The Murder of Blake Chappell

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The Murder of Jessica Bejarano

 

Jessica Bejarano was only 25 years-old when her life was tragically taken on April 6th, 2007. 

That day, police in Frederick, Colorado responded to a 911 call at her residence on Larkspur Circle. When officers entered the home, they found Jessica unresponsive on her bathroom floor. She had suffered a single stab wound to the chest. The first responders attempted life-saving measures to no avail, and Jessica was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jessica's two children, a 4-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, were also found in the home when police arrived. The children were reportedly distraught, but physically unharmed. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, "it appeared that [the children] had been unkept for most of the day and may have witnessed the murder."

When the investigation into Jessica's murder began, police initially looked into several suspects, including Jessica's husband. He was eventually cleared after it was determined he was at work at the time of the stabbing. As time passed without any arrests, news about Jessica's murder began to fade. The case soon grew cold.

Nearly 18 years later, in March 2025, a major break was announced: a 72-year-old man named Darrell Burkland had been arrested and charged with Jessica's murder. According to reports, "investigators ultimately obtained DNA evidence that subsequently yielded a potential match" to Burkland. Then, on March 14th, 2025, "investigators conducted a follow-up interview with Burklund. Following the interview, Burklund was arrested and taken into custody at the York County Sheriff’s Detention Center, in York, Nebraska."

Burkland was 54 years-old at the time of the crime. He worked as a maintenance worker. At the time of Burkland's arrest, no further details about the investigation were provided. Although he was arrested in Nebraska, he will face the charges for Jessica's murder in Colorado. The case is currently pending. 

Sources:
ABC 7 Denver
Colorado Bureau of Investigation, (2)

The Disappearance and Murder of Erica Hunt

Erica Hunt vanished at the age of 20 on July 4th, 2016. The previous day, Erica attended an Independence Day celebration at her family’s home in Opelousas, Louisiana. The above photograph is from said celebration; this is one the last known images of Erica before her disappearance. 

Family members said Erica was acting normally at the celebration—she talked about applying for housing and seemed excited about her upcoming 21st birthday. They never predicted that this would be one of the last times they'd see Erica.

The morning before she vanished, Erica visited her sister and brother-in-law’s house and asked for money to buy cigarettes. It is unknown if she left their home on foot or if somebody picked her up. Erica was later seen behind a local restaurant on Hirsch Alley sometime between 11:00 PM and 1:00 PM. After that, she was never seen or heard from again.

Investigators immediately deemed Erica's disappearance as suspicious. It was not believed that she voluntarily missing—she left a two-year-old daughter behind, which was very uncharacteristic of her. Erica’s family searched for her to no avail. Unfortunately, her case quickly went cold.

Two years later, in 2018, authorities were searching for a missing boy in Evangeline Parish when another set of human remains were found. It took years to identify the remains, but on February 5th, 2021, the Louisiana State Police announced that the remains were that of Erica Hunt. They also announced that her death was a homicide.

Over three years passed without any updates in Erica's case. Then, in November 2024, a major break occurred. On November 21st, 2024, it was announced that investigators had arrested Jordan Barnes and charged him with Erica's murder. Barnes is Erica's brother-in-law; the same brother-in-law whose house she visited the day of her disappearance. 

Barnes reportedly confessed to the crime and has been charged with second-degree murder. The case is currently pending. 

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Sources:
Charley Project
Louisiana State Police
NBC News
Uncovered

The Disappearance and Murder of Suzanne Morphew

source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Suzanne Morphew (49) vanished on May 10th, 2020. The mother-of-two disappeared on Mother's Day. It was originally reported that she left her Maysville, Colorado home to go for a bike ride. Suzanne never returned home, and a neighbor reported her missing later that evening.

Initial searches for Suzanne ended unsuccessfully. Reports stated that search crews "of more than 100 investigators, eight tracking dogs and four drones, as well as members of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, South Ark Swiftwater Rescue and Reach Air Ambulance have been unable to find her." The only trace of Suzanne that was found was her bicycle, which was located in a nearby ravine shortly after she was reported missing. 

Suzanne's husband, Barry Morphew, put a $100,000 reward in place for anyone with information about Suzanne's whereabouts. That reward was later increased to $200,000 after a friend donated money to the case. Barry told police and loved ones that he was in Denver on the day she vanished - which is an approximate 3-hour drive away from their home in Maysville. 

