WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Christina Pipkin Part 4 0:00:08.285 --> 0:00:09.965 School of Humans. 0:00:13.525 --> 0:00:16.045 As a lot of you probably already know, While I've 0:00:16.045 --> 0:00:19.205 been working on the Christina Pipkin case, I've also been 0:00:19.245 --> 0:00:24.005 exploring other unsolved deaths in Arkansas. Right now, I'm looking 0:00:24.045 --> 0:00:27.405 at an article from the Commercial Appeal newspaper that came 0:00:27.445 --> 0:00:31.405 out on Thursday, June third, nineteen ninety three. The title 0:00:31.445 --> 0:00:35.165 of the article is Authorities wonder if six kids deaths 0:00:35.165 --> 0:00:39.045 in East Arkansas are related. Those children in the article 0:00:39.085 --> 0:00:42.445 referred to were Christina Pipkin, who as we know, went 0:00:42.485 --> 0:00:46.085 missing in May of nineteen ninety one, and also Steve Branch, 0:00:46.205 --> 0:00:49.285 Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, the three eight year old 0:00:49.325 --> 0:00:53.005 boys who were murdered in West Memphis in nineteen ninety three. 0:00:53.165 --> 0:00:57.805 It also includes sixteen year old Guardina Cross and thirteen 0:00:57.885 --> 0:01:02.925 year old Geneva Smith. Guardina and Geneva's bodies were found 0:01:02.965 --> 0:01:06.285 near Wynn, Arkansas, just a few miles from Hickory Ridge. 0:01:07.565 --> 0:01:10.645 To be honest, I haven't seen any obvious connections between 0:01:10.725 --> 0:01:12.045 these children in East Arkansas. 0:01:12.765 --> 0:01:13.565 As we've said. 0:01:13.365 --> 0:01:17.285 Before, these children were different ages, some were different races, 0:01:17.365 --> 0:01:21.365 and they had very different life circumstances. The boys in 0:01:21.405 --> 0:01:25.685 West Memphis and Guardina Cross had been brutalized, while in 0:01:25.765 --> 0:01:28.765 Christina's case, there didn't appear to be any outward signs 0:01:28.765 --> 0:01:32.765 of violence. So just on the surface, it does not 0:01:33.005 --> 0:01:35.685 seem like this was the work of a single serial killer. 0:01:36.485 --> 0:01:40.245 But there are a lot of weird coincidences in these cases. 0:01:40.845 --> 0:01:44.285 In fact, in three of the four cases, suspects were 0:01:44.365 --> 0:01:48.765 arrested but ultimately released. All of these children were found 0:01:48.805 --> 0:01:51.965 in or near bodies of water, and all of them 0:01:52.125 --> 0:01:53.205 are unsolved. 0:01:55.365 --> 0:01:56.485 I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:01:57.005 --> 0:02:00.205 Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast, 0:02:00.245 --> 0:02:03.045 Helling Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:02:03.165 --> 0:02:06.925 as a small town where murder never happens. I've received 0:02:07.005 --> 0:02:10.365 hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking 0:02:10.405 --> 0:02:13.965 for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families, 0:02:14.005 --> 0:02:14.965 and their communities. 0:02:15.605 --> 0:02:17.405 If you have a case you'd like me and. 0:02:17.405 --> 0:02:19.685 My team to look into, you can reach out to 0:02:19.765 --> 0:02:22.405 us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven 0:02:22.445 --> 0:02:26.245 eight seven four four six one four five. That's six 0:02:26.325 --> 0:02:31.005 seven eight seven four four six one four five. This 0:02:31.205 --> 0:03:18.965 is Helen Gone Murder Line. I'm making my way through 0:03:19.085 --> 0:03:21.645 all these freedom of information requests I've done over the 0:03:21.685 --> 0:03:25.325 past few weeks. Obviously, we have Christina Pipkins case file, 0:03:25.405 --> 0:03:29.125 though there do appear to be some documents missing, including 0:03:29.205 --> 0:03:33.085 crime scene photos. The Arkansas State Police told me they 0:03:33.245 --> 0:03:36.605 believe the Geneva Smith case is still open, so they 0:03:36.605 --> 0:03:39.045 were not able to provide me with any information from 0:03:39.045 --> 0:03:43.445 that case file. And they weren't able to find Guardiana 0:03:43.525 --> 0:03:46.605 Cross's case at all. They said they had no record 0:03:46.645 --> 0:03:49.605 of it at the Arkansas State Police. Now, this could 0:03:49.725 --> 0:03:51.765 just mean that this case file is with the county. 