Apr 28, 2020
In October 1998 15 year-old Crystal Marler disappeared from her home in McCreary County Kentucky after being out with friends and - evidence suggests - briefly returning to the house. Where she went, and with whom, remains a mystery. As too often happens when a teenager vanishes, the authorities did not take Crystal's disappearance as anything much more than a case of a runaway. That perception only got stronger when no trace of the young woman could be found...until eleven years later,when Crystal's remains were found by local hunters, and the autopsy revealed that she had been brutally bludgeoned and then shot. And yet, though the case is still classified as an unsolved homicide, Crystal's extended family appears to have done far more investigative work than the police - and no suspect has ever been arrested. Leading the charge on behalf of Crystal's family is her grandmother, Lorella Wood. Now 85 years old and afraid she'll never know the truth about her granddaughter's killer(s), Lorella is hoping that someone - anyone - who knows the truth - or even a part of the truth - will step forward. Lorella joins Melissa by telephone to talk about her beloved Crystal, the rumors surrounding who may have been responsible for her death, and the pain of not seeing the monsters who took her granddaughter brought to justice.