WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Christina Pipkin Part 3 (Archive Episode) 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:51.921 School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.361 case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite 0:00:55.401 --> 0:00:58.761 witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.961 be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights 0:01:03.001 --> 0:01:06.160 from family and community members, their statements should not be 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.961 considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts 0:01:10.041 --> 0:01:14.000 inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.160 presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 0:01:17.961 --> 0:01:20.840 Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply 0:01:21.041 --> 0:01:23.601 that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime 0:01:24.121 --> 0:01:27.121 is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening. 0:01:29.041 --> 0:01:32.721 I'm in Hickory Ridge, Arkansas, trying to investigate the case 0:01:32.761 --> 0:01:35.560 of nine year old Christina Pipkin, who went missing from 0:01:35.561 --> 0:01:38.321 her home on Doty Street in May of nineteen ninety one. 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.361 I'm with Amy Tubbs, whose father in law was a 0:01:41.401 --> 0:01:44.481 suspect in the case, Denise who's a friend to the families, 0:01:44.481 --> 0:01:48.361 who's been investigating this case for several years, and Denise's friend. 0:01:49.121 --> 0:01:52.641 We've been driving around town for a while now, and 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.400 the whole town seems to be talking about this case. 0:01:56.041 --> 0:02:00.001 Hickory Ridge is pretty small right now. The population is 0:02:00.041 --> 0:02:03.201 between one and two hundred people. Needless to say, the 0:02:03.361 --> 0:02:05.920 entire town has been talking about the Christina Pipkin case. 0:02:06.321 --> 0:02:08.721 Our investigation has even made the local radio. 0:02:09.561 --> 0:02:13.800 Catherine Townsend, host of the Hell and Gone podcast, is 0:02:13.841 --> 0:02:17.321 investigating the nineteen ninety one kidnapping and murderer of nine 0:02:17.361 --> 0:02:21.601 year old Christina Pipkin and Hickory Ridge. Pipkin was kidnapping, 0:02:21.761 --> 0:02:22.240 killed on me. 0:02:22.641 --> 0:02:25.481 Christina was selling jewelry door to door for a school 0:02:25.481 --> 0:02:28.761 fundraiser on May fourth, nineteen ninety one, when she disappeared 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.921 without a trace. Three days later, Christina's body was found 0:02:33.001 --> 0:02:36.081 in cal Lake Ditch, a body of water about three 0:02:36.121 --> 0:02:40.881 point five miles from her home. Police suspected foul play, 0:02:41.401 --> 0:02:44.241 but they haven't commented on the manner of death and 0:02:44.281 --> 0:02:46.361 when Amy and I got the case file from the 0:02:46.441 --> 0:02:50.121 Arkansas State Police after our four requests were granted, the 0:02:50.121 --> 0:02:54.921 autopsy was not included. Over thirty years later, this case 0:02:55.041 --> 0:02:59.401 is still unsolved. There's very little hard evidence in this case. 0:03:00.001 --> 0:03:02.520 With a lot of witnesses dead or missing, it can 0:03:02.561 --> 0:03:05.881 sometimes feel like we're chasing ghosts. We'll pull up to 0:03:05.921 --> 0:03:09.721 buildings and find vacant lots. We knock on a lot 0:03:09.721 --> 0:03:12.041 of wrong doors, and we've run into a lot of 0:03:12.081 --> 0:03:17.520 dead ends, but we are making progress. In our last episode, 0:03:17.601 --> 0:03:20.281 we track down the last place where Christina Pipkin was 0:03:20.281 --> 0:03:23.921 seen alive, the Bearcat Grocery Store on the main drive 0:03:23.961 --> 0:03:26.961 of Hickory Ridge, Arkansas. It shares a parking lot with 0:03:27.001 --> 0:03:30.521 a Cross County bank. In a case where rumors have 0:03:30.601 --> 0:03:34.241 been flying for three decades, it's hard to separate fact 0:03:34.241 --> 0:03:37.801 from fiction, but we do have two things that we 0:03:37.881 --> 0:03:41.801 know for sure. One that Christina was last seen by 0:03:41.881 --> 0:03:45.241 multiple witnesses in the area of the Bearcat Convenience store 0:03:45.241 --> 0:03:48.761 in the bank, and two the location where her body 0:03:48.801 --> 0:03:49.241 was dumped. 