The Murder of Kristen Lea Wilson: Police Boost Reward Money
Investigators in Texas hope to get to the bottom of a decades-old cold case.
The crime sounds like the stuff of nightmares: a woman brutally slain in her own home by a man who had broken in and hidden in the closet. Now, with the murder going unsolved for decades, investigators in Houston hope an increase in the reward money could encourage someone to come forward with a lead.
This is the story of Kristen Lea Wilson.
A Thanksgiving filled with horror
It was November 27th 1996, and 29-year-old Kristen Lea Wilson had left work for the day and headed straight to the grocery store. The next day was Thanksgiving, and the whole family was headed to Kristen’s grandparents’ house in Katy to celebrate the holiday.
Kristen wanted to pick up a few things for the lavish dinner so she could get a good start on the trip the following day.
“Thanksgiving was the biggest event of the year. We’d all go over there and it was just a big family get together. It was so much fun,” Kristen’s younger sister Kelly Wilson Hancock recalled in a 2020 interview with ABC 13 Eyewitness News.
