Casefile True Crime - Case 169: Corinna Mullen

Episode Date: March 20, 2021

On October 2 1987, a council employee in Central City, Kentucky called police after finding an abandoned, blood-smeared Pontiac outside his workplace. When Lieutenant Billy Fields arrived at the scene, he found the savagely assaulted body of 20-year-old Corinna Mullen in the boot. Corinna hadn’t been seen since the previous night when she’d gone out drinking with her roommate Angela Smith. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Holly Boyd Writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-169-corinna-mullen

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Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. At 9 o'clock on the morning of Friday, October 2, 1987, police officers in the small Kentucky town of Central City received a call that they needed to head out to a possible crime scene a few blocks away. An employee of the town's municipal department, located on Legion Drive, had noticed something strange upon arriving at work.

Parked haphazardly behind the department's garage was a battered 1977 Pontiac that looked very out of place. The employee had gone up to the seemingly abandoned car to get a closer look. What he discovered led him to contact the police. Lieutenant Billy Fields rushed to the scene and was the first responder to arrive. He immediately recognised the Pontiac. With a population of just 5,000, Central City was small. Degrees of separation between residents were few.

The vehicle hadn't been reported stolen nor had anyone filed a missing person's report for its owner. Fields peered through the windows but couldn't see anyone inside. While examining the vehicle's exterior, Fields cited what prompted the municipality employee to summon authorities. Dripping from the locked trunk towards the ground were several strikes of what appeared to be blood. A locksmith was summoned, who was able to unlock the trunk and lift the lid, revealing the grisly scene within. Inside the Pontiac's trunk was the naked body of a woman, wrapped in a blanket and lying in the fetal position.

Her body was so badly battered and mutilated that she was unrecognisable. Blood caked her skin and hair in such excess, officers couldn't even determine her race. Eventually, police identified that the victim was the car's owner, 20-year-old Karina Mullen. Karina had been tortured before she died. She'd been stabbed twice, cut in the neck and struck multiple times in the throat, either with a weapon or the culprit's fist. There were so many abrasions that the medical examiner couldn't figure out where one injury ended and another began. There were bruises on her back and arms and one of her nipples had been sliced off.

Defensive wounds on her hands and wrists indicated that she'd put up a fight. Although the examiner didn't detect any semen, it was obvious Karina had endured severe trauma to her genitals. A rape kit was taken. A rape kit was taken. Cause of death was asphyxiation. Whoever had attacked Karina had repeatedly hit her in the head with a blunt instrument which had broken her nose. This in turn blocked her airways and made it impossible for her to breathe. Trace amounts of cannabis and a prescription painkiller were found in Karina's system.

But she hadn't been impaired by either drugs or alcohol at the time of her death. Central City was a town that saw its fair share of crime, primarily in the form of illicit drug dealings. But this was a murder of exceptional brutality and it sent shockwaves through the community. The town's small size meant that most of the population had learned of Karina's murder within hours of her body being discovered. Rumors and speculation as to who was responsible ran rife. Tim Williams, a novelist who grew up in the area and was then a teenager who knew Karina, later wrote that he and his acquaintances began to fear a serial killer was on the loose in Central City. But others suspected Karina had been targeted by someone closer to home.

The investigation into Karina Mullins' murder was jointly conducted by the Muhlenberg County Sheriff's Department, with Sheriff Harold McElvane at the home, and the Central City Police Department. Billy Fields led Central City's investigation. This was a personal case for Lieutenant Billy Fields. Like other members of the local law enforcement, he had come to know Karina when she performed clerical work at the station. Karina had incurred a fine and the clerical duties were a form of community service. Investigators worked to piece together Karina's last known movements. Six weeks earlier, Karina had moved into an apartment on the northern end of Central City.

But she'd suddenly decided that she wanted to resume living with her parents, Claude and Patricia Mullin. At the time of her death, she was in the process of moving back home to the more rural area where they lived, ten miles outside of town. Karina was a single mother to a two-year-old girl named Stephanie, who she completely adored. Karina's parents were supportive and helped her care for her daughter. Claude and Patricia told police that they'd last seen Karina the day before her body was found, when she'd dropped Stephanie off at their home so she could enjoy a night out with friends. The plan was for her to return the next morning. Karina resided at the Hillwood Village apartments with her roommate, 21-year-old Angela Smith.