0:03:52.285 --> 0:03:54.965 I filed a request in Cross County and I'll let 0:03:54.965 --> 0:03:58.685 you all know what happens. But even though the circumstances 0:03:58.725 --> 0:04:02.125 of all these children's deaths were so different, I want 0:04:02.165 --> 0:04:04.685 to take a look at some of the seemingly odd 0:04:04.725 --> 0:04:10.765 similarities in Christina Pipkins's case. Remembered there was a suspect, 0:04:11.005 --> 0:04:15.285 Robbie Tubbs. He was arrested years later in nineteen ninety nine, 0:04:15.885 --> 0:04:18.325 and then he was later released due to some pretty 0:04:18.365 --> 0:04:24.365 catastrophic mistakes with the hair fiber evidence that was found. 0:04:25.245 --> 0:04:28.525 In nineteen ninety two, Geneva Smith was thirteen years old. 0:04:29.005 --> 0:04:31.005 She left home to get on the school bus and 0:04:31.045 --> 0:04:34.405 she never came back. A few days later, Her body 0:04:34.485 --> 0:04:37.725 was found floating in the Saint Francis River. Her remains 0:04:37.805 --> 0:04:40.565 were badly decomposed, so much that it was hard to 0:04:40.605 --> 0:04:41.325 identify her. 0:04:42.605 --> 0:04:44.365 I was struck by the fact that there. 0:04:44.285 --> 0:04:48.205 Is very little about Genevas Smith's murder out there. The 0:04:48.205 --> 0:04:51.605 theories about who killed her if you look on online forums, 0:04:52.085 --> 0:04:54.725 ranged from a serial killer to the KKK to a 0:04:54.765 --> 0:04:58.005 member of her extended family. Basically, it's a mixed bag 0:04:58.045 --> 0:05:01.685 and no one seems to have any real answers. There 0:05:01.965 --> 0:05:05.205 was an arrest in Geneva's case, but like in Christina 0:05:05.205 --> 0:05:08.045 pipk case, the arrest came years later. 0:05:08.965 --> 0:05:10.725 In November of nineteen ninety nine. 0:05:10.765 --> 0:05:13.285 The same year when police were building a case against 0:05:13.405 --> 0:05:18.045 Robbie Tubbs for Christina Pipkins murder, two men named Johnny 0:05:18.125 --> 0:05:21.565 Key and Freddie Jones were arrested and charged with Geneva 0:05:21.605 --> 0:05:25.485 Smith's murder. Police did not say much at the time, 0:05:25.525 --> 0:05:28.445 but apparently the case depended on the cooperation of a 0:05:28.525 --> 0:05:33.125 key witness. I found this from a local newspaper back 0:05:33.165 --> 0:05:36.605 in the day. It read quote Freddy Jones, twenty six 0:05:36.685 --> 0:05:40.285 of Earl and Johnny Key thirty six of Parkin appeared 0:05:40.325 --> 0:05:43.165 before Judge Richard L. Proctor on Monday and were bound 0:05:43.165 --> 0:05:46.445 over to Cross County Circuit Court to stand trial on 0:05:46.445 --> 0:05:49.765 one count of capital murder. The article goes on to 0:05:49.805 --> 0:05:54.045 say Sheriff Ronnie Baldwin said Rinne page twenty two of 0:05:54.125 --> 0:05:57.605 when was also arraigned on a charge of hindering apprehension 0:05:57.685 --> 0:06:00.805 of a suspect in connection with the Smith case. She 0:06:00.965 --> 0:06:03.525 was being held in the Cross County jail Monday on 0:06:03.645 --> 0:06:07.245 unrelated charges when she was arrested in connection with the murder. 0:06:07.565 --> 0:06:12.005 End quote. So the newspaper. 