August 25, 2025 • 6 mins
Christopher Wolfenbarger was acquitted of the murder of his wife, Melissa, after jurors in GA reached their verdict in just two hours.
OK parents arrested after 11-yr-old gives birth at home.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news now Nancy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
In a shocking turn of events, Christopher Wolfenberger was acquitted
of the murder of his wife, Melissa after jursen Fulton County,
Georgia reached their verdict in just two hours. Count one
we the jury find to the defendant not guilty this.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Twenty second day of August twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Wolfenbarger had been charged with her murder last year, following
the efforts of a task force that believed they had
sufficient evidence to secure conviction. The victim's family last communicated
with her on Thanksgiving in nineteen ninety eight, but concerns
heightened when she failed to contact her mother on her
birthday a few months later. In April nineteen ninety nine,
(00:45):
investigators discovered a severed head in a black trash bag
at mister Wolfenbarger's workplace in Atlanta, and additional remains were
found a month later. Unfortunately, these remains were initially misidentified
as belonging to to another missing person and were not
confirmed to be Melissa's until two thousand and three, following
(01:06):
the arrest of her father, Carl Patten, for a series
of murders known as the Flint River murders from the
nineteen seventies. Mister Patten has since died in prison. Authorities
believed that the murder occurred sometime between December tenth, nineteen
ninety eight, and April twenty nine, nineteen ninety nine. When interrogated,
Christopher Wolfenberger maintained he was innocent, saying he believed his
(01:30):
wife had relocated to California to start over. In an
interview in twenty twenty one with Dateline, he said, yes,
I have a criminal history, but I'm not a murderer. Prosecutors, however,
contended that he had killed her due to their tumultuous relationship.
A family member revealed that during the summer before Melissa's disappearance,
(01:50):
Christopher allegedly assaulted her and dragged her down a sidewalk
by her hair. With this not guilty verdict, Wolfenbarger avoided
a potential life life in prison sentence.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Nicole, thank you more Crimate Justice news.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
After this, a mother and stepfather of an eleven year
old girl in Oklahoma faced felony child neglect charges after
their daughter gave birth at home. Local news reports from
KOTV indicate that thirty four year old Dustin Walker and
thirty three year old Sherry Walker are accused of neglecting
(02:28):
to provide necessary supervision and medical care for the girl
following the birth of a full term baby on August
sixteen in Muscogee. Muscogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hudson
said that the couple claimed they were unaware of their
daughter's pregnancy until she gave birth, despite court documents suggesting
(02:48):
she was thirty six weeks long. Investigators revealed in the
court documents that the girl had not seen a doctor
in over a year and had received no prenatal care.
Hudson reported to HEJRH that the authorities became aware of
the situation when the girl was admitted to the hospital
post delivery.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I was horror strict to find out that it's an
eleven year old little girl who's given birth and that
she had no medical care and she had no one
to be with her. To our understanding, the child had
not seen a doctor in over one year.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
The district attorney mentioned that further charges against the parents
are likely and they are currently awaiting paternity results to
identify the baby's father. This child has been through a
traumatic experience. Hudson expressed, not only has she been pregnant,
but she also gave birth at home without medical existence.
The situation will impact her the rest of her life.
(03:43):
Hudson added that the girl and possibly other children in
the household might have been homeschooled. Currently, both guardians are
being held at the Muscogee County Jail, each with a
bond set at one hundred thousand dollars. Hudson indicated that
she would likely be filing additional charges soon. The eleven
year old's grandmother, identified by khrh as Michelle, defended the couple, saying,
(04:07):
I want people to understand they were not aware of
what was happening. None of us knew she was pregnant.
They've turned my daughter and son in law into monsters,
but they are not, she asserted, emphasizing their love for
their children and expressing hope to reunite with her grandchildren.
The couple is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday,
September three. Hudson urged the public to be aware of
(04:29):
the resources available for reporting suspected child neglect. If you
notice anything that might indicate abuse or neglect, please reach
out to law enforcement.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
She advised. Ayvonne Mullikin lives in Prescott Valley, Arizona, with
her two dogs. She often talks on the phone with
her daughter, who lives out of state. After two days
of Yvonne not answering calls, the daughter asks for a
welfare check. Prescott Valley PD finds no one home and
Devon's car missing. Three weeks later, her car cars found
(05:00):
abandoned in a remote area fifty miles away. She left
a note on the car that she had called for
roadside assistance and listed a repair shop to which should
like to have the car towed. Not far from the car,
police find two dog leashes belonging to Vonn no sign
of the dogs. Yvonne Mullikan sixty six five five, one
(05:24):
hundred and seventy pounds, shoulder length, brown hair, green eyes.