0:03:50.081 --> 0:03:52.161 We need to go to that site. 0:03:52.201 --> 0:03:55.321 We need to go to cow Lake Ditch, so we 0:03:55.401 --> 0:03:59.521 head out Route forty two toward Bedeville to the spot 0:03:59.521 --> 0:04:04.761 where Christina's body was found in the water. I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:04:05.321 --> 0:04:07.241 If you have a case you'd like me and my 0:04:07.321 --> 0:04:09.801 team to look into, you can reach out to us 0:04:09.881 --> 0:04:12.401 at our Helen Gone Murder line at six seven eight 0:04:12.841 --> 0:04:17.121 seven four four six one four five. This is Helen 0:04:17.161 --> 0:05:11.841 Gone Murder Line. In our last episode, we tracked down 0:05:11.881 --> 0:05:14.841 the cashier who worked at the Bearcat grocery store on 0:05:14.881 --> 0:05:17.601 May fourth in nineteen ninety one, the night when Christina 0:05:17.641 --> 0:05:21.001 Pipkin went missing. Police did talk to the other three 0:05:21.041 --> 0:05:24.521 employees who were on the job that day, but according 0:05:24.521 --> 0:05:26.921 to the case file, either they didn't see the stranger 0:05:27.441 --> 0:05:29.080 or they were gone by the time he came in 0:05:29.121 --> 0:05:33.281 the store, even though they don't think they saw anything. 0:05:33.401 --> 0:05:35.841 I'm really hoping that we'll get in touch with us, because, 0:05:36.161 --> 0:05:39.681 as we've said many times before, the interviews that the 0:05:39.681 --> 0:05:43.921 police did were very brief. One tiny detail can be 0:05:44.041 --> 0:05:47.401 the thing that makes this case change course. We're looking 0:05:47.441 --> 0:05:50.681 for all of those missing pieces. The cashier who we 0:05:50.721 --> 0:05:53.440 talked to gave us the composite drawing the ones she 0:05:53.561 --> 0:05:56.281 did with the Arkansas State Police. It's been in her 0:05:56.281 --> 0:06:00.041 safe for over thirty years. She described a brown car 0:06:00.321 --> 0:06:02.561 that the stranger who came in the Bearcat that day 0:06:02.641 --> 0:06:06.361 was driving. The image that we saw in the composite 0:06:06.361 --> 0:06:09.841 photo looked very similar to photos of Robbie Tubbs back 0:06:09.881 --> 0:06:13.081 in the day. But I want to be clear, his 0:06:13.281 --> 0:06:15.881 being there, even if it's confirmed have been him, does 0:06:15.921 --> 0:06:19.241 not mean that Robbie Tubbs did anything wrong. There were 0:06:19.321 --> 0:06:22.721 several other people in the Bearcat store that night. Based 0:06:22.721 --> 0:06:24.881 on what we're seeing, it seems like half the town 0:06:24.961 --> 0:06:32.760 passed through there that day. We need more information. One 0:06:32.801 --> 0:06:35.241 of the other cashiers who's working at the Bearcat that 0:06:35.361 --> 0:06:39.041 night has called me back. This person did not want 0:06:39.041 --> 0:06:41.320 me to use her name, but she said she was 0:06:41.361 --> 0:06:44.721 working at the register between around them six and seven 0:06:44.801 --> 0:06:50.601 pm on May fourth. She vividly remembers Christina Pipkin coming 0:06:50.601 --> 0:06:52.281 into the store that night, and I think that the 0:06:52.281 --> 0:06:54.921 information she has could be crucial. 0:06:55.321 --> 0:06:56.200 Here's what she said. 0:06:57.041 --> 0:06:59.241 I was at one of the registers, and I'm not 0:06:59.281 --> 0:07:02.001 sure if I was bagging for someone, if I was 0:07:02.041 --> 0:07:03.321 actually running the register. 0:07:03.521 --> 0:07:05.760 At seems like I was running the register. 