0:06:11.405 --> 0:06:14.725 Brings up two male suspects and one female who they 0:06:14.765 --> 0:06:18.685 believed were involved in Geneva Smith's murder. The newspaper also 0:06:18.925 --> 0:06:23.285 talked to the sheriff, and the article mentioned that the 0:06:23.285 --> 0:06:25.765 sheriff said that he had worked with the Arkansas State 0:06:25.805 --> 0:06:30.605 Police investigator Dale Arnold. Remember that's the same investigator who 0:06:30.645 --> 0:06:34.445 also worked on Christina Pipkins's case. The sheriff said that 0:06:34.605 --> 0:06:37.885 he and Dale Arnold felt they finally had enough information 0:06:38.005 --> 0:06:41.565 to make some arrest and the article said that all 0:06:41.765 --> 0:06:45.685 three of these suspects, Johnny Key, Freddie Jones, and Irene Page, 0:06:46.165 --> 0:06:48.885 had all been interviewed by police back in nineteen ninety two, 0:06:48.925 --> 0:06:54.565 when Genevasmith originally went missing. Police seemed fairly confident that 0:06:54.565 --> 0:06:58.885 they had a case, but then something happened. Apparently their 0:06:58.965 --> 0:07:03.205 key witness had a change of heart. The sheriff, Ronnie Baldwin, 0:07:03.605 --> 0:07:07.525 later confirmed this. He told the newspaper the case had 0:07:07.525 --> 0:07:13.725 fallen apart when that witness backed out. So I'm wondering 0:07:13.725 --> 0:07:17.005 about the woman who was arrested. If she was the 0:07:17.005 --> 0:07:19.685 witness and was twenty two years old in nineteen ninety nine, 0:07:20.405 --> 0:07:22.485 that would mean that she would have been around sixteen 0:07:22.565 --> 0:07:25.925 years old, just three years older than Geneva back when 0:07:26.005 --> 0:07:30.485 Geneva was killed. So now I'm wondering who was this woman? 0:07:30.565 --> 0:07:34.085 What was her connection to Geneva Smith? And it's been 0:07:34.165 --> 0:07:37.645 years since these suspects were questioned and later released. Is 0:07:37.725 --> 0:07:40.765 law enforcement planning on building that case any further? Have 0:07:40.845 --> 0:07:44.045 they developed any new suspects, Do they have any new 0:07:44.125 --> 0:07:46.925 leads at all? And if not, would they consider turning 0:07:46.965 --> 0:07:49.605 over this case file and making it public like they 0:07:49.645 --> 0:07:53.245 have with Christina Pipkin's case. I am not sure what 0:07:53.405 --> 0:07:56.445 the decision will be in Geneva Smith's case. I do 0:07:56.605 --> 0:07:59.925 know Arkansas has made new rules to classify cases as 0:07:59.965 --> 0:08:03.325 officially cold when they've been unsolved for two years or more, 0:08:04.085 --> 0:08:06.685 maybe they will release of the case file. I do 0:08:06.765 --> 0:08:10.885 hope they'll consider it because in Christina's case it has helped. 0:08:11.805 --> 0:08:12.565 I've only been. 0:08:12.445 --> 0:08:14.485 Working on this case for a few weeks, and even 0:08:14.525 --> 0:08:18.085 though it has been almost thirty years since Christina Pipkin 0:08:18.125 --> 0:08:20.765 went missing and her body was found, We've been able 0:08:20.765 --> 0:08:23.725 to find a lot of people who've never been interviewed 0:08:23.765 --> 0:08:26.245 by the police. We've also gotten a lot of names 0:08:26.285 --> 0:08:28.045 out of the case file, and we were able to 0:08:28.125 --> 0:08:31.285 find a lot of them. As a result of that, 0:08:31.365 --> 0:08:34.285 we are filling in the blanks. I would love to 0:08:34.325 --> 0:08:36.645 be able to do the same thing for Geneva Smith's case. 0:08:37.325 --> 0:08:41.325 So if someone out there knows someone who knew Geneva Smith, 0:08:41.725 --> 0:08:45.245 anyone in her family, her friends, or anyone who saw anything, 0:08:45.565 --> 0:08:49.405 I would love to hear from these people. I did 0:08:49.405 --> 0:08:52.365 some very preliminary online sleuthing to try and find the 0:08:52.405 --> 0:08:55.165 people who were charged with Geneva's murder and what happened 0:08:55.205 --> 0:08:59.405 to them. I found Freddy Jones. It wasn't too hard 0:08:59.485 --> 0:09:03.045 because he's now in prison. Freddie Jones has a fairly 0:09:03.125 --> 0:09:07.925 long criminal record, according to court records. In twenty seventeen, 0:09:08.525 --> 0:09:11.725 he was sentenced to forty years for aggravated robbery of 0:09:11.725 --> 0:09:15.325 a Valero gas station in Fayetvile. He also got an 0:09:15.325 --> 0:09:18.085 additional five years for carrying a firearm because he was 0:09:18.125 --> 0:09:22.365 a felon. According to court documents, this length of sentence, 0:09:22.405 --> 0:09:25.165 which