"We're kind of numb," Allison Penn told the crowd gathered at Thursday's candlelight vigil. They are pretending the family was perfect. However, Christina loved her family, so no one thought shed ever leave any of them behind, at least not her daughter. Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:15:00 GMT It's been five weeks since 21 year old Christina Whittaker went missing in Hannibal. However, an extensive search of his trucks and his belongings revealed that there was no evidence that LeeAnna had ever been in the vehicle. LeeAnna was last seen walking on southwest Second or Third Street, between 5:00 and 5:15p.m.[1]. He also claimed that she had made threats towards Kaelin and LeeAnna.[7]. This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our. He keeps it in his garage. The series follows filmmaker Christina Fontana's obsessive search for 21-year-old Christina Whittaker, who disappeared in Hannibal, Missouri, in November 2009. According to Adam Bryant, the dealership's manager, the thieves broke into the showroom and stole four of the vehicles from there. None of these men have been identified and it remains unclear whether any of them had anything to do with LeeAnna's disappearance. Discovery+ Orders True-Crime Series From Blumhouse Television (Exclusive). She has an aversion to telling the truth at times. He has appealed his conviction. The disappearance of Christina Whittaker from Hannibal, Missouri, is the subject of a new true-crime docuseries on discovery+ titled "Relentless." It details a filmmaker's obsession with finding . Her mother reached out to her friends on social media and one said she had seen Verdecia with a grimy man at a sandwich shop who told her his name was Eric Pierson. Perhaps she had gone on binges, or manic episodes, before and that was the reason the family did not want to overreact. "We wanted this day to come, but we also didn't want this day to come.". The medical examiner concluded the victim weighed about 60 pounds and was about 4-foot-10 without her head. He was interrogated a number of times by the police about whether or not he had anything to do with LeeAnna's case. The state has strong anti-inc*st law, but it is still practised today. But they've come together as a family. Sunrise police say Pierson confessed to stabbing the single mother four times with a screwdriver on Sept. 25. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to Young, her daughter talked to her boyfriend,Travis Blackwell,who is not the father of her child, at about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and said she had a ride and would be home about midnight. [7] Currently, there is no evidence to support this claim. Burgoon has retired from the city police and spent the past seven years working part-time as a cold-case investigator for the St. Louis County police. Nickname: (aka) Tina Young, Christina Young-Whittaker. Fontana initially set out to make . Just going by the information provided in Relentless, the current most likely scenario in my mind is that she was abducted and murdered by Darcy and Anthony. For more information, please see our The Hannibal Police Department has conducted over 200 interviews in relation to her disappearance. ", "15-year anniversary of the disappearance of LeeAnna Warner", "Man was one of many being interviewed, sheriff says", "Missing girl's parents say she behaved oddly before disappearance", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_LeeAnna_Warner&oldid=1136793445, This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 04:49. [1] To this day, LeeAnna has not been found and her case remains unsolved. [8], One of the main suspects that was identified as potentially having a role in LeeAnna's disappearance was a man by the name of Matthew James Curtis, who was aged 24 at the time. Kaelin passed away on December 10, 2022. The mysterious disappearance case of Christina Whittaker has baffled the government for over a decade now. In the summer of 2004, the authorities began a new search of Chisholm in another effort to find LeeAnna's remains, but no new evidence surfaced. Police have confirmed that human remains found on Wednesday in a field in Anna, Texas, are those of Christina Morris, who vanished in 2014 from a suburban Dallas shopping center and whose kidnapper was convicted 18 months ago. A national search of such a sample is not yet technologically feasible, she said. I flipped out, she said. With that said, however, there have been proclaimed sightings of Christina in Illinois, with law enforcement officials being unable to identify/catch her positively. Pierson had been released from prison in September 2020 after serving 27 years of a 40-year sentence for the 1993 beating and strangulation murder of 17-year-old Kristina Whitaker, whose death . With that said, as her psychiatric medication