Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Teen girl body found hidden under leaves beside tennis court - Plus: Serial killer stalking women in NC small town?

Episode Date: February 1, 2018

Jholie Moussa's family is questioning why police initially handled the missing girl's disappearance as a runaway case, which they say delayed the search. The Alexandria, Va. teen was found dead nearly 2 weeks later. Nancy Grace is joined by victim advocate Marc Klaas, lawyer and child advocate Ashley Willcott, private investigator Vincent Hill, and CrimeOnline.com reporter Leigh Egan to talk about Moussa's case. Reporter Pamela Furr updates Nancy on the investigation into 3women found murdered in a 4-block area of Lumberton, N.C. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Sirius XM Triumph, Channel 132. At this point, detectives believe that Jolie left on her own accord, and there is nothing to indicate that she's in any immediate danger. A beautiful young girl, just 16 years old, Jolie, goes missing. What happened? Her body has been found in an Alexandria park, a public park in Virginia, Fairfax County. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. What happened to this beautiful teen girl, Jolie Musa?

Joining me right now is a very special guest. It is Mark Klass, Victims Advocate, founder of Klass Kids, a crime victim himself. Mark, thank you so much for being with us. Mark, we know that Jolie's body has been found in an open park, a public park. It's Woodlawn Neighborhood Park on Manor Drive, found just beyond a set of tennis courts. And why I keep saying an open park, this is a public park where anyone could have seen what happened. Her body covered in leaves and debris, according to police. Mark Klaas, you've studied the case very carefully. What are your thoughts? Well, first of all, Nancy, I'm a huge supporter of law enforcement, but I think that they absolutely and totally dropped the ball on this case. Jolie went missing on the 12th.

She was reported missing to the police early on the 13th, and they refused to take a report. They said instead that she was a runaway because there was no proof of anything else. On the 15th, the mother went on. Okay, wait, let me just stop you right there, Mark Klaas, because it's breaking my heart. We don't know if her life could have been saved. She's reported less than 24 hours later. And instead of saying, unless we know different, she's a runaway, why not say,

unless we know different, she's kidnapped? Because they were in way over their head. I mean, they were using the default answer from 1993. That's what they told parents. And if children disappeared, police would say, well, she's probably a runaway. And they would absolve themselves of any further responsibility. But that doesn't cut it anymore. That doesn't work anymore because we know much more about the disappearance of children, and we know that runaway children are at-risk children that tend to populate the human trafficking ranks. So there is nothing correct about the response from law enforcement. It got so bad, Nancy, that on the 15th, the mother gave an interview to the local Fox television station where she was just bawling. The twin sister couldn't stop crying.

They led the news with it, yet the police were still saying that she wasn't in danger. The family knew it, the media knew it, the public knew it, and the cops were completely oblivious to the fact that this child was in imminent danger, if not already dead. You're right, Mark Klass. My old friend, my colleague, that is exactly what the mom told local Fox 5. Take a listen to what Mark Klass has just described. Her last call was a call to me. Jolie, I don't know what's happening and I don't care. I just want you to come home. If you've done something and you don't feel comfortable talking to me about it, that's okay. You're not in trouble.

If someone's with you, we don't care about you either. Just take her to a Walmart, take her anywhere and just drop her off there. If you know any information about where my child is, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, just let us know. Jolie, you're fine. I know you are, and I love you, and I will see you soon. Jolie's mother, Sarita, told Fox 5 she does not believe her daughter would have ever run away. She has no history of ever running away before. As a matter of fact, the mom says the last time she saw Jolie, her daughter, Jolie said she'd

be right back and didn't even take her phone charger, didn't take any extra clothes with her, nothing, no clothes, her phone charger, her iPad, nothing taken missing from the home. Take a listen to Jolie's mother. It hurt me how it was handled. It hurt. It just hurt because I know my child. And I know that it was out of character for her not to come home. If this girl were running away,