does seem very long, was due to his status 0:09:25.165 --> 0:09:30.885 as an habitual offender. So let's go back to the 0:09:30.925 --> 0:09:33.405 newspaper article for a minute. The one I talked about 0:09:33.405 --> 0:09:35.685 at the top of the episode, the one that talked 0:09:35.685 --> 0:09:40.645 about potential connections in these child death cases. The reporter 0:09:40.845 --> 0:09:45.165 Rob Johnson talked about sixteen year old Guardina Cross, who 0:09:45.285 --> 0:09:49.325 was murdered in nineteen ninety two. Guardina was sixteen years 0:09:49.365 --> 0:09:52.365 old and in tenth grade at Wyn High School on 0:09:52.405 --> 0:09:56.565 October fourteenth, nineteen ninety two. She disappeared that same day 0:09:56.685 --> 0:09:59.685 on Moore Road, right outside of when a guy was 0:09:59.725 --> 0:10:02.885 collecting cans. When he found her body on the side 0:10:02.925 --> 0:10:06.285 of the road. Guardina was naked except for a bra. 0:10:07.565 --> 0:10:11.365 Her skull had been pierced and punctured with a small object. 0:10:11.925 --> 0:10:15.165 Police thought it could be some type of tool, maybe 0:10:15.205 --> 0:10:19.285 something like a screwdriver. Forensic testing later revealed that at 0:10:19.325 --> 0:10:23.285 the time of her death, Guardina was around five months pregnant, 0:10:24.885 --> 0:10:27.805 and then there were crickets. There was nothing more that 0:10:27.845 --> 0:10:31.925 I could find really ever reported about this case, but 0:10:32.005 --> 0:10:35.045 I think the reporter Rob Johnson got some crucial information. 0:10:35.805 --> 0:10:39.965 He went to interview Guardinia's great grandmother, Hattie Cross. He 0:10:40.045 --> 0:10:43.165 found out that Guardina already had a two year old daughter. 0:10:43.805 --> 0:10:47.645 That means that Guardinia's daughter must have been born around 0:10:47.725 --> 0:10:51.725 the time Guardinia was around fourteen years old. He was 0:10:51.765 --> 0:10:54.125 also the person who reported that she was five months 0:10:54.125 --> 0:10:57.485 pregnant at the time for death. Now, I don't want 0:10:57.525 --> 0:11:00.565 to rush to conclusions. The killer could have been a stranger. 0:11:00.645 --> 0:11:03.765 This could have been a random attack. But we also 0:11:03.965 --> 0:11:07.285 know that sadly, pregnancy can be one of the most 0:11:07.365 --> 0:11:10.925 dangerous times of a woman's life. One of the leading 0:11:11.045 --> 0:11:14.285 cause of death of pregnant women in America is homicide. 0:11:14.765 --> 0:11:17.205 So I want to know where that baby's father is, 0:11:18.125 --> 0:11:21.925 if that person was ever questioned, Maybe there was someone 0:11:21.965 --> 0:11:23.885 who was not happy about her pregnancy. 0:11:23.925 --> 0:11:25.725 And these are all things that we have to consider. 0:11:31.325 --> 0:11:34.325 Coming back to the Christina Pipkin case, I've been going 0:11:34.325 --> 0:11:36.285 through the case file and trying to reach out to 0:11:36.285 --> 0:11:40.885 people the police interviewed, and when I did, as you 0:11:41.005 --> 0:11:44.365 probably already know, there were a lot of discrepancies, not 0:11:44.445 --> 0:11:47.005 only that I saw something in this case I've never 0:11:47.045 --> 0:11:51.765 had happened before in anything I've ever investigated. One of 0:11:51.765 --> 0:11:54.285 the biggest issues we've had in trying to review this 0:11:54.365 --> 0:11:56.605 case file is the fact that basically none of the 0:11:56.645 --> 0:12:00.685 interviews were transcribed. Everything is just these brief, typed reports, 0:12:01.445 --> 0:12:04.525 So there are a lot of mistakes in those. I've 0:12:04.565 --> 0:12:08.925 seen errors and police reports before, but I've seen mistakes 0:12:08.925 --> 0:12:13.165 in Christina's case unlike anything I've ever seen. In our 0:12:13.245 --> 0:12:17.165 last episode, I talked to Donna King. Now in the 0:12:17.365 --> 0:12:20.765 case file, there is a police report where an investigator 0:12:20.845 --> 0:12:24.045 said he spoke to Donna King. She told them that 0:12:24.205 --> 0:12:27.725 on the night Christina Pipkin went missing, she saw Charles 0:12:27.765 --> 0:12:30.645 Cotton's wife, Rebecca Cotton, walking on the side of the 0:12:30.725 --> 0:12:32.965 road and that Charles Cotton was approaching her on a 0:12:33.005 --> 0:12:37.885 three wheeler. This was a very detailed description of what happened. Apparently, 0:12:38.045 --> 0:12:42.525 according to police, Donna said she observed Rebecca Cotton crying, 0:12:43.205 --> 0:12:46.085 looking annoyed at Charles and not getting on the three Wheeler. 