Crime Junkie - MISSING: Carolyn Killaby
Episode Date: July 8, 2024When a young woman goes missing in November 1995, no one knew just how close they were to a monster lurking in the area. What starts as a night out after an argument with her husband… ends in traged...y that’s left the family with so many questions.If you or anyone you know is thinking about suicide, emotional support can be reached by calling or texting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).And if you or a loved one wants to explore treatment for substance use, you can seek help by calling 211, or visiting www.211.org. Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit: crimejunkiepodcast.com/missing-carolyn-killaby Did you know you can listen to this episode ad-free? Join the Fan Club! Visit crimejunkie.app/library/ to view the current membership options and policies.Don’t miss out on all things Crime Junkie!Instagram: @crimejunkiepodcast | @audiochuckTwitter: @CrimeJunkiePod | @audiochuckTikTok: @crimejunkiepodcastFacebook: /CrimeJunkiePodcast | /audiochuckllc Crime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. Instagram: @ashleyflowers | @britprawatTwitter: @Ash_Flowers | @britprawatTikTok: @ashleyflowerscrimejunkieFacebook: /AshleyFlowers.AF Text Ashley at 317-733-7485 to talk all things true crime, get behind the scenes updates, and more!
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Hi, Crime Junkies.
I'm your host, Britt, and today I'm writing Zolo.
The story I have for you today is one of a young woman whose disappearance leads to a
nationwide search and a critical look into the shortcomings of the justice system.
This is a story of Carolyn Killaby. As As Daniel Killebe gets home the morning of Sunday, November 12, 1995, he's kind of expecting
his wife Carolyn to be inside waiting for him, a little pissed. You see, they'd gotten
into a fight recently, and instead of making it up to her by treating her to a nice romantic evening, he instead accepted an invite from his brother to go out, drink, and play some
pool.
And he is just getting home.
So he was literally out all night.
But when he walks in, she's not there.
She's not anywhere.
No one is, apparently.
Not even their two young daughters from previous marriages.
And honestly, he isn't totally surprised. He's probably thinking, the girls are out. Maybe Carolyn's giving him, you know,
a taste of his own medicine for a little bit. But what really drives this idea home is when he looks
around and notices that the message he left for Carolyn at 1 a.m. on the answering machine hasn't
been listened to yet. He had called her to let her know that he'd be staying at his brother's house because
he'd had a few beers and thought it'd probably be better if he stayed over.
He's like, you know what, I'll see you in the morning, kind of leaves it at that.
So either Carolyn ignored it while she was home or she just wasn't home to hear it.
But when Carolyn still isn't home by Sunday night, he starts to actually worry.
According to an Unsolved Mysteries episode, Daniel decides to do his due diligence before
taking any drastic measures and takes a look at Carolyn's personal phone book so he can
dial up each of the numbers asking if anyone has seen her.
But after hearing person after person on the other end of the phone say no, they have no
idea where Carolyn could be, Daniel reports her missing around 11 p.m. that night. Now it seems like they at least take the report
but there's no record of exactly how soon law enforcement started looking for
her. But I know that Daniel wastes zero time getting out there. The next morning,
Monday, November 13th, he and his brother get in the car and start driving around
hoping to find any sign of Carolyn.
She has her own car, so they're just kind of driving around Vancouver, Washington.
It's a city just north of Portland, Oregon.
And they're stopping by places that they know she goes to.
Eventually, they do find her car.
It's in the parking lot of a nightclub called Omar's Steakhouse and Lounge.
Now, they end up going in and ask you around about her, and I know they get some info then
and there, but I don't know what they get versus what's ultimately given to detectives
who jump in once they hear about the car being found.
But what's soon learned is that Carolyn had been there Saturday night, and according
to people who worked there and maybe even some patrons they tracked down later, they
say she looked like she'd been crying, but she kept to herself.
And they also say that she was drinking heavily, which is concerning for Carolyn's family,
because they tell investigators that she started struggling with substance use when she was
prescribed pain medications after a car wreck some time back.
And obviously, prescription meds and alcohol do not always mix well.
Now, even though she'd been solo most of the night, that changed later in the evening.
A witness tells detectives that they saw one of their regulars, a guy named Dennis Smith,
with her at one point.
They said Carolyn seemed so intoxicated she couldn't really walk, so this Dennis guy
had helped her walk outside.