However, in October 2020, new information about Barry's alleged alibi surfaced. It was originally reported that Barry was in the Denver area on the day Suzanne vanished. He said that he left the family's Maysville home during the early morning hours of May 10th, and then returned later that afternoon after learning of his wife's disappearance. Barry went to the Denver area to work on a landscaping job. He was hired by the president of the landscaping company, who also happens to be his close friend. 

However, Barry's name is reportedly not on any documentation related to this specific job. Additionally, the job was reportedly scheduled for Monday, May 11th - not Sunday, May 10th. In fact, the city did not issue a special permit for the work to be completed on a weekend, which would have been required for this particular job.

All of this information leads to many questions. Did Barry actually go to the Denver area that day? And if so, why did he go a whole a day earlier than necessary? Why did he lie about the date of the job? Suspicions had been cast on Barry since the beginning of the investigation - especially when it revealed that Suzanne was unhappy in their marriage and was having an affair with another man. She had reportedly begun a relationship with this man two years prior, while she was going through chemotherapy.

In May 2021, Barry Morphew was arrested and charged with Suzanne's murder. At that point, loved ones of Suzanne felt they were one step closer to getting answers. Unfortunately, though, this would end up being far from true.

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Barry's arrest.

source: Law and Crime

Barry's arrest came nearly a year after Suzanne's disappearance. At the time, authorities did not disclose any other details, but they revealed that Barry is facing charges of first-degree murder, attempting to influence a public servant, and tampering with evidence. 

The spy pen.

Meanwhile, more and more speculation about what happened to Suzanne began to surface. It was revealed that Suzanne had been using a spy pen prior to her disappearance. The purpose of the pen was for Suzanne to record Barry so she could potentially catch him in an affair. 

source: CBS News

However, the pen would reveal to investigators that Suzanne was actually having an affair herself. The man with whom she was having an affair was eventually located and questioned. His alibi checked out and he was cleared of suspicion.

Other speculation.

The main theories that began to surface involved Barry being responsible. Some speculated that Barry killed Suzanne after she asked for a divorce, or after he found out about her affair. Barry himself speculated that Suzanne was taken by someone else, or that she was harmed by something in nature - possibly a mountain lion. 

Additionally, during the initial investigation into Suzanne's disappearance, detectives found empty tranquilizer darts and a tranquilizer needle in the Morphew's yard. Barry told police that he often used those tranquilizers to "sedate deer and remove their antlers to sell in his hunting business."

April 2022 update: charges dropped.

Almost a year after the arrest, a judge dismissed the first-degree murder charges against Barry Morphew in April 2022. This ruling came after the prosecution filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice - which means Barry can be charged again at a later date. 

The prosecutor implied that they hoped to charge Barry again once after finding Suzanne's body. At that time, authorities said that they were close to finding her remains, but the snow is preventing them from doing so. Court documents state that authorities "zeroed in on a remote and mountainous area near the Morphew's home." Said area was covered in snow at the time this was reported. It's unclear if investigators ever got to search the area.

May 2023: Barry files a lawsuit, speaks out.

source: ABC News

In May 2023, Barry filed a $15 million lawsuit claiming that he was falsely charged with his wife's murder. Shortly thereafter, Barry and his two daughters with Suzanne spoke to ABC News and proclaimed Barry's innocence. The daughters supported their father and stated that they never had a single inkling that he was involved in their mother's disappearance. 

September 2023: Remains found.

During September 2023, it was reported that authorities searched "an area of Moffat in Saguache County on an investigation not related to the Morphew investigation" when human remains were found. Days later, those remains were positively identified as that of Suzanne Morphew.

source: KRDO Newschannel 13

This area is located approximately 45 miles away from the Morphew home - which means that investigators were incorrect about their belief that Suzanne's body was hidden in a mountainous area near their home. However, her body was found in a shallow grave, and it was obvious that someone else had placed her in such location. 

April 2024: Suzanne's autopsy results are revealed.

After Suzanne's remains were discovered, investigators remained quiet about her cause and manner of death for months. Then, in April 2024, it was announced that Suzanne "died homicide by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine (BAM) intoxication."

BAM is often found in the tranquilizers that Barry previously admitted to using at his home. This has obviously cast even more suspicion on Barry. In fact, Suzanne's loved ones told reporters that they are not surprised to learn that she was killed in such a way - as they had believed this to be the case from the start. 

June 2025: Barry is arrested again.

Approximately 14 months after Suzanne's autopsy results were revealed, another break in the case occurred: Barry Morphew was arrested again. In June 2025, authorities announced that they had apprehended Barry in Gilbert, Arizona. He was once again charged with first-degree murder in Suzanne's case.