0:12:46.605 --> 0:12:49.125 Then Charles Cotton apparently left and came. 0:12:48.965 --> 0:12:49.765 Back in a vehicle. 0:12:50.605 --> 0:12:53.765 This was a few minutes later, and he picked Rebecca 0:12:53.805 --> 0:12:58.285 Cotton up and they left together in the car. The 0:12:58.325 --> 0:13:02.685 only problem is Donna King said that this was absolutely 0:13:02.805 --> 0:13:05.445 not what she said to the police. She is insistent 0:13:05.605 --> 0:13:08.365 that she never saw Rebecca Cotton on the night Christina 0:13:08.365 --> 0:13:12.645 Pipkin went missing. Donna King said that part of the 0:13:12.725 --> 0:13:16.165 story was correct. She was out of town that day. 0:13:16.245 --> 0:13:18.365 She and her husband had gone to Memphis, but she 0:13:18.485 --> 0:13:20.365 said as soon as she got back in town, she 0:13:20.445 --> 0:13:23.205 met up with a friend of hers. The friend of 0:13:23.285 --> 0:13:26.125 Donna's who she met up with is actually someone else 0:13:26.125 --> 0:13:30.285 we've spoken to. There were two cashiers at the Bearcat 0:13:30.325 --> 0:13:31.005 who we've. 0:13:30.765 --> 0:13:31.605 Talked to so far. 0:13:32.485 --> 0:13:36.365 The woman i'll call cashier number one served the mysterious 0:13:36.405 --> 0:13:38.965 stranger who came in at around five forty five. She's 0:13:39.005 --> 0:13:42.325 the one who worked on the composite drawing with police. 0:13:42.445 --> 0:13:45.085 There was another cashier, we'll call her a cashier number 0:13:45.085 --> 0:13:48.965 two now cashier too was working in the back section 0:13:49.005 --> 0:13:51.965 of the store where the video rentals happened for most 0:13:51.965 --> 0:13:54.445 of the night, but between seven and nine pm she 0:13:54.605 --> 0:13:59.325 worked the main register. After Donna came back to town, she 0:13:59.485 --> 0:14:03.925 met up with Cashier number two. Together, they rode around 0:14:04.005 --> 0:14:07.165 and looked for Christina Pipkin, and they both confirmed each 0:14:07.165 --> 0:14:07.885 other's stories. 0:14:07.925 --> 0:14:10.565 They said they never saw Rebecca Cotton that night. 0:14:11.805 --> 0:14:15.005 When I asked Donna what she thinks happened, she believes 0:14:15.005 --> 0:14:17.885 that maybe the police officers got her story mixed up 0:14:17.925 --> 0:14:24.085 with someone else's. This sounds crazy, but it's actually not 0:14:24.125 --> 0:14:28.085 that hard to believe, because even more disturbing than the 0:14:28.125 --> 0:14:31.325 wrong information Donna said the police included in that report 0:14:31.925 --> 0:14:35.205 was what she said they left out. Donna said that 0:14:35.285 --> 0:14:38.645 the next day after Christina went missing, she saw a 0:14:38.685 --> 0:14:42.725 stranger in a brown car near the area where Christina's 0:14:42.725 --> 0:14:46.605 body was found. She is adamant, she said she described 0:14:46.645 --> 0:14:49.445 that person and that vehicle to the police, But there's 0:14:49.565 --> 0:14:52.405 no record of that brown car anywhere. 