you know she would have taken some of her favorite things. No, nothing. And you know the most important thing in a teen girl's life is her cell phone. She didn't even take her charger. Mark Klass, you are dead on as usual. And you know, Mark, I hate, I hate to chip away at the cops okay i do because i think overall they're good intentioned but in these cases and we've covered so many together mark where the child is deemed a runaway and they always end up dead every time time we cover it, the child is dead and the police sat on their thumbs

calling it a runaway. In this case, Nancy, it wasn't until a couple of days later, I believe on the 16th, that law enforcement finally had a meeting with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And it was after that meeting that they said, oh, well, maybe there is something more going on here. You shouldn't have to be schooled by a nonprofit on how to treat a missing child case if you are a professional law enforcement agency. So this is something that is unconscionable, and it's something that needs to be corrected. In fact, the first missing child protocol was written in the aftermath of Pauly's case almost 25 years ago. By this time, every law enforcement agency should either know how to respond to one of these cases or know that if they don't know how to respond, they need to bring the FBI in immediately

because they always take them seriously. We are talking about a gorgeous, young Fairfax, Virginia teen. Absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful smile I think I've ever seen. She leaves the home saying she'll be back in an hour or so. She doesn't even take her cell phone charger. She's never seen my mom again. It's breaking my heart to hear it.

Now, you just heard my friend Mark Klass, founder of Klass Kids, discuss Polly's case. Mark, for those listeners that don't know what you're talking about, please explain. Polly was my 12-year-old daughter, and she was hosting a slumber party with two girlfriends on the evening of October 1, 1993, in the home that she shared with her mother in Petaluma, California. And at about 10.30 in the evening, a bearded, knife-wielding stranger entered Polly's bedroom, bound, gagged, and blindfolded the girls, and then he stole Polly into the night. Her last words were, please don't hurt my mother and sister. And we then spent the next 65 days, when I say we, I mean my family, the city of Petaluma, Sonoma County, law enforcement, the FBI, only to find that a recidivist violent offender had kidnapped,

raped, and murdered Polly within a two-hour period the very night that he had kidnapped her. That individual now is residing on California's death row. You know, Mark, I want to slow you down just one moment because you just did something I always do. When people ask me, and I'm not prepared for it, about my fiance's murder, for years, it would get me so distraught. Then I figured out how to

tell the story quickly and concisely and move on. And the way you just delivered Polly's story, I don't know um just to hear you say that so quickly and concisely so you could then move on from it it just broke my heart because I just think the world of you and I just hate that you went through anything painful.

At the end of what you said, that in two hours from the time Polly was taken from her mom's home, at a sleepover for Pete's sake, within two hours, it was over. In this case, we're analyzing Mark. Jolie left on the 12th. The parents reported her missing in less than 24 hours, probably hoping the whole time, well, you know, she got with her girlfriends and they've gone to the mall. You know, I just can't find her. Or you know what? I bet they went to the mall. I bet they went to a late movie. That's what they're doing. And she has not called home. She's in so much trouble. Then you know what? I bet she spent the night at so-and-so's and they start calling the friends. And by about four o'clock in the morning, they're like, where is she? And then

they call police. I guarantee you that's how that night went down. But you said in two hours, it was over when Polly was taken out of her home. You know, I keep my, because of Polly, Mark, I do not even have the children in the house without the alarm on at any time. I don't care, morning, noon, or night. Because of what I have learned from you, Mark Klass. Two hours, it was over for Polly. Look, by the time the police sit down and talk with the family, it's the 16th. Mark, how many hours have passed?

Oh, it's just unbelievable. You know, and it's not just Polly. I mean, 76% of children that are going to be murdered as a result of an abduction are dead within the first three hours. That's why there is no time to lose and why there is no acceptance of incompetence in these kinds of cases. It just shouldn't be that way anymore. And this is a case where everything fell apart.

