True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post. As always, I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be when sharing the details, without taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to comment about this post or any of the cases I have covered, please do so below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

When it comes to being falsely accused, this is a case that is one of the worst. Imagine just being an ordinary person who is just carrying out your security job....and a horrific terrorist attack happens?. You risk your life and put your neck on the line to help people and keep them safe. That's what Richard Jewell did in 1996, at the summer Olympics, which were being held in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Two people sadly lost their lives and hundreds were injured as a result of a bomb. It was devastating on what was supposed to be an amazing event in Atlanta's history. Richard stood out as a true hero that day and I watched his story on Netflix this past weekend (it was brilliantly directed by the legendary Clint Eastwood). I was completely moved by it, but I did come away from it with so many questions. The movie was around 2 hours and 9 minutes long but I felt that the film had been rushed at the end and left me wondering about a few details.

As you may know, Richard was very passionate about law enforcement and was working his way up the ranks, but he had been dismissed a couple of times for being over enthusiastic and demonstrating reckless behaviour. He was determined to get back his career fully and saw the temporary job as a security guard during the Olympics, as a great way to make some money and try again with his law enforcement career once the dust had settled. Richard's face was splashed all over the newspapers and TV news reports, he was hailed as a hero (and quite rightly so) for his bravery during the horrific events of the 27th of July 1996. 

Everywhere he went, he received a hero's welcome. He was living with his Mother at the time and he was single and money was tight but his Mother was immensely proud of him. It was all amazing....until it wasn't! The pressure was on to find the monster who planted that bomb and there was misguided suspicion that Richard was the culprit because he did all he could to raise the alarm. They also decided that Richard must be the number one suspect because he was a single man living with his Mother and collected guns. Richard knew a lot about guns and military operations. The FBI became convinced that Richard had planted the bomb so that he could pretend that he was the hero that saved lives. At first these suspicions just stayed amongst investigators but a member of the FBI, blabbed all the details to a well-known, ruthless and publicity/career hungry reporter named Kathy Scruggs, late one night in a bar over drinks. 

Kathy couldn't wait to run with the headline that Richard was the main suspect. She was an ambitious reporter who would do anything to get a story. She was often found at late-night bars, wearing short skirts and flirting with policemen, charming them into providing her with information. She worked for the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) and was well-known for her gutsy and feisty attitude, hard drinking, smoking and sexy outfits. Some people were complaining about how she was portrayed in the movie (she was brilliantly played by the amazing Olivia Wilde) because they find it hard to accept that some women can be like that, that some women will use their looks to try and further their careers and get whatever information they may seek. Kathy and other media outlets were so thirsty for a juicy story that they all rushed to print without taking a moment to fully do their research. If they actually took a moment to look at the actual timeline they would see that there was no way Richard could have been the bomber. The FBI soon realised this but they were so head-strong that they were not going to admit that they were wrong, they came up with a ridiculous excuse that Richard must have had an accomplice. 

Richard and his Mother Bobi, had to endure seeing Richard's face splashed across the newspapers and TV screens with the headline 'Suspected Bomber'. They had their home and personal belongings turned upside down for all to see. Every aspect of their lives was put under the microscope and they were utterly humiliated. As time went on, the FBI knew they had nothing on Richard but, again still not wanting to admit they got it all wrong, they just said that he was no longer a suspect because they didn't have enough evidence on him. It's terrible to think that a lot of these people still believed him to be guilty. Richard was well aware that he had his doubters and it had a huge effect on him as one could imagine. To go from being celebrated as a hero to all of a sudden being branded a suspected terrorist, must have been incredibly traumatic. Richard and his mother were put through hell and constant pressure from the police and media for 88 days. 

As shown at the end of the movie, the individual who was fully responsible for the horrific bombing on the 27th of July 1996 was 29 year old Eric Rudolph. He was 29 at the time he carried out the horrific crime and the police soon had him on their FBI Most Wanted List. Eric was a raving nutcase who was on the run for five years. He had a military background but had turned fully against the federal government. He was racist to the extreme and often quoted Adolf Hitler, he was very anti-abortion and was constantly banging on about commercialism. He believed that the Jews ruled the world, specifically the banks. He would insist on hiding or burying any money he had instead of putting it in a bank account. He believed the Jews ran the world and would refer to his TV as 'The Electric Jew'. He was highly paranoid as well as opinionated and overbearing. Not surprising that he was a loner who was fixated on guns and spent a lot of time making pipe bombs. He wanted to make a statement and his first target was the Centennial Olympic Park. 

