Sunday, April 12, 2026

The Murder of Maria Gabrielle Rodriguez

 
Maria Gabrielle Rodriguez was 31 years-old when her life was tragically taken on December 22nd, 2016. The young woman was in San Antonio, Texas at the time of her death. Maria's murder remains unsolved to this day. 

According to reports, San Antonio police were dispatched to an apartment in the 2500 block of Jackson Keller around 4:00 PM. Once officers entered the residence, they found Maria deceased in the bathroom. It was soon determined that she had been stabbed and asphyxiated. Maria's death was quickly classified as a homicide.

There has been very little information released about Maria's case and the events leading up to her death. While some early reports indicate that Maria was killed inside her own apartment, it was later reported that the apartment actually belonged to a friend. It's also been reported that Maria was spending time with a group of friends/acquaintances on the evening of December 21st, 2016. The group ended up gathering at said apartment at some point that night.

Police were not called until around 4:00 PM the following day, leaving a decent gap of time between the time Maria went to the apartment and the time she was found deceased in the bathroom. The identities of the people Maria might have been with, including the resident of the apartment, have not been publicly revealed. No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly announced as well. 

Several years have passed, and there has been very little news on Maria's case. Her murder has been classified as a cold case. San Antonio Crime Stoppers is offering a monetary reward for anyone with information that could lead to an arrest. If you have any information that could help solve the murder of Maria Rodriguez, please contact authorities at 210-224-7867 or submit a tip online

Saturday, April 11, 2026

The Disappearance of Katelin Akens


Katelin Akens (19) has been missing from Spotsylvania, Virginia since December 5th, 2015. While Katelin is originally from the Northern Virginia area, she had been living in Arizona with her fiancĂ©, Amber Rios, prior to going missing. At the time of her disappearance, Katelin was in Virginia to visit family—her sister had just given birth to a baby boy, and Katelin had wanted to meet her new nephew.

On the day she vanished, Katelin was scheduled to fly back home to Arizona. Her mother, Lisa, was unable to take her to the airport and asked her ex-husband James Branton (Katelin’s stepfather, not biological) to take Katelin to the airport instead. He agreed, and Lisa dropped Katelin off at his home in Spotsylvania early in the day. 

A few hours later, Lisa received a text from her Branton stating that he had dropped Katelin off. She also received a text from Katelin’s phone stating that she had arrived at Reagan International Airport. However, around the same time, Amber also received a text from Katelin’s phone stating that “something had come up,” and Katelin would not be returning that day. Both Lisa and Amber later learned that Katelin never boarded her 5:40 PM flight.


Lisa and Amber spent the next few hours trying to get ahold of Katelin and were unsuccessful—until finally Lisa received another text from Katelin’s phone at 7:15 PM. The text stated she “just wanted to be left alone.” Two days later, Katelin’s luggage was found 50 miles away from the airport—in a drainage ditch in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Her luggage contained her phone charger, clothing, and Amber’s credit card that Katelin had borrowed. 

When police questioned the last known person to see Katelin—her stepfather, James Branton—he revealed that he did not actually drop Katelin off at Reagan International Airport. Instead, he claimed that Katelin requested to be dropped off at Springfield Mall, from where she would walk to the Franconia-Springfield Metro station and take the Metro the rest of the way to the airport. However, there has been no evidence to support that Katelin was ever at that mall or Metro stop on that day.

Katelin’s family members do not believe she is voluntarily missing. After investigating cell phone pings, police revealed that the initial text sent from Katelin’s phone to Lisa, stating that Katelin had made it safely to the airport, actually pinged off of a tower 30 miles away from the airport. The text Lisa later received at 7:15 PM on that night pinged off of a tower 15 miles from Fredericksburg. 

Additionally, the text that Katelin’s stepfather sent to Lisa, stating that he just had dropped Katelin off, pinged near his home, rather than near the mall or airport. Despite all of this, Branton has never been officially named a suspect in this case—however, the investigation is still ongoing. He is currently the main person of interest in the case.

Anyone with information on Katelin and/or her whereabouts can report here.
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2026 UPDATE:

James Branton has been arrested for "multiple child sex charges allegedly involving [Katelin] and her sister." The charges reportedly stem from incidents that began in 2006 after Katelin's mother Lisa married Branton. The charges include "two counts each of child cruelty, indecent exposure of a child, custodial indecent liberties and aggravated sexual battery." The details of those charges can be found here.

At the time of this posting, Branton has not yet been charged with anything related to Katelin's disappearance. However, these charges make it seem even more likely that he had a hand in her going missing. Any updates will be provided if/when they are available. 

Saturday, April 4, 2026

The Disappearance of Jamee Grossman

 

Jamee Grossman vanished at the age of 24 during March 2012. The young woman lived in Billings, Montana at the time of her disappearance; however, she was reportedly last seen in Lockwood. Jamee has never been seen or heard from again.

March 17th, 2012, was supposed to be a busy day for Jamee. Both Jamee and the father of her youngest child had a scheduled appointment for visitation, but she canceled that morning after saying she was not feeling well. She was also reportedly scheduled to work a shift at a local bar/restaurant that day, but she did not show up, nor did she contact anyone from her job to say she would not be present.

Some reports also state that Jamee and her boyfriend, Frank Hammontree, planned to move into a friend's trailer in Lockwood that day after they had been evicted from their residence in Billings. That move never happened. Instead, Hammontree called Jamee's mother that afternoon and said that Jamee was missing. 

Hammontree stated that he drove Jamee to a convenience store on 1st Avenue North, where the visitation with the young child was supposed to take place. He said that after dropping her off, he watched Jamee get into a blue vehicle and never saw her again. However, surveillance footage from the convenience store seemingly disproves this narrative. According to KULR 8, "an analysis of that convenience store's security cameras showed no Jamee, no [Hammontree], no father, no little girl, no blue vehicle."

After Jamee was reported missing, detectives learned that she attended a birthday party at a residence in Lockwood on the evening of March 16th, 2012. Witnesses stated that Jamee and Hammontree arrived at the party together. Some of the partygoers spent the night and later told police that when they woke up the following morning, the couple was gone. The resident who hosted the party told police that Jamee and Hammontree left the party together around 2:00 AM. The two were reportedly in a good mood at the time; nothing appeared to be amiss between the couple. 

That birthday party is where the last confirmed sighting of Jamee occurred. Although she reportedly used the phone the following morning to cancel her scheduled visitation, it appears that no one, other than Hammontree, saw Jamee after she left the party. This inevitably raises suspicions about Hammontree, especially since the story he told about dropping Jamee off at the convenience store is seemingly untrue. 

Additionally, reports indicate that Jamee and Hammontree had a rocky relationship. According to The Charley Project, Jamee's mother shared that the couple "had a history of fighting and alleged physical abuse." The two also reportedly both struggled with alcohol and drug abuse. Those struggles are what led to their eviction from their residence in Billings.

Hammontree reportedly obtained a lawyer after Jamee's disappearance and declined to give a formal statement to investigators. He was later incarcerated on an unrelated felony weapons charge. On the two-year anniversary of Jamee's disappearance, it was reported that Hammontree was a prime suspect in the case. Now, over 15 years have passed since Jamee went missing, and no charges related to her disappearance have been brought against Hammontree. No other suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified. 

Despite several searches and theories surrounding the case, Jamee still remains missing today. Her two daughters have had to grow up without their mother. Her other family members have been left without closure. 

The Billings Police Department has investigative agency over her case. If you have any information that could help solve the disappearance of Jamee Grossman, please contact authorities at 406-657-8461.