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Byron Christopher Case was convicted of the murder of 18-year-old Anastasia WitbolsFeugen.  He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.  On the night of her murder, Anastasia had been with her boyfriend, Justin Bruton, 18, and another couple, Byron Case, 18, and Kelly Moffett, 15.  The four had met at around 8:30 p.m.  According to Byron and Kelly, Anastasia was angry at being picked up three hours late, got into an argument with Justin, and soon left the vehicle at a stoplight.  Anastasia was found shot dead at 3:45 a.m. that night in a nearby cemetery.  The cemetery was adjacent to a presumably bad neighborhood that contained adult book stores.  Justin never talked to the police and less than 48 hours later, he was found shot dead 30 miles away from a self-inflicted gunshot blast to the head.

Police initially believed that Justin had killed Anastasia as such a theory established a motive for Justin's suicide.  They thought Byron and Kelly were lying to protect their friend.  If Byron had killed Anastasia, one would suppose he would have implicated Justin or at least hinted at his involvement.  Police interest in the case soon waned.  However, Anastasia's father, Robert WitbolsFeugen, began pursuing it.  He did not know Justin well, but he thought the theory that Justin had killed Anastasia was too simple and too obvious.  He began interviewing Anastasia's friends and associates, listening to hearsay, rumors, and gossip.  Some rumors said that Byron or a jealous girl killed Anastasia. Some said Byron and Justin were actually lovers. Others said that Anastasia was killed by a “goth” who hated both her and Justin. Another theory said Justin himself was murdered.  WitbolsFeugen offered a $10,000 reward for information.  Byron and Kelly, as well as Justin and Anastasia, were followers of the Goth subculture, which made them appear malevolent to those unfamiliar with the subculture.

WitbolsFeugen thought Gary Kilgore, the investigator assigned to Anastasia's case, was not doing enough to solve it according to WitbolsFeugen's satisfaction.  WitbolsFeugen became relentless and sent about 150 e-mails to the detective's personal account in the span of several months. At one point, Kilgore replied and told Anastasia's father to “stop harassing [him], both indirectly and directly.”  Police reportedly contacted Kelly every few months to ask for statements or to clarify details.  Prodded by WitbolsFeugen's demand for a living culprit, they may have suggested scenarios to Kelly as to how Byron could have committed the murder.

Three years after the murder, shortly after Byron left Kelly by moving to St. Louis, Kelly came forward with a different story, claiming that she saw Byron murder Anastasia.  Kelly had been in and out of drug rehabs and may have been tempted by reward money.  With police help she tape recorded her phone conversations with Byron.  Although Byron never said anything incriminating, one could conjecture that one conversation was incriminating because Byron failed to object to Kelly's vaguely incriminating ramblings and instead expressed a desire not to talk about Anastasia's death or Justin's death.  Byron explained he was bedridden with a high fever at the time and described Kelly as a “traditional psychotic ex-girlfriend.”

At trial Kelly claimed she was not interested in accepting the $10,000 reward money, but even if her testimony against Byron was truthful, it is not plausible that Kelly would be disinterested in money which was hers by right upon Byron's conviction.  Her willingness to be unnatural just to assure others of her honesty undercuts her credibility.  She faced a dilemma:  If she expressed interest in the money, she presumably would not get it, as Byron would presumably not be convicted.

It was claimed by a 2009 pro-prosecution website that Kelly never applied for reward money, but WitbolsFeugen has been free to give Kelly money for reasons allegedly unconnected with the reward or to loan her money for which he does not expect payback.  It does not appear likely that he would want to give ammunition to those who might claim that Byron's conviction had been bought with the “blood money” he offered.

Kelly could not corroborate the information she provided in any way.  She claimed to know where the murder weapon was disposed of, but it could not be found at the location she designated.  There was no motive for the crime on Byron's part and no medically determined time of death.  One suspects the prosecution determined a time of death but withheld it to bolster its case.

The night after Anastasia's murder, police questioned Don Rand, an Amoco mechanic who worked near the stoplight where, according to Byron, Anastasia got out of Justin's car following an argument.  Rand told police he had seen a girl who matched Anastasia's description argue with people in a car the previous night at the stoplight.  Rand was not entirely sure if the girl had gotten out of the car, but he said he watched her walk away in the general direction of the cemetery where Anastasia was killed.  Rand testified to his observations at trial.  (freebyroncase.com) (KC Pitch) (Trial Transcripts)  [5/09]

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