HARDIN CO.—In the wake of the discovery of the body of Chrissy Williams on March 20, there’s relief amongst the populace in downstate counties…but the efforts of her sister to pin foul play on someone in Williams’ death seem to be ratcheting up.
Williams, age 39, who had been missing since the evening of Monday, December 2, 2013, was the subject of a water search scheduled for that day by her family.
It proved to be successful when sonar being used to ‘ping’ underwater objects hit upon what appeared to be a large object on the riverbed about 30 feet out from the banks of the little park in Rosiclare on the Ohio River.
Upon discovery of the object, Illinois State Police were notified and sent in a dive team to retrieve the object…and when it emerged, a large crowd of Williams searchers and family, as well as a contingent of Rosiclare residents, were both stunned and relieved to see that it was indeed a red SUV that matched the description of the vehicle Williams owned and drove.
Screams on the riverbank
The vehicle was pulled to the shore and loaded up on a flatbed tow truck, and when ISP officials advised Williams’ sister Tami Jackson, whose diligent efforts in the search had brought the private search team to that location that day, that the vehicle’s registration returned as being that of the missing woman’s, Jackson looked directly at media after she collapsed in grief, screaming “We found her! We never gave up!!” despite no positive identification—or confirmation yet that there was a body inside. Bystanders noted that Jackson’s tone was accusatory.
It was later revealed that there was indeed a body inside, and that it was indeed the body of Williams. But Jackson’s comments were a preview of what occurred in the weeks following the discovery, as Jackson’s actions since that time have been described by many in Hardin as having gone from “diligent” to “belligerent.”
That’s because Jackson is insistent that her sister met with foul play which resulted in her death…despite the fact that officials are quietly giving indication there’s nothing so far that shows such a thing to be the case.
Jackson has been on social media and instead of being on the offensive, as she had been in the months leading up to the discovery, she seems to now be on the defensive…and giving investigators a hard way to go.
Almost daily, Jackson seems to be leaking information that could only have come from investigators in the case, that agency now being the Illinois State Police.
Jackson’s focus remains on the two people who were reported to have been the last to see Williams alive: Scotty Miller and Briannah Davis, both of Rosiclare, this occurring at Miller’s parents’ residence in that town.
And amongst those who are watching the drama continue, many of those have now withdrawn their support for Jackson…and are calling into question her actions of hostility and what they say borders on abuse of two people who, while they’ve not been cleared of any involvement, have been questioned and are not currently considered “persons of interest” in the death of Chrissy Williams.
Alleged attack still under investigation
The Thursday before the discovery of Williams’ body, in an incident that was not covered by any other media outlet, Jackson was arrested after it was alleged that she walked into an Elizabethtown bar and saw Miller playing pool, and subsequently attacked him.
Arresting charges were two counts of Battery and one count of Aggravated Assault, both felonies, and a misdemeanor count of Disorderly Conduct, which as of Monday, April 7, had resulted in no official charges filed by prosecutor Tara Wallace.
Jackson has since that time been in defense mode of her actions, making statements online to the effect that such a thing was completely understandable under the circumstances.
Earlier that day, she and others searching had made a discovery of what she believed to be bones and acrylic fingernails that could belong to her sister, this at Big Grande Pierre Creek just across the Hardin County line into Pope County.
That proved to not be the case; the next day, authorities confirmed that the find consisted of animal bones and fish scales.
Report of red SUV may lend credence to theory
Interestingly, that discovery was made at the same location where a Hardin County resident had reported a red SUV fitting the description of Williams’ on the side of the road with hazard lights flashing, this on Dec. 7, 2013.
The resident told Disclosure about it shortly after the Big Grande Pierre ‘discovery’ was made, advising that on that day, her husband had passed such a vehicle sitting off the side of the road at the bridge crossing the creek, and because Williams’ disappearance was consistently in the news, he notified authorities.
Disclosure had submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to Hardin County for any report on such a vehicle at that time, but none was available…meaning that it may have been Pope County, or ISP, who handled the 911 call about the vehicle. While Disclosure continues to look into the call via other agencies, it might be noted at this juncture that no other report of such a vehicle was made at that location at that, or any other, time.
This lends to the premise that the red SUV that was pulled from the river might not have been there the entire time, a premise that is supported by the fact that no fewer than eight searches had been conducted at that exact location off the banks of the park by nearly two dozen local, state and national agencies over three months’ time.
Proponents of the ‘foul play’ scenario have opined that because Miller’s parents have a private river access on the backside of their property, just upriver from where the SUV was found, that that may tie Miller in.
Used to sit on the riverbank and reflect
However, that, too, might be a stretch. It’s also been reported that Williams had a tendency to drive to the river and sit on the bank to gaze at the water, in an effort to ‘sort out’ problems she might be having. On the night she disappeared, she was reported to have been distraught, drinking and, according to Davis, may also have been taking nerve pills. If Williams knew about the private river access, she may have driven the path back and parked to look at the water…and might have passed out and somehow caused the vehicle to roll in.
That premise falls short of a viable explanation, however, if what Jackson is saying about where Williams’ body was located in the vehicle is true: She was in the back seat, and the vehicle was reportedly in reverse instead of drive.
No details have been provided by officials as to the condition of Williams’ body; whether she was clothed, whether she was well-preserved, whether a seatbelt was on or whether the body had just floated to the back seat. As well, no information has been released by coroner Jessica Cullum as to whether there was water in Williams’ lungs (meaning she was breathing when she went into the river and thus alive) or no water (meaning she was already deceased when she went in).
Autopsy and toxicology were performed by Dr. John Heidingsfelder, regional pathologist. There has been no word of a coroner’s jury inquest, but there has been talk that such a thing would prove very beneficial in the case.
Still waiting for closure
In the meantime, varying opinions of how the investigation is going, as well as Jackson’s part in the whole thing, have suddenly come under scrutiny, according to several Hardin County residents.
Some of those critical of the way things have been handled since the discovery of Williams’ body noted that the woman’s funeral being live-streamed was a bit over the top, while others believed it to be a warm tribute.
Some are saying that Jackson’s posturing and letting investigatory details out on her Facebook page has been impeding the investigation, while still others are calling for some of the police agencies involved (in particular, Hardin County sheriff’s department) to come under scrutiny themselves.
Growing hostility and polarization now marks the investigation, and it’s uncertain whether a coroner’s jury, with a full release of autopsy and toxicology, would resolve anything.
Area residents who have followed the case closely, many of whom agree that this incident has caused division that can never be made right, await the next step in the investigation, hoping for closure that doesn’t appear to have yet been reached.