Cold Case of Lysandra Marie Turpin Solved!
Turpin/Courtesy CBS
The remains of Lysandra Marie Turpin who went reported missing in 1988 have been found after a man who witnessed her murder as a teenager, contacted Northern California law enforcement, 22 years after the crime.
In April of 1988, 27-year-old Lysandra Marie Turpin was reported missing in Humboldt County. She was never found and officials have had few clues, until this year. In February, a 38-year-old North Carolina man called the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office and said when he was 16-years-old, he witnessed his father kill Turpin.
the ditch/courtesy CBS
The man told deputies his father, Ernest Samuel Christie Jr., kidnapped Turpin, held her hostage in their home in Fieldbrook, and then killed her after weeks of abuse. The man said his father forced him to help him dispose of Turpin’s body in a ditch, cover it with tires and set it on fire. Deputies went to the area and found teeth, clothing and charred bones. On Wednesday, forensic scientists positively identified the remains as Turpin. Christie, Jr. died in June of 2006.
the tree stump/courtesy CBS
Christie’s son also told deputies about other crimes committed by his father. He said Christie had once held a woman prisoner inside a large Redwood tree stump but she had escaped. Christie’s son was also able to lead deputies to that location where they found a carpet, plastic jugs, syringes and clothing inside the stump after using a chainsaw to get inside. The victim in the case has since passed away.
Christie’s son, Ernest Samuel Christie, III is not facing any charges.
Read the article here.
Categories: Forensics, News: Cold Cases, Solved
Tags: Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Identification, Lysandra Marie Turpin, Missing Person, North Carolina, Police
I’m glad that her body has been found and wonder how many more this man raped and killed. She wouldn’t have been the first or the last.
No, she is not. I also wonder what made the son finally go to police since his father died a while ago.
I am afraid, the father has done more than we know of now. My deepest sympathy to the Turpin Family.
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Best, Vidocq
He could have been scared and maybe seeking some kind of counseling for this in his life and maybe at a point where he can talk or accept what he has been through and has decided to come clean about it all. It’s really sad.
I wonder what happen to this kids mom if she was a victim or if he even knows her.
I am glad that Lysandra’s family , parents if still living, are able to have some kind of closer after 22 years. RIP now!
Thanks for commenting!
I have no information about the son’s mother. It is very well possible that the son has been working on getting the courage to go to the police all these years. Hopefully, in time, we will get more information about his family situation and the exact reasons why the son does not face any criminal charges. Should more information become available, I will post it here on DCC!
Thank you for visiting and reading my posts. Please do check back.
Sincerely, Vidocq
Another article about this case can be found here:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2880470/the_murder_of_lysandra_marie_turpin.html?cat=9
Thanks, Tiffany, for the link!
I read Christie Jr.’s obituary and it said his wife was lost at sea in 1977. That’s very suspicious to me considering he enjoyed torturing women and was a commercial fisherman for 35 years. The son would have been 5 at the time of his mother’s death.
Thanks for commenting.
When I checked, you needed to sign in and pay to see the obituary. There is a website where it is placed though but there was no picture available. Click here and scroll down to Piper’s post: http://tinyurl.com/y5ojnmp.
It says: “Ernest Samuel Christie Jr. of Fieldbrook, died peacefully at home on March 20, 2006 at the age of 61. He was a life-long resident of Humboldt County.
Ernie was a commercial fisherman for 35 years. He captained the f/v Fame L and f/v Claire Louse, the latter being named after his wife, Claire Louise (Williams) Christie, who was lost at sea in 1977. His son, Sam Christie of Durham, North Carolina, with whom he ran a logging business for over ten years survives Ernie.”
Indeed, I’d liked to know more about his wife’s death. So if anyone gets more information, please contact me and then we can add it here to have a more complete story.
Thank you again and please check back with us, Vidocq
i am from eureka, and after the dicovery of the two women he abused, one leading to her death, they are know looking into other missing persons cases, as well as the death of his wife. Two went out on that fishing boat, and only he came back, sound like premeditation to me. and from what i have heard from older famly members he wasn’t anything trouble, drugs, women beater, thats what his obituary should have read
It was later confirmed by anothe women that he had tortured but escaped that indeed he did murder Claire Christie. I know of several times when she tried to get away from him but was a typical battered woman who could get out. She already had low self-esteem and Ernie furthered erode. Words cannot describe how cruel and evil Ernie was. I’m not surprised that it took so long for Sam to come forward. He went through hell after his death and it took him a number of years to get strong enough to come forward. His life with his dad was horrendous and there was no one to help him.