26 Years Ago She Was Out Jogging Her Favorite Trail When She Was Attacked And Killed By A Teen Who Was Just Sentenced To Life
Redding, California. On June 24th, 1995, 37-year-old Christine Munro set out for a jog on the Sacramento River Trail, where she spent a lot of her free time.
Christine loved to be on the trail because it provided her with a sense of calm. Christine worked as a nurse, she was a married mom of 4 children, and her loved ones say she was classy and kind.
While Christine was on the trail that day in June, someone brutally attacked and murdered her. She later was discovered close to the river with a wound to her neck.
Redding Police Department; pictured above is Christine
At the time of her murder, whispers sadly went around town that perhaps her husband had something to do with what had happened to her, but that was the furthest thing from reality.
2 years after Christine’s death, someone did tell the Redding Police Department that they had been responsible for taking Christine’s life, but the evidence didn’t add up to this man being Christine’s murderer.
The years flew by, and Christine’s case grew cold. It stayed that way for more than two decades, but that all changed when Major Crimes Detective Rusty Bishop with the Redding Police Department started looking into things.
It was near the end of 2019 when Detective Bishop began investigating whether there was enough evidence in Christine’s case that could be DNA tested.
It turns out, the police department still had fingernail scrapings from Christine, and so Detective Bishop sent those to the Department of Justice to see if there was any DNA that could be found.
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A few months later in June of 2020, Detective Bishop was informed that there was a potential match in CODIS to the DNA found under Christine’s fingernails.
42-year-old James Watkins was the match to the DNA, and he was already behind bars for committing a robbery in Texas.
Facebook; pictured above are comments from locals left on a post announcing the identity of Christine’s killer
“Detectives immediately went to work reviewing Watkin’s history and whereabouts, before, during, and after the murder of Christine Munro,” the Redding Police Department said in a statement.
“They learned that Watkins moved to Redding from Texas in early 1995 at the age of 17 to live with his aunt and uncle.”
“During his short time in Redding, he was contacted by Redding Police eight times over the two year period.”
“Those contacts included an arrest for shoplifting, a warrant arrest, and an unlawful camping citation. In the fall of 1997, Watkins moved back to Texas. While living in Texas, he was arrested, charged, and convicted of multiple crimes to include sexual assault, burglary, escape, and bank robbery. He has spent a significant portion of his life in prison.”
Detectives then got on a plane to head to Texas and interview James. Additionally, they obtained a warrant for his DNA and surprise, it matched the DNA found beneath Christine’s fingernails.
Redding Police Department; pictured above is Christine in her nurse’s uniform
22 hours ago, the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office announced that James was just sentenced to life for what he did to Christine.
In the end, he admitted to “lying in wait” for her before kidnapping her on the trail. He will never be up for parole.
“My mother was beautiful, strong, and full of love,” Lisa, Christine’s daughter, said about her.
“Her enthusiasm for life was simply infectious and she is missed by all. She dedicated her life to helping others as a nurse.”
“She took time for herself to walk the Sacramento River Trail every day; it was her time to find peace and tranquility.”
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