1 00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:16,005 Speaker 1: School of Humans. On May fourth, nineteen ninety one, nine 2 00:00:16,085 --> 00:00:19,045 Speaker 1: year old Christina Pipkin was selling jewelry door to door 3 00:00:19,285 --> 00:00:22,805 Speaker 1: for a school fundraiser in her hometown of Hickory Ridge, Arkansas. 4 00:00:23,445 --> 00:00:26,485 Speaker 1: Christina was supposed to be home before dark, but she 5 00:00:26,605 --> 00:00:30,685 Speaker 1: never made it back. Her parents, Freda and James frantically 6 00:00:30,685 --> 00:00:33,885 Speaker 1: looked for her. They called friends and volunteers and scoured 7 00:00:33,885 --> 00:00:37,885 Speaker 1: the area, but found no signs of Christina. This little 8 00:00:37,885 --> 00:00:41,725 Speaker 1: girl seemed to have vanished into thin air. They got 9 00:00:41,725 --> 00:00:44,245 Speaker 1: an answer, but it wasn't the answer they were hoping for. 10 00:00:45,045 --> 00:00:49,405 Speaker 1: Three days later, on May seventh, nineteen ninety one, Christina 11 00:00:49,445 --> 00:00:53,685 Speaker 1: Pipkins's body was found floating in cow Lake Ditch. Almost 12 00:00:53,765 --> 00:00:59,205 Speaker 1: twenty three years later, this case is still unsolved. I'm 13 00:00:59,285 --> 00:01:02,685 Speaker 1: Catherine Townsend. If you have a case you'd like me 14 00:01:02,725 --> 00:01:05,085 Speaker 1: and my team to look into, you can reach out 15 00:01:05,085 --> 00:01:07,525 Speaker 1: to us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at six 16 00:01:07,565 --> 00:01:13,885 Speaker 1: seven eight seven four four six one four five. This 17 00:01:14,085 --> 00:02:06,805 Speaker 1: is Helen Gone Murder Line. By the way. As you 18 00:02:06,845 --> 00:02:08,965 Speaker 1: can tell, I've been talking to a lot of people 19 00:02:09,005 --> 00:02:11,165 Speaker 1: this week, so I've lost my voice a little bit. 20 00:02:11,285 --> 00:02:15,805 Speaker 1: Please excuse me. I'm in Hickory Ridge, for a meeting 21 00:02:15,805 --> 00:02:19,085 Speaker 1: with Amy Tubbs, who, as I mentioned in the last episode, 22 00:02:19,125 --> 00:02:22,165 Speaker 1: is married to Robbie Tubbs Junior. She's the daughter in 23 00:02:22,245 --> 00:02:24,805 Speaker 1: law of Robbie Tubbs Senior, who is a suspect in 24 00:02:24,885 --> 00:02:29,165 Speaker 1: Christina's murder. Back in the nineties, Robbie was arrested and 25 00:02:29,205 --> 00:02:32,605 Speaker 1: he was charged with Christina Pipkins's murder, but as we 26 00:02:32,645 --> 00:02:35,885 Speaker 1: said in the last episode, he was released after there 27 00:02:35,925 --> 00:02:39,765 Speaker 1: was a mistake with the DNA testing. The prosecutor, Fletcher Long, 28 00:02:40,325 --> 00:02:43,525 Speaker 1: admitted that instead of testing hair from a vehicle once 29 00:02:43,565 --> 00:02:47,365 Speaker 1: owned by Robbie Tubbs, law enforcement tested the wrong hair, 30 00:02:48,525 --> 00:02:51,365 Speaker 1: and then when they tried to correct that error, they 31 00:02:51,405 --> 00:02:53,845 Speaker 1: said that there wasn't enough DNA on the hair that 32 00:02:53,925 --> 00:02:57,805 Speaker 1: was inside Robbie Tubb's car to test. I still wonder 33 00:02:58,765 --> 00:03:03,125 Speaker 1: is that hair still around and with today's technology, could 34 00:03:03,125 --> 00:03:06,485 Speaker 1: it be retested that. It's just one of the many 35 00:03:06,605 --> 00:03:09,525 Speaker 1: questions we're going to be asking as we investigate this case. 36 00:03:11,645 --> 00:03:15,285 Speaker 1: Amy said that since she started dating her husband, they've 37 00:03:15,325 --> 00:03:18,885 Speaker 1: never really had contact with his father, Robbie Senor. She 38 00:03:19,005 --> 00:03:22,045 Speaker 1: said she's heard that Robbie Senior has a criminal background 39 00:03:22,605 --> 00:03:25,405 Speaker 1: and that he's in her words, and not a great guy, 40 00:03:26,085 --> 00:03:28,965 Speaker 1: but as she pointed out, that's quite a different thing 41 00:03:29,005 --> 00:03:32,365 Speaker 1: from being a child killer. Amy wanted to know if 42 00:03:32,485 --> 00:03:36,485 Speaker 1: Robbie Senor was capable of committing this horrific crime. She 43 00:03:36,805 --> 00:03:39,485 Speaker 1: is clear, if he is the right person, he needs 44 00:03:39,525 --> 00:03:42,125 Speaker 1: to be charged, and if it's someone else, we need 45 00:03:42,165 --> 00:03:44,165 Speaker 1: to figure out who they are and where they are. 46 00:03:45,205 --> 00:03:49,285 Speaker 1: Either way, charging a suspect and then having those charges 47 00:03:49,325 --> 00:03:53,725 Speaker 1: fall apart and seeing the person you believe is guilty released. 48 00:03:54,285 --> 00:03:56,645 Speaker 1: As I've said for a long time, this should not 49 00:03:56,725 --> 00:03:59,645 Speaker 1: be a stopping point for law enforcement. Either you need 50 00:03:59,685 --> 00:04:03,085 Speaker 1: to get more evidence on your suspect, or you need 51 00:04:03,125 --> 00:04:09,405 Speaker 1: to find the right person to charge. Amy and our 52 00:04:09,485 --> 00:04:12,485 Speaker 1: meeting in Hickory Ridge in the morning. There's really only 53 00:04:12,565 --> 00:04:15,605 Speaker 1: one place in town, the only coffee shop for miles, 54 00:04:15,885 --> 00:04:18,925 Speaker 1: Cafe forty nine. How do you get around the not 55 00:04:19,005 --> 00:04:23,525 Speaker 1: being an Arkansas resident? Jazz so Amy and I are 56 00:04:23,565 --> 00:04:26,725 Speaker 1: catching up. We've had some exciting developments. Both of our 57 00:04:26,805 --> 00:04:30,005 Speaker 1: Foyer requests were granted, so we now have access to 58 00:04:30,045 --> 00:04:33,685 Speaker 1: the entire Christina Pipkin case file, all two hundred pages 59 00:04:33,725 --> 00:04:37,165 Speaker 1: of it. That's the good news. The bad news is 60 00:04:37,165 --> 00:04:40,325 Speaker 1: that there is no audio of the original interviews, and 61 00:04:40,485 --> 00:04:44,005 Speaker 1: there are no photos. The Arkansas State Police have also 62 00:04:44,125 --> 00:04:46,845 Speaker 1: not released the autopsy report. It's not part of the 63 00:04:46,885 --> 00:04:52,565 Speaker 1: case file. There are also almost no transcripts, so all 64 00:04:52,605 --> 00:04:56,525 Speaker 1: we have of the police interviews are these short type pages. 65 00:04:57,005 --> 00:05:01,565 Speaker 1: Presumably they were taken from notes and then transcribed. Since 66 00:05:01,605 --> 00:05:04,125 Speaker 1: I have a lot of experience with case files, I 67 00:05:04,205 --> 00:05:07,285 Speaker 1: want to verify every thing ourselves. I want to get 68 00:05:07,285 --> 00:05:10,205 Speaker 1: in touch with everyone we can who isn't dead and 69 00:05:10,365 --> 00:05:13,765 Speaker 1: is willing to talk. We've come here to East Arkansas 70 00:05:13,805 --> 00:05:15,845 Speaker 1: to see if there was anyone around who was there 71 00:05:15,845 --> 00:05:18,725 Speaker 1: on the day Christina went missing. This could be our 72 00:05:18,765 --> 00:05:23,445 Speaker 1: only hope for getting new information. Would I'll take one more. 73 00:05:25,325 --> 00:05:29,045 Speaker 1: Amy brought Denise, who describes herself as an amateur sleuth 74 00:05:29,045 --> 00:05:30,925 Speaker 1: who's been working on the case for a long time. 75 00:05:31,685 --> 00:05:33,765 Speaker 1: Denise has also brought a friend who says she just 76 00:05:33,845 --> 00:05:36,405 Speaker 1: wants to be in the background. She spends her time 77 00:05:36,485 --> 00:05:40,085 Speaker 1: as Denise's sidekick, helping her find addresses and get into 78 00:05:40,085 --> 00:05:43,325 Speaker 1: contact with people. After we get our coffee, we start 79 00:05:43,405 --> 00:05:45,685 Speaker 1: talking to some other people in the cafe. Was that 80 00:05:45,685 --> 00:05:48,805 Speaker 1: the little girl? She's found it in a ditch right 81 00:05:48,845 --> 00:05:51,565 Speaker 1: out here? Yeah? Yeah, I think I wat. I mean 82 00:05:51,685 --> 00:05:53,805 Speaker 1: this was this happened before I was born, And now 83 00:05:53,885 --> 00:05:57,325 Speaker 1: what I heard was that her stepdad had drowned her. 84 00:05:57,325 --> 00:06:01,245 Speaker 1: And now she said that she heard Christina's stepdad had 85 00:06:01,285 --> 00:06:03,685 Speaker 1: drowned her. That was one of the rumors We've been 86 00:06:03,685 --> 00:06:06,605 Speaker 1: hearing a lot, that someone in Christstina's family did this 87 00:06:06,605 --> 00:06:09,325 Speaker 1: to her and then there was a cover up. Some 88 00:06:09,365 --> 00:06:12,685 Speaker 1: people have blamed Christina's mom, others her dad. Some people 89 00:06:12,685 --> 00:06:15,685 Speaker 1: have even mentioned a step dad, even though that would 90 00:06:15,685 --> 00:06:19,165 Speaker 1: be impossible since Christina didn't even have a stepfather. But 91 00:06:21,445 --> 00:06:24,085 Speaker 1: I've