Katharina Buczek
First, all of the lights had been left on inside. Then, he noticed the front door had been unlocked and that their computer room window had been pushed in.
This alarmed Jeremy, so he decided to check on his family. He found that Deborah and his two boys were sound asleep, but baby Lisa was not in her crib.
Jeremy woke Deborah in a panic, and they searched the entire home. Tragically, though, their daughter was nowhere to be found. So, the couple contacted authorities and reported Lisa missing.
Following news of Lisa’s disappearance, authorities did receive a tip from a witness whose name was never made public. The witness claims that at about 4:00 a.m., they saw a man walking with a baby. The witness also recalled finding the sight suspicious– especially since that morning was frigid and the baby was not dressed for the weather.
Then, three days later, on October 6, the police received reports of a dumpster fire just a few blocks from the Irwin home. There, authorities found evidence of burnt baby clothes.
Upon inspection, the clothing items did not match what baby Lisa was wearing the night she disappeared. However, police still believed that the clothing could have been other items from Lisa’s wardrobe at home– a theory that was never confirmed.
The next day, Deborah underwent a polygraph test in order for officials to rule her out as a suspect. And at first, the mother was told that she had failed the test. Still, this was apparently only an interrogation tactic since they could not definitively confirm or deny Deborah’s involvement in Lisa’s disappearance.
And finally, on October 17, a search warrant was executed on the Irwin home by the FBI. Officials used cadaver dogs, which identified a positive scent of remains near Deborah and Jeremy’s bed.
They also took numerous pieces of evidence– such as a comforter, purple shorts, a Glo Worm toy, and a “Cars”-themed blanket– before ripping up carpet samples and digging up the backyard.
Interestingly, in May of 2012, Jeremy’s debit card was also charged by a website known to provide name-changing services. The charge was just over sixty-nine dollars, and authorities have speculated that the website could also be used to buy birth certificates.
Unfortunately, though, Lisa’s case never progressed much further after that. And despite Jeremy and Deborah once being considered persons of interest, they were never formally charged.
