Lysandra Marie Turpin -- Found Deceased 4/8/10

Lysandra Marie Turpin has been missing from Northern California since 1988.
Son says father killed woman in 1988, guides police to remains

April 9, 2010 1:56 a.m. EDT


Lysandra Marie Turpin


Ditch

(CNN) -- The remains of a woman who disappeared 22 years ago in northern California have been found after the son of the woman's purported killer guided police to the site where her body was dumped, investigators announced Thursday.

The alleged killer's son told authorities that he watched his father kill 27-year-old Lysandra Marie Turpin in 1988 and that his dad forced him to help dispose of the body, the Humboldt County, California, Sheriff's Office announced.

Ernest Samuel Christie III, who was 16 at the time, told authorities that his now-dead father, Ernest Samuel Christie Jr., made him help dump Turpin's body in a ditch near their home in Fieldbrook, California, about 80 miles south of the Oregon border. Christie said his father forced him to help cover the body with tires, douse it in gasoline and set it on fire, Humboldt County Sheriff Gary Philp said in a statement Thursday.

Christie's dad had held and abused Turpin at his house for several weeks before killing her, Christie told the sheriff's office. She had been reported missing to Humboldt County law enforcement on April 8, 1988.

After Christie supplied the sheriff's office with a map of where the body had been dumped, a team of detectives, evidence technicians, and sheriff's deputies found teeth, clothing and charred bones. A forensic odontologist positively identified the remains as Lysandra Turpin on Wednesday, according to Philp.

Ernest Samuel Christie Jr. died in 2006, according to the sheriff's office. His son, now 38 and living in North Carolina, contacted the sheriff's office in February. He is not facing criminal charges, Philp said.

Christie told authorities that his father had abused other women, once holding a woman prisoner in a hollowed-out redwood tree stump. The woman escaped and declined to report the incident to law enforcement, the sheriff's office said.

Using a description provided by Christie, sheriff's personnel located the stump and found a carpet, plastic jugs, a hypodermic syringe and clothing there, Philp said Thursday.

Christie related other instances of his father -- who he said frequently used methamphetamine -- terrorizing women, Philp said.

Christie told authorities that his dad once took a woman on his fishing boat, tied her up and told her he was going to kill her. The woman managed to escape, and detectives were recently able to find her and corroborate Christie's account, Philp said.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/09/california.body.found/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Some people are just evil to the core. Unlike those who have fond memories of their parents, this son must have feared the wrath of his father, even beyond the grave.

I agree, Cali. His son has carried this with him all of his life. I'm glad he was finally able release this information. Not only for his own peace of mind, but to help Lysandra's family with answers. I would be interested to see what type of searches were done for this young woman and when they stopped.

Here is a picture of the redwood tree stump where he had kept another woman captive that thankfully escaped with her life.



I have to wonder if there are more victims the son didn't know about. This man had the makings of a savage serial killer.

i want to see a picture of the murderer, i was attacked in 1989 by a man that as far as i know, was never caught, i got away only by the grace of god. does anyone know if there is a pic. of this bastard anywhere? thanks.

Hi donniealways and welcome to RC. I am sorry to hear about what happened, how frightening for you. You are very lucky to have escaped. I have searched for his picture this morning and so far I've come up with nothing. I'll keep looking. Maybe you should contact the Humboldt County Sheriff Department. I'm surprised his picture has not been released. Considering there are three known victims, one of them brutally murdered and burned in a ditch.

Obituary of the murderer, there was no photo:

Ernest Samuel Christie Jr.

Ernest Samuel Christie Jr. of Fieldbrook, died peacefully at home on March 20, 2006 at the age of 61. He was a life-long resident of Humboldt County.

Ernie was a commercial fisherman for 35 years. He captained the f/v Fame L and f/v Claire Louse, the latter being named after his wife, Claire Louise (Williams) Christie, who was lost at sea in 1977. His son, Sam Christie of Durham, North Carolina, with whom he ran a logging business for over ten years survives Ernie.

He enjoyed all kinds of outdoor activities, including fishing and hunting. He will be remembered for his humor, his faith in God, and his independent spirit.