Like Karina, Angela was a single mother with a toddler and the two women bonded over their shared experiences. Within a few short weeks, they became good friends. Investigators made their way to Hillwood Village to search Karina's apartment. The complex was spread out across six separate two-story brick buildings with green lawns and an outdoor parking lot in the middle. The apartment itself was tiny, with the two women's bedrooms divided by a thin wall. Karina's bedroom became a second crime scene. Officers snapped photographs and took 23 items into evidence. Discarded on the floor by her bed were a pair of men's Leigh brand jeans and a pair of men's underwear.

The bed itself was covered in blood, as was the floor. Angela Smith was stunned to learn what had happened to her roommate. She last saw Karina on Thursday the first. With their children in the care of others, Angela and Karina decided to make the most of their night off from parenting and head to a bar in the city of Owensboro, 35 miles north of Central City. The pair took a valium age and after a few drinks returned home at around 11.30. They watched television together for a little while, then Angela went to bed. Shade slept soundly and hadn't heard any unusual noises during the night. But at some point, Karina was attacked, then either left or was taken from the apartment.

Other residents of the Hillwood Village apartments were interviewed. None said they'd heard anything untoward on the night in question, even though the building's ceilings were thin and noise carried easily. However, several Central City locals came forward claiming they'd seen Karina or her car on the night of the murder. One had spotted Karina sitting in her Pontiac outside of a restaurant on South 2nd Street at 11.30pm. Women Dana Morris and Tracy Vincent had been parked in a shopping centre parking lot two hours later when they saw Karina's car drive by. But there was no sign of Karina. The only person inside the vehicle was a man behind the wheel. Investigators asked the women if they could identify the driver.

They said that he looked a lot like a local 19-year-old named Jimmy Springer. Karina Mullen had started dating Jimmy Springer six months earlier. Although a year younger than Karina, Springer was six-foot-two and well-built, making him look older than his 19 years. He worked odd jobs, primarily physical ones in construction or maintenance. Karina's family weren't thrilled about the relationship. On multiple occasions, she had called her parents upset because the two had argued. Once, she went over to their house with her face scrubbed bright red. Karina explained that during a fight, Springer had taken a washcloth and vigorously rubbed her face to remove the makeup she was wearing.

Concerned, Claude Mullen told his daughter to end the relationship and move back home. She agreed. Karina's housemate Angela told police that when she'd gone to bed on the night of October 1, Karina had asked her to leave the front door unlocked in case Springer came by later. Angela agreed with Karina's parents that the relationship was a stormy one and that Springer was a jealous partner. Being Karina's boyfriend, Springer was an obvious suspect. He told investigators that he'd also been out in Owensboro on the night of Thursday October 1, but he hadn't spent time with Karina. Instead, he'd smoked cannabis, then drank at a bar with two friends, Jimmy Jones and Dale Duncan. At around 11pm, they drove back to Dale's house before Springer decided to head over to Karina's apartment.

He suspected that she was upset with him for going out with his friends and wanted to check in with her. Springer approached the apartment. The front door was unlocked. He walked in and made his way to Karina's bedroom. The door was closed. Springer turned the handle, but it was locked. He noticed two small smudges of what looked like blood on the door, but thought nothing of it. Assuming Karina must be out, Springer got back in his car and drove around downtown Central City looking for her. After searching unsuccessfully for between 15 and 20 minutes, he gave up. He went back to his friend Dale's house where he stayed overnight. Springer didn't go home until the next morning, when Karina's body was found.

Investigators weren't buying his story. Springer's tale about finding Karina's bedroom door locked and smeared with blood seemed especially suspicious. Why hadn't he called the police or been more concerned? They theorized that something caused him to become jealous that night. Then, fueled by drugs and alcohol, he killed Karina in a violent rage. When the Mullins learned that Karina's boyfriend was a suspect, they pleaded with Springer and his family not to attend her funeral. When Karina was laid to rest three days after her body was recovered, they stayed away. Almost two weeks after their first conversation with Springer, investigators asked to speak with him again. They hadn't recorded his initial interview or taken any notes, so this time they aimed to obtain a signed statement. While providing his version of events, Springer made a number of remarks that officers deemed suspicious. Their focus on him intensified.