You know what? You are just so much stronger than I am. You are because you are right to business in trying to solve the Jolie-Mooson case, as you should be. And I'm hung up in the pain and the suffering the family is going through. You know, we are analyzing what happened. We know the little girl is dead. Her body has been found near tennis courts in a public park.

But there is no suspect. No one has been arrested in this case. Police defending their actions. When Jolie was reported missing on Saturday, she had already been gone for a day. She had left her home and seen on camera under circumstances that did not seem to be unusual. The family contacted us the following day when they realized and felt that Jolie's actions were no longer the norm for her. Our officers responded, took an initial report, and immediately entered her into the national database. They conducted a number of interviews and a number of searches of friends' homes and contacted friends and some local hangouts without success. But at that point still, nothing appeared to be of a nature where we felt she was truly in danger.

There was no indication of an abduction or anything like that at that time. The next day, patrol officers continued that, and we continued to follow up any leads and all the information provided by the family. On Monday, that continued through the holiday. On Tuesday, we met with people from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI. As we met with them and we discussed our various options, it was at that time with Jolie's literally falling off the electronic radar. No communication, no social media, no postings like that. And talking with the family, this clearly was now something that was beyond normal. At that point, we upgraded her status as an endangered missing juvenile,

and our efforts continued. Our efforts continued every day through interviews, searches, web searches, search warrants, legal process through social media and such, and that continued up until the day that she was found, and continues beyond. I will tell you that on that Tuesday when we spoke with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the number of leads that we had had, both viable and leads that did not pan out, took us to places as far as Philadelphia, up and down the East Coast. We were in contact with the Old Dominion University Police, the Norfolk Police, the FBI in the Norfolk Field Office, the FBI in the Philadelphia Field Office. This case took a lot of turns with a lot of incoming information and a lot of leads to follow up and continues to have just an enormous amount of leads. And we, the police department, homicide detectives are continuing to follow up just

an enormous amount of information that has come in from the public and leads that we've developed. But Mark Klass, the hours they lost as they insisted she was a runaway could have saved her life, Mark. It very well could have. There's no question about that. And that's why you have to know what you're doing. And if you don't, you get a hold of somebody that does know what they're doing. And in this case, that would have been the FBI. They're in Alexandria, Virginia. That's where the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is headquartered. I mean, my goodness, that should be ground central for missing kids in America. And here's a situation where they just failed miserably. But I guess, Nancy, if there's any kind of a silver lining, it's the fact that several days later, the mother again

went on the Fox 5. And she talked about the fact that she now had to be the voice for her child, that she had an unintended quest in her life now, which was to be the voice for Jolie and to make sure that what happened to her doesn't happen to other children so that she hadn't died in vain. As a matter of fact, take a listen to Jolie's mother now. If Jolie, this tragedy can bring something good, then I'm going to make sure that my child did not die in vain. In addition to being Jolie's mother, I am now going to strive to be a voice for so many families that a child will walk out the door and never come home, and they're just labeled

as a runaway and they're dismissed and that's not okay. The worst outcome that could possibly happen has happened. So at this point I'm in it for the long haul. This isn't the first time you're going to see me on TV or the last time. I'm in it for the long haul because I don't want anyone else to go through what my child went through. Let me switch gears very quickly. I'm thinking back to my days as a prosecutor

when I would wake up at 5.30 in the morning, race to court, start a trial at 8 o'clock and keep going strong until midnight looking for witnesses for the next day things change working taking care of the twins cooking dinner the works now i found out about something awesome and it's called super beats s-u-p-e-R-B-E-E-T-S.