heard that story. I've heard that story too. Yeah, 92 00:06:24,125 --> 00:06:25,765 Speaker 1: I heard that story too, But no, she didn't have 93 00:06:25,805 --> 00:06:29,765 Speaker 1: a step bead. This is just one of many versions 94 00:06:29,885 --> 00:06:32,445 Speaker 1: of rumors that have been flying around town since Christina 95 00:06:32,485 --> 00:06:36,685 Speaker 1: went missing. The woman we talked to brought her mom over, 96 00:06:36,885 --> 00:06:38,885 Speaker 1: and her mom knew a lot. She said she was 97 00:06:38,925 --> 00:06:40,565 Speaker 1: in high school at the time and was part of 98 00:06:40,605 --> 00:06:45,045 Speaker 1: the search party. I just I remember searching the town. 99 00:06:46,445 --> 00:06:48,005 Speaker 1: It's heard that she didn't just go on door to 100 00:06:48,085 --> 00:06:52,805 Speaker 1: door selling something for school. Just we searched for days 101 00:06:52,805 --> 00:06:55,885 Speaker 1: and days and days and days. She mentioned another rumor 102 00:06:55,885 --> 00:06:57,965 Speaker 1: that I've heard a lot of that the reason she 103 00:06:58,085 --> 00:07:01,765 Speaker 1: believed someone in Christina's family did. This was because apparently 104 00:07:02,285 --> 00:07:04,885 Speaker 1: no water from the ditch where Christina's body was found 105 00:07:04,925 --> 00:07:07,565 Speaker 1: was found in her lungs. He had chlorinated, so it 106 00:07:07,605 --> 00:07:09,885 Speaker 1: had to have come from a bathtub or something there 107 00:07:09,925 --> 00:07:12,685 Speaker 1: about this led them to believe she had been drowned 108 00:07:12,725 --> 00:07:14,925 Speaker 1: in a bathtub and then taken out there and dumped. 109 00:07:18,485 --> 00:07:20,685 Speaker 1: This is one of those rumors we can shut down 110 00:07:20,805 --> 00:07:23,725 Speaker 1: right now because even though we didn't get the actual 111 00:07:23,765 --> 00:07:26,525 Speaker 1: autopsy report as part of the case file, we did 112 00:07:26,565 --> 00:07:28,925 Speaker 1: get some documents that refer to interviews with a medical 113 00:07:28,965 --> 00:07:32,405 Speaker 1: examiner and to forensic testing that was done on Christina's body. 114 00:07:33,165 --> 00:07:36,205 Speaker 1: The results of those tests showed that the water and 115 00:07:36,325 --> 00:07:39,725 Speaker 1: mud in Christina Pipkins's lungs matched the water from Cow 116 00:07:39,845 --> 00:07:42,405 Speaker 1: Lake Ditch, the body of water where she was found. 117 00:07:43,485 --> 00:07:46,085 Speaker 1: We also learned from the case file that Fammi Malick 118 00:07:46,125 --> 00:07:49,365 Speaker 1: did the autopsy because one of the investigators put a 119 00:07:49,405 --> 00:07:51,925 Speaker 1: report in the case file. He talked about meeting with 120 00:07:52,005 --> 00:07:55,885 Speaker 1: doctor Malick to discuss some of his conclusions. I've talked 121 00:07:55,925 --> 00:07:59,725 Speaker 1: a lot about doctor Malick's controversial history on previous podcasts. 122 00:08:00,445 --> 00:08:03,205 Speaker 1: He was the medical examiner in Arkansas who was found 123 00:08:03,285 --> 00:08:05,925 Speaker 1: to have botched hundreds of autopsies back in the eighties 124 00:08:05,965 --> 00:08:10,165 Speaker 1: and nineties. In fact, the time period when he did 125 00:08:10,245 --> 00:08:14,325 Speaker 1: Christina's autopsy was not long before he was forced into retirement. 126 00:08:16,285 --> 00:08:19,525 Speaker 1: But for the moment, until we're proven otherwise, we're going 127 00:08:19,605 --> 00:08:21,965 Speaker 1: to take the information that we get about the autopsy 128 00:08:22,125 --> 00:08:27,125 Speaker 1: at face value. Doctor Malik indicated there was obvious decomposition. 129 00:08:27,845 --> 00:08:30,005 Speaker 1: We knew she had been in the water for three days. 130 00:08:30,645 --> 00:08:33,845 Speaker 1: He also said there were no signs of strangulation. He 131 00:08:33,885 --> 00:08:36,565 Speaker 1: said he had X rayed Christina's body from the outside 132 00:08:36,605 --> 00:08:39,365 Speaker 1: and from the inside. He said he could find no 133 00:08:39,485 --> 00:08:44,125 Speaker 1: stab wounds, no obvious cuts of bruises, and there was 134 00:08:44,245 --> 00:08:47,765 Speaker 1: water and mud found in Christina's stomach, water that matched 135 00:08:47,925 --> 00:08:52,205 Speaker 1: the water from the ditch. Doctor Malik also found pickles 136 00:08:52,245 --> 00:08:55,805 Speaker 1: and carrots and Christina's stomach. We know that Christina ate 137 00:08:55,845 --> 00:08:58,645 Speaker 1: pot pie for lunch that day. We also know that 138 00:08:58,685 --> 00:09:01,805 Speaker 1: Elsie Lyles, her next door neighbor and sometimes a babysitter, 139 00:09:02,325 --> 00:09:05,205 Speaker 1: gave her a pickle as a snack at around four pm. 140 00:09:06,005 --> 00:09:09,845 Speaker 1: The report reads, quote Doctor Malik was emphatic he could 141 00:09:09,845 --> 00:09:13,005 Speaker 1: find no other cause of death other than drowning. End quote. 142 00:09:14,165 --> 00:09:17,605 Speaker 1: But it also says when given the supposition that one 143 00:09:17,605 --> 00:09:20,845 Speaker 1: could smother an individual to the point of unconscious and 144 00:09:20,885 --> 00:09:24,245 Speaker 1: then throw that person into the river, Doctor Mallet could 145 00:09:24,245 --> 00:09:27,205 Speaker 1: make no comment regarding this, but said that this was 146 00:09:27,245 --> 00:09:30,765 Speaker 1: a possibility. In other words, we can't tell from the 147 00:09:30,805 --> 00:09:33,965 Speaker 1: limited information we have whether Christina fell into the water 148 00:09:34,045 --> 00:09:37,125 Speaker 1: on her own or was thrown in there, or whether 149 00:09:37,165 --> 00:09:40,925 Speaker 1: she was conscious at the time, but we can rule 150 00:09:40,925 --> 00:09:43,325 Speaker 1: out the rumor that Christina was drowned at home and 151 00:09:43,365 --> 00:09:45,245 Speaker 1: then taken out to that site where she was dumped 152 00:09:46,485 --> 00:09:49,685 Speaker 1: by the way. Christina's father, James, and everyone else in 153 00:09:49,725 --> 00:09:54,365 Speaker 1: her family cooperated completely with investigators. James Pipkin took and 154 00:09:54,525 --> 00:09:57,325 Speaker 1: passed a light detector test that's part of the case file, 155 00:09:57,405 --> 00:10:01,445 Speaker 1: and he was cleared by law enforcement. I cannot imagine 156 00:10:01,445 --> 00:10:04,405 Speaker 1: the pain of losing a child and then after that 157 00:10:04,885 --> 00:10:07,325 Speaker 1: having people in town either think that you were involved 158 00:10:07,325 --> 00:10:12,165 Speaker 1: somehow or that you were hiding something. Plus James had 159 00:10:12,165 --> 00:10:14,085 Speaker 1: to go through the pain of being asked about his 160 00:10:14,165 --> 00:10:17,885 Speaker 1: marital problems issues he had had previously with his wife Frieda. 161 00:10:18,445 --> 00:10:23,125 Speaker 1: That must have also been a nightmare. But unfortunately, when 162 00:10:23,205 --> 00:10:26,325 Speaker 1: law enforcement is looking through someone's pattern of life, they 163 00:10:26,405 --> 00:10:28,925 Speaker 1: have to know the history of the family members. It's 164 00:10:28,965 --> 00:10:32,205 Speaker 1: all part of solving the puzzle. There have been some 165 00:10:32,245 --> 00:10:35,085 Speaker 1: other rumors in this town that refuse to die, so 166 00:10:35,125 --> 00:10:36,845 Speaker 1: we need to check them out so we can figure 167 00:10:36,885 --> 00:10:39,725 Speaker 1: out what to investigate further and what else to rule out. 168 00:10:40,765 --> 00:10:43,005 Speaker 1: We went to the place where Christina and her family 169 00:10:43,045 --> 00:10:46,325 Speaker 1: lived on Doughty Street. Okay, so this was the Bearcat 170 00:10:46,405 --> 00:10:49,325 Speaker 1: right where apparently everyone in town went that day. There's 171 00:10:49,365 --> 00:10:52,685 Speaker 1: the bank. The alle still runs behind the bank, so 172 00:10:52,725 --> 00:10:55,165 Speaker 1: this whole thing is tiny. Yeah. And there's the tracks 173 00:10:55,245 --> 00:10:58,445 Speaker 1: right there. Yeah. And then there's the little park school. 174 00:10:58,685 --> 00:11:04,365 Speaker 1: All that is back there. This house, no, that house, 175 00:11:04,405 --> 00:11:07,965 Speaker 1: this lot, this lot where there is no more house. 