It appears that this time around, investigators finally found the evidence they needed to move forward with the murder charges. Not only has Suzanne's body been found, her autopsy results and other records produced even more evidence that point to Barry's involvement. As previously noted, Suzanne had BAM in her system when she died. Prescription records from the Maysville area show that Barry Morphew was the only individual in that area who accessed BAM during the timeframe in which Suzanne was murdered.

Barry is currently behind bars as the case is pending. 

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Sources:
9 News, (2)
AP News
CNN
Daily Beast
Heavy
Inside Edition

The Disappearance and Murder of Lori Paige

source: WTXL

Lori Paige vanished on June 3rd, 2023. The then-12-year-old girl was last seen in Tallahassee, Florida, on Continental Court near Ocala Road. Lori never returned home and has not been seen or heard from again. 

When Lori was first reported missing, investigators initially did not suspect foul play because, according to reports, "all signs pointed to a voluntary runaway." Lori had run away before, about a month prior to her June 2023 disappearance. It appears that she was only missing for a short amount of time after her first time running away. This time around, though, Lori did not return home.

Unlike most preteens and teens, Lori had a very small digital footprint. A report on Lori's case from February 2024 states that friends helped her during her previous runaway. However, it does not appear that investigators have been able to identify anyone who helped Lori run away in June 2023. 

The Tallahassee Police Department investigated over 1,200 missing juvenile cases between the years of 2021 and 2023. As of February 2024, only seven of those cases are still open - Lori's being one of them. Tallahassee Police Detective Anna Lee Drake told reporters in that 2024 report that that Lori's case was the only case she's worked involving a missing juvenile "who has been missing this long without any contact." As such, there were increased concerns for Lori's safety and wellbeing.

There is very little information available about Lori's disappearance. The events on the day she left home are unknown. By February 2024 - eight months after she went missing - Lori's family had not publicly spoken about her disappearance. In fact, it appears that the only person who had spoken out is Margaret Summers - a teaching assistant from Lori's middle school. 

Summers spread awareness about Lori's disappearance on social media and spoke to reporters about the case. She expressed that she does not believe Lori would stay away for this long on her own. In February 2024, Summers told reporters, "I do not believe for a second that she’s sustaining herself. There’s adults who can’t even make it on their own."

In April 2025, a major break was made in the case. Digital footprints from Lori's father, Andrew Wiley, led investigators to Merrily Plantation in Thomas County, Georgia. While searching the area, investigators found the remains of Lori Paige. Shortly after the discovery, Wiley was arrested and charged with his daughter's murder.

After Wiley's arrest, it was reported that investigators found evidence that he killed Lori on June 1st, 2023, and disposed of her body in Thomas County the following day. It was also reported that "purchases Wiley made before the slaying suggest there was likely abuse of [Lori] occurring, which may have been of a sexual nature.”

Wiley was being held in Leon County Detention Center as the case against him was pending. Approximately two and a half months later, in June 2025, it was announced that Wiley had died in custody following a "medical emergency" at the detention center. As of right now, his cause of death is still pending.

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Sources:
Crime Online
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Tallahassee Democrat
Tallahassee-Thomasville WCTV
WALB News 10

The Murder of Michaela MacVilla

source: Facebook

Michaela MacVilla was tragically murdered at the age of 21 on September 25th, 2018. The young woman seemingly vanished after leaving her job at a Stewart's Shop on West Main Street in St. Johnsville, New York shortly after midnight. Michaela unfortunately never returned home and was never seen alive by her loved ones again.

Two days later, on September 27th, Michaela's cell phone was found on Mill Road - and it appeared as if the phone had been thrown from a vehicle. Data from the cell phone led authorities to a 45-year-old local, Daniel Nellis. Michaela's final phone call was made to Nellis' phone number shortly after she left her job at Stewart's. 

Police initially spoke to Nellis on September 28th. During said interview, the officers noticed that Nellis had scratches on his forearms. Nellis told police that he picked Michaela up on the morning of her disappearance. He admitted to bringing Michaela to his home in Oppenheim that morning. Nellis explained that when he was driving her back home later that day, they got into an argument and Michaela asked to be let out of the car. He claims that he never saw her again after that. 

On October 2nd, 2018, Michaela's body was found under some brush on an access road near Kringsbush Road in Oppenheim. She had been shot to death. Her pants had also been pulled down, which indicated a potential sexual assault.

