April 29th, 1999. A skull is found in a trash bag outside Action Glass in Atlanta, Georgia.
Soon after, in different trash bags, various other body parts are found. The remains are identified as the remains of Melissa Wolfenbarger, a 21-year-old married mother of two who is reported missing several months prior.
In a remarkable twist, Melissa’s remains are verified only after her Father is arrested in connection to an unrelated murder.
In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, is joined again by forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan as they discuss the details of Melissa’s murder case.
They dissect potential thoughts from a murderer’s perspective, reasons proper tools are necessary when dismembering a body, the importance of understanding the anatomy of a body, initial problems with the case that could have saved time, and more.
About the ‘Zone 7’ Host
Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, a forensic and crime scene expert for “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” and a CSI for a metro-area Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook, “Cold Case: Pathways to Justice.”
McCollum is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students, and the criminal justice community. They come together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.
You can connect and learn more about McCollum’s work by visiting the CCIRI website https://coldcasecrimes.org
Social Links:
- Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
- Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
- Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