176 00:11:08,685 --> 00:11:11,965 Speaker 1: There's no house there now, just a vacant, overgrown lot 177 00:11:12,085 --> 00:11:14,765 Speaker 1: with a home next door. We have a couple of 178 00:11:14,805 --> 00:11:17,285 Speaker 1: goals here today. First of all, we want to take 179 00:11:17,285 --> 00:11:19,525 Speaker 1: a look at the place where Christina's house was on 180 00:11:19,605 --> 00:11:22,365 Speaker 1: Doty Street and the place where she was last seen, 181 00:11:22,925 --> 00:11:26,805 Speaker 1: the Bearcat grocery store. It's not there anymore now, it's 182 00:11:26,845 --> 00:11:30,565 Speaker 1: a tire shop. Denise is talking me through the streets 183 00:11:30,565 --> 00:11:33,205 Speaker 1: in Christina's neighborhood. So that was her house, and then 184 00:11:33,365 --> 00:11:35,205 Speaker 1: the house they were saying that the backed up on 185 00:11:35,405 --> 00:11:37,725 Speaker 1: her yard would have been that one over there. Maybe, well, 186 00:11:37,765 --> 00:11:40,405 Speaker 1: I think that's something different or is it destroyed now? Maybe? 187 00:11:40,325 --> 00:11:44,285 Speaker 1: Ye see how that's what I'm thinking, and those houses 188 00:11:44,365 --> 00:11:46,645 Speaker 1: might have been the same. But we see from the 189 00:11:46,645 --> 00:11:49,485 Speaker 1: case file that police talked to Christina's mom Frida and 190 00:11:49,525 --> 00:11:52,925 Speaker 1: father James. They discussed what they did on the day 191 00:11:53,005 --> 00:11:55,965 Speaker 1: Christina disappeared in a lot more detail than I've ever seen. 192 00:11:57,965 --> 00:12:01,005 Speaker 1: On Saturday, May fourth, Frida said it started out as 193 00:12:01,005 --> 00:12:04,125 Speaker 1: an ordinary Saturday. Frida went to the post office that 194 00:12:04,205 --> 00:12:07,245 Speaker 1: morning between nine thirty and ten. When she got home, 195 00:12:07,605 --> 00:12:11,485 Speaker 1: Christina and her brother Adam were watching cartoons. Frida said 196 00:12:11,485 --> 00:12:14,325 Speaker 1: she had some coffee with her neighbor Pat Moore. Then 197 00:12:14,525 --> 00:12:17,725 Speaker 1: Pat left. After a few minutes, Frida started cleaning and 198 00:12:17,765 --> 00:12:21,045 Speaker 1: doing laundry because Saturday was wash day. At around eleven 199 00:12:21,125 --> 00:12:24,365 Speaker 1: thirty or twelve, Freda warmed up some pop pies. They 200 00:12:24,525 --> 00:12:26,485 Speaker 1: ate the pop pies, and they had iced tea to drink. 201 00:12:27,565 --> 00:12:30,205 Speaker 1: After lunch, she was hanging clothes out on the line 202 00:12:30,725 --> 00:12:33,685 Speaker 1: when James came out and showed her a picture of 203 00:12:33,725 --> 00:12:35,365 Speaker 1: a used car he had been looking out in the 204 00:12:35,405 --> 00:12:39,005 Speaker 1: local magazine She and James took Christina and Adam and 205 00:12:39,045 --> 00:12:41,605 Speaker 1: they went to Walmart and went They bought a few 206 00:12:41,605 --> 00:12:45,565 Speaker 1: things there for the house. Then they went to Cherry Valley, 207 00:12:45,885 --> 00:12:49,085 Speaker 1: a town about fifteen miles east of Hickory Ridge. They 208 00:12:49,125 --> 00:12:51,565 Speaker 1: looked at the car, a blue Mustang that was parked 209 00:12:51,565 --> 00:12:54,045 Speaker 1: out in the seller's yard. They took a quick look 210 00:12:54,085 --> 00:12:56,645 Speaker 1: at the car, asked about the price, and left there 211 00:12:56,725 --> 00:13:00,405 Speaker 1: around one pm. At some point they stopped at Gaskin's 212 00:13:00,405 --> 00:13:03,565 Speaker 1: grocery store in vandal They bought some pork rines, and 213 00:13:03,645 --> 00:13:06,485 Speaker 1: apparently Christina had a few of the porkskins on the 214 00:13:06,565 --> 00:13:09,405 Speaker 1: ride home, but she didn't really eat a lot of 215 00:13:09,405 --> 00:13:11,645 Speaker 1: them because apparently they were a little bit pink and 216 00:13:11,765 --> 00:13:15,165 Speaker 1: she didn't love the taste. The family got back home, 217 00:13:15,765 --> 00:13:19,605 Speaker 1: Adam and James were hanging out watching TV. Christina played 218 00:13:19,645 --> 00:13:21,725 Speaker 1: with one of Frida's old makeup compacts that she had 219 00:13:21,725 --> 00:13:25,445 Speaker 1: found lying around. James was programming the VCR to tape 220 00:13:25,485 --> 00:13:27,885 Speaker 1: the movie The Hunt for Red October that was airing 221 00:13:27,885 --> 00:13:31,845 Speaker 1: that night. At some point, Christina asked her parents if 222 00:13:31,845 --> 00:13:33,965 Speaker 1: she could go door to door to sell her jewelry. 223 00:13:34,565 --> 00:13:38,805 Speaker 1: She headed out at around four thirty or five PM. 224 00:13:39,245 --> 00:13:41,365 Speaker 1: Now I should say that what's in the case file 225 00:13:41,485 --> 00:13:44,125 Speaker 1: differs from what we've read in the newspapers, because in 226 00:13:44,165 --> 00:13:46,845 Speaker 1: the newspapers it said she asked her dad, James, if 227 00:13:46,885 --> 00:13:49,165 Speaker 1: she could go out. He said no at first, then 228 00:13:49,205 --> 00:13:51,245 Speaker 1: said okay, but you have to be home before dark. 229 00:13:51,885 --> 00:13:55,365 Speaker 1: But in the case file, James said he believed that 230 00:13:55,485 --> 00:13:58,045 Speaker 1: Christina had asked her mother if she could go sell jewelry, 231 00:13:58,965 --> 00:14:01,685 Speaker 1: though he does mention the kids knew not to cross 232 00:14:01,725 --> 00:14:04,845 Speaker 1: over to the other side of the railroad tracks. At 233 00:14:04,885 --> 00:14:08,365 Speaker 1: around seven or seven thirty pm, Frieda realized she still 234 00:14:08,405 --> 00:14:10,925 Speaker 1: needed a few things from the store. She ran up 235 00:14:10,965 --> 00:14:13,845 Speaker 1: to the Bearcat Grocery, a couple of blocks from their house. 236 00:14:14,805 --> 00:14:17,045 Speaker 1: The bear Cat was next to the only bank in town, 237 00:14:17,205 --> 00:14:20,685 Speaker 1: Cross County Bank. The two businesses shared a parking lot. 238 00:14:21,685 --> 00:14:24,845 Speaker 1: At the store, Frida bought onions and gravy and potatoes 239 00:14:24,885 --> 00:14:27,525 Speaker 1: and mushrooms. She said she was only in there for 240 00:14:27,565 --> 00:14:29,805 Speaker 1: around five minutes and then she went right back home. 241 00:14:30,405 --> 00:14:33,685 Speaker 1: She started to make dinner to fry potatoes. At some 242 00:14:33,805 --> 00:14:37,125 Speaker 1: point it started to get dark, and that's when Christina's 243 00:14:37,165 --> 00:14:40,965 Speaker 1: parents realized that she hadn't made it home. Frida sent 244 00:14:41,005 --> 00:14:44,045 Speaker 1: Adam out to look for his sister. Pretty quickly, he 245 00:14:44,085 --> 00:14:46,845 Speaker 1: came back and said he couldn't find her. That's when 246 00:14:46,885 --> 00:14:50,045 Speaker 1: Frida said, quote, I had a gut feeling something was 247 00:14:50,085 --> 00:14:53,485 Speaker 1: not right. This is a mother's concern. I sent Adam 248 00:14:53,525 --> 00:14:56,245 Speaker 1: out to find Christina. When he came back and said 249 00:14:56,245 --> 00:14:59,125 Speaker 1: he couldn't find her, I knew something was wrong with 250 00:14:59,125 --> 00:15:02,925 Speaker 1: my baby girl. End quote. James and Frieda went around 251 00:15:02,925 --> 00:15:05,965 Speaker 1: the neighborhood. They went to some apartments near by where 252 00:15:06,045 --> 00:15:08,565 Speaker 1: Christina had been selling her jewelry in the days before 253 00:15:08,565 --> 00:15:11,685 Speaker 1: she went missing. They went to the Bearcat store, and 254 00:15:11,725 --> 00:15:14,405 Speaker 1: then they went back home in case Christina came back. 255 00:15:15,525 --> 00:15:18,005 Speaker 1: They called the police to report her missing, and the 256 00:15:18,045 --> 00:15:23,005 Speaker 1: search started. James said in his statement quote after the 257 00:15:23,045 --> 00:15:25,765 Speaker 1: police came, we started a house to house search. I 258 00:15:25,805 --> 00:15:28,005 Speaker 1: went to several houses and went back home to see 259 00:15:28,005 --> 00:15:30,205 Speaker 1: if anyone had found her. After my brother in law 260 00:15:30,245 --> 00:15:32,885 Speaker 1: got to the house, we went out searching. I kept 261 00:15:32,925 --> 00:15:35,485 Speaker 1: hoping she would show up. I did not believe this 262 00:15:35,605 --> 00:15:38,485 Speaker 1: was happening. I wondered what happened to her? Where could 263 00:15:38,525 --> 00:15:40,965 Speaker 1: she be? As we drove around looking for her, I 264 00:15:41,085 --> 00:15:43,485 Speaker 1: was hoping to see her walking. I thought if she 265 00:15:43,525 --> 00:15:45,605 Speaker 1: could just get away. I might see her on the road. 266 00:15:46,325 --> 00:15:48,805 Speaker 1: On Sunday we went searching some more. I didn't eat 267 00:15:48,845 --> 00:15:51,685 Speaker 1: because I couldn't eat, not knowing if my baby girl 268 00:15:51,685 --> 00:15:54,245 Speaker 1: had had anything to eat. I was wondering how she 269 00:15:54,325 --> 00:15:57,205 Speaker 1: was being treated. Was she cold? Was she hungry? I 270 00:15:57,285 --> 00:15:59,325 Speaker 1: kept hoping that whoever took her would let her go. 271 00:15:59,965 --> 00:16:02,285 Speaker 1: I kept looking up the street, hoping that I would 272 00:16:02,325 --> 00:16:04,525 Speaker 1: see her. I kept believing we would find her alive, 273 00:16:05,205 --> 00:16:07,125 Speaker 1: even if she was hurt. We could get help for that. 274 00:16:08,125 --> 00:16:10,125 Speaker 1: But when they told me they had found her and 275 00:16:10,165 --> 00:16:13,125 Speaker 1: she was dead, how do you describe how do you 276 00:16:13,165 --> 00:16:17,285 Speaker 1: feel when you find out your daughter is dead? Angry, hurt, confused? 