A few days after Michaela's body was found, Nellis was arrested on unrelated weapons charges. While already behind bars on those charges, Nellis was charged with the murder of Michaela MacVilla just a few weeks later. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Daniel Nellis. (source: The Times Telegram)

During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence from both Michaela's Fitbit - which was found near her body - and from local surveillance footage. Cameras near Nellis's home in Oppenheim captured Michaela and Nellis entering his house around 12:45 AM on the morning of September 25th. Approximately 12 hours later, they are captured leaving the house together. 

Data from Michaela's FitBit showed that Michaela's heart rate spiked at 12:24 PM before stopping altogether just six minutes later. Just minutes later, surveillance cameras captured Nellis's car driving down the access road where Michaela's body was later found. 

Despite all of this evidence, Nellis continued to maintain his innocence and even testified in his defense at trial. However, the jury did not buy his story and ultimately convicted him for the murder of Michaela MacVilla. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. 

However, in 2023, Daniel Nellis's conviction was overturned. It was reported that on June 8th, 2023, "a four-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling overturning [the murder] conviction, finding that it was the result of 'prosecutorial misconduct' that went unchecked by the trial judge."

Such instances of alleged prosecutorial misconduct included the State eliciting testimony from three separate witnesses that had not been included in the pretrial motions. The testimony was regarding a prior shooting in which Nellis had allegedly been involved. The judge panel also found that certain questions asked by the prosecution during Nellis' trial were "'plainly improper,' as they didn’t relate to Nellis’ credibility but instead to his criminal propensity in such a way that it was prejudicial against his defense." 

Additionally, the judge panel noted that the trial judge did not intervene upon these instances of misconduct. The panel admonished said judge, stating that "County Court certainly must have been aware that some of the evidence introduced by the prosecutor, both on the People’s direct case and upon cross-examination of defendant, fell outside the scope of the court’s pretrial evidentiary rulings." Due to these circumstances, the judge panel ruled on overturning Nellis' murder conviction. A new trial has been ordered. At this time, it is unclear when the new trial will take place. 

Michaela's loved ones are inevitably devastated by this news. In a June 2023 interview with CBS 6, Michaela's grandmother told reporters that she is "livid, angry, to the point of beyond reason that this man gets a second chance at life and my granddaughter is dead."

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Sources:
Appellate court documents
CBS 6
The Daily Gazette
Law and Crime
Spectrum Local News
The Times Telegram

The Murders of Pamela & Helen Hargan

From left to right: Pamela Hargan, Helen Hargan, and Megan Hargan

Pamela Hargan (63) and her daughter Helen Hargan (23) were found shot to death in Pamela’s McLean, Virginia home on July 14th, 2017. When their bodies were first discovered by the Fairfax County police, it was believed the deaths were a murder-suicide. In fact, it was originally reported that Helen killed her own mother before turning the gun on herself. However, within days investigators found evidence that suggested that something else happened.

It was soon revealed that a man from Texas called the local Virginia authorities on the day of the shootings. This man was eventually identified as Helen’s boyfriend, Carlos. During said call, a police dispatcher was recorded saying, “Caller is third party. Says his girlfriend advised that her sister killed her mother.” This phone call suggests that Helen was alive for several minutes after Pamela was shot.

Additionally, the phone call suggests that Helen was trying to hide from an attacker–as Pamela’s body was found in the downstairs laundry room, and Helen’s was found in an upstairs bedroom. Investigators eventually declared that Pamela and Helen had been murdered, and the crime scene had been staged to look like a murder-suicide.

For over a year, investigators did not reveal if Pamela’s older daughter/Helen’s older sister Megan Hargan (35) was a suspect or not. They did, however, reveal that Megan had attempted to make fraudulent wire transfers from Pamela’s financial account on the day of the murders. After several months of investigating, Megan was finally arrested and charged with the murders of her mother and sister in November 2018. 

Other relatives of the Hargans state that they were not surprised by Megan’s arrest at all. Pamela’s sister Tammy North said that she believes the murders were motivated by money and jealousy. Pamela had recently bought Helen a house that she was preparing to move into before she was killed. Tammy believes that Megan was jealous about this, as she and her 7-year-old daughter could not afford to move out of Pamela’s home.

Megan's arrest appeared to the first step to receiving justice for both Pamela and Helen. However, the road to justice would be a long and slow one - and many details were revealed throughout the process.

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The first trial.

Megan Hargan courtroom sketch. (source)

Megan's murder trial began in March of 2022.

During the trial, the prosecution stated that money was the main motivation for the murders, especially since Megan was closing on a house in West Virginia. Shortly after Megan shot and killed Pamela, she went on the computer and attempted to transfer money from Pamela’s account to her own account.  