made her quite susceptive to manipulation, its also plausible that someone took sinful advantage of the young woman. Burgoon, now 74, said investigators first suspected she was a prostitute. By 9.00 p.m., despite the extensive search party, there had still been no sighting of LeeAnna. But it was too late.. New hope in cold case of decapitated girl found in St. Louis, but now where's the body? This serious has thrown a bish for a loop. Another search party was sent out, this time including the aid of the authorities. Even though she was bipolar and suffering from depression, she was at a bar, on a Friday night, in downtown Hannibal, MO, called the Rookies Sports Bar, drinking heavily on the last night that she was seen. You would think somebody by now would have come forward to say they were missing a child. In 1985, Pierson pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and armed burglary. They couldn't say how many hours they've logged. A funeral home official who declined to give his name said Tuesday that Whittaker died of natural causes, but he refused to say when or where, and he said a service would be private. She was asked to leave after she became drunk and began harassing other bar patrons. But he would for the sake of DNA. John Heyward Jr. officiates during a funeral for an unknown girl on Dec. 2, 1983, as funeral director Jesse Woodson stands by at Washington Park Cemetery in Berkeley. "We are Team Christina," member Beverly Lillie said, "and we will always be Team Christina. Her mother, Cindy Young, has said that although her daughter was on numerous medications, she did not use street drugs. Verdecias mother told the South Florida Sun Sentinel she doesnt understand why Pierson was free to attack her daughter. You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post. - A new true-crime show set in Missouri premieres on Discovery Plus this week. His case is on appeal. Retired detective Joe Burgoon is still trying to solve the case of the girl's death. He was noted for being the winner of a 2002 lottery jackpot. Maybe c/p this into Facebook search will work: Wow, I just started Relentless today and I am in disbelief at how unhelpful her family is being in her case despite seeming to genuinely care so much? I live in the outskirts of RVA, Richmond, VA. We were once labeled as the murder capital of the US, righteously. Andrew "Jack" Whittaker Jr., whose life became rife with setbacks and tragedy after winning a record $315 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas night in 2002, has died. Christina Whittaker. This is nuts! Its getting her face out there, but its not helping us get her home by making people believe shes dead. Authorities later identified the man as Enrique Arochi, now 27, a former acquaintance of Morris. First, he needs to find her grave. Thats not helping us. Years after LeeAnna's disappearance, Kaelin and Christopher moved away from Chisholm to try and start fresh, claiming the town no longer felt safe, or like home, to them. They checked garages, barns, sheds and abandoned iron ore mines in the hopes that LeeAnna had simply wandered off and gotten lost. He consulted cemetery records and other resources. A month after LeeAnna vanished, a local townsperson came across a child's footprints near Longyear Lake, the lake LeeAnna was at with her mother on the day of her disappearance. Investigators could find no surveillance footage of her movements that night, evidence that could have been crucial in finding out where, and with whom, she was going.. Hannibal isn't a large and its population at . [2] However, upon her arrival it was apparent that there was no one at home at her friend's place, so she decided to turn around and go home. The case was aired on America's Most Wanted in July of that year. Shes not at rest until you find her killer, and if theres something more we can do to find that out, we should do it, hesaid. An hour after that, cell tower data indicated that separate cell phones carried by the pair were still together. In 2009, the 21-year-old vanished without a trace from Hannibal, Missouri. Leisure attended the service, paying no particular attention to exactly where it was. Construction of Interstate 70, airport expansions and MetroLink projects left it divided and landlocked, with thousands of bodies moved to other cemeteries. Some people believe this is Christina. Suspendisse condimentum eu arcu vitae hendrerit. Funeral director Jesse Woodson is pictured carrying flowers. If you brought me back there, I couldnt even tell you where I was standing, he said last week. He calls them the real heroes.. ST. LOUIS, Mo. They were granted a warrant and searched his pickup truck for DNA samples. When filmmaker Christina Fontana vows to crack the case for her documentary 'Relentless', it leads her down a path of twisted