199. Looks Like An Abandonment - Will Justice Ever Serve Christina Carnes?

When 18 year-old Christina Carnes and her 20 year-old Vernon Cade went out on January 20, 1994 for a night of fun with friends, neither of them could possibly have known what would befall them just a few hours later.  Arriving at a gathering in their hometown of Fairfield Ohio that night, they were paged by a friend who needed a ride, and left the party early so they could respond.  Later that night, a call to authorities reported an apparently overheated car parked in a parking lot in front of what was then a children’s day care center on Mack Road in Fairfield.  When police arrived, they found a horror scene.  It was Christina Carnes’ car – and Christina was slumped on the driver’s side of the front seat - dead, shot in the back of the head by someone who had been in the back seat.  Vernon had been shot in the face – still alive.  Vernon was rushed to the hospital and eventually saved.  He is still alive today, but with permanent brain injuries that to this day prevent him from remembering anything that happened that night.  It’s been 27 years since Christina’s mother Gail buried her daughter – and no arrest has been made in this awful case.  Law enforcement insists that all leads have been followed – and all have led to dead ends.  And as you might expect, the police in Fairfield have issued statements begging for anyone to come forward with any new lead.  Which is a little weird.  Because it appears the Fairfield Police Department doesn’t seem to want to accept help all that much.  In this episode, Melissa not only details the tragic details of Christina’s murder, but her frustrations in getting the police to talk to the press or the large social media platform available to spread the word.  Also included in this episode is an update on recent events in the Terry Brisk murder investigation previously covered in Episode 118 – a preview of an upcoming interview with Morrison County, MN Sheriff Shawn Larsen, coming up later this month.