27 years ago, a woman with a seemingly troubled life disappeared in Atlanta, Georgia. Melissa

Wilfenberger was 21, married, and the mom of two children, a boy and a girl. Melissa always

visited her mom or called her for her birthday. She wrote handwritten anniversary cards to her parents, offering

to take them out to lunch. She was thoughtful like that. But on Christmas, 1998, and all the holidays

and celebrations afterwards, Melissa was strangely silent. Her mom never heard from her again.

As the rest of her family worried,

Melissa's husband, Chris Wolfenberger, didn't look for her or report her missing. He said the last time he saw his wife, she was walking down the street to catch a train. Many people in Melissa's

life had seen her with black eyes and bruises and marks.

They heard her crying. Melissa's abuse at the hands of her husband was not a secret, some said.

Had Melissa run away to escape a bad marriage? Fast forward to the following year, April 29, 1999.

George McEchern went out for a stroll on the bank.

On his way there, he noticed buzzards flying overhead.

As he walked on Avon Avenue, not far from the glass manufacturing plant where Chris Wolfenberger

worked, a surreal sight caught his attention. A skull lay in the street. George knew right away it was a human

head. Thinking calmly, he took a stick and moved it out of the middle of the road to the side so a car

wouldn't smash it. He called his daughter, who worked in criminal justice for her opinion.

Then he called 911. Chris Wolfenbarger was the main suspect in Melissa's death and went on trial

for her murder in 2025.

But eventually, authorities learned some startling facts about Melissa's family.

This is Jillian in partnership with law and crime. You are listening to Court Junkie.

When it comes to buying gifts for the holidays, I want to give people things I know they're going to really love.

And if I'm gifting clothes, I want them to be timeless pieces they can wear for years.

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