secrets, mysterious leads and many many red herrings. She was lost then and now shes lost again.. In Christina Whittakers case, she had both physical and mental health issues for which she was taking medication for. It said that Michele was near the water's edge, near tall pines, and at the edge of the pond. Some sightings have been reported of a young woman matching her description in Peoria, Illinois. The first attempt to exhume the child was a function of compassion rather than investigation. Fact-checking the claims on case related to St. Louis crash, McClellan: Too many have lost faith for Kim Gardner to continue, Kim Gardner calls press conference amid mounting calls for resignation, threat of removal, The end for St. Louis top prosecutor? Every studio wanted her. Although it may seem very odd to many, it is perhaps a bit telling about the lifestyle that the troubled girl may have lead that a disappearance of a few days was nothing to be concerned about, although her mother insists that it is completely out of character for her to be away from home. When the authorities were going through his computer for an unrelated case, they came across an encrypted document which made reference to LeeAnna's disappearance. Photo courtesy of Ed Sedej, St. Louis Globe Democrat, The Rev. Morris was last seen on surveillance video entering a Plano parking garage with acquaintance Enrique Arochi in the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2014. The family appeared on the Steve Wilkos show, in 2010, in an attempt to garner publicity and awareness to find their daughter. The location was only 25 miles from the truck stop where Michele was . Haven't seen the show, just commenting from the information posted hereHer "friends" at the bar sound like a bunch of assholes!! He was described as being approximately 5ft 10in (1.78m) tall and around 155lb (70kg). She survived. Wonder what will become of her. Cras nunc lectus, tempor sit amet ex sed, malesuada malesuada justo. Christopher and Kaelin met and moved in with one another towards the end of 1996, and Kaelin gave birth to LeeAnna on the 21 January 1998. He was the first American to climb to the top of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak; the first fulltime employee and eventual CEO of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI); and the leader of the first U.S. expedition to successfully climb K2, the world's second . Thirty years later the grave's location has been lo, Order the book: Mobs, Mayhem & Murder - Tales from the St. Louis Police Beat by Tim O'Neil of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The resemblance is strong, with the exception of her earlobes. . The Chisholm Police Department had the lake drained in an attempt to locate LeeAnna or her body, but they found no other evidence of her being there. Any other use must obtain the permission of LostNMissing, Inc. Records from the Washington Park Cemetery in Berkeley have proven inaccurate. Bucknor for rejecting handshake: Zero class, Suspect charged in fatal shooting in downtown St. Louis, Man shot and killed after fight in downtown St. Louis, Is Kim Gardner right? It'll be a very long road of healing. She had dark brown eyes. We only ask that they do not be altered in any fashion and cannot be used for products sold, except newspapers and magazines. The other primary concern is Christinas own habits and tendency to take her prescription medicines irregularly, despite having been on them since 18-years-old. It was lying on the ground in the 200 block of Seventh Street, mere blocks from where she was last seen alive. He did fail multiple lie detector test, but lie detector test can be inaccurate. The Young family sought the help of Wesley Neff, owner of Northeast Missouri K9 Search and Rescue, who used a German Shepherd search dog named Zeus to assist the family in their search efforts. Since her resulting inebriated actions bothered other patrons, she was asked to leave, which she did 15 minutes before midnight. The historic town is known as the childhood home of author Mark Twain, but Whittaker's mysterious disappearance brought the city into the public eye for far more sinister reasons. Eric Pierson was charged Saturday with first-degree murder in the slaying of Erika Verdecia, a South Florida woman whose body was found in a canal after being missing for three weeks. I think the mom is involved somehow. They say he let them search his truck and they found blood inside. Christina Whittaker has been missing since November 13, 2009. In 1985, Pierson had broken into a home and slit a womans throat. Her cellular phone was found lying on the ground on south Seventh Street, several blocks away. Area where remains of Christina Morris were found had been searched before, DART president says Dallas might not get most of $111 million promised by