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With your first order, you even get a 30-day supply of Super Beats for free. And they give you indicator strips to see how Super Beats is working for you. Plus free shipping. That's 800-516-0683. or go to nancy'sbeats.com today it has worked for me i knew she was like a predator's dream basically you know what i mean because she was just so little and dainty and kind and sweet and timid and and i was just like oh my goodness i was so afraid I thought this couldn't possibly happen to me because I'm so cautious and I'm always talking to them. And, you know, I'm so

fearful and it happened. The search was on at that point for Jolie Musa, a desperate search all across Alexandria, Virginia and Fairfax County. The police asking for the public's help to find the missing teen, 16-year-old Joe Lee, last seen the 12th. But it wasn't until the 16th that police get serious and finally realize she's missing. Joining me right now, Lee Egan, CrimeOnline.com reporter. Lee, what can you tell us? How was the body found? So the body was found in the park near tennis courts, buried under brushes and leaves. It was buried really well to where, you know, just walking by you wouldn't be able to see her. But it was still an open view.

It was where if somebody happened to rake that area, they would find her. Officers discover Jolie's body in Woodlawn Park, less than a mile from her home. That is where the body was discovered. Her body, her dead body, found behind a pair of tennis courts covered in leaves and debris. Not fully buried, but covered in leaves and debris. Not fully buried, but covered in leaves and debris. To Ashley Wilcott, lawyer and child advocate, that tells me a lot. The mode of disposal of the body. First of all, she didn't make it far from her home. And second of all, it was a disposal of convenience. It reminds me of the blake case where his wife uh who was killed right behind the italian restaurant where they were going to dinner that evening

she her body was left right there and the and the murder weapon was just thrown in a dumpster because the killer never really seemed to leave the scene. And here, it says to me, her body was not transported very far at all and was just, you know, barely covered up with leaves and debris. No grave dug, no hole dug. She wasn't dumped down a ravine or put in garbage bags and left at a dumpster. Why? What does that say to you, Ashley? The same thing, that this was a crime of convenience, meaning that someone chose her as the victim, did what they wanted, killed her, threw her out quick, not deliberately planned for a particular victim to say, I'm going to do these things and then dispose of the body here.

Crime of convenience. Somebody got to her, murdered her, probably within the three-hour window that you've already heard is a statistical case with a lot of these abductions, and then just threw her out. Back to Mark Klass, founder of Klass Kids. Mark, what does this scenario say to you? Her body found less than a half a mile from her home, not really hidden very well in a public park. Well, it tells me a couple of things. First of all, it tells me that somebody lured a child out of her home and then murdered her and then just tossed her into the park and walked away as if nothing had happened. He couldn't have, he, she couldn't have cared less about this individual, obviously wanted her dead. I think it was, I think it was planned. I think that this is exactly what this individual had

in mind when he lured her out of her home in the afternoon so that he could murder her. We are also looking at information on her cell phone, Mark Klass, before she left the house. She apparently received a phone call from a cell phone that pinged at that park, Mark Klass. Just awful. You know, this is where I become emotional about these things, because if a child can't be safe in their home, where in the world can they be safe? You know, these guys use binary code to get into our children's bedrooms. They don't even have to lurk in the bushes anymore. All they have to do is find a way to lure the kids to them, and then they take care of their evil intention. It just is the worst possible thing, and there's a special place in hell for people that do things like this. You know that as well as I do. Boy, do I. Now, get this

scenario, Mark. She was sitting at home with her twin sister doing her twin sister's hair and I mean I just think about how many millions of times I've just sat there and done Lucy's hair over and over again um she gets a text that says and let me throw this to you Vincent Hill private investigator joining us she gets a text she receives the text that says, okay, got to go, and leaves. The high school sophomore never seen alive again. I mean, in my mind, it's got to be connected, Vincent. Yeah, absolutely, Nancy. I mean, you get the phone call from a phone at the park where she was found.

You get the text message. More importantly, later that night, her sister receives a text that says, I'm going to a party three hours away. But yet Felice never said, well, did she come back to get a change of clothes, to get things like you mentioned, her charger? So you had all of these red flags there on the day she went missing. Unfortunately, they weren't followed up on. And now we have the tragic ending to this case. You know, it's interesting that you brought that up, Vincent. I want to follow up on that.