0:07:05.761 --> 0:07:11.161 And Christina walked in and nevertheless the carpet or the mat. 0:07:11.041 --> 0:07:13.761 The stores have, but she just walked out the door 0:07:13.801 --> 0:07:14.801 and stood there. 0:07:15.281 --> 0:07:18.121 And we said, hey, Christina was up. I do not 0:07:18.361 --> 0:07:22.121 remember any kind of paper or pencil in her hands. 0:07:21.681 --> 0:07:24.961 Because I remember it was odd. You know, normally kids 0:07:25.041 --> 0:07:28.041 just like are not scared of my thumb, and they 0:07:28.041 --> 0:07:28.641 would have talked. 0:07:29.001 --> 0:07:31.041 I feel like I should have been felling jewelry at 0:07:31.041 --> 0:07:31.481 that point. 0:07:31.561 --> 0:07:34.681 She would have asked us. But that's beside the point. 0:07:34.721 --> 0:07:36.641 At the time I saw her, I did not know 0:07:36.841 --> 0:07:39.641 she was felling jewelry. That was later, but she you know, 0:07:39.761 --> 0:07:43.281 was hey, what's up? And she just kind of shrugg 0:07:43.321 --> 0:07:43.641 and read. 0:07:43.841 --> 0:07:45.921 I don't think anything was in her hands, because I 0:07:45.961 --> 0:07:48.001 can remember the expression on her face. 0:07:47.761 --> 0:07:52.161 So clearly, and she just kind of shrugged and you 0:07:52.201 --> 0:07:54.161 know how little girls of those shrugs in her hands 0:07:54.161 --> 0:07:56.961 in the air, you know, just like she didn't have a. 0:07:56.921 --> 0:07:57.561 Look of fear. 0:07:58.681 --> 0:08:01.641 I can see her expression in my mind when I 0:08:01.641 --> 0:08:02.401 shut my eyes. 0:08:03.321 --> 0:08:07.001 It was a fear. It was more like, hell. 0:08:08.241 --> 0:08:13.601 No, why stepped in? It was just I mean, she 0:08:13.721 --> 0:08:17.961 smiled and just turned around. 0:08:17.761 --> 0:08:18.241 And walked down. 0:08:19.881 --> 0:08:23.841 I would still love to talk to anyone else, employees 0:08:24.081 --> 0:08:26.441 or people who were in the Bearcat store that night. 0:08:29.041 --> 0:08:31.481 So in the meantime, let's go forward in time to 0:08:31.561 --> 0:08:34.921 May seventh, the day when Christina's body was found in 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:35.801 cal Lake Ditch. 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:37.121 Yeah. 0:08:37.121 --> 0:08:39.281 It's actually a good body dumb place, but not a 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:40.761 good swimming place, you know what I mean? 0:08:41.680 --> 0:08:43.641 Yeah, because say it one time it was they thought 0:08:43.641 --> 0:08:47.160 it was a swimming well. They said that people. 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:52.001 Have We've looked at this location a lot on Google Maps, 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.361 but sometimes you have to go to the source. 0:08:54.441 --> 0:08:55.681 You have to go to the site. 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.401 See if you look at that value on the map, 0:08:59.441 --> 0:09:05.441 two runs. Yeah, and when those fields are. 0:09:05.481 --> 0:09:06.320 What it like it. 0:09:06.680 --> 0:09:10.440 Janes is, Amy, Denise and I took a ride out 0:09:10.481 --> 0:09:13.401 to Calaike Ditch. We were trying to figure out where 0:09:13.481 --> 0:09:16.241 Christina's body had been dumped and to see if the 0:09:16.241 --> 0:09:18.801 location could tell us anything about what happened to her. 0:09:19.761 --> 0:09:21.401 It's like down here, there's water down here. 0:09:21.601 --> 0:09:25.920 Yeah, I mean it as you can hear. Its windy 0:09:26.081 --> 0:09:30.321 and clear and cold. Right now. It's a sunny day. 0:09:31.161 --> 0:09:33.961 The ditch is low and the water is flowing pretty slowly. 0:09:34.641 --> 0:09:37.001 But we discussed the fact that if there had been 0:09:37.121 --> 0:09:40.440 rained recently, the current could get super strong, like it 0:09:40.561 --> 0:09:42.280 was on the day Christina's body was found. 