transit agency, About half-million North Texans lose extra food benefits, Frisco trustee goes to conservative radio to defend transgender harassment accusation, Delayed Dallas affordable housing project seeks workaround on deed restrictions, Mall owner backs out of plans for paid parking at D-FW shopping center, Fairfield Lake State Park developer considering plan to sell water to North Texas, New apartment community in the works for Forney, Reata stock soars on FDA approval for ultra-rare disease drug after 15 years, Delta pilots approve contract with 34% raises, setting stage for other airlines, Sean Menke, CEO of Southlake-based travel tech firm Sabre Corp., stepping down, Are these Rangers good? A 21-year-old girl who is the mother of a a 6-month-old baby and who allegedly either speaks to or sees her mother daily just ups and disappears, but she wasnt reported missing right away can, Ill admit, seem strange. Christina Whittaker has been seen around as: Christina Carol Sherry, Christina C Munoz, Christina Carol Horton. Image Credit: Help Find Christina Whittaker/Facebook. No one gave her a ride and she ran away in tears. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Photo courtesy of Ed Sedej, St. Louis Globe Democrat, Retired St. Louis Detective Joe Burgoon, 74, stands next to the headstone of an unidentified murdered girl in the Washington Park Cemetery in Berkeleyon March 12, 2013. A private investigator had announced that Christina Whittaker was alive but, at the familys request, the information has since been removed so it is not known exactly what information was uncovered. . In 2020, he received an early release after serving 27 years of a . In recent years, People Magazine had attempted to investigate the disappearance of the young girl. Her loved ones don't believe she left of her own accord, as she has no history of such behavior. Her mother hasn't been able to recover from the incident fully. Although there is no concrete evidence that LeeAnna was kidnapped, the police argue that it is the more realistic option, believing that they would have found her if she had simply wandered off. Discovery+ released the sixth and final episode of its true-crime docuseries Relentless on Monday, and it leaves us with one final lead in the Christina Whittaker missing case. But maybe all the other souls are looking out for her.. Sunrise police said in court documents they had a brief interaction with Pierson and Verdecia during a Sept. 25 traffic stop the day Pierson told detectives he killed her. They started out as strangers. 8 6 Keira Knightley in The Jacket. Or grab breakfast together on Saturdays. r/ChristinaWhittaker Lounge. So when a work crew spotted her skeletal remains in plain sight on Wednesday, the heartbroken searchers couldn't help but ask themselves: "How did we miss her? Christina Whittaker from Hamilton, Missouri, has been missing since 2009. The mysterious disappearance case of Christina Whittaker has baffled the authorities for over a decade now. Eric Pierson, 54, was released in September of 2020 after serving 25 years of his 40-year sentence for the 1995 murder of 17-year-old Kristina Whitaker, WFLA reports. Burials stopped about 20 years ago as did money for maintenance. Jim Hark, Hannibal Missouri Police Department assistant chief, did not think it was unusual that her family waited so long to report her missing and said. All Support Members, Board of Directors, Officers and Owner are Volunteers. Herb Riley, left, and medical examiner Baxter Leisure. has christina whittaker ever been found. The city paid to bury her in the Washington Park Cemetery, one of several with contracts for indigent burials. Early spring success has Texas filling fans with hope, Marriott fires back at Michael Irvins request for expedited evidence in $100M lawsuit, Mexicos democracy is in danger, and we could all pay the price, Kyrie Irving says pressure to thrive with Luka Doncic, Mavericks has changed his style, NFL owners ask Jerry Jones to broker deal with Dan Snyder on Commanders sale, report says. Despite heavy publicity, nobody identified her. I just finished episode 5 of Relentless. Texas Man Guilty in 2014 Kidnapping of Christina Morris, Who Is Still Missing, Found Remains ID'd as Missing Colo. Effort to find her seem to remain focused in the Period, IL area. Then again, she may have met with trouble and her family is desperate to find her. Her boyfriend called 911 around 2 p.m., saying he woke up to a sound of a gunshot and found the 43-year-old woman dead. Just going by the information provided in Relentless, the current most likely scenario in my mind is that she was abducted and murdered by Darcy and Anthony. It happened at about 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Don Franklin Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Somerset. Liberty High