277 00:16:17,765 --> 00:16:21,925 Speaker 1: I don't know how to describe it. End quote. I 278 00:16:21,965 --> 00:16:23,805 Speaker 1: don't know how many of you have ever seen the 279 00:16:23,805 --> 00:16:26,325 Speaker 1: movie rasham On, but it's something I think about a 280 00:16:26,365 --> 00:16:29,325 Speaker 1: lot when I'm doing an investigation. Now. In that movie, 281 00:16:29,365 --> 00:16:31,845 Speaker 1: there are three different people, and they're telling the story 282 00:16:31,885 --> 00:16:34,565 Speaker 1: of an assault and a murder. Each of them witnessed 283 00:16:34,605 --> 00:16:38,405 Speaker 1: this from their point of view. Everyone saw exactly the 284 00:16:38,405 --> 00:16:42,365 Speaker 1: same thing, but each person gives you a different piece 285 00:16:42,365 --> 00:16:46,205 Speaker 1: of the story. Each person has another piece of the puzzle. 286 00:16:46,645 --> 00:16:49,125 Speaker 1: It's the same thing with a murder investigation. We have 287 00:16:49,245 --> 00:16:52,365 Speaker 1: all these people who are present at the Bearcat convenience 288 00:16:52,405 --> 00:16:55,285 Speaker 1: store and the bank that afternoon. Each of them saw 289 00:16:55,285 --> 00:16:58,365 Speaker 1: a small slice of Christina's day, and we really need 290 00:16:58,405 --> 00:17:02,485 Speaker 1: to put all those multiple versions together. Now. Admittedly there's 291 00:17:02,485 --> 00:17:05,725 Speaker 1: a separate problem, which is that memory itself changed just 292 00:17:05,725 --> 00:17:09,045 Speaker 1: ever time, even if you have great recall, But we'll 293 00:17:09,045 --> 00:17:11,005 Speaker 1: get to that later. First, we need to get as 294 00:17:11,045 --> 00:17:13,405 Speaker 1: many points of view as possible to try and fill 295 00:17:13,405 --> 00:17:17,445 Speaker 1: in some of these holes on the timeline. So let's 296 00:17:17,525 --> 00:17:21,765 Speaker 1: go back to May fourth, nineteen ninety one, Christina is missing. 297 00:17:22,165 --> 00:17:25,445 Speaker 1: Over the next few days, police started talking to people, and, 298 00:17:25,645 --> 00:17:28,965 Speaker 1: as happens often in small towns, a few names got 299 00:17:28,965 --> 00:17:32,605 Speaker 1: thrown around. We noticed something else in the case file 300 00:17:33,165 --> 00:17:36,285 Speaker 1: that during this time, quite a few people also mentioned 301 00:17:36,285 --> 00:17:38,645 Speaker 1: they had seen a blue car with a man driving it, 302 00:17:39,245 --> 00:17:41,405 Speaker 1: one that was in the bank parking lot and hanging 303 00:17:41,405 --> 00:17:44,525 Speaker 1: around town in general around the time when Christina went missing. 304 00:17:45,165 --> 00:17:47,365 Speaker 1: That what we were about to find out was that 305 00:17:47,405 --> 00:17:51,045 Speaker 1: people had a lot of different descriptions of exactly what 306 00:17:51,165 --> 00:17:55,965 Speaker 1: that man and that vehicle looked like. We measured the 307 00:17:56,005 --> 00:17:58,485 Speaker 1: distance from where Christina was last seen to where she 308 00:17:58,605 --> 00:18:01,165 Speaker 1: was found. It was around three and a half miles 309 00:18:01,525 --> 00:18:04,205 Speaker 1: so I think police were right. She was almost certainly 310 00:18:04,285 --> 00:18:08,565 Speaker 1: driven to that location. So who drove her there? In 311 00:18:08,605 --> 00:18:12,085 Speaker 1: a town this small, it seems like somebody would have 312 00:18:12,165 --> 00:18:15,405 Speaker 1: to have seen something. We need to find that car. 313 00:18:18,485 --> 00:18:21,245 Speaker 1: We need to explore all of those suspects, figure out 314 00:18:21,285 --> 00:18:24,485 Speaker 1: exactly where everyone was on the day Christina went missing, 315 00:18:24,925 --> 00:18:27,445 Speaker 1: and also find out where this rumor about a blue 316 00:18:27,445 --> 00:18:30,925 Speaker 1: car started. One person the police talked to was the 317 00:18:30,965 --> 00:18:34,005 Speaker 1: Long family. They live right by Christina's house at two 318 00:18:34,125 --> 00:18:37,565 Speaker 1: eighty nine Doty Street. Michael Long, who was twenty six 319 00:18:37,605 --> 00:18:39,925 Speaker 1: at the time, said that he was home that Saturday 320 00:18:39,925 --> 00:18:43,445 Speaker 1: afternoon at around five pm. He said Christina stopped by 321 00:18:43,445 --> 00:18:45,725 Speaker 1: the house looking for his little sister, who was ten 322 00:18:45,965 --> 00:18:49,605 Speaker 1: Christina's age, presumably to go door to door jewelry selling 323 00:18:49,645 --> 00:18:53,445 Speaker 1: with her. His sister wasn't home, so Christina left. Michael 324 00:18:53,485 --> 00:18:56,765 Speaker 1: said he next saw Christina walking back south down Third Street. 325 00:18:57,325 --> 00:19:00,045 Speaker 1: Then he saw her turn west on Laurel Street toward 326 00:19:00,125 --> 00:19:04,165 Speaker 1: the Bearcat's door and the bank. Michael told police that 327 00:19:04,245 --> 00:19:07,445 Speaker 1: about five minutes after Ristina left, he went outside to 328 00:19:07,525 --> 00:19:10,285 Speaker 1: check a ditch for snakes. Then he said he walked 329 00:19:10,285 --> 00:19:13,325 Speaker 1: to the bear Cat for some cigarettes. When he came out, 330 00:19:13,725 --> 00:19:17,085 Speaker 1: he saw Christina walking behind the alley at Cross County Bank. 331 00:19:17,885 --> 00:19:20,685 Speaker 1: At that point, Michael said she was headed north. This 332 00:19:20,725 --> 00:19:23,845 Speaker 1: would have been at around five thirty pm. After that, 333 00:19:23,965 --> 00:19:27,485 Speaker 1: Michael said he didn't see her again. Another family that 334 00:19:27,525 --> 00:19:30,885 Speaker 1: lived next to the Pipkins were the Moors, Pat and Connie. 335 00:19:31,445 --> 00:19:34,085 Speaker 1: They had a blue car registered to them, a nineteen 336 00:19:34,165 --> 00:19:37,805 Speaker 1: seventy three Ford Maverick. On the day Christina went missing, 337 00:19:37,925 --> 00:19:40,965 Speaker 1: two friends of Theirs, Ricky Dawson and James the Sheers, 338 00:19:41,205 --> 00:19:43,645 Speaker 1: who were eighteen and twenty at the time, came by 339 00:19:43,645 --> 00:19:46,605 Speaker 1: the house at around four thirty. They were there to 340 00:19:46,605 --> 00:19:50,285 Speaker 1: pick up Ricky's girlfriend, Jenna Algood and her friend April Jones, 341 00:19:50,525 --> 00:19:53,725 Speaker 1: who were hanging out at the moorhouse. Ricky, James, and 342 00:19:53,765 --> 00:19:55,885 Speaker 1: the two young women left for a night out on 343 00:19:55,925 --> 00:19:59,605 Speaker 1: the town and Win, but before they left, Ricky said 344 00:19:59,685 --> 00:20:02,645 Speaker 1: he remembered seeing Christina outside on her porch. Next door. 345 00:20:03,765 --> 00:20:06,765 Speaker 1: Ricky Dawson was driving yet an other blue car, his 346 00:20:06,845 --> 00:20:10,405 Speaker 1: mom's blue Camaro with rust on the side. He said 347 00:20:10,445 --> 00:20:12,645 Speaker 1: that he, James, and the two girls went to Win 348 00:20:12,725 --> 00:20:15,325 Speaker 1: between five thirty and six thirty. He said they didn't 349 00:20:15,365 --> 00:20:19,165 Speaker 1: come back until around midnight. By that time, Christina was 350 00:20:19,165 --> 00:20:21,325 Speaker 1: missing and a bunch of people were already out looking 351 00:20:21,365 --> 00:20:25,805 Speaker 1: for her. So at that point, obviously things got pretty chaotic. 352 00:20:26,085 --> 00:20:29,645 Speaker 1: It was Saturday night. People were having barbecues, making plans, 353 00:20:29,685 --> 00:20:32,365 Speaker 1: going on dates, the sun was going down, and the 354 00:20:32,445 --> 00:20:34,725 Speaker 1: night was just starting. But I want to go back 355 00:20:34,765 --> 00:20:37,085 Speaker 1: to the timeline and mention a couple of other people 356 00:20:37,085 --> 00:20:39,645 Speaker 1: who told police they noticed things that were slightly out 357 00:20:39,685 --> 00:20:43,605 Speaker 1: of the ordinary, because obviously any event can have huge 358 00:20:43,605 --> 00:20:49,445 Speaker 1: significance when someone goes missing. On May seventh, police went 359 00:20:49,485 --> 00:20:52,765 Speaker 1: to the Hickory Ridge Elementary School and they interviewed several children. 