Ashley, we're both getting into iPhone territory with our children, your daughter, age 10, just like Lucy. Here's the thing. That cell phone she had with her when she left, I find it very difficult to believe that a teen girl would wear the same clothes all day long, just like Vincent Hill is accurately pointing out. That's why he's the private eye. She never came home for a change of clothes or to freshen up or anything she had not mentioned this party to anybody i think somebody else sent that text that she was going to a party there's no evidence she ever ended up at a party i completely agree with you especially given the fact her body was located so close to the home and how easy is it for the person who abducted

killed murdered her to then say oh i, I'm going to cover my tracks. I'm going to throw them off. I'm just going to shoot this little text to say, oh, yeah, I'm headed to a party. So they think, you know, she's going to a party and she's a runaway. I completely do not believe that she sent that text either. You know, Mark Klaas, another clue is that that evening, her mom, Jolie's mom, missed a cell call from her daughter. I think whoever killed her, she was already dead. They went through most recent texts and texted the sister, hey, I'm going to leave for a party three hours from here in Norfolk. That's not true.

And then later just sent a call to the mom that was missed, didn't leave a message, just dial the number and let it ring and hung up. What about that, Mark Glass? I totally agree. I think that that's exactly what happened. The individual that did this had a plan and laid out the plan, gave themselves some extra time by sending that text and by making that unresolved phone call

and walked away from this poor tiny little girl that he had buried under leaves in a park. You know, I'm just thinking it through. It's so cold and calculated, Mark Klass. The cover-up, the cover-up, sending these text messages and making this call from the dead girl's own cell phone to mislead her family. That's cold, Mark. It's a cold soul. It's an individual that is filled with hatred and an individual that needs to be taken off of the streets and kept off of the streets. In fact, I would say that this is the kind of a crime that rises to the death penalty. Oh, absolutely, because Ashley Wolcott, lawyer and child advocate, we know very well that a

suspect's behavior, not only before and during, but after the act can be brought into evidence, such as covering up, misleading the family so they would not find her body. All that evidence can come in at trial and Mark Klass pegged it. It's a cold soul that would mislead the family and send fake texts to her twin sister. And I promise you that same soul would do this to any other child. It would not end with this child. Right now, every attempt possible is being made to determine who made the call. Now, the cell phone goes back, apparently, to a 12-year-old little boy. He says a man approached him in the park where he, the little boy, was shooting basketball and asked to use the phone.

And that he made the call to Jolie. Is this true? If so, how can we ever find him? Mark Klass class another thing if the hearse if her jolie's cell phone was used to hide what had happened to obscure the facts it can at least be pinged at the time she texted well her cell phone texted her twin sister and then later that night called the mom, right? Absolutely, yeah. Cell phone technology and cell phone forensic science has come a long, long way over the course of the years, and I believe that the authorities, the FBI, with their vast resources, should be able to get to the

bottom of exactly what happened with that cell phone and perhaps even who used the cell phone. Now the question arises, is the man who borrowed the 12-year-old cell phone actually a boyfriend, a former boyfriend, really a stalker of Joe Lee's? What do you know, Lee, in a nutshell? Okay, they're holding this 17-year-old boy. They're not releasing his name because, you know, he's too young, but they're holding him for an assault charge, a previously unreported assault charge against Jolie. And they're saying he is a person of interest in her murder, but he hasn't been named a suspect as of yet. Take a listen. He is being charged with, at this juncture, with a petition charging him with felony assault. Let me clarify that and reiterate that the

question is, so he is not charged with her death at this juncture. That is correct. He is not charged with her death. It was a prior incident, a prior incident that was discovered during the course of this investigation that had been reported. So as of now, no arrest in the case. Take a listen to Jolie's mother now. Yes, I have met him. He has come to my house. I have met him. Mark Klaas, what do you make of it? Well, I make of it that there's a twisted and evil individual out there who has absolutely no qualms against murdering a little girl that was five foot two inches tall and weighed 104 pounds. He beat her, he left her, he lured her out of her home, and then he murdered her. I don't know that it gets much