As a result of his horrific actions 111 people were injured and 2 people passed away. Sometimes, if you are reading about this case you will find that an article may mention that one person was killed. The reason for that is, that one victim, 44 year old Alice Hawthorne was killed as a direct result of the bomb. The other deceased victim, Melih Uzunyol passed away from a heart attack in response to the horrific events. I'm not sure why they class one death as direct and one as indirect because I consider them both sadly deceased due to the cold-hearted and evil actions of Eric Rudolph. If it wasn't for that bomb, Alice and Melih would be with us today. Melih was obviously in complete trauma and shock at what had happened and his heart couldn't take it. Utterly devastating!

Quite rightly so, Richard began to fight back as soon as the FBI said that he was no longer their prime suspect (he still didn't get a proper apology). He took out lawsuits against a number of media outlets including the employer of Kathy Scruggs, AJC. Everybody else settled and Richard was paid damages but AJC with the support of Kathy Scruggs and vice versa, refused to settle. According to them, they believed that they were not responsible for wrong doing. As far as they were concerned, Kathy Scruggs was given information by a reliable source and she was just simply repeating what she had been told. One thing I will say about Kathy Scruggs, she did remain loyal to the person from the FBI who gave her that private information and she swore not to reveal who it was, a promise she would take to the grave with her. 

Some people believe that the backlash against the media (especially Kathy and AJC) when it was proven that Richard was 100% innocent, took a tremendous toll on Kathy both physically and psychologically. She struggled with alcohol addiction and had run-ins with the law due to intoxication. She felt that she had the support of her colleagues at AJC but she still felt the embarrassment and regret over her part in the negative press fueling the false allegations about Richard Jewell. Despite some of the negative things about Kathy, nobody could say that she wasn't a determined woman, she was hardworking and was 100% committed to her role as a reporter but cutting corners had come back to haunt her. Sadly things for Kathy didn't get any better, she was found deceased in her home of a suspected drug overdose at just 42. The coroner was unable to determine if the overdose was intentional or an accident but she had been going through a lot at the time and heavy drinking. She also had severe coronary artery atherosclerosis (narrowed arteries) which may have also been a contributing factor to her death.  

After a five year manhunt, Eric Rudolph was finally caught on the 31st of May 2003. He was arrested by a police officer who found him scrounging through trash bins, he had been on the run for a while and had been living off of the land, some food he had stored and discarded food from grocery stores and restaurants. After the horrific events of the 27th of July 1996, Eric had tried to carry out two more attacks in Birmingham, Alabama and Georgia which resulted in many people sustaining injuries and the death of a police officer. He never showed any remorse and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He accepted a plea deal where he confessed to his crimes plus the locations of where he kept various weapons, explosives which he previously buried. 

Richard may have won his lawsuits and finally been able to clear his name, but the toll of the whole ordeal greatly affected him. He managed to find some happiness with his partner Dana who he married in 1998. The couple would be together right to the end, Dana sadly found Richard lying on the floor when she returned from work on the 29th of August 2007. He had sadly passed away at the age of just 44. His cause of death was heart failure which was also tied into his diabetes and weight problems. Some people will say that his weight and love of calorific foods were to blame for his young death but in my opinion, although that was obviously a factor, I think that the years of hell he had endured, had put so much strain on his heart. 

The whole story with Richard is just truly heartbreaking and to pass away at the age of just 44 is so terribly sad. Some comfort can be taken in the fact that he did marry his beloved wife Dana and the terrible injustice he endured was fully exposed and people were held accountable (although the FBI admitting any fault was like trying to get blood out of a stone, all they said was that they regretted details of the investigation being made public). I am so grateful for the incredible Clint Eastwood making the movie (I'll include the trailer below & links at the end of this post) which shows some of what Richard and his mother went through, it shows the hero that he truly was. I think that it is such a wonderful tribute to a hero to have a legend like Clint Eastwood make a movie about your life. It felt like Richard was getting the full bouquet of flowers he deserved.....well, you know what I mean, like the kids say today ''He got his flowers''. 