0:09:43.241 --> 0:09:46.681 Yeah, this is melon nowhere. Man, there's just you know, 0:09:46.681 --> 0:09:48.241 when you hear about it, you're like, oh, maybe it's 0:09:48.241 --> 0:09:49.881 like a local swimming hall, you know what I mean. 0:09:50.161 --> 0:09:55.040 But this is late huh huh. 0:09:55.481 --> 0:09:57.521 As we said in the last episode, we did not 0:09:57.601 --> 0:09:59.881 get any access to the autopsy report as part of 0:09:59.921 --> 0:10:02.921 the case file, but we did get documents filed by 0:10:03.001 --> 0:10:06.680 Robbie Tubbs's defense lawyer and In those documents, he refers 0:10:06.721 --> 0:10:09.641 to forensic testing that was done on Christina's body. 0:10:09.761 --> 0:10:10.921 It showed that the. 0:10:10.801 --> 0:10:14.081 Water and mud in her lungs matched the water from 0:10:14.121 --> 0:10:17.401 cal Lake Ditch. We also got a few more details 0:10:17.441 --> 0:10:19.801 from the case file that came from the autopsy report. 0:10:20.641 --> 0:10:24.361 Doctor Fammi Malik, the medical examiner at the time, indicated 0:10:24.401 --> 0:10:28.681 that there was obvious decomposition. He believed that Christina had 0:10:28.721 --> 0:10:31.521 been in the water for about three days, meaning that 0:10:31.561 --> 0:10:34.361 she was not kidnapped and kept somewhere else. For example, 0:10:34.801 --> 0:10:37.961 she was almost certainly dumped there or fell in there 0:10:38.041 --> 0:10:42.001 on the day she went missing. Doctor Malick also said 0:10:42.001 --> 0:10:44.841 there were no signs of strangulation. He said he'd X 0:10:44.921 --> 0:10:47.601 ray the body from outside and inside. He found no 0:10:47.721 --> 0:10:51.560 stab wounds, no obvious cuts or bruises. He also told 0:10:51.641 --> 0:10:54.961 investigators Christina's body had a blood alcohol level of point 0:10:55.121 --> 0:10:59.641 zero three percent, but he attributed that to the decomposition 0:10:59.721 --> 0:11:03.721 of the body. Blood alcohol level can rise as a 0:11:03.801 --> 0:11:09.041 side effect of the decomposition process. Other than that the 0:11:09.081 --> 0:11:12.841 toxicology report, We're not quite sure what tests they performed 0:11:12.841 --> 0:11:16.081 in that talk screening, but according to what doctor Malick 0:11:16.161 --> 0:11:19.361 said in the case file, the results of those tests 0:11:19.361 --> 0:11:24.161 seemed normal. There was mud found in Christina's stomach. There 0:11:24.161 --> 0:11:28.641 were also pickles and carrots found. Investigators asked doctor Malick 0:11:28.641 --> 0:11:30.881 if he could figure out what had happened to Christina. 0:11:31.961 --> 0:11:35.081 Doctor Malick quote was emphatic he could find no other 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:39.481 cause of death other than drowning end quote. But when 0:11:39.481 --> 0:11:42.441 they asked him about the possibility, for example, that she 0:11:42.481 --> 0:11:46.280 could have been smothered or choked to the point of unconsciousness, 0:11:46.561 --> 0:11:49.241 doctor Malick said he didn't have enough information to know 0:11:49.401 --> 0:11:53.040 how to answer that for sure. The report reads quote 0:11:53.441 --> 0:11:56.081 when given the supposition that one could smother an individual 0:11:56.121 --> 0:11:58.961 to the point of unconscious and then throw that person 0:11:59.001 --> 0:12:02.481 into the river, Doctor Mallet could make no comment regarding this, 0:12:02.921 --> 0:12:07.921 but said that this was a possibility end quote. I 0:12:07.961 --> 0:12:10.761 know it's frustrating not to have access to the autopsy report, 0:12:10.801 --> 0:12:13.601 but again, we're like Sherlock Holmes here, we're trying to 0:12:13.681 --> 0:12:17.321 rule out the impossible and see what possibilities were left with. 0:12:18.001 --> 0:12:21.800 So we have ruled out the possibility that Christina drowned 0:12:21.841 --> 0:12:26.121 somewhere else. Whatever happened to Christina Pipkin happened out here 0:12:26.561 --> 0:12:30.721 in this ditch. So what we know is this cause 0:12:30.761 --> 0:12:38.241 of death drowning, Manner of death undetermined. Christina's body was 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:40.280 found about a mile and a half west of the 0:12:40.401 --> 0:12:46.761 Jackson and Cross County lines on State Highway forty two. Amy, 0:12:46.881 --> 0:12:48.841 Denise and I pull up to the address we have 0:12:49.001 --> 0:12:50.281 for a man named mister White. 