more dangerous than that, Nancy. And then to obscure the facts by texting, texting the sister. And the twin sister says she gets this text that Jolie was going to Norfolk for a party, quote, and I'm like, isn't that more than three hours away? I mean, she knew this wasn't right for her sister. Take a listen. Knowing that she's at rest, okay, but I guess being selfish and wanting her here, that's, it's a bittersweet. It definitely like makes me wonder if there's like a serial killer or something or I don't know, but that's really close to home. A gorgeous young woman disappears in a small town. At first, no one thinks anything of it, but when you look at it in perspective, it's very alarming.

This young woman disappears in a town where bodies have been turning up. The deepening mystery surrounding five dead women. Three recently. Five dead women. Three recently in the very small town of Lumberton, North Carolina. Right now, Pamela Furr, Crime Stories investigative reporter, joining us, North Carolina. Right now, Pamela Furr, Crime Stories investigative reporter, joining us from North Carolina.

One by one, Pamela, decomposing bodies of women turn up dumped across North Carolina town. Five women in all. And then a desperate search for a 20-year-old who seemingly vanished off the face of the earth while visiting her mom. When you look at the tally, there are five women dead in all. Let's just start with the three most recent.

What's happening, Pamela? That is a very good question, and that's what police want to know what is happening and if anybody has any information because the investigation still continues. They don't know how these bodies died. They don't know what happened to them. Specifically there's three of them that were found in a four block radius of Lumberton, North Carolina. April 18th, one woman was found on Peachtree Street in Lumberton, North Carolina, while another was found in a dumpster on East 5th Street. The same day they were found, both women, their bodies so badly decomposed that it took at least 10 days for police and medical examiners to even identify them. They're known as Rhonda Jones and Christina Bennett.

They're both young. Then on June the 3rd, a body was found in the yard of an abandoned house. This one would be on East 8th Street in Lumberton. Her name is Megan Oxendine. Her body was found naked, gagged, and bloodied. That's according to her family. The police aren't releasing that information yet to the public. But what's so alarming, these bodies were found within a four-block radius there in Lumberton,

and it has people on edge. They don't know if there's a serial killer out there at this point. Now, another woman has gone missing from this North Carolina town, where five others, dead, three most recently. It's 20-year-old Abby Patterson who vanishes from her home in Lumberton while she was visiting her mom. Now, Pamela Furr, our investigative reporter, is telling us about Christina Bennett, 32, found dead inside an abandoned home. That's Christina Bennett. Same day, Rhonda Jones, early 30s, found dead in a dumpster outside.

Her friend, Megan Oxendine, says this. I mean, I don't comprehend stuff like this too good. I don't understand how somebody could do somebody's child, mother, niece, like that. I ain't seen her act out or nothing. She's just quiet. She didn't really mess with too many people. Now, understand the irony of this. After the friend of Rhonda Jones, who was dead in a dumpster, speaks to local media about her best friend's death,

she, Megan Oxendine, just 28 years old, is found naked, dead, in the woods by the roadside. So far, police have not established a cause of death for any of the three women. I'm overwhelmed right now. Pamela Furr, Crime Stories investigative reporter, joining us that a COD, a cause of death, has not been established. Yet another woman vanishes in the small town in North Carolina where we know five others have been found dead in very mysterious circumstances. Abby Patterson has now not been seen for several months, vanishing from her family's home. She told her mom she was going out to just run a few errands and would be back in about an hour, but never came back. She told her mom she was going out to just run a few errands and would be back in about an

hour, but never came back. She's just gorgeous. She was last seen getting into a friend's car and was never seen again. Now, we know police have interviewed the friend, but as of now, no charges. Pamela Furr, what do we know about getting in the car with a friend to go run errands? I'm talking right now about missing Abby Patterson, 20 years old. We just know she was last seen getting into a brown Buick in the same area that these women disappeared, 9th Street in Lumberton. She had come up from Florida to visit her mother a couple of days before she disappeared. And as you said, she said, I'm going to go run some errands. I'll be back in an hour. Love you, mom, left and hasn't been seen since. Now, I will

