TX TX - Cristi Ruso 31, last seen @motel, bags w/clothes found on road in Dec, Jasper Co, 20 Oct 2021 *Arrest*

[TwinkieDefense]

April 3, 2025 update

BREAKING: Ruso family confirms fabric found in Tatom burn pile is from her clothing

A piece of fabric Jasper County Sheriff's Office investigators found in a burn pile outside Colby Tatom's home came from Cristi Ruso's clothing, according to in

kfdm.com

[…]

Ruso family confirms fabric found in Tatom burn pile is from her clothing​

[…]

 

[PommyMommy]

April 3/4, 2025 update

BREAKING: Ex-girlfriend of Tatom arrested for tampering, pawning gun used in Ruso killing

Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard tells KFDM/Fox 4 News he's arrested the ex-girlfriend of Colby Tatom on a charge of Tampering with Evidence, accused of pawni

kfdm.com

[…]

Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard tells KFDM/Fox 4 News he's arrested the ex-girlfriend of Colby Tatom on a charge of Tampering with Evidence, accused of pawning the gun Tatom used to shoot Ruso and knowing it was the weapon used in the killing.

[…]

Noting:

"It is believed that Collier intentionally and knowingly transported the murder weapon, a Rossi .44 Special, to the Big Thicket Pawn Shop in Silsbee and pawned it knowing the gun was used by Tatom to kill Cristi Ruso," says Havard in a joint statement with District Attorney Anne Pickle. "It is alleged that the pawn shop transaction occurred on December 30, 2021. Had Collier not tampered with this evidence and notified law enforcement, this investigation would have been concluded significantly sooner with an extremely different outcome. She literally destroyed this investigation by covering for Colby Tatom and concealing this information by tampering with a key piece of evidence. Her actions directly obstructed justice and hampered our ability to convict Tatum of murder. We will continue to utilize every resource and investigative tool we have at our disposal to put people in jail that had any involvement in this case. Our hearts and prayers are with Cristi Ruso and her family."

 

[PommyMommy]

April 3, 2025 update

BREAKING: Ruso family confirms fabric found in Tatom burn pile is from her clothing

A piece of fabric Jasper County Sheriff's Office investigators found in a burn pile outside Colby Tatom's home came from Cristi Ruso's clothing, according to in

kfdm.com

[…]

Ruso family confirms fabric found in Tatom burn pile is from her clothing​

[…]

From the article:

Tatom says he dumped Ruso's remains in a waterway near the Neches River close to Evadale.

The PAFD dive team searched the waterway for most of Wednesday. The divers have had to stop indefinitely due to high water, strong winds, and dangerous currents.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 1, 2025

Killer of Buna woman agrees in plea deal to lead investigators to her remains

The death of Cristi Ruso has finally been solved, thanks to a deal made with her killer, the sheriff said.

www.ktre.com

Sheriff Chuck Havard said it was decided by the district attorney, Cristi’s family and himself that there was not enough evidence to prove without a shadow of a doubt that Tatom had killed Cristi. They reached a deal with his defense team that Tatom would plead guilty to the tampering charge and in exchange would testify and would reveal what happened to her, and lead them to her body.

Immediately after court adjourned Tuesday morning, the DA, the sheriff and members of both their staffs converged upon Tatom’s property and began searching for Cristi’s remains. Sheriff Havard said that they located several items that could be human remains, and they also discovered a piece of clothing that her family recognized as belonging to her.

APR 2, updated APR 3, 2025

Family seeks closure in Cristi Ruso's disappearance after her killer leads police to where he disposed remains

In court on Tuesday, Colby Tatom pleaded guilty to tampering with a corpse, admitting that he murdered Ruso at his home before burning her body.

www.12newsnow.com

In court on Tuesday, Tatom pleaded guilty to tampering with a corpse, admitting that he murdered Ruso at his home before burning her body and disposing of the remains in two locations.

Following his court appearance, Tatom led investigators to an area where he claimed to have disposed of Ruso’s body.

Crews sifted through the mud at the bottom of the river, conducting a meticulous grid search for any remains.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 1, updated APR 2, 2025

KFDM Exclusive: Camera captures Tatom sharing gruesome details at scene of Ruso shooting

Our KFDM/Fox 4 camera was rolling when Colby Tatom for the first time shared with investigators how he disposed of Cristi Ruso's body at the scene of the crime

kfdm.com

Tatom testified during the hearing, saying he was at home with his young son in October of 2021 and fired shots at someone he saw inside near his young son's bedroom, claiming he didn't know it was Ruso until after he fired and walked up to her body. He said he kept a gun for protection because he did transmission work outside his home.

Following the hearing, Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard loaded Tatom into his SUV and went back to Tatom's home where he showed Havard and investigators what he'd done and where he did it. Havard tells KFDM investigators discovered what they believe are remains, including bone fragments.

Lengthy investigation into murder of Cristi Ruso leads to 20 year prison sentence for Buna man

Colby Hunter Tatom was arrested after a two-year long investigation in connection to the disappearance and murder of Cristi Ruso.

www.12newsnow.com

During his testimony, Tatom said that Ruso had been at his home earlier that day before leaving for some time. When she returned, Tatom said that he was impaired by drugs and paranoid.

Tatom claimed he had no idea that it was Ruso entering the home when he took out his gun and shot her in the head, killing her. He went on to say he was terrified that CPS would get involved if he called to report the shooting, as his 7-month-old child was with him.

Tatom said that he carried Ruso out into his yard where he 'cremated' her body with sticks and old tires. After this he began to clean the crime scene and hide evidence. Then, according to his testimony, Tatom put Ruso's remains in a barrel and dumped them in the river.

APR 3, 2025

Former girlfriend of Cristi Ruso killer arrested in connection with case

Colby Tatom agreed to a plea deal in the cold case of missing woman Cristi Ruso, of Buna. Now, the woman he was in a relationship with at the time has been arrested.

www.kltv.com

At the time of the murder, Collier lived with Tatom in the residence where Ruso was killed. They allege that she took the murder weapon, a Rossi .44 special, to the Big Thicket Pawn Shop and pawned it, knowing that it was the murder weapon her boyfriend had used to kill Ruso.

Investigators allege that she was covering for Tatom by pawning the gun on Dec. 30, 2021.

 

[TwinkieDefense]

Thank you for providing the additional write ups @PommyMommy.

This is another very sad case nobody wins.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 7, 2025

Dive teams work to provide closure for family of Cristi Ruso as they scour Neches River for remains

The team used methodical sifting techniques to examine the riverbed, carefully inspecting fragments of interest, whether they were rocks or pieces of evidence.

www.12newsnow.com

The search for Cristi Ruso’s remains in the Neches River is on hold, at least for now. Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard tells 12News that dive teams will return to the water once river levels go down and conditions are deemed safe.

According to the divers, once bone fragments settle into the riverbed, they typically stay in place, making trained divers crucial in identifying evidence buried in the mud.

“When the team was called to the scene, they began their search using a planned grid pattern,” said Hunter Hanratty. “We were looking for up to 2-inch pieces of bone fragments along with other bones that might be a little bigger, but that was the main focus.”

Dive teams work to provide closure for family of Cristi Ruso as they scour Neches River for remains​

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies