MURDER
CASE #: 1990-39
Christy Stephens
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Summerville, Georgia
Summary:
Christy Lea Cuzzort Stephens, 13, was an eighth-grader at Summerville Middle School in Georgia. On October 1, 1990, she stayed home sick from school and disappeared from her home in Chattooga County. Her body was discovered three weeks later in a wooded area near Taylors Ridge. Her death was ruled a homicide. The case remains unsolved.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
On October 1, 1990, Christy stayed home from school because she was not feeling well, complaining of a sore throat. Around 7 a.m., her father, Thomas Cuzzort, left to take Christy's grandmother to work. When he returned home, she was gone, and he reported her missing to the local authorities. Investigators found a pair of Christy's athletic shoes in the family's driveway. On October 22, 1990, a Marietta hunter found Christy's body off Farmersville Road, two miles from her home. Due to decomposition, Georgia Bureau of Investigation pathologists could not determine the cause of death.
Additional Details:
Police officers conducted an extensive search of the area near Christy's home. They focused the search on the east side of Taylor Ridge the first couple of days after the teen vanished. Gary McConnell, sheriff of Chattooga County at that time believes that the girl was killed elsewhere and brought back to the spot where her body was found. Investigators never captured Christy's killer, and there is very little information on her case. In 2009, GBI contacted Cuzzort and told him the agency would list Christy's case on their website under "Unsolved Cases." The Summerville News reported that Chattooga County Chief Sheriff's Investigator Larry Kellett said the sheriff's office still had some tissue swabs from Christy's body. Kellett planned to attempt to get some DNA "if there is anything there." Cuzzort died in Alabama on April 23, 2009, two months after Kellett announced the testing. He was 56.
Case Last Updated:
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Thomas C. (Father) - Deceased
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