say that Captain Terry Parker with the Lumberton Police Department says that he's 99% sure the case is not related to the females whose bodies were found. But I can tell you, Nancy, the residents of Lumberton aren't too sure about that simply because she disappeared in the same area where these women were found, where their bodies were found. And as I said earlier, they're wondering if the serial killer is out there targeting young women in their area. Well, there's no coincidence in criminal law, period. And the fact that Megan Oxendine was speaking to local media and then three weeks later she's found dead as well. No. Was she on to something? Did she know without knowing who her friend's killer was? Take a listen

now to what police say. We have been working countless hours following leads, conducting interviews, and gathering evidence to determine what happened to the women. In June of last year, we asked the FBI to assist our department with our investigation into Christina, Rhonda, and Megan's death, and we owe it to them to fully investigate and uncover the facts of what happened to each one of them as police chief and a member of the community. I want to know what happened to Christina, Rhonda and Megan. I also understand there is a lot of uncertainty, concern, and even fear right now. Let me assure you that we are committed to finding out the answers. At this point, we do not know if this is a criminal matter

or whether there is another explanation for why these young women are gone. We hope you will help us. If you saw Christina, Rhonda, Megan in the days, months, weeks leading up to their deaths, we need to talk to you. As I said earlier, all three women were mothers, they were daughters, sisters, and aunts. They were loved and they are missed, but they are not forgotten. We will get to the truth, but we need your help. Joining me now, Ashley Wilcott, lawyer and advocate, Vincent Hilde, private investigator. Straight out to Ashley Wilcott. Ashley, I mean, this town, I come from a town about this size, from a neighborhood, a rural community about this size. It's very difficult for me to believe that all of these cases are not related. Five in all and now another missing. Three most recently. Two of them best friends,

but their murders separated by three weeks. Ashley? I do not believe either, Nancy, that this is coincidence. I agree with you. There's no such thing when it comes to crimes. I think the question is going to boil down ultimately to this is, I bet, a person deemed a serial killer at some point in the future, regrettably, is what I foresee, or that's my opinion is going to happen. And then the question is going to become, is it someone who knows this group of women or these women well how could you not know each other in a town that small ashley that's true i mean for all i know that killer went to high school or community college or local college with them or their brother or sister sings in the local choir is a trash picket man i don't know i don't know but how could they not know each other and as far uh for

for them saying they don't think that Abby Patterson's disappearance is not connected she's been gone let's see October November December January she's been gone now five months at the least how can they say that's not unusual? You just drop off the map, don't contact your family, your boyfriend, you don't use your cell phone, your credit cards, your ATM. No, she's dead. You know, I hate it for the family. You'd like to hope she's missing and will be found. But I, with these facts, let's be honest with these facts. I do not think there's any chance that she is not dead. To Vincent Hill, a very well-known private investigator. Vincent, what do we need to be doing right now? First of all, I know you got to bring in experts

that can determine the cause of death. I know it's difficult when there has been a decomposed body. I know that. But out of all the bodies, we can't get one cause of death? Not one? Yeah, that's the most important piece to this whole thing, Nancy. It has all of the elements of a serial killer. We know that. But we need to know a cause of death because then we can establish more of a motive, more of an M.O. to this killer. Because obviously he or she likes to target young women in the area,

so we need to know the cause of death. For Abby's case, I'd be looking for this brown Buick that picked her up and tracking her location, her last known location, whether it be her cell phone, ATM card, anything that was used in that area. So maybe I can pull up surveillance footage or a witness or anything of that nature. To Ashley Wilcott, lawyer and advocate, Ashley, what does it signal to you that now the FBI has been brought in? I think that it's the local law enforcement admitting it's a bigger issue than one person has been found dead or deceased. It means you've got a serial killer. You've got a situation where there are multiple murders