0:12:50.441 --> 0:12:52.121 Where are you all going? We're just gonna walk up 0:12:52.121 --> 0:12:52.681 to the tour and. 0:12:54.561 --> 0:12:56.881 Hopefully he was the person who was out with his 0:12:56.961 --> 0:12:59.521 son when they found Christina's body on May seventh. 0:13:01.481 --> 0:13:03.241 Yes, you didn't leave him a business card? 0:13:04.081 --> 0:13:05.801 No, because I think we need to kind of. 0:13:05.921 --> 0:13:08.361 I feel like if they see it sometimes like it'll 0:13:08.361 --> 0:13:09.521 be like, oh, it's intimidating to call. 0:13:09.561 --> 0:13:11.001 But if you if we're really could come up, we're 0:13:11.041 --> 0:13:11.521 just like two. 0:13:11.401 --> 0:13:13.920 Nights a girls. 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.041 If we don't make contact at all, I will even 0:13:17.081 --> 0:13:19.081 note like explaining what it is. 0:13:19.121 --> 0:13:21.921 But I just think it's better to in this case, 0:13:22.041 --> 0:13:22.801 better if he sees. 0:13:26.481 --> 0:13:28.601 One thing that seemed weird to me was that if 0:13:28.681 --> 0:13:32.121 Christina was dumped out here, this is a very rural area, 0:13:32.721 --> 0:13:35.961 if someone drove her here, I wondered, wouldn't that car 0:13:36.001 --> 0:13:37.841 have been seen by someone, maybe a neighbor. 0:13:38.721 --> 0:13:41.241 And it turns out, according to the case file. 0:13:41.801 --> 0:13:44.280 There were people at cal Lake Ditch on the evening 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:48.321 of May fourth, nineteen ninety one. A man named Morgan 0:13:48.401 --> 0:13:51.201 Davis and some of his friends, Ricky has and Ricky's 0:13:51.201 --> 0:13:54.241 wife were out frog gigging. Now, for those of you 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:57.401 who aren't from Arkansas, and even those who are, I'm 0:13:57.401 --> 0:13:59.920 from South Arkansas and I had no idea what frog 0:13:59.961 --> 0:14:02.961 gigging is. A lot of people know that frog legs 0:14:02.961 --> 0:14:05.961 are a delicacy in places like France, but some people 0:14:06.001 --> 0:14:09.200 don't know they're also a popular menu item in Arkansas. 0:14:09.761 --> 0:14:14.761 So people go bullfrog hunting, which they call gigging the 0:14:14.801 --> 0:14:17.441 best and indeed the only time to go frog gigging 0:14:17.521 --> 0:14:21.001 is really at night. On May fourth, Morgan Davis launched 0:14:21.001 --> 0:14:23.801 his boat at around nine to fifteen to nine thirty 0:14:23.801 --> 0:14:28.761 pm off Calaike Ditch. I ask my dad about frog gigging, 0:14:28.761 --> 0:14:31.961 and he told me how it worked. To hunt frogs, 0:14:32.081 --> 0:14:35.001 you shine a flashlight around the water, and the idea 0:14:35.081 --> 0:14:37.361 is that you can see the frog's eyes reflect back 0:14:37.401 --> 0:14:39.881 at you. My dad tells me, by the way, if 0:14:39.921 --> 0:14:42.561 you see eyes reflecting red back at you and not white, 0:14:42.721 --> 0:14:46.201 you should run because it's probably an alligator. You also 0:14:46.241 --> 0:14:48.161 have to avoid a lot of other pitfalls at night, 0:14:48.321 --> 0:14:51.961 like water moccasins and tree branches and other hazards. There 0:14:51.961 --> 0:14:55.281 are apparently two types of frog traps, the ones that 0:14:55.361 --> 0:14:57.641 simply entrapped the frog in a net and the kind 0:14:57.721 --> 0:15:00.441 that kind of looked like a tried in. People used 0:15:00.441 --> 0:15:05.721 that to basically stab and scoop the bullfrogs into the boat. Morgan, Ricky, 0:15:05.761 --> 0:15:08.721 and Ricky's wife stayed out all night. They came in 0:15:08.801 --> 0:15:11.001 when dawn was breaking on the morning of May fifth. 