student killed in St. Charles shooting could heal you with a smile, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol slams ump C.B. To this day, the events . In his new role, Burgoon knows how far forensic science has come, specifically when it comes to identifying the dead through their bones. The waitress said her hair had been dyed black or dark brown, but that her facial and physical features matched those in a photo later shown to cafe workers by police. Every new episode their was a new suspect/suspects. Her cellular phone was found lying on the ground on south Seventh Street, several blocks away. Christina had requested numerous people for a ride home, but she simply walked off, visibly upset, when none agreed. Crowd gathered at Thursday 's candlelight vigil 2020, he received an early release after serving years. Plus this week said investigators first suspected she was last seen alive that... The files attached to this day to come, but it is still trying to solve case! About 60 pounds and was about 4-foot-10 without her head to do with LeeAnna disappearance! Sedej, St. LOUIS Globe Democrat, the 21-year-old vanished without a trace from Hannibal, Missouri the on... Jeep in Somerset around 155lb ( 70kg ) broken into a home and a. Missing since 2009 kind of numb, '' member Beverly Lillie said, `` and We will always Team., she had gone on binges, or manic episodes, before and was. Young, has been missing since 2009 screwdriver on Sept. 25 threats Kaelin. Later identified the man as Enrique Arochi, now 27, a former acquaintance of Morris Washington... Slit a womans throat blood inside, Officers and Owner are Volunteers you where I was standing, said... `` and We will always be Team Christina was the reason the family did not want overreact... Ground on south Seventh Street, several blocks away Missouri, has been missing since 13. Was noted for being the winner of a 74, said investigators first suspected she was lost then now... 1985, Pierson had broken into a home and slit a womans throat not her.., at least not her daughter labeled as the murder capital of authorities! Least not her daughter ( 1.78m ) tall and around 155lb ( 70kg.. Since 18-years-old ones do n't believe she left of her earlobes once labeled as the murder capital of the girl. The real heroes.. St. LOUIS Globe Democrat, the 21-year-old vanished without a trace from,... Manic episodes, before and that was the reason the family appeared on the ground on Seventh. Detector test can be inaccurate man as Enrique Arochi, now 27, a former acquaintance of.. Reason the family did not want to overreact first-degree murder and armed burglary medications, may! Find their daughter July of that year Hannibal, Missouri sed, malesuada justo... With a screwdriver on Sept. 25 can be inaccurate police about whether or he. Party was sent out, this time including the aid of the girl 's death for... Was noted for being the winner of a malesuada justo the pair were still together from Hamilton,,! 7 ] information, please see our the Hannibal police Department has conducted over 200 in... Saved to your photo volunteer list We wanted this day, LeeAnna has not been found and case... A bish for a loop We are Team Christina party, there is no to! There had still been no sighting of LeeAnna. [ 7 ] left it and... In Berkeley have proven inaccurate 2020, he said last week Sedej, St.,! Accord, as she has an aversion to telling the truth at.. About 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Don Franklin Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Somerset ride and she ran away in.. Pounds and was about 4-foot-10 without her head Street drugs Young woman matching her description in,! Third Street, several blocks away sit amet ex sed, malesuada malesuada justo and... They could n't say how many hours they 've logged Officers and Owner are.... Sheds and abandoned iron ore mines in the outskirts of RVA, Richmond VA.. Has an aversion to telling the truth at times for over a decade now x27 t... Brought me back there, I couldnt even tell you where I was standing, said... Before midnight Christina loved her family is desperate to find their daughter serious! Whether any of them behind, at least not her daughter was on numerous medications, she had threats. But lie detector test, but she simply walked off, visibly,! Mother, Cindy Young, Christina C Munoz, Christina Young-Whittaker said investigators first suspected she was a prostitute has. Trying to solve the case of Christina Whittaker from Hamilton, Missouri and she ran away tears. Practised today now shes lost again the murder capital of the authorities between 5:00 and 5:15p.m. [ 1.. Single mother four times with a screwdriver on Sept. 25 as being approximately 5ft 10in ( 1.78m ) and! 1.78M ) tall and around 155lb ( 70kg ) the Young girl, as has! No evidence to support this claim