The bouncer even encountered the two outside because Carolyn had forgot her purse, and
when the bouncer ran it out to them, they said she seemed heavily intoxicated and still
couldn't really walk on her own. And as soon as the word starts spreading about her being missing,
one of the employees said they called Dennis up and was like, dude, you need to find police and
talk to them because they're looking for the woman you were with the other night.
Now, I don't know if Dennis is the one who ends up calling detectives or if they, like, go find him, but either way, they get with him pretty quick.
And it seems like Dennis tells them that the only reason he was seen with Carolyn was because
she was super intoxicated and he was helping her out to her car.
She was bad enough that she couldn't stand up on her own, so he practically carried her
out to the parking lot.
Now, I don't know why he's walking her to her own car to drive if she can't even stand
on her own, but that's just what he's telling detectives.
But what's even more weird is that he also tells detectives that as he was helping Carolyn,
apparently some random guy came up to them and quite literally hit him with a stick,
called Carolyn a bitch, and ran off with her.
And if you're thinking, what the f- why didn't he call police then?
Dude, same. I have no idea.
Dennis just flat out left after that, maybe because he had no idea what was going on,
or with not knowing whether this was some kind of domestic dispute or not maybe just didn't want to get involved but you'd
think that if she left with someone forcibly or not and she was okay she
would have come back for her car but when investigators look at it there
doesn't appear to be any signs that has been touched by her or anyone else and
she drove it there Saturday night. Detectives seem to be keeping their options
open apparently not ready to go full force on this Dennis story.
And throughout all this,
Daniel is just trying to stay positive.
He tells the press that he's holding out hope
that Carolyn may have just had a come to Jesus moment
and decided to check herself into rehab.
And maybe that's the reason she hasn't called.
But with each day that passes,
both detectives and Daniel think
this theory is less and less likely. Now, each day that passes, both detectives and Daniel think this theory is
less and less likely.
Now, thankfully, their daughters, who weren't home when Daniel got back Sunday, they're
safe and sound. There's no reporting about who had them when Carolyn went out, but the
important part is that they're home now. Just probably scared, because their mom is
gone and no one seems to have a clue as to
where she could be.
On Thursday, five days after Carolyn was last seen, detectives set out on a massive search
of the area where she went missing from.
Reporting from John Branton says there's over 50 people helping, including volunteers,
family members, coworkers, and sheriff's deputies.
They also work in part with Silver Star Search and Rescue and Mountain Wilderness search dogs to investigate around Omar's and in the general area that Carolyn and Daniel lived
in.
But they find nothing.
Not in the area, not at her and Daniel's house, and after the search, detectives aren't
sure if Carolyn went missing on her own free will or if she's actually a victim of foul
play.
In hopes of generating some kind of tip or lead, Carolyn's sister and her husband offer
a $10,000 reward for anyone with information about Carolyn's whereabouts or who could
have hurt her.
Now what they do next, I've seen agencies do when a crime happens and there's no immediate
resolution.
They'll pull up crime reports from around the same time, same like general area-ish, to see what else was going on.
Well, in doing this, they find not one,
but two reports from people who claim that
before midnight on November 11th,
a woman's screams were heard coming from a field
in five corners, like five minutes from Omar's.
And specifically, they were screams for help.
Both reports said the screams were loud and distinct
and whoever it was sounded panicked.
Reports by Bruce Westfall state that one caller said
he heard the women scream, quote,
"'Oh my God, somebody help me.'"
And while police did respond to the area,
they unfortunately didn't find anything
and decided to leave.
Around this same time, detectives have also been canvassing the Five Corners slash Orchards neighborhoods in Vancouver.
And they find a convenience store clerk who remembered that sometime in the early morning of November 12th,
a man came into the store and had what looked like blood smears on his shirt, and his hand was wrapped in a bloody rack.
And even better, the clerk knew exactly who it was.
Dennis freaking Smith.
It's clear that Carolyn didn't disappear on her own free will, and Dennis is clearly
hiding something because he didn't mention anything to them about being bloody or going
to that convenience store when they talked to him.
But it turns out, there was a lot he didn't tell them.
Now as investigators are learning about Dennis' little trip to that convenience store, they
get a call from Daniel who tells them that he just spoke to someone who saw an article
about Carolyn's disappearance, and the article mentioned her being with a dentist.
No last name, just Dennis. But this person was afraid they knew exactly which dentist
it was. Because his Uncle Dennis Smith was bad news. His Uncle Dennis Smith had murdered
his mom. And thank God for that person who called Daniel, because up to that point, it
seems like police still hadn't looked into Dennis' background.