360 00:20:53,605 --> 00:20:56,285 Speaker 1: They asked about a stranger that the kids had seen 361 00:20:56,685 --> 00:21:00,485 Speaker 1: around the time when Christina disappeared, but their descriptions were 362 00:21:00,525 --> 00:21:05,565 Speaker 1: completely inconsistent. The police report said there were numerous in 363 00:21:05,565 --> 00:21:08,085 Speaker 1: consistencies in the kid's stories, and so because of that, 364 00:21:08,165 --> 00:21:11,605 Speaker 1: the officer could not follow through on completing a composite drawing. 365 00:21:12,405 --> 00:21:14,685 Speaker 1: This doesn't surprise me because by the time those kids 366 00:21:14,725 --> 00:21:17,885 Speaker 1: were interviewed, it had been several days, and unfortunately, in 367 00:21:17,925 --> 00:21:20,965 Speaker 1: my opinion, what happened probably was that the kids talked 368 00:21:21,005 --> 00:21:23,965 Speaker 1: to each other over the weekend, so their stories took 369 00:21:24,005 --> 00:21:27,725 Speaker 1: on elements of each other's. This is not uncommon. So 370 00:21:28,445 --> 00:21:30,805 Speaker 1: seventy two hours have passed, the whole town's talking about 371 00:21:30,805 --> 00:21:34,725 Speaker 1: a kidnapping, and suddenly the mysterious stranger had gone from 372 00:21:34,765 --> 00:21:37,965 Speaker 1: a white man with tanned skin to a Native American 373 00:21:38,045 --> 00:21:43,405 Speaker 1: and quote Indian lookalike with high cheekbones and black hair. Now, 374 00:21:43,725 --> 00:21:46,725 Speaker 1: because Christina lived in Cross County but her body was 375 00:21:46,725 --> 00:21:50,125 Speaker 1: found across the county line in Jackson County, law enforcement 376 00:21:50,205 --> 00:21:53,485 Speaker 1: met and decided that Jackson County would assist, but that 377 00:21:53,525 --> 00:21:57,165 Speaker 1: the jurisdiction would stay in Cross County. Jackson County did 378 00:21:57,285 --> 00:22:00,405 Speaker 1: question some people, mainly guys who were arrested for other 379 00:22:00,445 --> 00:22:04,285 Speaker 1: things like dwi's, but police really seemed to have pretty 380 00:22:04,325 --> 00:22:08,685 Speaker 1: much zero leads and not much to go on. There 381 00:22:08,885 --> 00:22:12,045 Speaker 1: was another family, the Earls. They lived on Fourth Street, 382 00:22:12,285 --> 00:22:16,245 Speaker 1: close to Christina's house. Kim Earles said that on Saturday night, 383 00:22:16,405 --> 00:22:19,045 Speaker 1: just after midnight, she saw a young man in a 384 00:22:19,045 --> 00:22:21,925 Speaker 1: blue car, which she described as a late model Transam 385 00:22:22,045 --> 00:22:25,205 Speaker 1: or Camaro. She said it had one of those novelty 386 00:22:25,325 --> 00:22:28,805 Speaker 1: brake lights that glow neon around the license plate when 387 00:22:28,805 --> 00:22:31,605 Speaker 1: you put on the brakes. She said she saw that car, 388 00:22:31,725 --> 00:22:33,685 Speaker 1: which seems like it would be pretty memorable at a 389 00:22:33,805 --> 00:22:36,685 Speaker 1: McDonald's and win. She said the guy driving it was 390 00:22:36,765 --> 00:22:40,405 Speaker 1: dark complexion with tan skin, medium bill, dark eyebrows, and 391 00:22:40,445 --> 00:22:43,965 Speaker 1: that that person was around six foot two. Other people 392 00:22:44,005 --> 00:22:46,045 Speaker 1: said there was a guy named James Hannah who had 393 00:22:46,085 --> 00:22:49,045 Speaker 1: a car like that, but when police showed a picture 394 00:22:49,085 --> 00:22:50,925 Speaker 1: of James Hannah to the girls, they said they knew 395 00:22:51,005 --> 00:22:53,445 Speaker 1: James Hannah and this was not him driving the car. 396 00:22:54,565 --> 00:22:57,525 Speaker 1: They described the driver as dirty looking and said that 397 00:22:57,525 --> 00:23:00,765 Speaker 1: that person was a stranger to them. Kim said that 398 00:23:00,845 --> 00:23:03,125 Speaker 1: she had seen that same man, the one driving the 399 00:23:03,125 --> 00:23:06,005 Speaker 1: blue car with the light up brakes, around on Town 400 00:23:06,085 --> 00:23:08,925 Speaker 1: for the past few months. She said that this mystery 401 00:23:08,925 --> 00:23:12,365 Speaker 1: guy had been parked near the bank on Saturday. Her 402 00:23:12,405 --> 00:23:15,205 Speaker 1: and her sister Angela said that they believed that this 403 00:23:15,285 --> 00:23:19,765 Speaker 1: person had followed them to the tanning bed. Sharon and 404 00:23:19,885 --> 00:23:23,485 Speaker 1: Ricky Holloman had a daughter who was friends with Christina. 405 00:23:24,285 --> 00:23:26,765 Speaker 1: Sharon was another person who said she saw a blue 406 00:23:26,805 --> 00:23:29,485 Speaker 1: car that day. She said it was sportsy looking and 407 00:23:29,565 --> 00:23:31,885 Speaker 1: had primer or rest spots on it, and that it 408 00:23:31,965 --> 00:23:34,085 Speaker 1: was speeding on the side streets. Of Hickory Ridge on 409 00:23:34,125 --> 00:23:38,085 Speaker 1: Saturday afternoon. She described the driver as clean shaven, with 410 00:23:38,125 --> 00:23:41,605 Speaker 1: short hair and chubby cheeks. She said that she had 411 00:23:41,605 --> 00:23:44,285 Speaker 1: seen that same car several times a week, going over 412 00:23:44,405 --> 00:23:47,525 Speaker 1: to what she thought was the Pipkin residence. Sharon and 413 00:23:47,605 --> 00:23:49,845 Speaker 1: Ricky had a daughter, and their daughter was a friend 414 00:23:49,845 --> 00:23:53,085 Speaker 1: of Christina's. She actually saw Christina on the afternoon that 415 00:23:53,125 --> 00:23:55,645 Speaker 1: she disappeared, and she said she saw her with a 416 00:23:55,725 --> 00:23:58,725 Speaker 1: young boy that had gone to school with Christina. The 417 00:23:58,765 --> 00:24:01,405 Speaker 1: little girl said she didn't know the boy's name. She 418 00:24:01,445 --> 00:24:04,085 Speaker 1: said for some reason, the boy would hide behind trees 419 00:24:04,685 --> 00:24:08,085 Speaker 1: and Christina seen impatient, and that when this friend tried 420 00:24:08,125 --> 00:24:11,045 Speaker 1: to talk to Christina, finally, she said, the boy caught 421 00:24:11,125 --> 00:24:13,165 Speaker 1: up to Christina and started walking with her, and they 422 00:24:13,165 --> 00:24:16,965 Speaker 1: went off in the other direction. Christina's friend said the 423 00:24:17,045 --> 00:24:19,885 Speaker 1: last time she saw Christina, Christina was walking south on 424 00:24:19,925 --> 00:24:22,605 Speaker 1: the southbound shoulder of Highway forty nine in front of 425 00:24:22,605 --> 00:24:26,125 Speaker 1: the bear Cat Store, so between the Bearcat Grocery Store 426 00:24:26,125 --> 00:24:29,565 Speaker 1: and the post office. She said the blue car was 427 00:24:29,565 --> 00:24:33,285 Speaker 1: following Christina, driving slow, and that Christina was shaking her 428 00:24:33,325 --> 00:24:36,845 Speaker 1: head no to the person driving the car. She described 429 00:24:36,885 --> 00:24:39,645 Speaker 1: it as an older blue colored car with some type 430 00:24:39,645 --> 00:24:42,245 Speaker 1: of brownish rust colored stains or rust on the lower 431 00:24:42,325 --> 00:24:45,605 Speaker 1: portions of the car. The friend said that she rode 432 00:24:45,645 --> 00:24:47,565 Speaker 1: her bike around the bank one more time and that 433 00:24:47,565 --> 00:24:49,445 Speaker 1: by the time she got back to the road, she 434 00:24:49,485 --> 00:24:53,245 Speaker 1: could not see Christina or the car. The little girl 435 00:24:53,285 --> 00:24:56,045 Speaker 1: didn't know what time this was, but her mother said 436 00:24:56,165 --> 00:24:58,205 Speaker 1: they had only gotten back to their house at around 437 00:24:58,205 --> 00:25:00,165 Speaker 1: seven pm, so would have had to have been a 438 00:25:00,245 --> 00:25:03,805 Speaker 1: little bit after that. If that's true, then this little 439 00:25:03,885 --> 00:25:05,965 Speaker 1: girl may have been the last person and the case 440 00:25:05,965 --> 00:25:16,765 Speaker 1: for at least to have seen Christina alive. Christina Pipkins's 441 00:25:16,805 --> 00:25:19,605 Speaker 1: math teacher also said she saw Christina outside of the 442 00:25:19,605 --> 00:25:23,565 Speaker 1: bear Cat grocery that afternoon, and she said that Christina 443 00:25:23,845 --> 00:25:30,325 Speaker 1: was barefoot. This seems to solve another mystery because remember 444 00:25:30,365 --> 00:25:33,605 Speaker 1: we mentioned that Christina's mother said she was wearing white 445 00:25:33,645 --> 00:25:37,925 Speaker 1: sandals on the day she went missing, but her sandals 446 00:25:37,925 --> 00:25:40,805 Speaker 1: were not found with her body. But it seems like 447 00:25:40,885 --> 00:25:43,845 Speaker 1: Christina had already ditched her sandals because she was walking 448 00:25:43,845 --> 00:25:47,005 Speaker 1: around that parking lot barefoot, so it seems less likely 449 00:25:47,085 --> 00:25:49,205 Speaker 1: that her killer took them or that they slipped off 450 00:25:49,285 --> 00:25:53,085 Speaker 1: during some kind of struggle. I still wonder though where 451 00:25:53,085 --> 00:25:58,005 Speaker 