Christie Mullins’ Murder: How Did Christie Mullins Die? Who Killed Christie Mullins? Where is Jack Carmen Now? – Christie Mullins, 14, of Clintonville, Ohio, was found partially naked, tied up, and bludgeoned to death on August 23 near a shopping area in Columbus not far from her house. This occurred in the summer of 1975.
A month after the occurrence, Jack Carmen, a man with severe developmental difficulties, was found guilty of the crime. However, the second trial in December 1977 established his innocence.
According to reports, Carmen initially pleaded guilty but later changed his mind as questions about his mental health appeared. Christie’s murder case was unsolved for nearly 40 years until Henry Newell Jr., who has since passed away, was identified as the perpetrator in 2014.
Dead Days of Summer will explore the terrible tale of young Christie Mullins on Thursday. Christie was tragically removed from our world too soon. Investigation Discovery will telecast the episode “Dead Days of Summer: A Wall of Silence” on September 8, 2022, at 9:00 p.m. ET. We’ve got you covered if you’re curious to know all the details about it.
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How Did Christie Mullins Die?
Christie Lynn Mullins lived with her parents in Clintonville, Ohio, on a residential street. The 14-year-old appeared to be a good, kind, and sweet young man. No one could, therefore, comprehend the heinousness of her death when it was discovered. On August 23, 1975, at about 1:30 pm, Christie and a companion strolled to a department store in the Graceland Shopping Center, a few blocks from her house. The girls decided to check it out after their buddy received a call informing her that a cheerleading competition would be held there.
Christie Mullins was last seen sitting on a railing at the Graceland Shopping Center on August 23, 1975, just a few blocks from her Clintonville home. Later, behind the mall, her lifeless body was found, having been beaten to death. According to reports, the 14-year-old was found bound and partially naked.
Eight days after Christie was brutally murdered in the woods behind the shopping centre, investigators detained a local man, Jack Carmen, with severe developmental disabilities. He was promptly found guilty of the teen’s murder and given a life sentence. Within two weeks of Christie’s murder, this took place.
Who Killed Christie Mullins?
The couple who discovered Christie’s body provided the detectives with a thorough account of the man they had seen and how he had run away after realising he had been caught in the act.
According to police accounts from the time, Carmen confessed to the murder and was identified as the culprit by critical eyewitness Henry Newell Jr. His admission of guilt was regarded as the case’s truth. However, following a rigorous police interrogation, his impairments caused him to confess to the murder of a girl he had never met.
But the victim’s family and the neighbourhood people never believed he could perpetrate such a horrible murder. Additionally, when other witnesses claimed to have seen Jack on the other side of the city, some of the statements did not add up. Following a media uproar brought up by Ohio State University student journalists, Jack Carmen was retried. A few months later, he was freed.
40 yrs after her murder, Columbus Police about to close the Christie Mullins case @ColumbusPolice @nbc4i #Closure pic.twitter.com/o3iAJMpbgO
— Reneé LaSalle (@ReneeLaSalle) November 6, 2015
When discussing Jack Carmen’s retrial, one of the journalists reportedly said:
“I was in the courtroom the day the judge said he was vacating Jack Carmen’s guilty plea. I was proud of our work then, and I remain proud of it today. The work we did righted a wrong and helped to clear an innocent man.”
However, shortly after, with the American Civil Liberties Union’s help, Jack withdrew his appeal and decided to stand trial for the same. So, following a week-long trial, he was cleared of all charges in December 1977. This decision was made after it was learned that Jack had developmental disabilities and a child’s IQ, which meant that he would follow directions and even go so far as to make a false confession just to please someone. The most significant person then became the prosecution’s star witness in the trial, then-27-year-old Henry Newell Jr.
Henry said that he had seen Jack kill Christie before covering the teenager’s face with his shirt. Henry was at that time serving time in prison for setting his own home on fire to obtain insurance money. He added that he also touched the two-by-four board that was used to kill her. The ensuing cross-examination refuted Henry’s testimony, and several additional witnesses then came forward to locate Jack on the opposite side of the city at the time of the murder.
Ultimately, the matter was closed and wasn’t opened again until 2014. When the case was reopened, it took detectives about a year and a half to gather substantial proof that Henry Newell Jr. had actually killed Christie. This fresh information included two of his relatives who came forward following his cancer-related death in 2013 to say that he had confessed to them. Henry’s activities on August 23, 1975, which the authorities judged “incriminating in nature,” were described by another relative of Henry.
A polygraph examination supported their claims. Since that time, Henry’s family members have expressed regret for holding back earlier. The Columbus police officially apologised to Christie’s friends and family in November 2015 for not being able to provide them with the justice they were due. Christie’s friends and family had insisted for years that Henry was the guilty party.
Henry Newell Jr., a former Clintonville neighbor, is said to have found the crime scene while walking through the Graceland woods, which led the Mullins family to believe that he was probably the murderer from the very beginning. He then contacted the police to let them know about the crime.
Newell claimed to have seen Christie’s killer kill her by striking her with the board. He claimed to have witnessed the alleged murderer deliver the final blow and escape the scene. He further asserted that he covered Christie’s face with a shirt and touched the board the murderer was using. His stepson contested some of the things he told detectives.
According to Sgt. Eric Pilya of the homicide cold-case unit:
“The suspect responsible for her death is Henry H. Newell Jr. The Columbus Division of Police wishes to formally and publically offer an apology to the family and close friends of Christie Mullins for the lack of action taken in pursuit of Henry Newell as a suspect by investigators 40 years ago, and for any hardships that may have resulted from those actions.”
Where is Jack Carmen Now?
Graham LeStourgeon, who was in charge of Volunteers of America when Christie was killed, took in Jack Allen Carmen after he was released from custody after being completely cleared of all charges. The director replied that he would provide Jack with a place to live until he could move into a group home.
Sadly, no other information is available concerning Jack or his whereabouts. But even though it took nearly 40 years, we may assume that he would have been pleased to learn who Christie’s genuine killer was. The Columbus Division of Police has made it apparent that if Henry Newell Jr. were still alive, they would have pursued charges against him.