But when they do, what they find is shocking.
Dennis is a convicted murderer.
In 1982, he murdered his sister because he didn't want her to accuse him of doing something
bad that'd get his parole revoked.
But he'd been found out, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison for that crime.
However, I know what you're thinking,
I just said life in prison.
The most outlandish part of this
is that he actually got out on parole, twice it seems.
Cause he was let out in June of 1993,
but went back to prison in December of 1994
for violating parole.
Then was let out again in March of 1995.
And apparently he's been living in Vancouver ever since.
So they bring Denison and ask him to tell them
about his version of events from the night
Carolyn went missing one more time.
And he changes his story a little.
He tells detectives that he was concerned because
that night, Carolyn was dancing with multiple men, and apparently, that would rile the guys
up and could cause a fight, so he told the bouncer around 11pm to keep an eye on Carolyn,
just in case. Now, this time around, he says when she was on her way out, he didn't just
help her to her car. He actually offered to give her a ride home since
she seemed so intoxicated. She agreed and got in his truck and, oh, by the way, left
this out the first time around, we also had sex in my truck, which, I'm sorry, no. Oh,
and the mystery guy is still in this version. He says that 45 minutes later is when that
mysterious man came up to the truck, grabbed Carolyn out of the cab by the hair, but this time he says that while the guy tried to hit him, he may
have blocked it somehow, but the dude still called Carolyn a bitch and ran away with her.
Then Dennis got in his truck and drove away.
And all of this was happening in the parking lot of a nightclub.
Or at least, I'm pretty sure.
A few sources say he told them that he was leaving the parking lot when she leaned over and kissed him and that's when he stopped
the truck. But in this version, he's still like, you know, I just had sex with her. I
don't want to get involved in whatever it was with that other guy. It's not my problem.
But then Dennis says something interesting. He says on Sunday afternoon, he went back
to Omar's for some kind of party with the employees, which was where and when he learned
about Carolyn's disappearance.
But remember, her husband doesn't even think
she's missing at that point yet.
He doesn't start to get worried until later that night.
So detectives questioned Dennis at the station,
and first and foremost, they're obviously trying
to figure out who this alleged guy
from both of Dennis' versions of his story was.
So they asked Dennis if he's able to identify the man who took Carolyn away, and he said,
yeah, I can do that.
And when they show him a photo lineup of men, Dennis immediately points to Daniel, Carolyn's
husband.
And while this could come as a huge shock, detectives take it, honestly, with like a
grain of salt.
Because this is about five days after Carolyn disappeared,
and Daniel's face had been in the news
since she went missing.
And it seemed like they ruled out Daniel pretty quickly,
like pretty early on,
but it's not entirely clear as to how
from the reporting on this case.
So next, investigators take a look at Dennis' truck.
And one of the first things they notice
is a big burn hole in the middle of the bench seat.
And he tries to play it off like it's some kind of cigarette burn, but you guys, it's
legitimately a basketball-sized hole.
You can see a photo of it in the Crime Junkie Fan Club app if you're listening there, or
you can check it out on our blog online for this episode.
So investigators schedule a time the next day for Dennis to bring in his truck to be
examined by crime technicians, and Dennis agrees.
I'm not sure why they don't just check it out right then and there, but it's possible
that they didn't have a warrant, so their only option was to let him walk and hope he
comes back voluntarily.
But this is all pretty risky, especially knowing that detectives have already talked to the
bouncer at Omar's, someone who is familiar with Dennis.
And they paint the picture a bit differently than Dennis.
They say Dennis came up to them Sunday and said,
I told you that woman was going to be in trouble.
And another acquaintance of Dennis said,
when they looked in his truck on Sunday, they remember it looking untouched,
no quote unquote cigarette burn, and certainly no burn
hole the size of a basketball.
They said it looked fine.
And the people at Omar's weren't the only ones to comment on the state of Dennis' truck.
Two other acquaintances of his noticed that a few days after Carolyn's disappearance,
his truck had suddenly looked different.
The inside had been fully wiped down with pine-sol, and Dennis had told a friend that
he needed to wash the outside of his truck before turning it into the police because
it was covered in mud and didn't want investigators aware that, quote, he'd been off-road with
the truck.
But surprise, surprise, the next day, when Dennis is supposed to show up with his truck,
he is a no-show.