1: are the sandals? But in my mind, if she was barefoot, 452 00:25:58,045 --> 00:26:00,565 Speaker 1: that means it's even less likely she would have made 453 00:26:00,605 --> 00:26:03,285 Speaker 1: that over three mile walk out to the area where 454 00:26:03,325 --> 00:26:08,045 Speaker 1: she was found. Another name that was mentioned in the 455 00:26:08,045 --> 00:26:12,525 Speaker 1: case file early on was Charles Cotton Junior. Charles Cotton 456 00:26:12,605 --> 00:26:16,605 Speaker 1: Junior has a criminal record, including charges for lewde acts 457 00:26:16,645 --> 00:26:20,485 Speaker 1: against a child. Now, Charles Cotton would later tell a 458 00:26:20,565 --> 00:26:22,965 Speaker 1: journalist in Juno, Alaska, where he was living, that that 459 00:26:23,045 --> 00:26:25,885 Speaker 1: was all mistake, that what happened was a child had 460 00:26:25,925 --> 00:26:28,605 Speaker 1: walked in on him and either his wife or girlfriend 461 00:26:28,685 --> 00:26:31,245 Speaker 1: having sex on a couch. That the whole thing was 462 00:26:31,285 --> 00:26:34,245 Speaker 1: blown out of proportion. That's what a lot of sex 463 00:26:34,285 --> 00:26:36,605 Speaker 1: offenders say. And the fact of the matter is Charles 464 00:26:36,605 --> 00:26:40,245 Speaker 1: Cotton did have a lengthy criminal record. At the time 465 00:26:40,245 --> 00:26:43,845 Speaker 1: when Christina went missing. Charles Cotton was married. According to 466 00:26:43,845 --> 00:26:46,285 Speaker 1: his wife, Rebecca Cotton, who was twenty one years old 467 00:26:46,325 --> 00:26:48,805 Speaker 1: at the time, the couple was living a little bit 468 00:26:48,845 --> 00:26:51,205 Speaker 1: out of town. But we've also been told by people 469 00:26:51,245 --> 00:26:54,005 Speaker 1: close to Christina's family that Charles Cotton was living right 470 00:26:54,045 --> 00:26:56,845 Speaker 1: next door. We're still trying to figure out his exact 471 00:26:56,885 --> 00:26:59,925 Speaker 1: location and movements at the time. We do know that 472 00:27:00,085 --> 00:27:03,205 Speaker 1: Charles Cotton was introduced to Christina's father, James, by their 473 00:27:03,205 --> 00:27:06,245 Speaker 1: next door neighbor, Pat Moore, So as far as I 474 00:27:06,285 --> 00:27:09,525 Speaker 1: can tell, Charles Cotton did spend some time at the Moorhouse. 475 00:27:10,205 --> 00:27:13,565 Speaker 1: That could potentially be why some people believe that Charles 476 00:27:13,605 --> 00:27:18,565 Speaker 1: was living next door. These guys all had completely different 477 00:27:18,605 --> 00:27:22,325 Speaker 1: physical descriptions. Robbie Tubbs was white with tan skin and 478 00:27:22,445 --> 00:27:25,605 Speaker 1: dark wavy hair that went down toward his shoulders. Charles 479 00:27:25,645 --> 00:27:28,885 Speaker 1: Cotton had blue eyes and blonde hair. We mentioned in 480 00:27:28,925 --> 00:27:31,525 Speaker 1: the last episode that after hair testing and the trial, 481 00:27:31,605 --> 00:27:34,885 Speaker 1: the charges against Robbie Tubbs were dropped. He walked away 482 00:27:34,885 --> 00:27:39,125 Speaker 1: a free man. His last known address is in Sulfur Spring, Texas, 483 00:27:39,525 --> 00:27:43,325 Speaker 1: but he's challenging to find. Charles Cotton is much easier 484 00:27:43,365 --> 00:27:47,645 Speaker 1: to find. He's in federal prison in Washington State. After 485 00:27:47,725 --> 00:27:50,605 Speaker 1: Christina's death, Charles Cotton got into some more issues with 486 00:27:50,645 --> 00:27:55,405 Speaker 1: the law and eventually he found love. In twenty eleven, 487 00:27:55,885 --> 00:27:59,325 Speaker 1: Charles reconnected with a woman named Penny. They actually grew 488 00:27:59,405 --> 00:28:01,805 Speaker 1: up together and they met while they were both students 489 00:28:01,805 --> 00:28:04,845 Speaker 1: and win high school back in the day. Back then. 490 00:28:04,885 --> 00:28:06,765 Speaker 1: They dated, but they broke up and they didn't see 491 00:28:06,805 --> 00:28:10,405 Speaker 1: each other for years. This time, though, once they reconnected 492 00:28:10,445 --> 00:28:14,085 Speaker 1: that relationship got serious. They got married and Penny moved 493 00:28:14,085 --> 00:28:18,445 Speaker 1: with Charles to Juneo, Alaska, but their fresh start did 494 00:28:18,445 --> 00:28:22,445 Speaker 1: not last long. In Juno, Charles Cotton started managing a 495 00:28:22,485 --> 00:28:25,845 Speaker 1: hotel called the Bergmann Hotel. It was a historic structure 496 00:28:25,885 --> 00:28:29,365 Speaker 1: that had become run down over the years. In twenty sixteen, 497 00:28:29,925 --> 00:28:33,125 Speaker 1: he took that dilapidated building that had become a hangout 498 00:28:33,165 --> 00:28:36,405 Speaker 1: for people doing drugs and other illegal things and said 499 00:28:36,485 --> 00:28:38,685 Speaker 1: he was going to turn it around. At one point, 500 00:28:38,725 --> 00:28:41,045 Speaker 1: he actually made local news as someone who had a 501 00:28:41,045 --> 00:28:43,885 Speaker 1: criminal record but was now a productive member of society. 502 00:28:45,165 --> 00:28:48,805 Speaker 1: Charles told the Juno Empire during that interview, quote I 503 00:28:48,925 --> 00:28:51,605 Speaker 1: come in and started getting the riff rafh out, started 504 00:28:51,605 --> 00:28:54,165 Speaker 1: getting the thieves and the drugs out. I run them 505 00:28:54,165 --> 00:28:55,605 Speaker 1: the hell off, and I'd do it any day of 506 00:28:55,645 --> 00:28:59,525 Speaker 1: the week end. Quote. So in this article, Charles was 507 00:28:59,565 --> 00:29:02,645 Speaker 1: described as this recovering addict who was kind of running 508 00:29:02,685 --> 00:29:06,285 Speaker 1: his own alternative to narcannon called Choices. So the idea 509 00:29:06,285 --> 00:29:08,645 Speaker 1: of the program was that Charles would get the addicts 510 00:29:08,725 --> 00:29:10,805 Speaker 1: to do work on the crumbling building and they would 511 00:29:10,805 --> 00:29:13,685 Speaker 1: get free room and board, but that good press did 512 00:29:13,725 --> 00:29:16,685 Speaker 1: not last because the city came in and they found 513 00:29:16,725 --> 00:29:19,445 Speaker 1: a ton of problems without building. There were toxins in 514 00:29:19,485 --> 00:29:22,565 Speaker 1: the water, exposed wires, and apparently no heat or hot water. 515 00:29:23,365 --> 00:29:25,645 Speaker 1: They slapped Charles with a fine, which he didn't pay. 516 00:29:26,085 --> 00:29:29,245 Speaker 1: At some point they condemned the building. The city evacuated it, 517 00:29:29,285 --> 00:29:32,445 Speaker 1: but Charles and his tenants refused to leave. It turned 518 00:29:32,485 --> 00:29:35,205 Speaker 1: out that he was selling drugs again. At some point 519 00:29:35,245 --> 00:29:37,845 Speaker 1: he had relapsed and gone from being a program for 520 00:29:37,925 --> 00:29:42,485 Speaker 1: recovering addicts to a drug den. Charles was hit with 521 00:29:42,565 --> 00:29:47,405 Speaker 1: a string of charges for distributing methamphetamine, and then on 522 00:29:47,445 --> 00:29:52,405 Speaker 1: September twenty seventh, twenty seventeen, his wife, Penny Cotton, was 523 00:29:52,485 --> 00:29:59,765 Speaker 1: found dead in a hotel room in Morris, Alaska. When 524 00:29:59,805 --> 00:30:02,485 Speaker 1: Penny Cotton was found dead, she had been shot in 525 00:30:02,525 --> 00:30:05,685 Speaker 1: the head. Her death was ruled a suicide, but her 526 00:30:05,685 --> 00:30:08,365 Speaker 1: family back in Arkansas told reporters at the Mid South 527 00:30:08,725 --> 00:30:11,685 Speaker 1: they did not believe that Penny would take her own life. 528 00:30:11,765 --> 00:30:15,645 Speaker 1: The medical examiner did not order an autopsy, but Penny's 529 00:30:15,645 --> 00:30:18,245 Speaker 1: family got some photos and they shared those photos of 530 00:30:18,325 --> 00:30:22,805 Speaker 1: Penny's body with local media. These photos apparently showed Penny 531 00:30:22,805 --> 00:30:24,725 Speaker 1: had been shot in the left side of the head, 532 00:30:25,365 --> 00:30:28,685 Speaker 1: but Penny's family pointed out she's right handed, so to 533 00:30:28,765 --> 00:30:33,485 Speaker 1: them that seemed to be impossible. In twenty seventeen, Charles 534 00:30:33,565 --> 00:30:36,925 Speaker 1: was hit with charges of distributing methamphetamine and was arrested 535 00:30:36,925 --> 00:30:41,165 Speaker 1: by the FBI. In twenty nineteen, Charles Cotton Junior and 536 00:30:41,205 --> 00:30:45,045 Speaker 1: his son, Ricky Staplear Lisk were both sentenced for drug charges. 