0:14:51.925 --> 0:14:56.485 In the case file. So the question is where did 0:14:56.525 --> 0:14:57.405 the police get. 0:14:57.285 --> 0:15:00.685 The information about the person who supposedly saw Rebecca Cotton 0:15:00.725 --> 0:15:02.885 on the side of the road that night, And if 0:15:02.885 --> 0:15:15.765 that person wasn't Donna King, who who was it. In 0:15:15.805 --> 0:15:19.045 the last episode, we talked about a couple of the 0:15:19.165 --> 0:15:22.765 names who keep coming up in this case and I 0:15:22.805 --> 0:15:24.645 want to give you all an update. We have gotten 0:15:24.725 --> 0:15:28.005 more information about a friend of Robbie Tubbs, the man 0:15:28.125 --> 0:15:31.605 named Jackie. The person who I referred to is Jackie 0:15:31.685 --> 0:15:34.005 question Mark in last week's episode. Because we didn't know 0:15:34.045 --> 0:15:37.685 his last name, we were able to get his last name. 0:15:38.205 --> 0:15:40.925 I've been exchanging messages with a couple of different young 0:15:41.005 --> 0:15:44.845 women who told me that Jackie was, in their words, 0:15:44.885 --> 0:15:47.565 creepy and that he made her and several other young 0:15:47.605 --> 0:15:48.925 women very uncomfortable. 0:15:49.885 --> 0:15:51.565 I wanted to track Jackie down. 0:15:52.045 --> 0:15:54.765 I wanted to ask him questions about Robbie Tubbs and 0:15:54.845 --> 0:15:56.525 about what went on around the time. 0:15:56.405 --> 0:15:57.525 When Christina went missing. 0:15:58.245 --> 0:16:01.005 I wanted to know word Jackie and Robbie in or 0:16:01.085 --> 0:16:04.805 near Hickory Ridge that day. But I found out that 0:16:04.925 --> 0:16:06.925 Jackie passed away in two thousand and eight. 0:16:07.405 --> 0:16:09.605 Sadly, this is another dead end. 0:16:15.845 --> 0:16:19.045 The second cashier at the Bearcat who we talked to 0:16:19.125 --> 0:16:22.885 in the last episode, told us about the fear and 0:16:23.005 --> 0:16:25.965 panic that broke out in the town after Christina went missing. 0:16:26.525 --> 0:16:29.805 She described what the atmosphere was like the next day. 0:16:30.485 --> 0:16:35.525 I'm at work at twelve at Bearcat, and it was 0:16:35.685 --> 0:16:47.325 just horrific. Seeing it was horrific and how that awesome 0:16:47.605 --> 0:16:52.405 at the sun time that so many people we're there, 0:16:52.205 --> 0:16:54.725 we're on the street, we're in the parking lot, we're 0:16:54.845 --> 0:16:57.685 you know, gathered together to try to you know, set 0:16:57.765 --> 0:17:00.965 up teams. You know, the community really came together. 0:17:02.205 --> 0:17:04.805 And she noticed the same thing that I noticed. She 0:17:04.925 --> 0:17:07.765 noticed that Arles Cotton seemed to have been very involved 0:17:07.805 --> 0:17:10.845 in the search for Christina Pipkins. She also found it 0:17:10.845 --> 0:17:13.445 out she said he wasn't someone who appeared to know 0:17:13.525 --> 0:17:17.685 the family well, and James had said he just met 0:17:17.765 --> 0:17:19.165 Charles Cotton through his neighbors. 0:17:20.645 --> 0:17:23.645 She may un I mean, I thought, is he really 0:17:23.645 --> 0:17:27.445 trying to make an incrusion? And it was just like 0:17:27.565 --> 0:17:29.205 gloved to the family, it seemed like. 0:17:30.125 --> 0:17:34.965 And I was just like, you know, of course we 0:17:34.965 --> 0:17:40.245 were all wanting to search and look absolutely, but I 0:17:40.285 --> 0:17:41.245 mean then. 0:17:41.125 --> 0:17:45.245 I you know, Candles came down, there was a lot 0:17:45.285 --> 0:17:47.525 of publisty. 0:17:47.485 --> 0:17:49.205 And I just put it as you know, he was 0:17:49.285 --> 0:17:50.125 just wanting attention. 0:17:50.765 --> 0:17:53.645 And I didn't really, you know, think king much more 0:17:53.685 --> 0:17:54.005 about it. 0:17:56.525 --> 0:18:00.125 With help from some sources in town, I have mapped 0:18:00.165 --> 0:18:03.805 out the rest of Christina's neighborhood and there are other 0:18:03.885 --> 0:18:08.565 people who I would like to locate. I have verified 0:18:08.565 --> 0:18:11.165 through multiple sources who were living in the neighborhood at 0:18:11.165 --> 0:18:15.125 the time, that Charles Cotton and his family were, contrary 0:18:15.125 --> 0:18:17.885 to what his wife Rebecca told the police, living in 0:18:17.925 --> 0:18:20.205 a house just a couple of doors down from the Pipkins. 