Helen’s boyfriend Carlos testified to this, as he was reportedly on the phone with Helen at the time Pamela’s murder occurred. Helen’s boyfriend said he encouraged Helen to leave the house, but she was concerned about leaving her young niece—Megan’s daughter—behind. At some point after Helen and her boyfriend hung up the phone, Megan shot and killed Helen as well. She then placed the shotgun near Helen to make the deaths appear to be a murder-suicide.

Megan’s defense attorneys argued that Pamela’s and Helen’s deaths were, in fact, the result of a murder-suicide. It was argued that Helen was angry at Pamela for disproving of her relationship with Carlos.

However, the physical evidence proved otherwise. Helen was shot on the top of her head and had a wound that went straight down to her neck. The defense argued that Helen pulled the trigger herself using her toes. The prosecution argued that this would have been very difficult to pull off.

The jury ultimately sided with the prosecution and found Megan Hargan guilty on all counts. They recommended that she be given two life sentences.

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A vacated sentence.

In November 2022, a judge decided to vacate Megan's conviction and hold a new trial. This decision was made after it was revealed that one of the jurors tested out the theory presented by the defense. As previously noted, Megan’s defense attorneys argued that it was Helen Hargan – not Megan – who shot their mother. The defense also argued that Helen later shot herself by using her toe to pull the trigger.

One of the jurors later told one of Megan’s defense attorneys that she used a rifle to test the defense theory of Helen pulling the trigger with her toe. The juror concluded that it was not possible for Helen to have shot herself in this way, as the medical examiner determined that she was shot in the top of the head. The juror then shared these findings with the other jurors during deliberations.

Megan’s defense attorneys argued that re-enacting the shooting was juror misconduct, as the judge instructed the jurors to not do any outside research during the trial. As such, a retrial was granted. 

A second conviction.

Megan Hargan's retrial began in September 2023. Once again, the prosecution maintained that money was Megan's motive to kill her mother and sister. Megan's defense continued to maintain that the deaths of Pamela and Helen were the result of a murder-suicide orchestrated by Helen.

This time around, a jury once again found Megan guilty on two counts of murder. She is expected to be given two life sentences.

Megan still maintains her innocence.

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Sources:
CBS News
WRIC
WUSA 9

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this post is to spread awareness about this case. The information provided in this post is information that was found through various sources on the internet. If any information on this post is inaccurate, please contact the author via email at truecasefiles@gmail.com or through Instagram and the errors can be corrected. Additionally, if you have any information that could improve the accuracy or quality of this post, please contact the author. 

The Disappearance and Murder of Breasia Terrell

Breasia Terrell went missing on July 10th, 2020. The 10-year-old girl vanished while spending the night at the home of the girlfriend of 47-year-old Henry Earl Dinkins, in Davenport, Illinois. Breasia's mother Aishia Lankford last heard from her around 9 PM on July 9th, when Breasia sent a text to say goodnight. Reports state that Breasia was seen for the last time a few hours later. Aishia reported her missing on the evening of July 10th after she never returned home.

Dinkins was immediately considered a person of interest in Breasia's disappearance. He is the father of Breasia's half-brother, and he is also a registered sex offender. Breasia reportedly tagged along with her half-brother during a visit with Dinkins on the day before her disappearance. According to Aishia, Breasia had never spent the night at this apartment before--but was enjoying her time with her brother and wanted to stay the night. 

Although Aishia was aware that Dinkins is a registered sex offender, she was initially not worried about Breasia spending the night at his girlfriend's home because she was with her brother, and she had known Dinkins her whole life. However, when Breasia never returned from Dinkins' house, suspicions against him began to build.

Police searched Dinkins' girlfriend's apartment shortly after Breasia was reported missing. During the search, he was arrested for violating sex offender requirements. He maintained that he had nothing to do with Breasia's disappearance and had no knowledge of her whereabouts.

On July 15th, 2020, an Amber alert was issued for Breasia. Authorities also announced that they were searching for anyone with information about Dinkins' whereabouts between the hours of 10pm on July 9th and 12pm on July 10th. Still, months passed without any public updates on the case.

Henry Earl Dinkins

In March 2021, Breasia's body was found. 

The remains were found on March 22nd by a group of fishermen at a pond in DeWitt--located approximately 20 miles away from Davenport. On March 31st, 2021, authorities confirmed that the remains were positively identified as that of Breasia Terrell. Her death was labeled as a homicide.