In late October that year, Jimmy Springer was put behind bars. He was held on charges of grand larceny, accused of stealing a $3,000 computer monitor from his workplace. When security guards questioned Springer following the theft, he referenced the murder of Karina Mullen in a highly suspicious manner. The guards then passed this intel onto the police. While sitting in his jail cell in late November, eight weeks after Karina was found in the trunk of her car, Springer was indicted for her murder. Springer pleaded guilty to grand larceny and served a sentence in Nashville. Then, authorities handed him over to Mullenburg County in March 1988. Karina's family were relieved that her killer was behind bars and would have to answer for his crimes. Meanwhile, investigators were steadily building their case.

Some forensic evidence existed in the form of blood and hair samples taken from Karina's body, but these were assumed to have come from Karina and were never compared to Jimmy Springer. Although a rape kit had been collected, it was never tested. And there wasn't much available in terms of eyewitness reports. No one had seen any blood on Springer around the time of Karina's murder, nor had they seen him with her body. Detectives primarily focused on circumstantial evidence. Springer had a history of drug abuse and criminal behavior. As Karina's boyfriend, he was the most likely suspect. Two people were almost certain they'd seen him driving her car at 1.30 am on the night in question. And his story about leaving her apartment after finding her bedroom door locked smeared with blood sounded too absurd to be true.

Jimmy Springer's trial began in July 1988. He pleaded not guilty. The prosecution called multiple law enforcement officers to testify, as well as witnesses Dana Morris and Tracy Vincent, who were sure they'd seen Springer behind the wheel of Karina's car. Springer took the stand in his own defense, telling the court that he'd been extremely disturbed by Karina's murder and was in no way responsible. He'd maintained his innocence from the beginning, even though he'd felt pressured to confess during his second interview with police. The interviewing officers had reassured him that they understood why he'd killed Karina, that he'd done it out of love. Springer vehemently denied making certain incriminating remarks which police had attributed to him. When the prosecutor responded by asking if he was alleging a police officer had made a false statement, Springer retorted, I believe he has. He's not the first person that said something false in this case.

Jimmy Springer's friends Dale Duncan and Jimmy Jones also testified, backing up the alibi that he provided for the night of October 1, 1987. He was with them for the entire night, except for a period of 15 to 20 minutes when he went looking for Karina. Dale said Springer returned straight back to his home and stayed overnight. The trial lasted just three days. During his closing address, the prosecutor instructed the jury to ignore how clean-cut Springer looked as he sat in court. Instead, he asked them to pitch a Springer as the violent, drug-fueled individual that he would have been on the night of the murder. In contrast, Springer's attorney argued that the prosecution did not meet their burden of proving Springer was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, stating, I say to you again that Jim Springer is not guilty of murdering Karina Mullen. It took one hour for the jury to reach a verdict. Jimmy Springer was found not guilty.

Karina's family was devastated. Following the trial, Mullenburg County authorities declared the case effectively closed. Unless evidence emerged implicating another person in the crime, they would not be investigating it. As far as they were concerned, the person responsible had been tried and got away with it. In December 1988, police returned Karina's 1977 Pontiac to her parents. Upon receiving the car, Claude and Patricia Mullen decided to look inside. A number of innocuous items were scattered around the vehicle. Then, they checked under the driver's seat. Wedged beneath the seat was a knife, caked in dried blood and human hairs. Discovering the weapon used against their daughter was not only traumatising, it affirmed Claude and Patricia's growing belief that detectives had botched the investigation into her murder. The Central City Police Chief defended the oversight, noting, It's possible that the knife could have been overlooked. With it being lodged down in the seat, it's possible that we could have missed that.

The knife was sent to state authorities for testing. Entirely dubious of the Central City Police Department's ability to do their job, the Mullen's requested that the case also be transferred to Kentucky State Police. Their request was granted. Neither the discovery of the bloodstained knife nor the transfer of the case led to the breakthrough that the Mullen's were hoping for. By the beginning of 1989, they were still awaiting lab results. Eventually, they found out that nothing significant was uncovered from the knife. They continued to petition for Carina's case to be solved, while also raising her now four-year-old daughter, Stephanie. Claude Mullen told Kentucky newspaper The Messenger Inquirer, It's so hard. Truthfully, we're not doing too good. We're just trying to make it day to day. Patricia Mullen spoke of the family's ongoing grief, stating,