0:18:22.245 --> 0:18:25.765 There was also another young family there. They lived in 0:18:25.805 --> 0:18:29.005 a trailer, They had several children, and according to the neighbors, 0:18:29.045 --> 0:18:32.205 they were only there for a few months. Apparently the 0:18:32.245 --> 0:18:35.085 family was from around Beadeville, the area and near where 0:18:35.125 --> 0:18:39.125 Christina's body was found. Now people say this family was 0:18:39.165 --> 0:18:41.365 not around for a long time. They weren't sure of 0:18:41.365 --> 0:18:43.965 the exact dates. But I would like to know who 0:18:44.005 --> 0:18:45.725 those people were, and I would like to talk to 0:18:45.765 --> 0:18:49.405 them because if they left abruptly after Christina went missing, 0:18:50.325 --> 0:18:53.165 that's something we need to check out. We know from 0:18:53.285 --> 0:18:56.005 past cases that people who show up in town and 0:18:56.125 --> 0:18:59.525 leave shortly after a suspicious death need to be thoroughly vetted. 0:19:00.485 --> 0:19:03.085 And I want to go back and ask something that 0:19:03.205 --> 0:19:06.925 may seem obvious, But since part of this is investigating 0:19:06.925 --> 0:19:10.565 the investigation itself, we have to double check everything. 0:19:11.045 --> 0:19:11.845 We need to know. 0:19:13.085 --> 0:19:17.645 How can we be sure that Christina Pipkin drowned and 0:19:17.725 --> 0:19:20.405 how can we be sure that it was definitely not 0:19:20.565 --> 0:19:28.245 an accidental drowning. I want to take a step back 0:19:28.245 --> 0:19:30.365 for a minute, because there's been a lot of discussion 0:19:30.725 --> 0:19:33.325 during Christina's case about what we can learn from the 0:19:33.365 --> 0:19:36.645 limited facts we have without an autopsy report. 0:19:37.525 --> 0:19:39.005 So let's talk about drowning. 0:19:39.965 --> 0:19:43.805 According to report on NBC News, deaths by drowning are 0:19:43.925 --> 0:19:47.365 super challenging. They're among the hardest for investigators to prove. 0:19:48.325 --> 0:19:51.085 The way that medical examiners figure out that a death 0:19:51.205 --> 0:19:54.365 is by drowning is basically by the process of elimination. 0:19:55.125 --> 0:19:59.365 They have to rule out everything else. A lot of 0:19:59.525 --> 0:20:03.285 children drowned in the United States every year. According to 0:20:03.325 --> 0:20:05.845 a twenty twenty three article in The New Yorker, the 0:20:05.885 --> 0:20:09.205 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed drowning as 0:20:09.245 --> 0:20:12.205 the number one cause of death for young children, which 0:20:12.245 --> 0:20:15.885 they define is age one to four, and Arkansas has 0:20:15.925 --> 0:20:19.005 one of the highest rates of childhood drowning in the country, 0:20:19.405 --> 0:20:22.085 according to a study done by Quote Wizard, the third 0:20:22.205 --> 0:20:26.445 highest in the nation. Between twenty eighteen and twenty twenty, 0:20:26.765 --> 0:20:31.005 there were twenty five fatal drownings in Arkansas. Thirteen of 0:20:31.045 --> 0:20:36.325 those were children under the age of five. So how 0:20:36.365 --> 0:20:38.765 do we know if a body found in water did 0:20:38.845 --> 0:20:42.325 drown and if that drowning was intentional or accidental? 0:20:43.325 --> 0:20:45.485 In water, bodies tend to sink. 0:20:45.325 --> 0:20:48.525 First and then rise to the surface in warm, shallow 0:20:48.565 --> 0:20:51.645 water like at Cawlake Ditch as gases in the body 0:20:51.645 --> 0:20:55.645 accumulated from the decomposition process. This would have taken around 0:20:55.645 --> 0:21:00.085 seventy two hours. Christina's body was found three days after 0:21:00.125 --> 0:21:04.285 she went missing. Water investigations have come a long way 0:21:04.325 --> 0:21:07.885 in the past three decades. Now there are training seminars 0:21:08.405 --> 0:21:12.605 for investigators who are processing homicides that involve a body 0:21:12.605 --> 0:21:16.285 of water. There are a few different types of scenarios 0:21:16.285 --> 0:21:19.045 that can occur here. You have people who are killed 0:21:19.085 --> 0:21:21.205 on land and then dumped into the water as they 0:21:21.205 --> 0:21:24.605 are dead or dying, people who actually drowned in the 0:21:24.645 --> 0:21:27.845 body of water, and accidental drownings, and they all have 0:21:28.005 --> 0:21:32.885 some distinctive characteristics. We know that Christina could have accidentally 0:21:32.965 --> 0:21:34.565 drowned because she couldn't swim. 0:21:34.605 --> 0:21:35.685 That would have made sense. 