Mississippi and Indiana between January and May of 1980, until the calls suddenly stopped. Her family then reported her missing on May 9, 1980. Michelle’s father never changed his phone number or address in hopes that she would get in contact or return to them someday.

WARNING ⚠️ graphic detail below

Michelle was found hitchhiking by Minnesota State Trooper Robert Leroy Nelson on May 26, 1980. While on duty, Nelson offered Michelle a ride. After getting in the car with the state trooper, Michelle was raped, beaten, tortured, and strangled with a ligature. Nelson removed Michelle’s fingernails while she was still alive and shaved almost all of her hair except for a small spot in the back. After murdering Michelle, Nelson removed her clothing and personal items. He then dumped her body in a ditch along Interstate 90.

Michelle’s nude decomposed body was found in Blue Earth, Minnesota about three days to a week after her death. Her body had been washed into visible view among broken corn plants by heavy rains, which led to her discovery by a farmer.

At the time of her discovery, Michelle was estimated to have been between the ages of 20 and 35. She was 5’3” and weighed about 128 pounds. Detectives determined she moved around a lot while she was alive due to her feet being, “heavily calloused.” They also noted that she had one piercing on her left ear and an overbite.

Near the murder scene, detectives found bloody clothing and a Texas license, but it was determined that the license was counterfeit and the blood belonged to an animal. Michelle’s then unidentified body was buried in Blue Earth, Minnesota in an unmarked grave in Riverside Cemetery.

After being reported missing, extensive efforts were made to find Michelle. There was a potential match in February 1984 after a set of remains were found in New York. In May, Michelle’s dental record were compared to that of another set of remains’, known as The Cheerleader in the Trunk, discovered in 1982 in Maryland. However, Michelle was ruled out as the identity of both victims.

Michelle’s unidentified body’s fingerprints and dental records were compared to hundreds of missing persons in Colorado and Minnesota, but there were no matches. Fliers describing the unsolved murder case were distributed nationally, but there weren’t many leads. American convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas did confess to the murder of a young woman along Interstate 90, but when he was questioned while in prison in 1983, he did not give consistent details of the murder and was excluded as a suspect.

Finally, in June 1988, former Minnesota State Trooper Robert Leroy Nelson confessed to murdering a young woman while on duty while he was in police custody in Smith County. He claimed to not know the girl’s name, but he knew she was traveling to Idaho or Oregon and she had spent time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also admitted to handcuffing her to stop her from escaping. Police believed this confession was credible, especially because he stated to have removed her fingernails, which was not of public detail at the time. Nelson plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter; at the time he was already serving two life sentences. Nelson was given an additional 86 months on August 25, 1989.

Michelle Busha (left) Robert Leroy Nelson (right)

In 2002, Blue Earth resident Deborah Anderson became interested in the case and made efforts to bring more attention to the murder. Deborah met with officials to make plans to raise funds to exhume the victim’s remains, which was scheduled for late July of 2014. Finally on August 12, 2014, the remains were exhumed for DNA information. The exhumation was performed without cost by a local funeral home and construction companies, which saved about $10,000, leaving $1,000 as the cost for the DNA testing.

In 2004, hairs from the remains were examined and a mitochondrial DNA profile was developed. The authorities had previously taken her dental information and obtained a single fingerprint from the remains to compare against potential matches. A new facial reconstruction was also created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from an MRI scan. The Smithsonian Institution also did isotope testing on a tooth to identify the regions which the victim may have lived before her death. The results from this testing also indicated she was between 17 to 23 years old, not 20 to 35 as previously reported. She was also determined to be white with a possible African admixture.

On March 5, 2015, DNA samples obtained from Michelle’s family in 2007 were positively matched to her remains. Her dental records were also compared to that of the remains, which was also a match. Michelle’s body was officially identified on March 13, 2015. They were then cremated and returned to her family on April 9, 2015.

Michelle’s mother and father at her gravesite

It terrifies me to imagine what Michelle must’ve went through those last moments of her life. Her life was taken by a state trooper, someone who is supposed to serve and protect citizens, so she did not expect what was to come. It makes you think about what type of people are really in power. It is fortunate that we now have advanced DNA technology because although the case was solved, Michelle probably never would have been identified had it not been for the technology available now. She had so much more to live for and it is unfortunate that her life was taken so cruelly, but it is great to know that her killer is serving time for what he did and she is now identified and her family has closure.

Resources-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Michelle_Busha