But they find him when Dennis ends up getting stopped by officials for failing to come in for the inspection. And when they bring the truck in, it looks
drastically different from what they saw the day before. Like, all the carpeting
and upholstery looks like it had been torn out and removed, which Dennis
defends by saying that the smell of the burnt seat bothered him so much that he
had to rip everything out and he just threw it in a dumpster somewhere in
Portland.
When they ask him about how the hole really happened, he tells Detective the burn started
with the tip of a cigarette.
Which like, again, lies.
This burn is massive.
So they impound Dennis' truck to buy them some time, but before they let him leave,
they also take a blood sample from him, and they take his watch to see if they can collect
any DNA from it.
Which they do.
And they're able to find a small trace of blood on the band, and everyone is hoping
it will be helpful to have down the line.
Once Forensics gets a better look at Dennis' truck, they find a small spot of blood on
the steering wheel that they collect, as well as blood stains on the passenger door panel,
the driver door's handle, the dash, and the lining at the top of the cabin,
all of which they send off for analysis.
But they do have to let him walk,
at least until they have something more concrete.
As they wait for the forensic results,
they keep looking into Dennis' past,
and they keep trying to bring him back for more interviews,
and every time, they learn something new,
which there's a lot to learn about this guy.
Dude was a little notorious for going to prison,
getting out on parole,
and then committing more crimes while out on parole.
In some cases, violent crimes.
I mean, he was already on parole
at the time he murdered his sister
and on parole when Carolyn goes missing.
But here's the thing,
even though they wanna have some more chats with him,
they can't pin this guy down.
They can't even get him to come in anymore.
In my mind, I'm like, oh, dude saw the writing on the wall, he bolted.
But reporting for the Colombian says that lead detective Buckner thinks he's still
in the area.
They're just, quote, playing phone tag with him.
And none of the reporting at this point has them publicly calling Dennis a suspect or
even a person of interest yet.
They just want to talk to him some more. So pick up your phone, Dennis. But months go by without them being able to make
contact and detectives start to fear that Dennis? Dennis is in the wind. He's not checking in with
his parole officer either. And by December of 1995, there's an arrest warrant issued for him
for investigation of parole violation. But those responsible for Carolyn's case can't go all bounty under on this guy.
They have to keep their focus on Carolyn and the search for her, and specifically her remains.
It's been over two months since Carolyn was last seen, and more reporting from John
Branton states searchers and dogs have been out to Clark County at least 10 times looking
for Carolyn's body.
But they aren't finding anything.
And it's in these months of searching that investigators finally get the results on that
quote-unquote cigarette burn from Dennis' truck.
And drumroll, please.
According to a Forensic Files episode on the case, arson experts find hydrocarbons in the
remaining burnt foam from the bench seat.
Because, remember, dude tore everything out.
But since hydrocarbons are typically found in accelerants,
they conclude that the fire was intentionally set.
And in July of 1996, the DNA results come back
for the blood stains from Dennis's truck and watch.
And those small samples of blood
are consistent with Carolyn.
Even without a body, eight months after Carolyn goes missing,
they charge Dennis Smith with Carolyn's murder.
And finally, they go get him.
Or at least they try to.
They activate a full throttle search for Dennis
that lasts throughout the rest of 1996.
We're talking a nationwide hunt.
According to the Colombian,
they've been contacting every police agency in the US,
and the FBI gets involved issuing a federal warrant
for his arrest since he's considered a fugitive.
But then, on February 4th, 1997,
Washington investigators learn about an almost deadly
encounter in New Smyrna, Florida,
with none other than Dennis Smith.
Investigators on Carolyn's case learned that Dennis had gotten pulled over for car theft,
but resisted arrest and grabbed one of the cops' flashlights to hit the officer with it.
And then as he tried to grab for their gun, a second officer shot him.
So right now Dennis is in critical condition and Florida PD only learned Dennis was a fugitive
when they transported him to the hospital, put his fingerprints into Florida's automated
finger identification system, and boop, there he was.
So they notified Washington police, but this is what's wild.
The reason he even got pulled over or was in that position at all was because of that
unsolved mysteries episode I mentioned
at the top that was airing.
Dennis was quite literally watching the segment with his friends when it aired.
The episode actually named him as a suspect and blatantly displayed his photo saying he'd
been charged with Carolyn's murder.
So, you know, as one in hiding may do, Dennis becomes completely distraught.
Dude loses it.
At this time, he's going by David Sanborn, and when he saw this episode, he told the
couple he was hanging out with that he was only wanted out of state for not paying child
support in Michigan.
And then he immediately left their house and stole their car.
The couple reports him, and that's what led New Smyrna Police Department to track him
down.