537 00:30:45,565 --> 00:30:48,445 Speaker 1: Charles got ten years in prison, Ricky got five, and 538 00:30:48,565 --> 00:30:52,005 Speaker 1: Charles is in prison today. There was a comment on 539 00:30:52,045 --> 00:30:56,085 Speaker 1: Penny's obituary. It referred to her as being gangster and 540 00:30:56,125 --> 00:30:58,525 Speaker 1: to her helping Charles with his business, and it was 541 00:30:58,525 --> 00:31:00,605 Speaker 1: written by someone who had been in that building with 542 00:31:00,645 --> 00:31:04,205 Speaker 1: Penny and Charles, so obviously Penny knew a lot about 543 00:31:04,245 --> 00:31:07,365 Speaker 1: what Charles was getting up to. Could this have motivated 544 00:31:07,405 --> 00:31:11,205 Speaker 1: someone connected to him to take her life. Charles Cotton 545 00:31:11,285 --> 00:31:14,645 Speaker 1: Junior may have been involved in other legal activities, but 546 00:31:14,765 --> 00:31:18,925 Speaker 1: what about Christina Pipkin. Let's look at Charles Cotton's connection 547 00:31:19,045 --> 00:31:23,645 Speaker 1: to the Pipkin family. James Pipkin told investigators that he 548 00:31:23,725 --> 00:31:26,645 Speaker 1: was introduced to Charles Cotton through his neighbor Pat Moore, 549 00:31:27,325 --> 00:31:30,605 Speaker 1: but that before Christina went missing, he had never seen 550 00:31:30,725 --> 00:31:34,365 Speaker 1: or spoken to Charles in his life. Charles Cotton said 551 00:31:34,485 --> 00:31:37,925 Speaker 1: that on the day Christina disappeared, he was fishing with 552 00:31:37,965 --> 00:31:40,005 Speaker 1: a friend of his from around one thirty to five 553 00:31:40,125 --> 00:31:43,165 Speaker 1: thirty at an area called Bird Eye near Cherry Valley, 554 00:31:43,485 --> 00:31:46,805 Speaker 1: a small town a few miles from Hickory Ridge. Apparently, 555 00:31:46,925 --> 00:31:49,565 Speaker 1: Charles did stop by the Bearcat grocery store at some 556 00:31:49,605 --> 00:31:52,445 Speaker 1: point on Saturday. Now, he said he didn't remember doing that, 557 00:31:52,565 --> 00:31:55,045 Speaker 1: but a friend of his saw him there, and he 558 00:31:55,165 --> 00:31:58,725 Speaker 1: mentions that in his discussion with investigators. He said that 559 00:31:58,765 --> 00:32:01,725 Speaker 1: after he was finished fishing, he went home and watched 560 00:32:01,765 --> 00:32:04,205 Speaker 1: TV with his wife, Rebecca, and the rest of his family. 561 00:32:04,885 --> 00:32:07,845 Speaker 1: At around ten thirty, he said, a friend of his name, 562 00:32:07,925 --> 00:32:10,445 Speaker 1: Neil Long, came by and asked if anyone had seen 563 00:32:10,525 --> 00:32:14,045 Speaker 1: Christina Pipkin. That's when he said he found out Christina 564 00:32:14,085 --> 00:32:17,085 Speaker 1: was missing. Charles said at that point he went out 565 00:32:17,125 --> 00:32:20,005 Speaker 1: and borrowed a friend's three wheeler and started searching for her. 566 00:32:21,045 --> 00:32:23,765 Speaker 1: By the way. Charles drove a seventy four light blue 567 00:32:23,845 --> 00:32:27,565 Speaker 1: Dodge Charger at the time, yet another blue car. I 568 00:32:27,645 --> 00:32:30,925 Speaker 1: have questions about Charles Cotton, mainly because reading through this 569 00:32:31,005 --> 00:32:33,845 Speaker 1: case file, it seems like he was inserting himself into 570 00:32:33,885 --> 00:32:38,165 Speaker 1: the investigation a lot. We know from James Pipkin's statement 571 00:32:38,205 --> 00:32:40,685 Speaker 1: that Charles was very involved in the search for Christina. 572 00:32:41,165 --> 00:32:45,645 Speaker 1: He kept looking constantly until she was found. Apparently, Charles 573 00:32:45,645 --> 00:32:48,685 Speaker 1: even borrowed two hundred and twenty five dollars from James Pipkin. 574 00:32:49,325 --> 00:32:51,365 Speaker 1: He claimed he had to pay a fine because he 575 00:32:51,405 --> 00:32:53,125 Speaker 1: hadn't had time to go pay it. He'd been out 576 00:32:53,165 --> 00:32:56,925 Speaker 1: looking for Christina and missed his chance. So James Pipkin 577 00:32:57,005 --> 00:32:58,685 Speaker 1: felt sorry for him and gave him the money, which, 578 00:32:58,765 --> 00:33:02,005 Speaker 1: of course James Pipkin never got back. Now, this could 579 00:33:02,005 --> 00:33:05,045 Speaker 1: have been totally innocuous. This was a big story. This 580 00:33:05,125 --> 00:33:08,165 Speaker 1: is a low girl. But the Pipkin family had only 581 00:33:08,205 --> 00:33:12,325 Speaker 1: lived in Hickory Ridge for about four months at that point. Charles, 582 00:33:12,365 --> 00:33:14,645 Speaker 1: Cotton and some other people seem to be getting very 583 00:33:14,645 --> 00:33:18,485 Speaker 1: close to the family in that time. I wondered about this, 584 00:33:18,645 --> 00:33:21,245 Speaker 1: and Amy and I made a few more stops. We 585 00:33:21,245 --> 00:33:24,765 Speaker 1: were looking for old newspapers and we found one from 586 00:33:24,765 --> 00:33:28,325 Speaker 1: the week when Christina's body was found. We were shocked 587 00:33:28,485 --> 00:33:31,205 Speaker 1: when we saw Christina's obituary and there was a detail 588 00:33:31,245 --> 00:33:35,405 Speaker 1: that had not been online the names of pallbearers, and 589 00:33:35,525 --> 00:33:39,565 Speaker 1: one of those pallbearers at Christina's funeral was Charles Cotton. 590 00:33:40,365 --> 00:33:44,645 Speaker 1: This seems very odd to me. Again, could be totally innocent, 591 00:33:45,285 --> 00:33:47,685 Speaker 1: could be just someone doing a kindness for a neighbor. 592 00:33:47,725 --> 00:33:50,365 Speaker 1: But why would someone who didn't know James at all 593 00:33:50,525 --> 00:33:53,125 Speaker 1: suddenly be super involved in the search, then borrow money 594 00:33:53,125 --> 00:33:57,525 Speaker 1: from James, and then show up as a pallbearer. Again, 595 00:33:57,565 --> 00:34:00,645 Speaker 1: though that's all circumstantial, we have to go back to 596 00:34:00,685 --> 00:34:04,245 Speaker 1: the place and time where Christina was last seen in 597 00:34:04,485 --> 00:34:06,765 Speaker 1: and around the bear Cac grocery store in the Bank 598 00:34:06,805 --> 00:34:13,045 Speaker 1: parking lot. Even though there are a lot of disparate reports. Actually, 599 00:34:13,125 --> 00:34:15,445 Speaker 1: what we're finding out is that Christina went missing in 600 00:34:15,485 --> 00:34:18,885 Speaker 1: a pretty small window of time, and we see something 601 00:34:18,925 --> 00:34:22,045 Speaker 1: else in the case file that could potentially help police 602 00:34:22,085 --> 00:34:24,805 Speaker 1: talk to the four people who were working inside the 603 00:34:24,805 --> 00:34:28,405 Speaker 1: Bearcat grocery store that day. Now, three of the employees 604 00:34:28,405 --> 00:34:31,765 Speaker 1: had either left or were otherwise occupied when Christina was around, 605 00:34:32,245 --> 00:34:35,485 Speaker 1: but one person, the cashier, got a very good look 606 00:34:35,485 --> 00:34:38,965 Speaker 1: at a stranger, someone who came into the store at 607 00:34:39,005 --> 00:34:43,925 Speaker 1: around the same time as Christina was there, someone who 608 00:34:43,965 --> 00:34:47,445 Speaker 1: she said no one in the store recognized. I wanted 609 00:34:47,485 --> 00:34:50,325 Speaker 1: to find this cashier because in the whole case file, 610 00:34:50,685 --> 00:34:53,645 Speaker 1: she was the only one who had a definite and 611 00:34:53,725 --> 00:34:57,325 Speaker 1: good description of a potential suspect, who had been close 612 00:34:57,525 --> 00:35:00,605 Speaker 1: to the unknown stranger and actually seen a detailed view 613 00:35:00,605 --> 00:35:04,085 Speaker 1: of their face. I will not say exactly how we 614 00:35:04,165 --> 00:35:06,125 Speaker 1: did it, and I won't use her name because I 615 00:35:06,205 --> 00:35:10,165 Speaker 1: know that this person is very nervous, but we found her, 616 00:35:11,045 --> 00:35:14,525 Speaker 1: and I'm putting this information out there because number one, 617 00:35:14,765 --> 00:35:17,565 Speaker 1: this case file is public. These names are part of 618 00:35:17,565 --> 00:35:21,205 Speaker 1: the public record, and also, most importantly, I believe this 619 00:35:21,285 --> 00:35:25,365 Speaker 1: information is critical to solving this case. We asked the 620 00:35:25,445 --> 00:35:29,245 Speaker 1: cashier about what she had seen that day before we 621 00:35:29,365 --> 00:35:31,485 Speaker 1: showed her her police statement, by the way, which she'd 622 00:35:31,485 --> 00:35:35,845 Speaker 1: never seen. In her statement, the cashier said she was 623 00:35:35,885 --> 00:35:38,645 Speaker 1: working at the Bearcat grocery store on Saturday, May fourth, 624 00:35:38,725 --> 00:35:42,725 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one. She said, at about five forty five pm, 625 00:35:42,765 --> 00:35:46,605 Speaker 1: an individual a stranger, came in and bought some cigarettes. 