0:15:11.801 --> 0:15:14.441 During that time, they said they never saw any stranger 0:15:14.561 --> 0:15:18.521 or any strange car. Everything seemed completely normal, and they 0:15:18.561 --> 0:15:22.201 were in that area where Christina's body was found. Morgan 0:15:22.241 --> 0:15:24.921 also answered a question about the weather. A lot of 0:15:24.961 --> 0:15:27.921 people talked about how the area had been flooded and 0:15:28.041 --> 0:15:30.761 wondered if there had been rain the day Christina went missing, 0:15:31.241 --> 0:15:33.641 But he answered that question. He said there was a 0:15:33.641 --> 0:15:36.681 big storm, but it happened on Sunday morning, the day 0:15:36.721 --> 0:15:40.241 after Christina went missing. On Saturday night, it was warm 0:15:40.401 --> 0:15:43.361 and dry. He said that the current was moving slowly. 0:15:44.081 --> 0:15:46.841 He said, quote, the current was not real strong at 0:15:46.881 --> 0:15:49.961 that time. I know that ditch and the current won't 0:15:50.001 --> 0:15:53.241 be real swift until the bio starts dropping. We got 0:15:53.241 --> 0:15:55.201 out of the ditch before the storm hit us that 0:15:55.241 --> 0:15:58.721 Sunday morning. I did not see any vehicles parked around 0:15:58.761 --> 0:16:02.041 the river bridge or ditch bridge at that time end quote. 0:16:02.681 --> 0:16:06.121 None of them saw Christina Pipkin that night, none of 0:16:06.121 --> 0:16:08.601 them saw a strange car, and none of them heard 0:16:08.641 --> 0:16:12.121 any struggle or any screams for help. So the fact 0:16:12.201 --> 0:16:15.161 that Ricky and his boat his party did not see 0:16:15.201 --> 0:16:18.561 anyone that night kind of makes me lean toward one 0:16:18.561 --> 0:16:23.481 of two possibilities. Either Christina was dumped somewhere else floaded 0:16:23.561 --> 0:16:25.241 down to where they were and got stuck in that 0:16:25.281 --> 0:16:30.161 tree branch, or she was dumped much earlier, perhaps before 0:16:30.321 --> 0:16:36.041 nine pm, before dark when they launched their boat. 0:16:36.281 --> 0:16:38.201 So now we need to go back again. 0:16:39.041 --> 0:16:41.641 What can we learn from the case file about who 0:16:41.961 --> 0:16:46.401 was where at that time in Hickory Ridge between around 0:16:46.561 --> 0:16:50.001 six thirty and nine pm that night. We're looking for 0:16:50.121 --> 0:16:53.001 any inconsistencies in their stories that we can find, or 0:16:53.081 --> 0:16:56.081 anyone we can talk to who could help filling these gaps. 0:16:58.921 --> 0:17:01.921 We talked about Charles Cotton in our last episode. He 0:17:02.081 --> 0:17:04.001 was one of many people of interest at the time 0:17:04.041 --> 0:17:07.600 who were interviewed by law enforcement. He was interviewed by 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:11.000 investigator Steve Doser on May fifth, the day after Christina 0:17:11.041 --> 0:17:15.120 went missing. At the time, Charles told detectives he spent 0:17:15.201 --> 0:17:17.561 May fourth fishing at Burdeye at a place called the 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:20.921 Bay Ditch near Cherry Valley between one thirty and five 0:17:21.041 --> 0:17:23.201 thirty pm. He said he was out there with a 0:17:23.201 --> 0:17:26.480 guy he knew named Edward Hoague. He told police that 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.920 Edward Hoague had a criminal record of some kind. Charles 0:17:29.961 --> 0:17:32.760 said he believed Edward was, as he put it, wanted 0:17:32.921 --> 0:17:36.160 either in when or for a city. At some point, 0:17:36.201 --> 0:17:40.161 presumably after they finished fishing at around five thirty, Charles 0:17:40.201 --> 0:17:43.720 said that he remembered heading home, but he told police 0:17:44.041 --> 0:17:46.561 a friend of his had reminded him that he saw 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.441 Charles that day at the Bearcat Store, which would have 0:17:49.441 --> 0:17:51.481 put him at the convenience store at around the same 0:17:51.521 --> 0:17:54.321 time Christina was there, around five thirty to six pm. 0:17:55.121 --> 0:17:59.001 Charles's wife, Rebecca confirmed investigators that yes, she and Charles 0:17:59.041 --> 