I never knew the story of Richard Jewell and thanks to Clint Eastwood making this movie, I do. Hopefully by reading this post you will feel a bit more clearer on some of the questions that you may have had at the end of the movie. It truly was a brilliant film and I'm so glad that his mother Bobi was able to see all of this before she sadly passed away on the 18th of August 2024 at the incredible age of 88. She endured so much in her life and to go though all she went through supporting Richard and then losing him at the age of 44 must have been so difficult. It goes to show how incredibly strong she was to have made it to 88. She passed away knowing her son was a hero and that he was celebrated and remembered as such. To see a movie directed by Clint Eastwood about your son and have the iconic Kathy Bates play you in the movie, must have been amazing for her. In all of this tragedy, there were some incredible moments. 

RIP to Richard, Bobi and Kathy. 

In regards to Kathy Scruggs, whatever the situation, she was someone who was truly committed to her role and in the end she suffered a great deal for her career and actions she may have regretted taking. I believe at the end of the day that she was a good person and that she was caught up in a world back then which was tough for a female reporter/journalist. She really wanted to make her mark and possibly lost her footing a long the way. At the time she was trying to find a story she had financial difficulties and maybe was in fear of losing her job? who knows? She thought she had a trusted source in the FBI and it was a risk she took that backfired. I think she would have done things differently today. 

Thank you, as always for making it this far in my post. Don't forget to check out the movie if you haven't already done so: 

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Richard Jewell story and I hope you will join me elsewhere on my Socials! If you would like to help support my weekly content or my upcoming book by buying me a coffee, please do so here, thank you so much!

Further Reading & Sources:

- Eric Rudolph | FBI Gov

- The Suspect: A Contributing Source For The Film: Richard Jewell. | Book by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen

- Richard Jewell | Movie: Netflix

- Richard Jewell | Reddit Discussion

- Richard Jewell | 60 Minutes Interview

- Eric Rudolph: Article | The New York Times

- Eric Rudolph: Article | History.Com

- Kathy Scruggs: Article | Atlanta Magazine

- Centennial Olympic Park Bombing | Wikipedia

- Richard Jewell | Wikipedia

- Richard Jewell | Find A Grave (Memorial)

Stay safe as always & see you in my next post x

(From left: Raymond Semple, William McGrath and Joseph Mains. Picture credits: Belfast Telegraph / Collage created by Caledonian Kitty/Blog author)

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post. This horrific case involves child abuse and physical/psychological trauma. I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be with the delicate details involved, without taking away from the facts of the case. If you have any comments about this post or would like to discuss it with me in confidence, please feel free to contact me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com* 

It was supposed to be a sanctuary, a place where young boys could finally feel safe, secure and be around other boys who had been through similar difficult backgrounds. It was supposed to be a place where they could grow in confidence, learn valuable life lessons and have some peace to be kids. Instead it was a nightmare, a place of hell, a place of physical and psychological torture, where these young boys were made to feel isolated, used and full of shame for things that weren't their fault. Some of these boys were sent here by their parents who couldn't look after them, some were orphans, but all of them were vulnerable, aged 14-18 (and possibly younger by some reports). The fact is, they were just kids. 

The very people in charge, the so-called adults, authority figures who painted themselves as pillars of the community....and claimed to be all about guiding these young boys to be independent, so that one day they would be able to stand on their own two feet in the world...in truth, they were nothing but a bunch of low-life child predators who used their positions to prey on vulnerable young boys, leaving them with scars that would last a lifetime. Leaving some of them to take their own lives because they could never forget what they did to them when they were a helpless child locked in a room, at the complete control of these older, sadistic so-called men. 

The full extent of the horrors that went on in Kincora Boys' Home on 236 Upper Newtownwards Road in East Belfast, Ireland, may never be truly known. What we do know, thanks to the bravery of survivors like Richard Kerr (I'll talk more about him as the post goes on) is horrendous enough. 