and they need help. That's a good thing they called in the FBI. Well, the family of the third most recent woman found dead in the small town of Lumberton, North Carolina, states very clearly, quote, she was murdered. They won't believe otherwise, they say, until police tell them differently. And I'm referring to Megan Oxendine. Her body found near an abandoned home in the central area of the city, downtown Lumberton, the same area where bodies of two of the five other women were found. Again, police have not said how the woman died or if their deaths are related. What is curious, though, what I don't understand, Ashley Wilcott, is why we're not getting a cause of death, especially on Megan Oxendine. She had not been missing that long before her body was

found. And that's my question. Do we not know the cause of death because it hasn't been released or are they really unable to determine the cause of death? And if they are not yet able to determine cause of death, then we can rule out some things, Nancy. Clearly that means it wasn't a blunt force trauma that beat the skull in. Clearly it means it likely wasn't a shot from a gun that would leave the type of injury that the cause of death could be easily determined. So maybe it means, I don't know, something ingested. Maybe it means strangulation and that part of the body was decomposed. I just, I don't know which of the two it is. Take a listen first to Megan Oxendine's sister. It was heartbreaking. I mean, one of the worstest feelings I've ever felt.

Like I lost my best friend. She was so smart. She was such a good person. And I just, she didn't deserve this. There's already been two other people that have been murdered down there, and it's only been nine weeks, I believe. And now a third one. Our Megan, we feel like she was murdered.

Now hear what Megan Oxendine's mother has to say. It's something I wouldn't wish for anybody to go through, to have their child took from them. Nobody has the right to take a mother's child from them. My child came up here three, three and a half, four weeks ago, had been attacked. I let the officers, two officers know that night. I don't know how much she know, whether it was a little something she didn't know who had something to do with it or actually done it. The FBI has now upped the offer on a reward.

There is a $30,000 reward for anyone with information that helps investigators determine what happened to the three most recent women found murdered in the small town of Lumberton, North Carolina. I'm referring to 32-year-old Christina Bennett, found inside an abandoned home. Rhonda Jones, 36, found outside a home. Both of them discovered on the very same day. Megan Oxendine, just 28 years old. The three bodies all found within a four block radius. A $30,000 reward. Take a listen. The FBI is announcing a reward of up to $30,000 for confirming to determine the circumstances that led to the deaths of Christina Bennett, Rhonda Jones, and Megan Oxendine. Christina Bennett, or as her family called her, Kristen, was found deceased inside a

house on Peachtree Street on April 18, 2017. Rhonda Jones was found deceased outside a house on East 5th Street on the same day, that being April 18th, 2017. And Megan Oxendine was found deceased outside a house on East 8th Street on June 3rd, 2017. Their deaths are suspicious, but in part because of the close proximity of when and where their bodies were found. We're not going to elaborate further to protect the integrity of the investigation, but rest assured that law enforcement officers in this case are working hard to determine how these women died. But we need your help. Investigators are asking anyone who came in contact with these women to come forward. We believe that members of this community have information

that can assist us in creating a timeline of when and where they were last seen alive. No piece of information is too small. You may think that what you know is not important. We ask that you not make that decision yourself. Please call us. Let us determine whether that information is relevant or helpful. Anyone with information should call FBI Charlotte at 704-672-6100 and then hit option number two. Again, that's 704-672-6100, option number two. Every part of our work is law enforcement benefits from the help we receive from the public. We need the community's assistance, the people's eye, ears, information from friends and neighbors.

We ask that you pick up the phone and call us. Tell us what you know, what you heard, and what you saw. The FBI is committed to assisting our law enforcement partners at the Lumberton Police Department to determine what happened to these women. We owe it to each of these three women. We owe it to their families. We owe it to this community to put together the pieces of that puzzle and to provide the answers of what happened to them. Tip line 910-671-3845. Repeat, tip line 910-671-3845. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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