0:18:03.241 were in the grocery store that afternoon. Charles said that 0:18:03.441 --> 0:18:06.840 later that evening, presumably after they left the store, he 0:18:06.921 --> 0:18:09.841 and his family, including his twenty one year old wife, Rebecca, 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:12.201 who was pregnant at the time, were home watching TV. 0:18:12.961 --> 0:18:15.160 Then he said, at around ten thirty or eleven, his 0:18:15.241 --> 0:18:18.080 friend Neia Long came over and told him Christina Pipkin 0:18:18.161 --> 0:18:21.401 was missing. Now, at that point, he said, he borrowed 0:18:21.401 --> 0:18:23.681 a three wheeler from another friend of his, and he 0:18:23.761 --> 0:18:27.561 and Rebecca volunteered to help with the search. Again, I 0:18:27.721 --> 0:18:29.801 just want to flag a couple of things up in 0:18:29.921 --> 0:18:33.881 Charles Cotton's statement, because it seemed like he was very 0:18:33.961 --> 0:18:38.640 invested in the search. Again, this could be completely innocuous. 0:18:38.961 --> 0:18:40.481 It could be because it was the biggest thing to 0:18:40.521 --> 0:18:43.201 happen around Hickory Ridge in a long time. He was 0:18:43.241 --> 0:18:46.321 trying to be good neighbor, whatever. But it does raise 0:18:46.401 --> 0:18:49.840 a couple of red flags for me. Because the Pipkins 0:18:49.881 --> 0:18:53.041 had only lived in Hickory Ridge for four months, how 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:57.721 well could Charles Cotton know these people. Later, Charles Cotton 0:18:57.761 --> 0:19:02.281 told police that Pat Moore, who remember was the Pipkins 0:19:02.321 --> 0:19:06.360 neighbor who introduced James Pipkin to Charles, told Charles that 0:19:06.441 --> 0:19:09.361 another guy had been dreaming about a place on Highway 0:19:09.401 --> 0:19:13.521 forty two West. So Charles told police that he and 0:19:13.641 --> 0:19:15.481 a couple of his friends went out there to take 0:19:15.521 --> 0:19:18.001 a look at this place that this guy had seen 0:19:18.041 --> 0:19:20.481 in a dream. He said it was a shed and 0:19:20.561 --> 0:19:23.241 it was near a baby cemetery. He said they saw 0:19:23.281 --> 0:19:26.201 what looked like drag marks on the dirt inside the shed. 0:19:26.921 --> 0:19:30.241 Supposedly Charles called the police, but he said law enforcement 0:19:30.361 --> 0:19:34.761 never came out to look in that shed. Around this time, 0:19:34.801 --> 0:19:36.961 there were all kinds of rumors flying around about what 0:19:37.001 --> 0:19:39.400 could have happened to Christina Pipkins. This was before her 0:19:39.441 --> 0:19:42.881 body was found. There were psychics calling the police, Police 0:19:42.921 --> 0:19:45.360 were inundated with people trying to talk to them, and 0:19:45.401 --> 0:19:47.281 police were out conducting tons of interviews. 0:19:47.601 --> 0:19:49.481 So this was a time when lots of rumors were 0:19:49.521 --> 0:19:50.120 flying around. 0:19:51.401 --> 0:19:54.121 It's very strange that Charles would say he was going 0:19:54.121 --> 0:19:57.201 out to a location because of something someone saw in 0:19:57.241 --> 0:20:01.081 a dream. Maybe it's because he again was just trying 0:20:01.121 --> 0:20:03.321 to follow any lead, or maybe it's because someone was 0:20:03.321 --> 0:20:09.281 trying to misdirect this investigation. Investigators questioned Charles again about 0:20:09.321 --> 0:20:13.160 the money that Charles had borrowed from James Pipkin. Remember, 0:20:13.201 --> 0:20:15.600 he borrowed two hundred and twenty five dollars from James 0:20:15.601 --> 0:20:18.761 Pipkin because he said he hadn't been able to pay 0:20:18.801 --> 0:20:22.600 some fines related to bad checks because he had been 0:20:22.601 --> 0:20:25.961 so busy searching for Christina. Just another weird story in 0:20:26.001 --> 0:20:30.561 this case. In the case file, it said that Charles 0:20:30.561 --> 0:20:32.441 admitted he had borrowed the two hundred and twenty five 0:20:32.441 --> 0:20:36.160 dollars from James Pipkin. He produced a receipt