About a month later, Henry Dinkins was arrested and charged with the first-degree kidnapping and murder of Breasia Terrell. It was then revealed that Breasia was shot to death. It was believed that her death was premeditated by Dinkins. 

In September 2023, a judge declared that Dinkins was guilty of both Breasia's kidnapping and murder. It is believed that he shot her to death after sexually assaulting her. In fact, during court proceedings, Breasia's half-brother testified that he witnessed Breasia getting shot. He also stated that Dinkins and his girlfriend left the apartment with Breasia during the night and returned without Breasia. 

Dinkins was later sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.

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Sources:
Court TV
The Gazette
NBC News
People

The Disappearance & Murder of Emmishae Kirby

Emmishae Kirby vanished in Houston, Texas on September 18th, 2020. The 28-year-old vanished just weeks after ending a relationship with her boyfriend, 29-year-old Javon Gilbert. Emmishae and Javon had been living together up until September 2020 - when Emmishae ended their relationship after Javon reportedly sexually assaulted her. 

Despite their breakup, Javon showed up to the apartment unannounced on numerous occasions after their breakup. On one occasion, he broke into the apartment armed with a knife. Once Emmishae was reported missing, Javon became an obvious person of interest. 

Javon was questioned by police, but reportedly gave police conflicting statements. However, he did confirm that Emmishae had broken up with him earlier that month due to the sexual assault accusation. Still, Javon was not immediately charged with anything related to Emmishae's disappearance.

On October 3rd, 2020, searchers found Emmishae's body near Bear Creek Pioneers Park in Harris County. An autopsy later confirmed that she had been strangled and shot to death. From that point forward, Emmishae's case was shifted into a murder investigation.

Detectives looked at surveillance footage from her apartment building to see if they could retrace her final steps before she vanished. The footage confirmed that Emmishae and Javon were together on September 18th. Earlier that day, the two were captured entering Emmishae's car together and leaving the parking lot. They reportedly went to a gas station and a restaurant before returning to Emmishae's apartment. Emmishae and Javon were then captured walking back inside the building.

Hours later, at 1:40 AM, Javon is seen carrying a "heavy object" to Emmishae's car. He then drives off in her car before returning an hour later. Javon was later captured making several trips back and forth between Emmishae's apartment and the dumpster, where he threw away several items, including her sofa. 

After months of investigating, police finally arrested Javon on January 20th, 2021. He was charged with both Emmishae's murder and tampering with evidence. However, this was far from Javon's first violent criminal charge.

In fact, he was charged in 2013 with arson after setting his ex-wife's house on fire while she was inside. The maximum penalty for this felony is life in prison, but Javon received a much lighter sentence. In 2015, he accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 8 years of deferred adjudication probation. 

As part of this deal, Javon would have this conviction erased from his record if he managed to stay out of trouble during the 8 years of probation. Since he ended up being arrested for Emmishae's murder while still on probation, it was clear that he had not complied with his end of the plea deal. As such, many hearings were held to revoke the adjudication probation. 

In April 2023, Javon was sentenced to life in prison for Emmishae's murder. Javon was looking at several years already for this charge alone, however, the judge ultimately sentenced him to life due to both this crime and the violation of his probation.

 After his sentencing, the Assistant District Attorney Mary McFaden told reporters, "A life sentence is the only punishment that makes sense because this man hurts women and will continue to hurt women. This ensures there will never be another day when he is not supervised."

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Sources:
ABC 13 Houston
Houston Chronicle
KHOU 11
Oxygen

The Disappearance and Murder of Hailey Dunn

Pictured above is one of the last known images of Hailey Dunn (13), taken on Christmas Day 2010. She vanished from her home in Colorado City, Texas just two days later. In March 2013, her remains were found in Scurry County. Her death was labeled as a homicide.
 

Hailey had spent Christmas 2010 at her mother Billie Jean Dunn's Colorado City, Texas home, where they lived with Hailey's older brother David Dunn and Billie's new boyfriend, Shawn Adkins. According to those who were close to her, Hailey did not like Shawn and often felt afraid of him.

Despite this, Hailey seemed to enjoy herself on Christmas. Her grandmother Connie Jones stated that Hailey was in good spirits that day - she was excited about the things she had gotten for Christmas, especially her new iPod. Unfortunately, this was the last time that Connie ever got to see Hailey alive - as she vanished just days later.

Hailey and David with their mother Billie, and her boyfriend Shawn Adkins

Billie reported Hailey missing on the afternoon of December 28th, 2010. She told police that Hailey was last seen by Shawn a day earlier. By Shawn's account, Hailey left the home on foot after telling him she was going to her father's house and then to her friend's house for a sleepover. 