626 00:35:47,205 --> 00:35:50,285 Speaker 1: In her statement to police, the officer who interviewed the 627 00:35:50,285 --> 00:35:53,605 Speaker 1: cashier noted she said that the stranger drove a mid 628 00:35:53,725 --> 00:35:57,285 Speaker 1: or late seventies model Oldsmobile four door and it looked 629 00:35:57,325 --> 00:36:00,805 Speaker 1: blue gray in color. In a statement, she said the 630 00:36:00,805 --> 00:36:04,525 Speaker 1: stranger pulled in heading north. The statement reads quote she 631 00:36:04,685 --> 00:36:06,765 Speaker 1: saw him on the side walk looking north and south 632 00:36:06,965 --> 00:36:10,085 Speaker 1: and making a U turn and went south. Quote. The 633 00:36:10,125 --> 00:36:13,125 Speaker 1: statement described the stranger as a white male, mid thirties, 634 00:36:13,165 --> 00:36:15,565 Speaker 1: five foot nine and around one hundred and forty five pounds, 635 00:36:16,165 --> 00:36:20,565 Speaker 1: hair dark brown, almost reddish in color, clean hair almost 636 00:36:20,605 --> 00:36:24,525 Speaker 1: shoulder length, not curly, almost straight. She further stated he 637 00:36:24,565 --> 00:36:27,165 Speaker 1: had a mustache and that his hair was cupped around 638 00:36:27,165 --> 00:36:30,445 Speaker 1: his face, which was thin. She said he wasn't wearing 639 00:36:30,485 --> 00:36:33,485 Speaker 1: glasses or a hat. He had on older jeans and 640 00:36:33,525 --> 00:36:36,165 Speaker 1: bell Crow type tennis shoes with a gray T shirt 641 00:36:36,245 --> 00:36:39,205 Speaker 1: underneath an older shirt that was short sleeved. She said 642 00:36:39,285 --> 00:36:43,605 Speaker 1: no tattoos were visible. In her statement, she said the stranger, 643 00:36:43,645 --> 00:36:47,445 Speaker 1: who was white but had tan skin, looked like Richard Gear, 644 00:36:48,285 --> 00:36:50,445 Speaker 1: that he bought cigarettes and left, and that he stared 645 00:36:50,485 --> 00:36:54,725 Speaker 1: at her. The police report was very brief, but when 646 00:36:54,725 --> 00:36:56,885 Speaker 1: we talked to the cashier, she gave us a lot 647 00:36:56,885 --> 00:37:00,445 Speaker 1: of details that were not in the police report. Again, 648 00:37:00,525 --> 00:37:02,765 Speaker 1: it's important to note that we asked her about her 649 00:37:02,765 --> 00:37:08,045 Speaker 1: memories before we showed her her own. Most of the 650 00:37:08,125 --> 00:37:10,845 Speaker 1: police statement match which she told us, but there were 651 00:37:10,885 --> 00:37:14,845 Speaker 1: some very important differences. First of all, she said she 652 00:37:14,925 --> 00:37:16,925 Speaker 1: got a very good look at the stranger's car, and 653 00:37:17,005 --> 00:37:20,245 Speaker 1: she emphatically said it was brown or tan in color, 654 00:37:20,405 --> 00:37:22,965 Speaker 1: not blue. Also, when you read the police report, it 655 00:37:23,045 --> 00:37:25,245 Speaker 1: kind of makes it sound like the stranger was standing 656 00:37:25,245 --> 00:37:28,845 Speaker 1: on the sidewalk. She clarified what she meant. She said 657 00:37:28,925 --> 00:37:31,485 Speaker 1: he pulled his car all the way up on the sidewalk. 658 00:37:32,365 --> 00:37:34,365 Speaker 1: In fact, he pulled it so far up that he 659 00:37:34,405 --> 00:37:36,245 Speaker 1: had to get out on the passenger side, and she 660 00:37:36,285 --> 00:37:38,365 Speaker 1: remembers looking out the window at that car because that 661 00:37:38,445 --> 00:37:42,285 Speaker 1: was annoying. She described the car as dirty, but definitely 662 00:37:42,325 --> 00:37:44,725 Speaker 1: brown or tan. And she clarified when she said the 663 00:37:44,725 --> 00:37:48,045 Speaker 1: stranger looked like Richard Gear, she was really talking about 664 00:37:48,085 --> 00:37:52,245 Speaker 1: the distinctive nose shape and eyes. She said. The stranger 665 00:37:52,285 --> 00:37:54,685 Speaker 1: walked into the store and bought Marlboro Reds in the 666 00:37:54,725 --> 00:37:58,125 Speaker 1: hard pack. Then he asked if she had some matches. 667 00:37:58,765 --> 00:38:00,725 Speaker 1: She said, yes, sir, we do, and gave him some 668 00:38:00,765 --> 00:38:03,925 Speaker 1: of the freebie matches. Then he left, and because he 669 00:38:03,965 --> 00:38:06,365 Speaker 1: had parked so close to the building up on that sidewalk, 670 00:38:06,525 --> 00:38:08,405 Speaker 1: he had to get in through the passenger side of 671 00:38:08,405 --> 00:38:10,845 Speaker 1: the car and shift over to the driver's side. She 672 00:38:10,925 --> 00:38:13,405 Speaker 1: said he was alone. He drove away and she never 673 00:38:13,405 --> 00:38:19,965 Speaker 1: saw him again. The next page after the cashier's statement 674 00:38:20,045 --> 00:38:23,165 Speaker 1: in the case file is a page that explains that 675 00:38:23,205 --> 00:38:26,525 Speaker 1: a sketch artist met with her. They developed a composite photo, 676 00:38:26,645 --> 00:38:29,285 Speaker 1: and that the completed composite would be made part of 677 00:38:29,325 --> 00:38:33,245 Speaker 1: the case file. But the photo copy of the composite 678 00:38:33,325 --> 00:38:36,605 Speaker 1: drawing is not there as far as I can tell. 679 00:38:36,645 --> 00:38:38,725 Speaker 1: I don't know if the police just aren't including it, 680 00:38:39,405 --> 00:38:41,645 Speaker 1: or if it's not in the case file at all anymore. 681 00:38:42,485 --> 00:38:45,605 Speaker 1: I asked the cashier about it, and she remembered that 682 00:38:45,765 --> 00:38:49,365 Speaker 1: image very clearly. She said she might still have a 683 00:38:49,405 --> 00:38:51,285 Speaker 1: copy and said she would go home to look in 684 00:38:51,325 --> 00:38:55,285 Speaker 1: her safe. Then she texted me and said she found it. 685 00:38:55,725 --> 00:38:58,645 Speaker 1: She had the original composite photo. It had been sitting 686 00:38:58,725 --> 00:39:02,805 Speaker 1: in her safe for over thirty years. We showed her 687 00:39:02,885 --> 00:39:05,845 Speaker 1: some pictures of the people who were mentioned by police 688 00:39:06,125 --> 00:39:09,485 Speaker 1: back in the day, including Charles Cotton, but she says 689 00:39:09,525 --> 00:39:13,645 Speaker 1: that was not the stranger she waited on. Then Amy 690 00:39:13,725 --> 00:39:17,125 Speaker 1: shows her an old picture of Robbie Tubbs, her father 691 00:39:17,205 --> 00:39:24,365 Speaker 1: in law. The cashier blinked looked shocked and said, who 692 00:39:24,485 --> 00:39:28,005 Speaker 1: is this? How did you get this? We asked her 693 00:39:28,045 --> 00:39:29,765 Speaker 1: if she believed that was the man she saw in 694 00:39:29,845 --> 00:39:33,965 Speaker 1: the bear Cat that day. Later, we texted her a 695 00:39:33,965 --> 00:39:37,885 Speaker 1: couple more pictures from that era. She texted me back, 696 00:39:38,645 --> 00:39:41,325 Speaker 1: I got cold chills. I think this is the man 697 00:39:41,485 --> 00:39:45,525 Speaker 1: who was in the store that day. I know that 698 00:39:45,645 --> 00:39:50,885 Speaker 1: IDs are not definitive proof of anything. Often people are wrong, 699 00:39:51,885 --> 00:39:54,285 Speaker 1: and even if Robbie Tubbs was in town that day, 700 00:39:54,685 --> 00:39:57,005 Speaker 1: that does not mean he had anything to do with 701 00:39:57,245 --> 00:40:01,605 Speaker 1: Christina's death. But I do find it interesting that the 702 00:40:01,645 --> 00:40:04,245 Speaker 1: description of the car was different from the one in 703 00:40:04,285 --> 00:40:07,445 Speaker 1: the case file, and that the cashier seems so haunted 704 00:40:07,765 --> 00:40:10,325 Speaker 1: by looking at the image of Robbie Tubbs next two 705 00:40:10,565 --> 00:40:12,605 Speaker 1: that drawing she has had in her say for the 706 00:40:12,645 --> 00:40:17,965 Speaker 1: past thirty years. I know positive ideas are not definitive proof, 707 00:40:18,565 --> 00:40:23,165 Speaker 1: but it means we need to keep digging. I'm Catherine Townsend. 708 00:40:23,565 --> 00:40:28,525 Speaker 1: This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone Murder Line 709 00:40:28,565 --> 00:40:31,005 Speaker 1: is a production of School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. 710 00:40:31,405 --> 00:40:34,325 Speaker 1: It's written and narrated by me Catherine Townsend and produced 711 00:40:34,325 --> 00:40:38,885 Speaker 1: by Gabby Watts. Music contributed by Ben so Lee executive 712 00:40:38,885 --> 00:40:42,765 Speaker 1: producers of Virginia Prescott Brandon Barr, and Helsey Crowley. If 713 00:40:42,805 --> 00:40:44,605 Speaker 1: you have a case you'd like me and my team 714 00:40:44,645 --> 00:40:46,765 Speaker 1: to look into, you can reach out to us at 715 00:40:46,765 --> 00:40:49,845 Speaker 1: our Helen Gone Murder line at six seven eight seven 716 00:40:49,925 --> 00:40:53,445 Speaker 1: four four six ' one four five. That's six seven 717 00:40:53,485 --> 00:40:56,525 Speaker 1: eight seven four four six ' one four or five. 718 00:40:57,325 --> 00:41:00,645 Speaker 1: Please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen 719 00:41:00,645 --> 00:41:11,525 Speaker 1: to your podcasts, School of Humans