As far as missing her, I can't put it into words how much we do. I just don't have any answers. I don't understand how someone can die like that, and still no one has been held responsible for it. Meanwhile, Jimmy Springer had moved on with his life. He stayed in Central City, but no one really bothered him about the murder. Occasionally, he saw the case's lead investigator, Lieutenant Billy Fields, around town, and the officer would wave at him. Springer just ignored him. He began working for a local courier service and got married. In an interview with The Messenger Inquirer, Springer stated, It's hard, yes, but I have to go on. I still have nightmares. I still think of the way she died, but I try to push it out of my mind. I ask myself why it was so brutal. I hate to think about what she went through. As bad as it is for us, we know it's worse for her parents.

The second anniversary of Carina's death came and went. Then, in January 1990, an election was held in Muhlenberg County for the position of sheriff. The incumbent was Harold McElvane, who had helped lead the investigation into Carina's murder. Running against him was Wayne Moore, who ran on the platform that he would reopen the notorious unsolved case if he won. Moore was publicly critical of the way both agencies had coordinated their investigation, saying, If it had been handled properly in the first place, this thing would have been closed and there would have been a conviction by now. Wayne Moore defeated Sheriff McElvane. True to his word, he reopened the Carina Muhlen case and appointed one of his deputies, Terry Arnett, to lead the investigation.

Moore and Arnett reached out to the Central City Police Department to request access to their evidence. They admitted that everything they had relating to the case had somehow been lost during the past two years. Frustrated, Moore issued public appeals for anyone with information about Carina's murder to come forward. One day, the phone rang at the Muhlenberg County Sheriff's Office. Moore answered. An unidentified male caller demanded to know why he was meddling in the Carina Muhlen case. Moore explained that he wanted it solved. The anonymous caller threatened, Take my advice and stay out of it or you'll find your ass in the Green River, referring to a tributary that passed right by town. Moore retorted, I can swim, then hung up the phone.

Over the next few days, Moore calls followed. During one, the caller warned Moore to, Leave things alone or somebody is fixing to tear your ass up. In another, a menacing voice asked him to consider how much he cared about his wife and children. Moore was undeterred. Precautions were put in place to protect his family, but he remained determined to see the case solved. He was convinced that the threatening calls meant the killer or killers were rattled by his digging. Moore issued a public statement via the messenger inquirer stating, Hell or high water won't stop me. People are starting to sweat. I think some people are really getting scared. We've got some good leads, but that's all they are right now. It's circumstantial stuff. But we're in too deep to back out now.

Requiring further assistance, Moore requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1992. Their cutting edge technology was far superior to anything possessed by the Muhlenberg County Sheriff's Department. Using sophisticated lasers, FBI agents spent 10 hours meticulously examining Corina's car. They were able to identify some bloody prints on the boot's exterior that had gone undetected by earlier investigators. Moore was excited. Only the killer could have left bloodied handprints in that spot. If he was able to find a matching print, either already in the database or sometime down the track, he'd be well on his way to making an arrest. Moore and Deputy Arnett shared the good news with the Mullens while cautioning them that they still had a long way to go. But Claude was thrilled. For the first time in four years, he finally had something to feel positive about.

The Mullens' hope dissipated when the investigation slowed again. From the outside, it appeared as though nothing was happening. Months then years passed until two decades had gone by since Corina's murder. For that entire time, a woman was holding onto a secret that could break the case wide open. All she needed to do was speak up. 16-year-old Sarah, not her real name, walked alone down the Central City streets leading towards her home. It was night time on Thursday, October 1, 1987, and Sarah had spent the evening at a friend's house. Central City had its murky underworld and ongoing drug-related crimes, but it was still a small town where teenagers felt safe being out alone after dark. Sarah just reached her family's home when a police cruiser pulled up. Two men got out of the vehicle and walked straight up to her. They suddenly grabbed her and dragged her into the back seat of the car.

