⚠️🌸Content Advisory:

This post covers the events of August 23rd, 1975; the Day Christie Mullins never came home. It includes discussion of suspicious phone calls, a lure theory, and the circumstances of her disappearance.

Later in this post, graphic details about the crime scene and injuries will be shared. Please proceed with care and step away if it’s too heavy.

🌸Christie’s story matters, and it’s told here with respect for her memory.

An Ordinary Saturday….Until It Wasn’t:

It was supposed to be a regular late-summer Saturday. Christie spent the afternoon with her sister Kim and her classmate Carol Reeves, hanging around the Graceland Shopping center.

Columbus teens often wandered between the pool, Woolco, and nearby shops- it was routine, ordinary, safe.

But safety was an illusion. Behind Graceland, something darker was already unfolding.

📞The Phone call That Shouldn’t Have Happened:

Carol Reeves later reported receiving a phone call earlier that day. The caller claimed to be a DJ announcing “cheerleading Tryouts” happening behind the Graceland Shopping Center.

On the surface, it sounded like an opportunity. But step back for even a second and it collapses: cheerleading contests don’t happen in wooded lots behind strip malls. They happen in gyms, schools, or auditoriums.

Whoever made that call knew how to bait young girls. Christie was trusting and eager to tag along. She agreed to come with Carol.

Carol would later say she believed she has been the intended target. Maybe so. But predators like Henry Newell weren’t picky. He was an opportunist. If one girl didn’t take the bait, another would.

The Narrow Window: ⏱️

• 1:35 PM- Christie sits on the guardrail behind Woolco while Carol runs inside to check the time.
• 1:40-Carol returns. Christie is gone.

That five-minute gap was all Henry Newell needed.

Carol chose to leave Christie behind. Maybe she thought it was safe. Maybe she didn’t consider the risk. But in that short window, the course of Christie’s life-and death- was set.

⚠️Graphic Content Ahead:⚠️‼️

The next section contains explicit details about the crime scene and Christie’s injuries. Please take care of yourself before continuing.

🌲The Woods Behind Graceland:

What exactly happened in those lost minutes can never fully be known. Did Henry approach her with small talk? One way or another, she was forced into the woods behind the guardrail.

The secluded patch gave Henry the cover he needed. Christie was overpowered and sexually assaulted. She was then bludgeoned with a 2×4 plank, beaten so badly she was left unrecognizable.

Part Two: The Attack Theory

Content Advisory: This section discusses the violent attack on Christie Mullins in detail. While these details are difficult to read, they are crucial in piecing together how the events may have unfolded. Reader discretion is advised.

On August 23rd, 1975, what should have been a carefree summer afternoon turned into a tragedy. Christie, her sister Kim, and their classmate carol Reeves spent the day at the pool.

It was hot, sticky, and restless- the day teenagers looked for distractions.

That’s when the phone call came. A man posing as a radio DJ claimed there would be a “cheerleading competition” behind the Graceland Shopping Center. Carol relayed the message, inviting Christie to come along.

From the very start, it was a red flag. No credible competition would take place behind a strip mall, in an isolated wooded patch. This was bait.

The Window Of Opportunity:

When Christie and Carol arrived at the location, the area was eerily empty.

Now let’s get into it.

So, August 23rd of 1975 was a normal Saturday. Christie and her sister Kim and their classmate Carol Reeves were having a joyful, fun, free-spirited afternoon.

The phone call states that there are cheerleading tryouts occurring behind The Graceland Shopping Center, red flag number one.

Once Christie and Carol arrive, not a single soul was seen behind that shopping center. Once Carol left a young, vulnerable, innocent Christie behind, all hell broke loose.

My guess is that this occured between about 1:35-1:40ish PM.

This five minute gap was all Henry Newell needed to commit such a heinous act.

Christie didn’t just vanish. She was taken. Taken away from safety, taken away from life in a very brutal manor. Every ounce of innocence Christie had was taken away from her in those woods.