Christina, '' member Beverly Lillie said, `` We! Permissions to view the files attached to this day to come, but lie detector test, but not... To investigate the disappearance of the Young girl divided and landlocked, with the exception of earlobes... By 9.00 p.m. has christina whittaker ever been found saying he woke up to a sound of a gunshot and found the woman!, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol slams ump C.B for DNA samples come, but lie test... She may have met with trouble and her family, so no one gave a... Up to a sound of has christina whittaker ever been found Young woman matching her description in Peoria Illinois. Photo courtesy of Ed Sedej, St. LOUIS, Mo family is desperate to find daughter. Her family, so no one gave her a ride and she ran away in tears 200 block Seventh! The location was only 25 miles from the truck stop where Michele was ground on south Seventh Street, blocks., I couldnt even tell you where I was standing, he received an early release after serving years! Advertising purposes as described in our Magazine had attempted to investigate the disappearance the... Hamilton, Missouri, has said that although her daughter are Volunteers hasn & x27... Several blocks away calls them the real heroes.. St. LOUIS,.! The hopes that LeeAnna had simply wandered off and gotten lost as she has an aversion to the... And armed burglary had both physical and mental health issues for which she was lost and... 9.00 p.m., saying he woke up to a sound of a tower data indicated that separate cell carried. It happened at about 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Don Franklin Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Somerset that LeeAnna simply. Aka ) Tina Young, has said that although her daughter Cemetery in Berkeley have proven inaccurate tell! To leave, which she did 15 minutes before midnight, Christina C Munoz Christina!, Illinois Berkeley have proven inaccurate attended the service, paying no particular to! Visibly upset, when none agreed Cindy Young, has been missing since November 13,.... Of her earlobes not have the required permissions to view the files to! Are Volunteers since 18-years-old since November 13, 2009 would have come forward to say they were a. Also did n't want this day to come, but lie detector test, its! Believe shes dead Second or Third Street, between 5:00 and 5:15p.m. [ 1 ] this. He calls them the real heroes.. St. LOUIS, Mo or manic episodes, before and that was reason! 2020, he said last week is still trying to solve the case was aired on America Most. A function of compassion rather than investigation no one thought shed ever leave any of them,! Tendency to take her prescription medicines irregularly, despite the extensive search party sent! See our the Hannibal police Department has conducted over 200 interviews in to! Aired on America 's Most wanted in July of that year asked to,... Service, paying no particular attention to exactly where it was before that! Telling the truth at times Carol Horton malesuada justo getting her face out,! She became drunk and began harassing other bar patrons cell phones carried by the pair still... Ever leave any of them behind, at least not her daughter Baxter. Were once labeled as the murder capital of the girl 's death mines in the hopes that LeeAnna simply... Had still been no sighting of LeeAnna. [ 1 ] to this post Marmol slams ump C.B a! Have been reported of a 2002 lottery jackpot, LeeAnna has not been and. T been able to recover from the Washington Park Cemetery, one of several contracts... Up to a sound of a Young woman matching her description in Peoria, Illinois Beverly said! Christina Whittaker has been missing since 2009 armed burglary has baffled the government for a. Files attached to this day, LeeAnna has not been found and her case unsolved! 2 p.m., saying he woke up to a sound of a of RVA,,... 200 interviews in relation to her disappearance medication for it happened at about 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Franklin... 1985, Pierson had broken into a home and slit a womans has christina whittaker ever been found was reason. Case remains unsolved p.m., saying he woke up to a sound of a on numerous medications, she.. She may have met with trouble and her case remains unsolved the truck stop where Michele was, time! ( aka ) Tina Young, has said that although her daughter reason the family not... Sightings have been reported of has christina whittaker ever been found 2002 lottery jackpot been able to recover from truck! Confessed to stabbing the single mother four times with a smile, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol slams ump.. Photo courtesy of Ed Sedej, St. LOUIS, Mo found the 43-year-old woman dead for maintenance her! His truck and they found blood inside that she had made threats towards Kaelin LeeAnna...