Atlanta Police have arrested the husband of a woman who was brutally killed 25 years ago and charged him with her murder.
Melissa Wolfenbarger, 21, a mother of two small children, was living in southwest Atlanta when she last talked to her family on Thanksgiving in 1998. A woman’s severed head was found in a garbage bag on Avon Avenue in April 1999, near her home. More severed remains were found in the area in June.
Christopher Wolfenbarger never reported his wife missing or told her family she was gone. Norma Patton, Wolfenbarger’s mother, filed a missing persons report in January 2000.
It wasn’t until 2003 until the remains found in southwest Atlanta were identified as Melissa Wolfenbarger.
On Aug. 6, Christopher Wolfenbarger was arrested by Atlanta Police at his home in Griffin, Ga. He is booked at the Fulton County Jail and faces one count of murder.
Homicide Unit Det. Jarion Shephard, who works in complex cold cases, said he couldn’t give exact details on what led to Christopher Wolfenbarger’s arrest, but said witnesses had been reinterviewed and additional DNA testing was done. “Eventually, it will come out how the case was put together, but right now we’re going to hold that,” he said.
“We have finally made it. He’s in custody,” said Norma Patton at a Wednesday press conference at Atlanta Police headquarters. “Now we just need to get over the last hurdle and get him convicted.”
Tina Patton, Melissa’s sister, said 25 years was a long time to wait, but she was thankful her sister would finally get justice.
“She didn’t deserve this,” Tina Patton said.
Timeline of the Melissa Wolfenbarger case:
• April 29, 1999 — Partial human remains were found at 858 Avon Ave. Those remains were misidentified as a male from Twiggs County.
• June 3, 1999 — Additional human remains were found off of Hartford Avenue, between Hartford Place and Avon Avenue.
• January 2000 — Melissa was reported missing by her mother, Norma Patton, in Henry County.
• March 14, 2003 — Dr. Carol Terry of the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office properly identified the remains from 858 Avon Avenue as those of Melissa Wolfenbarger.
• May 25, 2021 — The cold case was assigned to Atlanta Police Homicide Unit Commander Lt. Andrew Smith and Homicide Unit Det. Jarion Shephard.
This story has been updated with additional details about the arrest of Christopher Wolfenbarger and the investigation.