The home was originally opened in 1958, the building itself just looked more like a regular house and was classed as a smaller care facility, housing up to 18 boys with a few members of staff. The idea was that a smaller setting was beneficial to the care of the young boys, giving them more of a 'home' environment rather than feeling like they were in the care of the authorities. It felt less formal and was supposed to give the staff and children more of a chance to bond and was supposed to make it easier for staff to be able to focus on supporting the boys & working through any issues that they may have. Nowadays we still have smaller care facilities in residential houses but they are even smaller with anything up to just four or five young residents with maybe two or three members of staff. It is reportedly regulated to ensure, not only the safety and care of the young people but also the staff. 

In Kincora this tight-knit 'more homely' environment was taken advantage of in a very sick and sinister way. Abuse can happen in any setting but in this particular case, we had vulnerable young boys who would be targeted by evil paedophiles who had the time and circumstances to focus on who they knew would be an ideal victim for them. There was time for them to not only groom and bully the child but be able to carry out their sickening acts whilst still being able to control the environment and people around them, almost like a way in which one would manage a cult. There was a constant atmosphere of fear and control at Kincora, there was always a fear of the consequences if you spoke the truth and the belief that nobody would believe you even if you did. The boys were led to believe that they were nothing, degenerats on the wrong side of society up against these older, well-respected authority figures who moved in upper class circles. Who's going to believe a troubled kid against a well-educated older man who rubbed shoulders with politicians and was well-spoken and well-traveled? These boys were stuck in a nightmare that they believed they would never get out of and there was nowhere to run and nobody to ask for help. 

Some of the boys had gotten so used to being abused before they even set foot in Kincora, that they truly believed that this was what their lives were to be about. They'd gotten so exhausted trying to fight back and then it became just a combination of exhaustion and fear. As years past and some of the boys were able to escape the hell of Kincora, they would find their voices that had been silenced for so long and they would tell people, they would tell authorities.....and nobody would listen. There was a stigma if you were a kid who'd been in care, almost like the stigma you have if people know you've been in prison. Some people would hear 'Kincora' and assume that the boy or man talking to them, telling them some of the dark truths of the place, must have been troubled, must be trying to get some revenge on someone and just making up stories. For others who ignored the many, many horrific stories that had been reported by former residents, they chose to turn a blind eye because they knew the people involved and they knew the power of the people involved. 

There were constant stories circulating around Belfast about boys being sexually abused at Kincora. Former residents who were victims themselves or had witnessed horrible acts, were continually ignored when they tried to speak up about it. Richard Kerr (who I mentioned earlier and spoke of how he is truly a hero for being a voice for not only himself, but for all of those boys who, like him, had endured hell) had arrived at Kincora at the age of 14 and he endured sexual and psychological abuse at the home. He was also taken out of the home on many occasions and taken to hotels (especially the well-known 'Europa' hotel) and other locations where he would be subjected to horrendous sexual abuse by well-known politicians and public figures. He suffered sickening abuse both inside and outside of Kincora and he wasn't the only one. Richard has been very vocal about boys being trafficked out of the home and used as pieces of meat for these upper class paedophiles. When Richard talks about some of the things he endured and saw all those years ago, you can see how haunted and badly it has affected him. He witnessed what other boys went through, including his friend Stephen Waring. 

Stephen Waring who was another young boy at Kincora, was subjected to the similar nightmarish treatment that Richard went through. As you can imagine, the trauma really took it's toll on Stephen, he tried to get help and nobody listened. He battled so much with the horrible memories that he tried to make a fresh start by moving out of Ireland but he ended up taking his own life. To this day, Richard has not spoken fully about what he endured because it's too disturbing and that's a pain that he carries. He is still fighting for justice to this very day.

Joseph Mains was given a six year sentence but he only served three years. Raymond Semple was sentenced to five years in 1981 and he was back on the streets in 1984. The biggest monster of all three of them (and the other two were sick and evil enough as it was), William McGrath was sentenced to four years of which he only served two. The sentences themselves were a joke in the first place but to learn that they only served half their time is just utterly appalling and I cannot imagine what the victims felt through all of this. It must have felt like another let down again by a so-called justice system.

When Kincora was shut down and the public, not only in Belfast but beyond, were now more aware of what went on behind the doors of that home and who was responsible. The building itself stood as a painful reminder, nobody wanted to buy it, it was eventually used as an office space for storage until it was eventually demolished in 2022. It took all of those years and finally there was a sense of relief that it was gone but the horrific memories and scars still remain. 

From 2012 until early 2017 The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (known as the HIA in short) conducted a full investigation into Kincora and according to them (which Richard and other survivors dispute) that the three accused, Joseph Mains, Raymond Semple and William McGrath were purely responsible for everything that happened at Kincora and nothing went beyond them. The HIA said that reports of child trafficking to hotels and other locations outside of the home are unfounded and there's no evidence to prove that this took place. They say that there is no evidence that there was a cover-up despite revelations that William McGrath was a loyalist and founder of a right-wing organisation known as Tara. He wasn't even qualified to work with children and it is believed that he was known to be a paedophile to the authorities but they chose to keep him in the position at Kincora in exchange for information and to keep him quiet. The whole set-up was a farce and innocent children were abused and constantly put at risk whilst the authorities turned a blind eye, HIA say this isn't true, Richard and his fellow survivors say it is.....and I know who I believe.

The system failed the children of Kincora and they're still failing them now because this goes far beyond Kincora and Richard has been fighting for a full investigation into as far as London, the infamous Elm Guest House and Dolphin Square.....leading politicians, Jimmy Savile, the list goes on. It's terrifying how big all of this actually is and it's all been covered up for years. In his book (which I highly recommend) Journalist Chris Moore blows the lid off of it all and he claims that Lord Mountbatten (Great-Uncle of King Charles) was involved with child trafficking (and that's not the first time I've heard that). All of this is a huge rabbit hole and it's decades of decades of cover-ups and abuse of innocent children who've been silenced. 

Kincora is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many stories similar to this involving these so-called places of care for vulnerable children. This is dark history but it is very much our present, cover-ups are still going on and the people responsible need to be held accountable no matter how high-up it goes. It's sickening to think that McGarth, Semple and Mains all were given pathetic sentences and only served half of them. It's also sickening that they were able to be back on the streets, living their lives and they are all deceased now. They never fully faced justice for what they did, their victims were numerous and it must be so devastating for them to know that even after all these years, proper justice has not been done. 

RIP to Stephen Waring and to any of the former residents of Kincora who are sadly no longer with us. 

I know this was a difficult post to get through, (as a lot of my posts are) but I really appreciate you taking the time to join me on this dark journey. Hopefully you gained a lot of information from this post and I hope you will check out Chris's book. Please feel free to leave any comments below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Kincora Boys' Home | HIA Report Documents

- Historical Child Abuse Allegations | UK Parliament

- Richard Kerr: Article | KRW LAW LLP

- Kincora: Article | The Guardian

- Kincora: Article | BBC News

- Kincora Boys' Home | Police Ombudsman Ireland

- Kincora Britain's Shame | Book by Chris Moore

- Kincora: Article | BBC News

- Kincora Boys' Home | Wikipedia

- Kincora: Article | Channel 4 News

- Historical Child Abuse Inquiry | The Executive Office

- Kincora Boys' Home | The Irish Independent

I hope you will join me in my next post. In the meantime, I hope to see you on my Socials. Take care and stay safe, until next time x 

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some sensitive details in this post which involve suicide and mental health. I have aimed, as always, to be as gentle with the case details without taking away from the facts. If you would like to discuss this post or any of the cases I have previously covered on this blog, please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

Crystal McCrory Jones was a 43 year old beautiful, successful and hardworking mother (and soon to be grandmother) as well as a devoted wife. She was adored by her family and friends and was the one person that everyone could rely on to be the life and soul of any occasion. She loved to laugh, and her laugh itself was unique. Crystal had a laugh that could set you off in a fit of hysterics to the point where you would have forgotten what was so funny in the first place.

She was so extremely close with her family, friends and very popular in her local community, that when the heartbreaking news that she had suddenly passed away on the 9th of February 2023 came to be known, everyone who knew her was devastated. The news was a complete shock but what was even more hard to take in, was the news that her death was allegedly due to her taking her own life. Her family couldn't understand it, including her sister Jana, none of it made any sense. 

The death of a loved one is always hard and to hear that they have taken their own life? I can't imagine the pain, confusion, sudden loss and constant questioning that Jana and Crystal's loved ones were going through. It's natural to go over and over in one's mind about why someone may have taken their own life or remembering past conversations, trying to think back to any signs that may have been missed but this situation did not make any sense. This wasn't just about a family who were in grief, real questions were not being answered and the whole circumstances leading up to the day of Crystal's death and afterwards, raised eyebrows and shocked those closest to her. 

The behaviour of Crystal's husband didn't seem to be that of a grief-stricken husband and the mystery surrounding him and what was really going on behind the scenes in the marriage, constantly played on her family's minds. After the Sheriff's department had done a terrible job 'investigating' the circumstances of Crystal's death (they decided that in just 1 hour and 45 minutes that her death was 100% a suicide with no foul play and were not interested in looking into anything else further), Jana and her family decided to take matters into their own hands and began this incredibly dedicated journey and investigation themselves into what really happened on that heartbreaking morning and what really was the truth? 

Crystal was born on the 17th of May, 1979 to doting parents Janey and Doyle in Crossett, Arkansas. She was Janey and Doyle's second child, they would go on to have two more children. The family were very close and the perfect foundation for Crystal to grow up in. The love and incredible bond that the family had for each other is still clear to see to this day, they've never given up on their quest to find out what really happened with Crystal whilst supporting each other and keeping each other strong. 

Crystal was academically gifted as well as being a people person. She graduated from high school in 1997 and although being very bright, she was also very family focused and loved children. She went on to have two sons who she completely adored, she would have done anything for them. Always the hard worker, Crystal wanted to provide the best life that she could for herself and her boys. They had spent some time away from Louisiana and Crystal worked hard on her career as well as being a devoted mother. On her return to Louisiana, she met and fell in love with Tony Jones, both of them had children from previous relationships. The relationship was going from strength to strength and they cared about each others children as if they were their own. Everything just seemed to fall perfectly into place. Tony had two children, one had flew the nest and the other, who was younger, still lived with him. This mirrored Crystal's situation because her youngest son was still at home. Soon enough, everyone was living as a family in Oak Grove, Louisiana. 

Tony had worked as a HVAC technician when Crystal met him, he also was an experienced martial arts teacher. Tony would give lessons when he wasn't at his day job. At some point it was decided that Crystal and Tony should start up a little business where Tony would teach people martial arts. 

The happy couple ended up married, they had created a beautiful family and a successful business. Everything seemed to be perfect but the marriage was not without it's problems. Crystal had suffered some bouts of depression in the past but nothing that was deemed to be too extreme. There was no doubt that Crystal and Tony loved each other and there was exciting news that they were about to become grandparents. Although there were some things that began to bother Crystal, she had noticed that some of the parents had decided to cancel their membership to their martial arts class. At first it seemed that maybe this was happening because money was getting a lot tighter for families in the community but rumours began to circulate around town and this was causing some great concern for Crystal. She had heard that Tony had been reportedly involved with an underage girl as well as other inappropriate behaviour with other girls, she also suspected him of having an affair too. 

As she tried to get to the bottom of town gossip and her own doubts and insecurities about Tony, she decided to do her own investigation into Tony and whatever it was she found obviously devastated her. She had managed to get into his email account as well as his socials. We now know that Tony had been registered on various dating sites, his behaviour was that of a person having an extra-marital affair. Could it be that Crystal saw something online that involved her husband and this threw her into a deep shock and depression? That morning of the 9th of February 2023, it was reported that Crystal was not feeling her best . She had been going through a lot lately with the worries about her husband and one could understand the anxiety and fear of the possibility that your marriage was going to end. It can also affect one's confidence, 43 is a young age but it's also an age where you would like to think that you've done your best to raise your family, you're settled in your marriage, there's a lot of physical and emotional changes that women often go through in their 40s, it can be a lot to deal with. Some people have amazingly supportive husbands and sadly, some people have neglectful husbands. 

As you know I tend to share my opinions in my posts and I do feel that a lot of neglect from her husband was going on here, not just his actions leading up to her death, but the way he behaved afterwards. As I mentioned before, Crystal woke up not feeling good and contacted her Doctor who arranged for her to have an appointment that afternoon. She had previously been on some medication for depression and stopped taking it but it is thought that she was hoping to begin taking it again. Tony was aware that she was going to call the Doctor, he left work around 8 am. It was going to be a busy day for him but the plan was to check in on Crystal like they usually would or she would call him. He had some repair work to do and a bit of travelling to and fro before coming back to Oak Grove to grab some lunch from a local bakery. He collected his daughter from school earlier than usual as he had been carrying out some work there. After this they had a few things that Tony needed to sort out before heading to set up the evening martial arts classes.

Tony and his daughter were expecting to see Crystal already helping set up the evening classes but she wasn't there. He tried to call and text her but got no response. Not being able to leave the class he called the Doctor's office to see if she was still there and they told her that she never turned up for her appointment. A lot of worry and concern started to creep in, not hearing from Crystal all day and nobody had seen or heard from her, it was odd and very not like her. For some reason, instead of cancelling the class due to family emergency, he decided to call his friend in the Sheriff Department (where he used to work) and asked if he could have a check on Crystal.

The friend, Deputy Chuck Harris went straight to the house and was able to walk straight in as Tony had already informed him that the door wasn't locked. Another important piece of information to add here is that Tony and Crystal had two guns in the house, a 9mm handgun and .45 Caliber handgun that was easily accessible as the key to the gun safe was missing. So you have a vulnerable lady in a house with the front door open and two guns within easy reach in the house, that's completely shocking and unbelievable. Sadly Deputy Chuck Harris was to make the heartbreaking discovery in the couple's bedroom. Crystal was found laid on the bed deceased. There was a pillow under her arm, blood all over her face and one of the guns was in her hand. Deputy Harris contacted his colleagues as well as Tony to inform him of the horrific news. The investigation team and coroner had arrived at the house, followed by Tony and his daughter. They'd come to the conclusion that Crystal had sadly taken her own life. No suicide note was found, there was no signs of a struggle or robbery. She was found dressed in her robe, under the covers and the bullet had gone through the headboard but they couldn't find the shell casing. They decided in just 1 hour and 45 minutes that there was no foul play and that this was just a devastating tragedy. 

Tony had contacted Crystal's sister Jana (who has been an amazing force through everything and contacted me requesting that I write about her beloved sister's case, which of course, I was honoured to do) and soon various family members from both Crystal's side and Tony's side were at the house. From the moment she learned of Crystal's death none of it sat right with Jana, she knew her sister and that there must be more to all of this than met the eye. She began to heavily focus on certain people's behaviour and noticed that Tony's sister was quick to tell everyone that Crystal had suffered depression and brought up the medication. I can understand that a lot of people would quickly jump to that conclusion for being the reason that she may have taken her life but sometimes things are not always as they appear. Tony's sister may have also been trying to protect her brother from suspicious eyes, who knows? I still find it hard to believe that Crystal would be left by herself if she was as vulnerable as they claim she was, nobody in their right mind would leave a deeply depressed person in an house with guns with a front door unlocked. in fact, if your wife was that ill, you'd cancel the jobs and classes for the day and go to the Doctor's appointment with her. You'd remove the guns and anything potentially harmful in the house, you'd take care of your wife. 

I don't want it to come off as me placing blame, I wasn't there and I don't know Tony personally but his actions and behaviours were very questionable. When Crystal's body was taken to the coroner's office, Tony was at the Sheriff's office and in a 20 minute recorded statement, he said that he had last spoken to his wife at 10 am and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He claimed that she just sounded tired. 