Sarah was terrified. One of the men was huge. He looked to be in his early twenties and was six foot five inches tall with a heavy set build and a round, pudgy face. Sarah had never seen him before, but she recognized her other abductor. Very well known around town, he was an imposing man standing six foot three and weighing 265 pounds. It was 44-year-old Central City police lieutenant Billy Fields. The two men drove Sarah a short distance, then parked the car. As she was forced outside, she saw they were at the Hillwood Village Apartments Complex. She was marched up to one of the residences. It was the apartment Corina Mullen shared with her flatmate Angela Smith, both of whom were home. Several other men were also present, including Corina's boyfriend to Jimmy Springer, a short 18-year-old Sarah new named Jimmy Cramer, and another individual whom she didn't know. The group seemed to be just sitting around and drinking after a night out. All of a sudden, Fields began picking a fight with Corina. Sarah couldn't understand what was going on, but it sounded as though they were arguing about Corina being pregnant.

Fields suddenly grabbed Corina and pulled her into her bedroom. The large man who had helped abduct Sarah got up and pushed Sarah into the room behind them. They were also followed by Jimmy Springer and Jimmy Cramer. Sarah heard Fields snarl at Corina that she was going to get what she deserved. He viciously beat Corina with a metal bar before throwing her on the bed and raping her in front of everyone. He punched her repeatedly while telling her to keep her mouth shut. Cramer and the other abductor joined in on the beating and threats, then also raped Corina. Corina's boyfriend Jimmy Springer didn't seem to be a willing participant. He never hit Corina and at times tried to help her, but was stopped by the other men.

The three of them eventually insisted that Springer rape Corina as well. Throughout the vicious attack, Corina's housemate Angela sobbed hysterically from the next room, but didn't intervene. Sarah watched on in terror. She couldn't help Corina because she was being forcefully held down by one of the men. Fields eventually turned his attention to Sarah, pushing her on the bed on top of Corina and sexually assaulting her. Then Fields raped Corina again while using a knife to stab and cut her. Corina had initially screamed and tried to fight back, but Fields choked her until she could no longer make a sound. Naked and soaked in blood, Corina was unrecognizable. Sarah couldn't tell if she was dead or just unconscious. Fields and his main accomplice picked up Corina's body and placed her in the boot of her own car.

Fields then climbed into the passenger seat and ordered Sarah to drive the Pontiac to a garage used by a municipal department downtown. Sarah did as she was told. Fields provided directions as she drove, interspersed with threats as to what would happen to her if she ever told anyone what she'd seen. Dawn was breaking as Sarah pulled up at the garage on Legion Drive. The other man who had abducted her earlier in the night headed to the garage in his own car and was already there waiting for them. Sarah put the Pontiac into park and got out. While the two men headed to the boot where Corina's body lay, Sarah spotted her opportunity to escape. She raced as quickly as she could in the direction of her home.

The following morning, a call came through to Central City Police regarding the discovery of Corina Mullen's car. Billy Fields responded to the call and was the first to arrive at the scene. He was later placed in charge of the investigation into Corina's murder. Sarah confided in her mother but didn't tell anyone else what had happened. They stayed silent about the matter from then on, terrified of the repercussions if they spoke out against the well-known local police officer. Even when Sarah's sister later started dating Jimmy Cramer and her father began working alongside him, Sarah kept her secret. In the years that followed, Sarah worked with Kentucky State Police as an informant in several drugs cases. Billy Fields called Sarah from time to time, muttering threats down the phone and warning her against speaking out.

She never said a word to anyone until mid-2006. Sarah, who was now 35 years old, was talking with Kentucky State Police Detective Steve Silphies about an unrelated crime. It was during this conversation when she finally confessed that she had witnessed the murder of Corina Mullen. Silphies gave her details to a colleague named Detective Damon Fleming, who'd recently been assigned the almost 20-year-old cold case. Fleming inherited a wealth of information regarding Corina's murder from Mullenburg County Sheriff's Deputy Terry Arnett, who doggedly pursued the case for years. Arnett had been getting close to the truth and was certain he knew who the killers were. He felt so confident that they would one day have enough to make an arrest that he reassured Claude Mullen on multiple occasions. Don't give up, we know who did it.