If you have info on Yvonne Mullikan, now missing several weeks,
please call Prescott Valley, Arizona PD nine two eight seven
seven two nine two sixty seven. For the latest crime
injustice news, go to crimeonline dot com and please join
(05:45):
us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do
our best to find missing people, especially children, and help
solve unsolved homicides with this crime alert. I'm Nancy Grace
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news now Nancy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
In a shocking turn of events, Christopher Wolfenberger was acquitted
of the murder of his wife, Melissa after jursen Fulton County,
Georgia reached their verdict in just two hours. Count one
we the jury find to the defendant not guilty this.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Twenty second day of August twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Wolfenbarger had been charged with her murder last year, following
the efforts of a task force that believed they had
sufficient evidence to secure conviction. The victim's family last communicated
with her on Thanksgiving in nineteen ninety eight, but concerns
heightened when she failed to contact her mother on her
birthday a few months later. In April nineteen ninety nine,
(00:45):
investigators discovered a severed head in a black trash bag
at mister Wolfenbarger's workplace in Atlanta, and additional remains were
found a month later. Unfortunately, these remains were initially misidentified
as belonging to to another missing person and were not
confirmed to be Melissa's until two thousand and three, following
(01:06):
the arrest of her father, Carl Patten, for a series
of murders known as the Flint River murders from the
nineteen seventies. Mister Patten has since died in prison. Authorities
believed that the murder occurred sometime between December tenth, nineteen
ninety eight, and April twenty nine, nineteen ninety nine. When interrogated,
Christopher Wolfenberger maintained he was innocent, saying he believed his
(01:30):
wife had relocated to California to start over. In an
interview in twenty twenty one with Dateline, he said, yes,
I have a criminal history, but I'm not a murderer. Prosecutors, however,
contended that he had killed her due to their tumultuous relationship.
A family member revealed that during the summer before Melissa's disappearance,
(01:50):
Christopher allegedly assaulted her and dragged her down a sidewalk
by her hair. With this not guilty verdict, Wolfenbarger avoided
a potential life life in prison sentence.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Nicole, thank you more Crimate Justice news.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
After this, a mother and stepfather of an eleven year
old girl in Oklahoma faced felony child neglect charges after
their daughter gave birth at home. Local news reports from
KOTV indicate that thirty four year old Dustin Walker and
thirty three year old Sherry Walker are accused of neglecting
(02:28):
to provide necessary supervision and medical care for the girl
following the birth of a full term baby on August
sixteen in Muscogee. Muscogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hudson
said that the couple claimed they were unaware of their
daughter's pregnancy until she gave birth, despite court documents suggesting
(02:48):
she was thirty six weeks long. Investigators revealed in the
court documents that the girl had not seen a doctor
in over a year and had received no prenatal care.
Hudson reported to HEJRH that the authorities became aware of
the situation when the girl was admitted to the hospital
post delivery.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I was horror strict to find out that it's an
eleven year old little girl who's given birth and that
she had no medical care and she had no one
to be with her. To our understanding, the child had
not seen a doctor in over one year.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
The district attorney mentioned that further charges against the parents
are likely and they are currently awaiting paternity results to
identify the baby's father. This child has been through a
traumatic experience. Hudson expressed, not only has she been pregnant,
but she also gave birth at home without medical existence.
The situation will impact her the rest of her life.
(03:43):
Hudson added that the girl and possibly other children in
the household might have been homeschooled. Currently, both guardians are
being held at the Muscogee County Jail, each with a
bond set at one hundred thousand dollars. Hudson indicated that
she would likely be filing additional charges soon. The eleven
year old's grandmother, identified by khrh as Michelle, defended the couple, saying,
(04:07):
I want people to understand they were not aware of
what was happening. None of us knew she was pregnant.
They've turned my daughter and son in law into monsters,
but they are not, she asserted, emphasizing their love for
their children and expressing hope to reunite with her grandchildren.
The couple is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday,
September three. Hudson urged the public to be aware of
(04:29):
the resources available for reporting suspected child neglect. If you
notice anything that might indicate abuse or neglect, please reach
out to law enforcement.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
She advised. Ayvonne Mullikin lives in Prescott Valley, Arizona, with
her two dogs. She often talks on the phone with
her daughter, who lives out of state. After two days
of Yvonne not answering calls, the daughter asks for a
welfare check. Prescott Valley PD finds no one home and
Devon's car missing. Three weeks later, her car cars found
(05:00):
abandoned in a remote area fifty miles away. She left
a note on the car that she had called for
roadside assistance and listed a repair shop to which should
like to have the car towed. Not far from the car,
police find two dog leashes belonging to Vonn no sign
of the dogs. Yvonne Mullikan sixty six five five, one
(05:24):
hundred and seventy pounds, shoulder length, brown hair, green eyes.
If you have info on Yvonne Mullikan, now missing several weeks,
please call Prescott Valley, Arizona PD nine two eight seven
seven two nine two sixty seven. For the latest crime
injustice news, go to crimeonline dot com and please join
(05:45):
us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do
our best to find missing people, especially children, and help
solve unsolved homicides with this crime alert. I'm Nancy Grace
Host
Nancy Grace
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