0:21:36.565 --> 0:21:40.285 But the first question homicide investigators are told to ask 0:21:40.805 --> 0:21:43.805 is if the victim's location makes sense, and in Christina's case, 0:21:43.885 --> 0:21:46.645 it did not. It made zero sense that she would 0:21:46.685 --> 0:21:49.845 suddenly be miles away from home right before dark when 0:21:49.885 --> 0:21:52.525 she had been hanging around very close to her house 0:21:52.565 --> 0:21:58.525 all day. But even though crime scene investigation techniques are improving, 0:21:59.685 --> 0:22:03.205 killers can still have a lot of evidence in pools 0:22:03.245 --> 0:22:08.925 of dirty water. I use a textbook for all of 0:22:08.925 --> 0:22:12.085 my investigations. I carried it around everywhere with me, so 0:22:12.125 --> 0:22:15.245 at this point it's kind of falling apart. But it's 0:22:15.325 --> 0:22:19.405 called Practical Homicide Investigations. I've talked about it before. It's 0:22:19.445 --> 0:22:23.645 by a former NYPD homicide detective named Vernon Gabirth. It's 0:22:23.685 --> 0:22:27.685 become the textbook that a lot of police departments used 0:22:27.685 --> 0:22:33.125 to train their detectives. In this book, he describes a 0:22:33.125 --> 0:22:36.045 lot of staged crime scenes involving drowning, and he has 0:22:36.045 --> 0:22:39.325 a lot of examples summer cases where the victim was 0:22:39.405 --> 0:22:42.645 drowned elsewhere like a bathtub, and then taken and dumped 0:22:42.645 --> 0:22:45.365 into the body of water. Remember, a lot of people 0:22:45.405 --> 0:22:47.925 thought this was what could have happened to Christina Pipkin, 0:22:48.765 --> 0:22:51.525 But we know the evidence in Christina's case indicates the 0:22:51.605 --> 0:22:55.565 mud and water found in Christina's lungs did match. 0:22:55.285 --> 0:22:56.645 The water in cal Lake ditch. 0:22:57.605 --> 0:23:00.165 I've also talked to a family member and this person 0:23:00.325 --> 0:23:04.805 is attempting to access Christina's autopsy report. I hope that 0:23:04.845 --> 0:23:07.325 we can get access to that because there are a 0:23:07.325 --> 0:23:11.245 lot of things I think we could potentially learn. Among 0:23:11.245 --> 0:23:13.845 the questions I have are these. I want to know 0:23:13.885 --> 0:23:17.245 if there was any white foam present. It's called haemorrhagic 0:23:17.405 --> 0:23:21.725 edema fluid. This foam forms as a result of mucus 0:23:21.765 --> 0:23:25.285 from the throat mixing with water and blood. It's a 0:23:25.325 --> 0:23:28.565 major indication the person may have drowned, and we don't 0:23:28.605 --> 0:23:31.725 know from doctor Fawmi Malik the medical examiner's report if 0:23:31.725 --> 0:23:32.485 that was present. 0:23:33.725 --> 0:23:34.285 We do know. 0:23:34.365 --> 0:23:37.045 Doctor Malik said there were no signs of violence. He 0:23:37.085 --> 0:23:39.845 said he didn't find signs of a struggle, no bruising, 0:23:40.165 --> 0:23:44.325 no obvious signs of strangulation, nothing to show, for example, 0:23:44.365 --> 0:23:46.525 that someone held her head under water forcibly. 0:23:47.445 --> 0:23:49.365 But maybe there are other clues in the. 0:23:49.405 --> 0:23:51.845 Report, something that could tell us if she had less 0:23:51.845 --> 0:23:55.445 obvious signs, like the broken blood vessels, that could be 0:23:55.485 --> 0:23:56.645 indicative of strangulation. 0:23:58.085 --> 0:24:01.165 Also, I would love to know did Christina have anything 0:24:01.165 --> 0:24:01.925 in her hands. 0:24:02.485 --> 0:24:05.445 This could tell us if she was grabbing at something, 0:24:05.685 --> 0:24:09.045