Then, in 2004, Arnett was diagnosed with cancer. He died the following year without having solved Corina's murder, but his case file contained many leads. Detective Fleming met with Sarah and interviewed her at length. He found her very credible. Her allegations against Lieutenant Billy Fields didn't come as a total shock to those who knew him. Billy Fields was renowned in Central City for being involved in, and seemingly leading, a drug ring. Rumours that he was involved in the Mullen case had been whispered throughout the town for years. In 1992, when the FBI became involved in the case, Fields abruptly retired from the Central City Police Department at the age of 49. This only fueled local gossip about the case, though all he would say was,

I knew the girl, I knew who she was, but that was the extent of it. There were two individuals Sarah had seen assist Fields that she couldn't name. One played a smaller role and was already at Corina's apartment when Fields and his accomplice took her there. Fleming had a theory about who this might be. Going through the case file that Arnett had put together, Fleming discovered a recorded police interview with a local man named Crandall Gibson. Apparently discussing Corina's murder, Gibson had told the officers, you can't get me without the other two. Fleming wondered whether Gibson was one of the people at Corina's apartment that night. As the recording wasn't authenticated and had been made prior to Fleming being assigned the case, he couldn't use it as evidence.

Both Arnett and Gibson had since passed away and couldn't be questioned about it. The second unknown man had played a much larger role in helping Fields abduct Sarah, assault Corina and dispose of her body. Sarah didn't recall hearing his name, but his face and imposing physical presence were still crystal clear in her mind. Detective Fleming showed her a mugshot of a man who was a known accomplice of Fields. Now 43 years old, he had the same round, pudgy face, but framed by a full head of grey hair and a wiry goatee. Sarah recognized him right away as one of the main perpetrators. His name was Jeffrey Boyd. Boyd was already incarcerated at the Kentucky State Penitentiary for a variety of crimes, ranging from drug trafficking to tampering with evidence. One of the other alleged attackers, Jimmy Cramer, had two prior convictions, one for sexual assault in 1984 and another for rape in 1988, but was now freely living his life, as was Billy Fields.

It turned out that some central city residents had known Fields had a connection with Corina Mullen for years. Although Corina had been dating Jimmy Springer, she was also romantically involved with Fields. Edna McGee-Eves lived in the same apartment complex as Corina. Occasionally, the two women chatted when they crossed paths. Edna noticed Fields police crews are parked directly outside Corina's apartment on several occasions and was under the impression that they were dating. She had also seen Jeffrey Boyd and Jimmy Cramer at the apartment before. At least two other witnesses came forward to say they saw Fields and Corina together on multiple occasions, including the site manager for the Hillwood apartments. One day, Fields approached him to request that he keep Corina as a tenant, even though it was her housemate Angela Smith who was on the lease. Very quickly though, things seemed to sour between Fields and Corina.

Edna McGee-Eves noticed that Corina had started to look increasingly upset. One day, she stopped to chat with Corina, who confessed that she thought she might be pregnant. She'd told Fields that he was the father. He wasn't happy about it. On the night of Corina's murder, Edna noticed Corina's car backed right up to the curb with its boot open. Scanning her eyes around the parking lot, Edna realized Fields police crews are was there as well. When news broke of Corina's murder the following day, Edna realized she might have seen something significant. Too scared to come forward, given Fields himself was leading the investigation, she kept the knowledge to herself for years to come. Later stating,

My concern was, who do I talk to? Who do I go to? What do I do? Fields had never disclosed just how close he was to Corina. During the original investigation, it was his job to doorknock all of her neighbors and take statements from everyone in the building. Investigators theorized that he might have threatened them into keeping quiet about anything they might have seen or heard. Digging through official police documentation, detectives discovered a receipt from August 8, 1988. It showed that Fields signed out 18 items of evidence from the Kentucky State Police Lab that related to Corina's murder, including her rape kit. None of the evidence had ever been examined because Central City Police hadn't requested testing, despite the fact that Jimmy Springer had already been tried. Moreover, Fields asked that the items be returned to him untested.

Asking for evidence that had not been examined by forensic technicians was highly unusual behavior from an investigator. The receipt was the final record in the chain of custody. Detectives weren't sure where the evidence ended up after being signed out to Fields, but they suspected he destroyed it. Despite multiple witnesses telling police Corina believed she was pregnant at the time of her death, nothing in her autopsy indicated this was the case. Investigators wondered if she merely suspected she was pregnant and never confirmed it. Whether Fields believed she was carrying his child or not, another motive soon emerged. While Corina was completing her community service by doing clerical work at Central City Police Station, she became friendly with an officer there named John Scott. The pair already knew each other through Scott's sisters, but working in close proximity brought them even closer together.