Later, an article published in the Colombian credits unsolved mysteries for Dennis' capture,
but police kind of dispute it and say they hadn't even had time to look into the tips
from the show before their arrest.
But regardless, this episode really set things in motion.
Now, after getting shot, Dennis is in the hospital. The Colombian reports he's in serious but stable condition and at least
conscious enough to be served with the arrest warrant. In Washington, he's
facing charges for murder, suspicion of parole violation, and unlawful flight to
avoid arrest in Clark County. And then back in Florida, he's facing charges for
auto theft, resisting arrest with and without violence,
eluding police, and battery on an officer.
The newly detective on Carolyn's case, Joel LeBeau,
flies to Florida from Washington
to interview Dennis in person.
And he's hopeful that Dennis will finally reveal
where Carolyn's remains are.
But dude's lips are sealed
because Dennis is still very much waving the innocence flag. Yet while
they're waiting for Dennis to face charges back in Washington, Carolyn's
family does get a little bit of a version of closure. In late February, they
finally get Carolyn's death certificate issued, which is actually really hard to
do with no-body cases like hers. But once detectives had enough information
to charge Dennis with murder and serve the warrant,
the judge finally had enough reason
to believe that Carolyn was murdered
on November 11th or 12th of 1995.
Dennis is extradited back to Washington in March 97
and fleeds not guilty of his charges of first-degree murder.
And by April of 1998, his defense is,
there's no body and no proof he killed Carolyn.
And his defense team wants to point the finger back at Daniel,
even though detectives ruled him out super early on.
While waiting for trial, the prosecution tries to cut Dennis a deal and
lighten his sentence if he tells them where he left Carolyn.
He refuses and his trial begins April 29, 1998.
But this trial, it's not without its own twists.
According to the Colombian, right before the trial starts, the judge rules that
the defense can't name Daniel as a suspect because there isn't enough tying him to the crime.
And the prosecution can't bring up Dennis's prior murder conviction of his sister because
it will be, quote, too prejudicial to the defendant.
And for the first time in a criminal trial in the state of Washington, prosecutors submit
evidence of mitochondrial DNA.
This is only the sixth time this type of DNA has been used in cases in the U.S. like, total.
Prosecutors use the mitochondrial DNA to support the claims that the very small
amounts of blood on Dennis' watch and in his truck do in fact match Carolyn's DNA.
And although in 98 this type of DNA testing is incredibly new and less exact than it is now,
it's still a great piece of additional evidence. Because in addition to the samples they got from
Carolyn's mom and daughter,
they also discovered letters that had allegedly been sealed
and mailed by Carolyn prior to her disappearance,
but still had DNA on it from her saliva residue.
So they sent that mail off to a California DNA testing lab,
and it was found that her DNA genotypes only appear
in one of every 195,000 Caucasians.
And that made them confident that it was Carolyn's DNA.
Now, the defense claims the consensual sex Carolyn and Dennis allegedly had
could have been the reason for her blood to be on the watch and in the trucks,
since it was such a small amount. But of course, the prosecution isn't buying that.
During the trial, prosecutors also introduced statements
from a former inmate that Dennis talked to
in either 94 or 95.
Most sources claim January of 95,
but regardless, they were discussing
Dennis' sister's murder.
And he brought up what he would do if he ever killed again.
He told this guy that he would hide the body
by planting a tree over top it
to make sure the ground isn't obviously disturbed.
And he said he'd get rid of any remaining evidence
with a fire.
So Q looking for every newly planted tree
in all the areas they were searching before.
And I also have to assume they followed this lead, but
even today, Carolyn's remains have never been found. And then, as I'm sure you'd expect,
the defense still leans into the whole the husband did at Engel and blames Daniel for
Carolyn's murder. Even though the judge tells them not to bring it up, the defense still mentions
the fight that Daniel and Carolyn had before she disappeared, and that Carolyn was allegedly
talking about divorce
with her friends.
And when the defense brings up Daniel,
the prosecution tries to claim mistrial,
but the judge has a change of mind at some point
and lets the defense argument stand.
But in turn, the prosecution is allowed
to lay out Dennis' prior conviction,
to which later on the defense will also try
to claim mistrial, but again, it gets overturned.
So both sides actually get to lay every single bit of info that they have out there.
Now, to back up the defense's Daniel point, they say search and rescue dogs tracked Carolyn's
scent from Omar's to her house and hit on a death scent in the back of Daniel's truck.