However, Hailey's father Clint Dunn said that Hailey never arrived at his house - nor did she ever arrive at her friend's house. Said friend would later tell police that she and Hailey never actually had plans to meet up that day. Investigators initially treated Hailey's disappearance as a runaway but reclassified her case to a 'missing child' status just days later. 

In January 2011, Hailey's disappearance gained national attention after Nancy Grace and other mainstream media outlets reported on the case. Around this time, suspicions began to build against both Shawn and Billie. Many found Shawn's version of events questionable, especially because nobody was able to corroborate his statements.

Additionally, many found the behaviors of both Shawn and Billie to be odd for people searching for a missing daughter. The couple reportedly hosted a New Year's Eve party just days after Hailey went missing. Shawn and Billie celebrated the new year as if nothing was wrong, then tearfully pleaded for Hailey's safe return during a publicized candlelight vigil a 48 hours later.

In the months that followed Hailey's disappearance, investigators followed many leads and obtained many warrants. Shawn and Billie took polygraph exams, and both reportedly failed. An abundance of additional evidence was gathered as well, but Hailey herself remained missing. Despite all of the evidence, Hailey's case appeared to grow cold as years began to tick by without any sign of her. 

That all finally changed in March 2013, when human remains were found in a remote area of Scurry County. Over a month later, those remains were confirmed that of Hailey Dunn. Her death was classified as a murder. 

Although Hailey's remains were found years in 2013, years ticked by without any movement in her case. Her father Clint Dunn continued to prioritize finding justice for Hailey. Clint, amongst many others, believed that Shawn Adkins and Billie Dunn are the persons responsible for Hailey's disappearance and death. The abundance of evidence in the case suggests this as well.

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The cell phone records.

Early into the investigation, detectives were able to obtain access to cell phone and bank records belonging to both Shawn and Billie. Said records revealed a bit more information about the events leading up to Hailey's disappearance. 

On the morning of December 27th, 2010, Shawn arrived at his job in Snyder around 6am. He then got into a fight with his boss and ultimately ended up quitting. Shawn left his job approximately 10 minutes after arriving. 

Shawn later told detectives that he went straight from Snyder to his mother's house in Big Spring...but the cell phone pings prove otherwise. Between 6:35 and 6:56am, Shawn's phone pinged off of a tower in Colorado City - an approximate 48 miles away from Big Spring. His phone did ping off of a tower in Big Spring later that day, between the hours of 9:38am-2:40pm. 

Shawn claimed that he was back in Colorado City at 3:00 and saw Hailey for the last time at 3:15pm. However, the cell phone pings confirmed that Shawn was still in Big Spring at 2:40 - making it very unlikely that he was able to travel back to Colorado City by 3:00.

Distance from Big Spring to Colorado City--approx. 40 miles. (Google maps)

The evening of the disappearance.

Hailey's older brother David confirmed that Shawn was back at their home in Colorado City by 4:00 PM. David reportedly returned to the house to find it locked. He banged on the door for 5 minutes before eventually entering the home through a window. Once inside, David noticed that Shawn was already inside the house with their uncle, having a conversation about possibly hurting a child.

It's important to note that at this point, David was unaware that his sister had gone missing. Hailey was not reported missing until nearly 24 hours later. This conversation that David overheard took place approximately 45 minutes after Shawn claims that Hailey left the house to go to her father's house.

Later that evening, Shawn picked Billie up from her job in Snyder. The couple stopped at two different ATM machines, where Billie withdrew money totaling in $140. Billie originally said that money was withdrawn so they could by gas and groceries, but investigators stated that the couple used the cash to buy narcotics. 

Drug use, computer searches, and Billie's arrest.

It concerned investigators that Shawn and Billie were possibly using narcotics inside a home where children were present. Their concerns continued to build once investigators search the bedroom and computer that Shawn and Billie shared. These searches left investigators with over "250 pages of materials focused on mass murderers, serial killers, sexual sadism, and family member murders." There was also evidence found that Shawn accessed child pornography. 

On March 17th, 2011, Billie was arrested and charged after lying to police about the whereabouts of Shawn - who was reportedly in her house at the time police came to look for him. Billie claimed that her and Shawn were broken up by this point, but she still attempted to cover for him. 

In June 2011, she was sentenced to probation for the charges. Billie served her probation over 250 miles away in Travis County, where she moved after her arrest.

Billie Dunn in court (oaoa.com)

The discovery of remains.