Eventually, Corina felt comfortable enough to confide in Scott. Two days before her death, she told him that her boyfriend Jimmy Springer was involved in a drug ring and was also trafficking stolen property interstate. He was undertaking these criminal activities alongside Jeffrey Boyd and his longtime friend Dale Duncan. Corina agreed to file an official report about these allegations, which Scott recorded for her. After receiving the report, Officer Scott told his colleague Lieutenant Billy Fields about it. What neither Scott nor Corina knew was that Fields was commonly understood to be the mastermind behind the drug and theft ring. Detectives believed that he murdered Corina out of revenge and to keep her from speaking further about the matter. Investigators tracked down more witnesses with incriminating stories to tell.

A local man named Jimmy Gunn saw Jeffrey Boyd approach Corina at a diner the day before she was killed. Boyd threatened Corina with a gun and stated, bitch, you'll die tonight. Jimmy immediately phoned the police station. Billy Fields took his call and said he'd attend to the matter. As the police station was just a couple of hundred yards from the diner, Jimmy expected the officer would arrive quickly. But minutes passed and there was no sign of him. Meanwhile, Boyd moved his car and then his mother turned up at the restaurant. Jimmy saw Boyd pass something over to her, which Jimmy believed to be his firearm.

When Fields finally arrived at the scene almost 20 minutes later, Boyd held up his hands as though to prove that he was unarmed. Another witness came forward to say he saw Fields and Boyd in the early hours of October 2, 1987. The pair were walking along Legion Drive, the same street near where Corina Mullins car was dumped with her corpse inside. Mike Phillips, who had been a central city police officer back in 1987, also reportedly saw Boyd walking near Legion Drive at 3am that same day, 6 hours before Corina's body was found. Armed with this new evidence, Detective Damon Fleming of Kentucky State Police began making arrests on November 2, 2006. Retired central city police officer Billy Fields, now 63 years old, was charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping, murder, and tampering with evidence. He was also charged with one count of sodomy for his assault of eyewitness Sarah. His accomplice Jimmy Cramer, aged 37, was also arrested and charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping, and murder.

He spoke out against the arrest, telling reporters, That's one thing I'm not. I ain't no murderer, rapist, or kidnapper. No way. I would take a DNA test, a lie detector test, whatever, to prove my innocence. I hope they do get whoever did this because they do need to be put away, but I know I didn't have anything to do with it and don't know nothing about it. The third individual arrested was 40-year-old Angela Smith, Corina's former housemate. Because she had been present during the rape and murder of Corina, yet never tried to intervene, she was charged with complicity to rape, kidnapping, and murder. Jeffrey Boyd was already serving time for drug trafficking and evidence tampering. He was charged the following day with rape, kidnapping, and murder. As Jimmy Springer had already been tried and acquitted of Corina's murder in 1988, he couldn't be charged with killing her again. Instead, he was charged with complicity to rape, kidnapping, and sodomy.

Corina's family were aware that arrests were imminent. The apprehending of Fields, Cramer, and Smith coincided with Patricia Mullins' birthday, but she had passed away one month prior. The Mullins were devastated to learn that the man they'd believed was helping to find their daughter's killer was actually the culprit. During the initial investigation, Fields visited the family home and sat at the kitchen table, offering comfort and commiserations. Once, he even took Claude Mullin out to look for clues together. Still, they were also relieved that arrests had finally been made. Claude told the Messenger Inquirer, We waited a lot of years. My wife passed away five weeks ago. That's what hurts. It was five weeks too early. I wish she could have waited a bit longer. Corina's daughter Stephanie, who was just a toddler when her mother died, was now 21 years old. She had just learned that she was pregnant when the news of the arrests broke.

Corina's sister, Heather, told the Messenger Inquirer how difficult Stephanie's childhood had been, stating, It's bad enough to grow up without knowing your parents, but to get to know your parents in this way, it distorts the person she knows that her mom was. Watching her grow up and having to hear all these things about her mother, that was one of the worst things. The following month, a grand jury indicted all defendants on the charges that had been laid. The trial was initially slated to commence in November 2007, but was postponed so it could be moved to a court in another part of the state. Corina's murder and the individuals charged for it were so notorious in Muhlenberg County that there were fears the defendants wouldn't receive a fair trial there. Before the case finally began, the three charges against Angela Smith were dropped in exchange for testifying against Fields, Boyd and Cramer. She would instead face a single count of perjury for the false testimony she gave at Jimmy Springer's trial in 1988. She would be tried solo.

Springer would also face courts separate from the others. On April 21, 2009, Billy Fields, Jimmy Cramer and Jeffrey Boyd all filed into court, handcuffed and dressed in orange prison jumpsuits. Now bespectacled and balding with a white ring of hair, Fields struck a very different figure than the imposing lawman he'd been back in the late 80s. Eyewitness Sarah took the stand and told the court about what she and Corina endured at the hands of the defendants more than 20 years earlier. The defendants' attorneys subjected her to a fierce cross-examination. They demanded to know why she hadn't spoken up earlier, especially when her own family members became involved with Jimmy Cramer. One cast doubt on her recollections by suggesting that if she really witnessed Corina's murder, then those responsible wouldn't have let her live to tell the tale. He theorized Sarah cobbled her story together from town gossip, but Sarah stood firm. Angela Smith had turned state's witness for the prosecution and explained how she'd lied during the original murder trial.

Angela confirmed that she and Corina had gone out to a bar with Jeffrey Boyd on the night in question, prior to heading back to their apartment and the assault on Corina beginning. Billy Fields took the stand to testify in his own defense. He'd only worked two or three murder cases in his entire policing career, but still claimed his memory of the Corina Mullen case was vague. He detailed how he scoured Corina's bedroom for evidence and collected her hair for testing, though he couldn't recall finding any men's jeans or underwear in the room. Fields was shown crime scene photos of these items at the scene, with his legs visible in the background. He insisted he only vaguely knew Corina through her community service work. He was never involved with her and certainly hadn't been to her home. Eye witnesses who saw Fields' police cruiser parked outside Corina's residence multiple times gave evidence contradicting his claims. None of the other defendants testified. A former inmate who'd been incarcerated alongside Jimmy Cramer while he was awaiting trial gave evidence that Cramer showed him photos of Corina.

Cramer obtained the photographs during the discovery phase of the trial, and today depicted her naked corpse in the car boot as well as during her autopsy. Cramer seemed proud of the images and bragged to his fellow inmate, look what we'd done to her. After a day's deliberation, the jury found the three defendants guilty on all counts. Jimmy Cramer received three 20-year sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 60 years. Billy Fields and Jeffrey Boyd were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Corina's daughter Stephanie shared her relief as well as her sorrow, saying, We never thought this day would come. I didn't have a normal life because of them. My life was watching the two people I cared most about, my grandparents, cry every day.

In 2011, Fields, Boyd and Cramer all appealed their convictions but were denied. The details of what happened to Corina's boyfriend Jimmy Springer are unclear. Although he was to be tried separate for complicity to rape and kidnapping, case file was unable to find any record of relevant court cases. Springer has since served sentences for drug-related charges and was incarcerated for trafficking methamphetamine in 2020. Angela Smith pleaded guilty to perjury and was given a five-year suspended sentence. In the years since Corina was murdered, those who knew and loved her have endeavored to keep her memory alive. They remember Corina by her nickname Renny, her long, wavy, dark blonde hair, blue eyes and wide smile. Happy and strong-willed, she loved unicorns, teddy bears and the 1984 film Footloose.

If she were alive today, Corina would now be a grandmother. At the time of his daughter's murder trial, Claude Mullen stated, We'll stick with it until it's done, no matter how long it takes. That's what I told them 20 years ago. I mean it then, and I mean it now. In the years following the guilty verdict, Claude Mullen found it easier to visit Corina's gravesite knowing justice had finally been served. He was initially heartbroken that his wife Patricia wasn't there to see it, remarking, I wish she were here. She probably wouldn't have believed it after all this hard work. Patricia was buried alongside her daughter in the open, grassy fields of Sunnyside Cemetery just outside of Central City.

In 2011, Claude was laid to rest alongside his wife and daughter. He would remain forever close to Corina, just as he had been in life. Corina had loved her family, especially her father. On special occasions, Corina would give her father a single red rose, and he would give her one in return. Corina's sister Heather, quote, The biggest thing I remember was that Corina had the brightest personality of any person we'll ever meet. She had a lot of energy, she loved to laugh, and she loved to be around her family. It was the best thing about her.