He is also survived by his mother, Lena Christie of Eureka; daughter-in-law, Laura Christie of Durham, North Carolina; sister, Nadine Brockway of St. Petersburg, Florida; grandchildren, Joshua, Caleb, Claire and Daniel Christie of Durham, North Carolina; and by numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Friends are invited to attend the funeral service which will be held at Pierce Mortuary, 707 H Street in Eureka on Saturday, March 25, 2006, at 11 am. Visitation will be from 1 pm to 5 pm Friday, March 24, 2006.

Please sign the guestbook at www.times-standard.com, click on Obituaries.
Published in Eureka Times-Standard on March 23, 2006

It says his wife was lost at sea. I would like to know more details about that. I wonder if he was on the boat with her when she was lost at sea.

My thoughts exactly, J4A.

When you look at the son's claims about his father's history of torturing women and combine that with the fact that his father was a commercial fisherman for 35 years, it makes the mother's "lost at sea" death look very suspicious. I hope the son has found a way to overcome all of this and lead a normal life.

thanks for the welcome....wow, when you read the obituary, he 'sounds' like such a great guy, i hope someone in law enforcement will post a picture, the son only know's of some of what his non-human dad did and i do feel really sorry for the son. i felt 100% that he intentionally lost his wife at sea, how scary!

How many other missing women have been lost at sea at the hand of this murdering rapist? I am going to email Anderson Cooper. Yeah, he sounds like a great guy alright...I wonder who wrote the obituary?

"He enjoyed all kinds of outdoor activities, including fishing and hunting. He will be remembered for his humor, his faith in God, and his independent spirit"...

He was a hunter, he hunted humans.

donniealways wrote:i want to see a picture of the murderer, i was attacked in 1989 by a man that as far as i know, was never caught, i got away only by the grace of god. does anyone know if there is a pic. of this bastard anywhere? thanks.

I wrote to one of the reporters to ask if they possibly had a photo of the monster.

Thanks Fysty, I sent one as well. This monster's picture needs to be out there...

I have copied two posts from the CNN comment section on this article:

applemac17
I know all too well the story of Sammy's life. I rescued his mother once and her mother rescued her another time, But as what happens all too often, he had destroyed her last shred of confidence and we couldn't save her. Her completely mentally and physically wore her down. There are a number of us who know what he was capable of. For years after his mother "accidental death" he turned his wrath on his helpless son. Unless anybody has been in that situation they have no idea of the deep psychological scars. He has worked hard to heal but will probably always be haunted by his horrific childhood. I recently reconnected with him and am so glad that he's nothing like his father.
I am so proud of him for coming forward about the murder. It took a lot of courage. For those who have suffered severe abuse can appreciate the fact that even though their abuser is dead, it takes quite a while to break their hold on you. Sammy, take heart that their are plenty of people who believe in you and will continue to always support you.


lilyn
I didn't bother to read this story or the comments. I don't have to, I know the truth of what has happened in my cousins life. The pain my family has endured at the hands of Ernie Christie was something I witnessed for as long as I can remember. My cousin and I were about the same age his mother died ( my mother's sister), we were 5. The pain my grandparents lived with seemed unbearable to them. The fact my mother was cut off from her sister several years before her death, due to Ernie's abusive control, and the long belief that she was murdered by him was a sickening reality in our lives.
We were completely cut off from my cousin throughout his life. Ernie had a long history for getting out of trouble before that all even happened. It was well established unless there were hard facts there was no way to go up against this man. Let alone my family was afraid of what he would do, several people had met with what Ernie was capable of doing, and who knows really how many didn't survive the encounter.
I am grateful that after his father passed that we were able to re-establish contact with my cousin. He was able to share with me the horrors that he experienced and I was able to see him deal with his trauma, stand up to brave all this criticism to help the law enforcement of our hometown.
The fact that my cousin has been able to survive a childhood with a man that seemed to have lost all humanity. To have lost his mother likely at the hands of that man, and still be able to walk through life with grace and love is a miracle.
Before you judge, consider a life of being raised by a monster living in constant survival mode, to lose the source of love at such a young age and cut off from the maternal side were the love was experienced.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/09/california.body.found/index.html?iref=allsearch