After Billie's court date, news about Hailey's case seemed to fade. Shawn Adkins remained a person of interest, but he was not arrested or charged with anything related to Hailey's disappearance. It would be another two years before any significant updates in Hailey's case. 

Unfortunately, the next big update was the discovery of her remains in March 2013. After the remains were identified, her loved ones' worst fears were confirmed: Hailey had been murdered. Investigators initially did not publicly reveal her cause of death, but her father said that he was told she most likely died of blunt force trauma.

Clint Dunn's quest for justice.

In the years that followed the discovery of Hailey's body, Clint Dunn has dedicated himself to finding justice for his daughter. In recent years, he has used social media to plead for help and to share his thoughts on the case. Clint continues to maintain that both Shawn and Billie were involved in Hailey's death.

More specifically, Clint believes that Shawn attacked Hailey with help from Billie either in the attack itself and/or in covering up the crime. Clint also said that investigators do not often update him on the case, but he has continued to push for the arrest of both Shawn and Billie.

Clint and Hailey Dunn

The discovery of Hailey's items.

Clint Dunn's appeals on social media caught the attention of an unnamed individual who reportedly found several items belonging to Hailey in a public place during late spring/early summer 2011. The individual who found the items was in middle school at the time and did not know Hailey or about her disappearance. Due to this, the individual did not tell authorities about finding the items. 

Years later, in 2019, the individual - now an adult - saw one of Clint's posts about Hailey's case. It was then that the individual remembered that one of the items found years earlier had the name 'Hailey Dunn' on it. The individual then messaged Clint to tell him about it. The items and the location where they were found have not been publicly revealed, but Clint stated that they were found in an area that was searched numerous times in the initial stages of the investigation.

Shawn Adkin's arrest.

Another two years passed without any updates in the case. Then, in June 2021, Shawn Adkins was arrested and charged with Hailey’s murder. He was held behind bars in Howard County on $2 million bond. 

In December 2022, Shawn was officially indicted. It was then publicly revealed via court documents that investigators believed that Shawn struck Hailey with a blunt force object, leading to her death. Investigators also believe that Shawn then hid her body. 

Charges dropped without prejudice.

Two years after Shawn's arrest, another twist occurred in the case. In June 2023, a motion was filed to drop the charges against Shawn without prejudice. This means that the prosecution hopes to charge Shawn again once more evidence is collected. The motion specifically states that "the prosecution views Shawn Casey Adkins as the primary suspect in the Hailey Dunn murder. . . however, additional work must be done before the case can proceed to a jury trial."

The prosecution cites five main issues that have led to the charges being dropped: a Brady Notice, alternate leads, geological forensic evidence, a forensic anthropology report, and cell phone data. The Brady Notice is an official document that informs the defendant that the prosecution has evidence that could be favorable to the defense.

The alternate leads have emerged due to the fact that several different agencies have investigated Hailey's disappearance over the years. Due to this, the prosecution says that "many of the tips and leads were not properly vetted, investigated, or cleared."

The geological forensic evidence was a key piece of evidence that the prosecution planned to present at trial; however, they have now learned that it may not hold up in court. Specifically, the evidence involves soil samples collected from Shawn Adkins' work boots. According to the documents, "Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) was the testing method used to compare the samples to soil samples collected from the site where Hailey’s body was found in 2013, leading an expert to conclude the soil from the boots had a 'high degree of chemical similarity with soil samples collected from the remains site.'"

However, when the FBI tested the soil from the boots and the remains site, they were unable to match the two samples. Additionally, the prosecution was informed that NIRS is not known as a reliable method of soil testing, therefore the evidence provided by NIRS would not hold up in court.

The next key issue with the case stems from Hailey's forensic anthropology report. The report states that Hailey likely died from blunt force trauma, which would have led to significant bleeding. The court documents state that, "despite multiple searches of Hailey’s home and a vehicle connected to the case when she disappeared in 2010, there is no evidence any immediate forensic testing was done. Prosecutors say this is also true for the site where her remains were found, and they believe the evidence needs further examination and testing to see if it has any additional value before proceeding to court."

The final cited issue has to do with cell phone data. Records from both Shawn and Hailey's phones state that they pinged off of separate towers shortly before 3:00 PM on the day of Hailey's disappearance. This changes the timeline in which prosecutors previously relied on, therefore more evidence needs to be collected to create a more accurate timeline. 

At this time, Shawn has been released from custody. The search for justice in Hailey's case continues. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact authorities at 928-875-2695.

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Sources:
Court TV
KCBD
Law and Crime
News West 9
Victim News Online