And to top it all off, they say he was going to pay his brother $10,000 for being his alibi
once Carolyn's life insurance money came through.
But as far as I can tell, no evidence was ever presented in court that he did.
Just that he was going to.
But full disclosure, I don't have the actual court transcript, so I honestly don't even
know how all of that gets introduced.
And it turns out the prosecution has some more details on how Daniel was cleared at
the beginning.
Initially, Daniel offered to take a polygraph test and passed.
Then his alibi, going out for a night of drinking with his brother, was verified with the bartender
who worked that night.
And even though Dennis claimed Daniel was the person who attacked him and took Carolyn
that night, acquaintances of Dennis say he initially told them the attack happened so fast that
he didn't know who was responsible, and he only identified Daniel after likely seeing
his face on the news.
The jury must have found it not to be credible either, because in the end, Dennis is convicted
of aggravated first-degree murder on May 12, 1998.
They also find him guilty of attempting to conceal the crime, kidnapping, and rape in
connection with Carolyn's murder, and he's sentenced to life in prison without the possibility
of parole.
And speaking of parole, this man should not have been allowed on parole after murdering
his sister while on parole.
And what even further approves this, in case anyone is on the fence for whatever reason,
during his second parole, Dennis actually failed one of his drug tests, and so he went
back in front of a parole board, and his parole officer legit told the board that Dennis needed
to be back in prison, because his predisposition to murder made him an extreme risk to society.
But for honestly unknown reasons,
the parole board sentenced him to just 51 days in jail
and then let him out,
which was only nine months before Carolyn went missing.
Carolyn's death might have been prevented
if they'd done their due diligence.
Each time Dennis violated his parole,
he was just given another chance to do it again.
So in 1999, Carolyn's family files a lawsuit
against the state for their gross negligence
in their supervision of Dennis.
In a prison legal news article,
the person representing Carolyn's family
in the lawsuit claims,
Dennis was on an unassigned caseload
during the three months of his supposed parole supervision before he murdered Carolyn.
And the Department of Corrections was even notified by Dennis' wife that he was dangerous and had violated his parole at least 25 times before Carolyn's murder.
And they did nothing.
So yeah, they really dropped the ball on this one. And it shows the importance of the sole purpose of the parole board.
To know when and if someone would positively contribute to society.
And if they meet certain criteria, only then can they serve part of their sentence out
in the public with supervision and certain conditions, all that.
Now after some time in prison, Dennis tries to strike a deal.
He tells detectives that he'll tell them where Carolyn's body is if they give him $10,000
in cash and some Taco Bell burritos.
Listen, Ashley and I love us some Taco Bell, but every time I think I've heard it all,
something else comes up.
This is bonkers.
Obviously, they don't agree to his terms, and without a deal, without those burritos, he's not going to tell them where her remains are.
At least, not then. In June of 2004, Dennis says,
alright, I'll take you. No Taco Bell required, just give me a ride, I'll show you.
And he leads the detectives to a spot where he thinks he left her body.
And it's over on Larch Mountain, about an hour northeast of Vancouver.
But they don't find anything.
Though it is worth noting that a couple of years before this, in 2001, a human skull
was found in a neighboring county, and Carolyn was one of three potential victims.
The other two were Heather Guy, a 29-year-old who disappeared in 1983, and Kimberly Kersey,
a high school student from 1987.
Kimberly was ruled out first, and while Carolyn wasn't ruled out at the time, or anytime
that I can find, her sister doesn't think it belongs to Carolyn.
She claims a detective told her he didn't think the skull was Carolyn's because there
wasn't any of the extensive dental work present that Carolyn had had.
And that was the last time Dennis would offer to help locate Carolyn's remains because
in November of 2004, Dennis died by suicide in his prison cell.
Interestingly, it's reported that he died shortly after police came to talk to him about
an unsolved murder in Texas, though there's no additional details about
who that victim could be.
At this time, Dennis' mom also maintains his innocence, and Carolyn's remains have
still never been found.
Even with justice served against Dennis, there's still the pain for her family of not knowing
where she is.
In 2004, Daniel moved to Lindale, Texas to get closer to family, including his two daughters.
Reporting by Stephanie Rice says her family has chosen to honor Carolyn by putting up
a memorial marker for her in the Lincoln Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Portland.
And Daniel makes a white cross on a tree at Larch Mountain. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com,
and you can follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast.
We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Crime Junkie is an AudioChuck production.
So, what do you think Chuck?
Do you approve?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo