Family hopes new year brings justice for beloved mom found dismembered, beheaded & stuffed in trash bags
A 26-year-old inexplicably disappeared from her Georgia home she shared with her husband and two children in 1998. Years later, her case remains unsolved but her family vows to never give up until an arrest is made.
When Melissa Wolfenbarger disappeared in November 1998, her husband, Christopher Wolfenberger, apparently didn’t report her missing. Her mother, Norma, later filed a missing persons report in Henry County, not knowing at the time that Melissa hadn’t been seen in months.
Melissa’s sister, Tina Patton, said that her family drove to Tina’s home around Christmas time in 1998 after not hearing from her.
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According to Tina, Melissa’s home was empty and a neighbor said Christopher Wolfenbarger moved all of their belongings out.
When investigators questioned Christopher Wolfenberger, he claimed Tina walked away from home and never returned.
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Months passed without any word from Melissa. In 1999, authorities found a human head, soaked in bleach in a black trash bag, off of Avon Avenue in Atlanta, The head was in an area behind a glass company that Christopher once worked at.
Later, investigators found additional remains in trash bags in the same area, but it would take years before the remains were positively identified as Melissa.
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Melissa’s case was the centerpiece of the 2020 CrimeCon “House Arrest” presentation by
CSI Atlanta, a team made up of crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum and CBS 46 anchor, Karyn Greer. Sgt. Raymond Layton, who has been working on Melissa’s case for years, also joined the team for the event.
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A surprising twist to the case came when Melissa and Tina’s father, Carl Millard Patton Jr., was arrested for three murders in 2003. Patton Jr. was convicted for the 1977 murders of Fred Wyatt, Liddie Matthews Evans, and Evans’ boyfriend, Joe Cleveland.
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Patton Jr. has been cleared in connection with Melissa’s death.
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“We never even got to be around them [the children] until Chrissy graduated high school,” Tina said, adding that Christopher Wolfenbarger left the children with his mother to raise.
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Meanwhile, in an effort to help bring more attention to the case, McCollum, alongside her non-profit organization, the Atlanta Cold Case Research Investigative Institute (CCRI), is offering “
cold case wines.” Melissa’s photo appears on the first-launched bottle, which will help raise money to help solve unsolved crime cases.
(Cold case wine bottle with Melissa’s Wolfenbarger photo. Holding the bottle is sister of murdered Melissa.)
Family hopes new year brings justice for beloved mom found dismembered, beheaded & stuffed in trash bags [Exclusive]