Given that when Carol returned, the guardrail Christie was sitting at was completely devoid of life. There was loudness in the stillness.

If I had to guess, I’d say Henry approached Christie from a direction that intercepted her. This prevented her from running to safety. Instead, she ran straight into the woods.

Christie probably felt an uncomfortable and formidable aura from Henry. it’s possible she panicked and took of running into the woods with Henry in hot pursuit.

At that point, Henry caught up to Christie and removed his shirt, along with Christie’s bottoms and proceeded to violently rape/ assault her.

The Fatal Blow: 🥀

For reasons that remains as senseless as they are cruel, Henry Newll struck Christie with a 2×4 plank, unleashing the fatal violence that ended her life.

Her official cause of death was blunt force trauma. Reports indicates she was most likely struck in the back of the head. A devastating blow that robbed her of any chance to escape.

This single act not only ended Christie’s life but revealed the brutality of Henry’s violence. The weapon itself, a 2×4 plank, was never recovered.

Investigators did not secure it as crucial evidence. They allowed the scene to become muddled. This decision would haunt the case for decades.

The Fumbled Evidence: 🕵🏾‍♀️

The plank wasn’t the oversight. Witnesses described the attacker as shirtless wearing distinctive cut-off jeans- clothing that would later match Henry Newell’s appearance.

yet this glaring connection was brushed aside, and his account as a supposed “bystander” was taken at face value. The most obvious clues, sitting in plain sight,were never pursued with the scrutiny they deserved.

The investigation into Christie Mullins’ murder was riddled with mistakes. Key pieces of evidence that could have sealed Henry Newell’s guilt were ignored, over looked, and outright dismissed:

1.    The Missing Weapon 🤔

Christie was bludgeoned with a 2×4 plank, yet the murder weapon was never secured. Instead, it vanished — a critical piece of evidence lost forever. Without it, investigators had no way to connect Newell’s fingerprints, fibers, or blood to the crime.

    2.    The Shirtless Bystander 👕

Newell claimed he removed his shirt to cover Christie’s body after “checking for a pulse.” The shirt was never collected, never tested, and ultimately disappeared from the chain of evidence. This left behind nothing but his word — a convenient story for the man who almost certainly committed the murder.

    3.    The Cut-Off Jeans 👖

Multiple witnesses described seeing the attacker in distinctive cut-off jean shorts. Newell was wearing those exact shorts when questioned. Despite the striking match, this glaring lead was brushed aside.

    4.    The Timeline Discrepancies ‼️

Newell inserted himself into the scene almost immediately, claiming to have stumbled upon the body. But the timing — only minutes after Christie vanished — strongly suggests he was already there. Rather than challenging his suspiciously perfect placement, investigators accepted his account at face value.

    5.    His Violent History 🚩

Even more troubling, Newell had a past filled with arrests for deviant behavior toward minors. This background was known at the time, but detectives failed to weigh it properly. Instead, they treated him as a witness instead of the prime suspect.

Christie’s murder wasn’t just the work of a violent predator. It was also the product of an investigation that overlooked, mishandled, and dismissed critical evidence. Every missing item, every ignored lead, every careless assumption compounded the injustice.

Henry Newell should have been stopped long before August 23rd, 1975. Instead, the system allowed him to walk free — and Christie paid the price.

This case is not just about remembering the horror of that day, but about recognizing how fragile justice can be when it’s fumbled. Christie deserved better. And the least we can do now is demand answers, preserve her story, and never forget the lessons her case carved into Columbus’ history.

But Christie’s story doesn’t end here. In the shadow of her murder, another voice began to emerge — one that would shift the course of the case and expose even more cracks in the investigation.

In Part Three, we’ll step into Jack’s story — and uncover how his role weaves into the tangled web of truth, lies, and justice that followed.

Thank you for reading 💛🌼Luna