Who Killed Newlywed Christie Wilson?
The cold case murder in Texas dates back to 1982, but the state’s Rangers hope new developments in forensics could create fresh leads.
Monica ‘Christie’ Wilson was just 19 in the summer of 1982. Recently married, she was well-known in her local community as an employee of the Happy Chaps convenience store and liked by everyone.
But Christie disappeared from the side of a highway one evening and was later discovered murdered in a case that shocked the county — and has never been solved. More than 40 years on, can ever-improving forensic technology provide investigators with the clues they need?
Where is Christie?
Christie had been working a shift with another employee at the convenience store in Liberty on August 26th 1982, and the pair closed down as usual at midnight before heading to the parking lot and driving off in separate cars along US 90.
However, Christie failed to return home to Dayton at her usual time. Concerned her car may have broken down, her construction worker husband called the police and went out to look for her himself at 1:00 AM.
He soon found her 1969 orange Pontiac Lemans apparently abandoned along the highway with no sign of his wife at all.
“The car was parked on the side of the road. There did not appear to be any forced entry and it was drivable. It looked like she had pulled over on her way home to Dayton. Her keys, a Dr. Pepper she was drinking and all her belongings were left untouched inside,” said Texas Ranger Brandon Bess.
Worse was to come. Just a short time later, a passing motorist discovered Christie’s body just off FM 1409. She had been murdered with a fatal stab wound to the throat and dumped by the side of a body of water.
The community was stunned by the death of the bubbly, outgoing young woman with everything to live for.
“Nobody could think of anybody she’d ever been rude to at the store. She had no enemies. It’s a mystery,” said Bess.
Although investigators interviewed as many people as they could, no concrete leads were ever established and the murder weapon could not be found. Eventually, Christie’s case went cold.