that showed 0:20:36.241 --> 0:20:38.681 Charles did make a payment on bad checks to the 0:20:38.721 --> 0:20:42.201 police department. But the thing about that receipt was that 0:20:42.241 --> 0:20:46.321 the receipt was dated nineteen ninety one and the interview 0:20:46.601 --> 0:20:49.120 was done on May fifth, So I'm not sure what 0:20:49.201 --> 0:20:52.761 happened here. Did Charles produce that receipt a few days 0:20:52.840 --> 0:20:55.080 later and the officer just did not note that in 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:59.441 his report or was the receipt postdated to May. 0:20:59.321 --> 0:21:00.561 Tenth, I don't know. 0:21:01.281 --> 0:21:03.841 But again, this is just one of those confusing disrepancies 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:06.081 on the police report that I have no answers to. 0:21:09.761 --> 0:21:12.441 There was another woman who said she saw something strange 0:21:12.481 --> 0:21:15.521 the night Christina went missing. She said she saw something 0:21:15.561 --> 0:21:19.601 odd happen with Charles's wife, Rebecca Cotton. This woman's name 0:21:19.681 --> 0:21:24.440 is Donna King. There's just one problem with this police report. 0:21:25.001 --> 0:21:28.001 I talked to Donna King, and she said she never 0:21:28.121 --> 0:21:30.961 told police the story that they noted in this report. 0:21:31.721 --> 0:21:34.360 I've also talked to Donna's friend, the friend who was 0:21:34.481 --> 0:21:37.561 with her on the night Christina Pipkin went missing, and 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:40.080 Donna's friend confirmed. 0:21:39.481 --> 0:21:43.281 Her story now again. According to the case file. 0:21:43.921 --> 0:21:47.601 To this report from nineteen ninety one, Donna told investigators 0:21:47.641 --> 0:21:49.920 that she and her husband had gone to Memphis from 0:21:50.001 --> 0:21:53.281 Hickory Ridge on the day when Christina went missing. Donna 0:21:53.401 --> 0:21:55.521 said in the report that they were on their way 0:21:55.521 --> 0:21:57.961 back into town at around nine thirty pm that night 0:21:58.561 --> 0:22:01.961 when she saw woman quote walking the street between the 0:22:01.961 --> 0:22:05.001 Bearcat and that post office end quote. 0:22:05.521 --> 0:22:06.761 Donna told me that. 0:22:06.881 --> 0:22:09.401 Part of the report was correct because she was in 0:22:09.441 --> 0:22:12.561 Memphis that day and she was driving back to Hickory Ridge. 0:22:12.401 --> 0:22:13.041 With her husband. 0:22:13.801 --> 0:22:15.840 But she said that after she got back to town, 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:18.561 she met up with this friend of hers. She said 0:22:18.601 --> 0:22:21.840 they went riding around to help look for Christina. So 0:22:22.001 --> 0:22:25.640 at nine thirty pm, Donna was with her friend and 0:22:25.721 --> 0:22:28.401 she said they did not see any woman walking along 0:22:28.441 --> 0:22:31.080 the side of the road. In the police statement from 0:22:31.161 --> 0:22:35.441 nineteen ninety one, the police said that Donna had recognized 0:22:35.481 --> 0:22:37.001 the woman she saw on the side of the road 0:22:37.041 --> 0:22:41.961 as Rebecca Cotton, Charles Cotton's wife. In the report, police 0:22:42.041 --> 0:22:44.721 quote Donna as saying she's seen very sure that this 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:49.641 was Rebecca, and that Rebecca seemed upset and was crying. Then, 0:22:50.561 --> 0:22:54.041 police said Donna told them that she saw Charles Cotton 0:22:54.121 --> 0:22:57.241 drive up to Rebecca on a three wheeler, Rebecca refused 0:22:57.281 --> 0:22:59.481 to get on the three wheeler, and then Charles Cotton 0:22:59.561 --> 0:23:02.761 come back and pick her up in a car. This 0:23:02.921 --> 0:23:06.401 was a very detailed story, and the whole thing supposedly 0:23:06.481 --> 0:23:10.120 took place several minutes before the search party started to 0:23:10.121 --> 0:23:13.801 look for Christina. But Donna told me none of that 0:23:13.881 --> 0:23:17.041