The next heartbreaking task was the arrangements for Crystal's funeral. There was to be an open-casket at Tony's request as well as a cremation. Crystal's family were not comfortable with this and wanted to delay the cremation and have a thorough investigation into Crystal's death. Their pleas fell on deaf ears and both Jana and Tony's sister helped prepare Crystal's body for her service. Whilst they were performing the difficult task of getting Crystal's body ready, they spotted a lot of strange marks, bruises and a missing finger nail. Crystal had acrylic nails and this was a fresh set and anyone who knows with these types of nails (such as me) the glue that is used is not easily removed, it needs acetone. For some reason, all the other nails were secure but they had dirt underneath them with that one missing nail. I saw the autopsy photos and it looked like a lot of defensive marks. These marks and bruises were not from the coroner's mishandling of the body, these were there the whole time.

Another red flag was that the autopsy report had so many mistakes, including the constant misspelling of Crystal's name. It looked like someone else's report. The inaccuracies were astounding, wrong characteristics were noted, wrong hair and eye colour and no mention of the number of surgeries she had in the past as well as having survived a previous car accident, all of these details were missing from the report. I can't even imagine what Crystal's family were feeling at this point because the red flags and inconsistencies just kept coming and coming. Tony didn't want any of the little mementos from Crystal's funeral/memorial no memorial book, tribute video or anything, he told Jana that she could have them. He'd also made enquiries about Crystal's life insurance so quickly after at a time you would think that a husband in grief would be just trying to get through the days. He even raised eyebrows when he brought some unknown woman to view his wife's body. Even worse was to to come when Jana had gotten hold of Crystal's laptop and it was there that she made the discovery that Crystal had been monitoring Tony's emails, social media accounts and locations. There was mysterious hotel stays, dating sites and deleted contacts from his phone. The room that Crystal had sadly died in, was quite small and as far as everyone was concerned, the room had been searched but Tony miraculously came up with the missing shell casing a week after Crystals death claiming it to have been on her dressing table. If that was the case then the police didn't do much of a search or investigation of that room.

The 'investigation' was a shambles, it was terrible, they only took a small number of photographs and didn't search the room properly. They even allowed Crystal's dog on to the bed whilst she was still there. There seemed to be this whole vibe of just taking Tony's word for it and case closed. 

Tony and Crystal had a ring camera and there was evidence which Jana had also found, that Crystal had logged into this but she had been told a different story by the Sheriff. According to him, the ring camera had been inactive for quite some time. So many things just don't add up, what I have mentioned here is just the tip of the iceberg, there is so many questions here that remain unanswered, so many mistakes made. Tony had friends in the Sheriff's department, the Deputy who went to check on Crystal was a close friend. He used to work in that department. Why did they move so quickly to close this case and take his word for it, why was no proper investigation done and why were all of these mistakes allowed to happen with nobody held accountable? It's so disrespectful to Crystal and her family. 

On the 7th of February 2026, Crystal's family held a memorial service for her, 3 years after her death. It was their way of being able to pay tribute to her the way that they wanted to. Jana and the rest of the family want the case re-opened and have created a petition, PLEASE SIGN: Reopen Investigation into Death of Crystal McCrory Jones

I know Jana and her family has worked tirelessly to get Crystal's story out all over the world, the more support they get, the more chance something will be done about this. I thank Jana for contacting me about her sister's heartbreaking story and I will keep sharing this post and the petition. I do hope that this lovely family get the answers they deserve. If any new information arises, I will update this post. 

RIP Crystal, you will never be forgotten and your amazing spirit and sparkle that you brought to others, shines on through your sister Jana, children and loved one. One day the answers will be revealed, I truly believe that. 

To help support Crystal's family and for more information about the case, please check out the Justice For Crystal McCrory Linktree

- Facebook Page: Justice For Crystal McCrory

Further Reading & Sources: 

- I was kindly provided with the casefile by Jana but I will not be publishing the details in this post out of respect and privacy. 

- Crystal McCrory Jones | Obituary

- Justice Denied: A Sister's Fight For Justice: The True Story of Crystal McCrory Jones | Book by Mrs Jana Marie Guyewski-Lautigar

- Crystal McCrory Memorial Service 2026 | myarklamiss

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post, I really do appreciate it, especially with how heartbreaking this story is. I hope that one day soon there will be answers. I hope you will join me in my next post, in the meantime, I hope to see you on my Socials

Stay safe,,,until next time x