Episode 86: Melissa Witt

This week’s unsolved homicide story comes from Arkansas and involves the brutal murder of a 19-year-old woman named Melissa Witt.

Melissa worked at a local dental clinic. On December 1, 1994, Melissa Witt parked her car in the Fort Smith, Arkansas Bowling World parking lot. Her mother, Mary Ann Witt, was a member of the bowling alley’s bowling league. Melissa often met with her mother at the bowling alley so they could have dinner together.

Melissa was abducted from the Bowling World parking lot. She was struck in the head. Evidence found at the scene showed signs of a struggle. Blood was found in the parking lot along with her keys and one earring.

On January 13, 1995, two hunters were walking through the Ozark National Forest. Around the Turner Bend area, the men found Melissa’s naked body. Someone had strangled her. For this story, I spoke to LaDonna Humphrey who is the Executive Producer of the Witt project and Aric Mitchell who is with the Ft. Smith police department. LaDonna created a documentary about Melissa Witt that is scheduled to be released sometime this year.

Unfortunately, Melissa’s mother Mary Anne died on March 20, 2011 without knowing who killed her daughter. But it’s still not too late to identify Melissa’s killer. If you know anything about Melissa’s homicide, please contact the Fort Smith Police Department at (479) 709-511. And if you would like additional information about this case, please visit the Who Killed Melissa Witt FB page, and the who killed Missy Witt webpage at www.whokilledmissywitt.com.

Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by joining my true crime coffee club for $5 per month where you can read true crime stories. To join, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please email me at [email protected].

Catch my Killer

At any given time in the world, there are thousands of unsolved murders. Most of them will never be solved. The first 48 hours of a homicide are the most crucial to an investigation. Eventually, leads dry up, witnesses become less cooperative, and cases go cold (unsolved). Meanwhile, detectives continue receiving new homicide cases which push older ones to the back. After a case goes cold, it quickly becomes yesterday’s news. The public and the media will forget about the crime and move onto the next crime story.

But do you know who won’t forget about a cold case? The victim’s family and friends. They won’t forget because their case is more than a case file or news story. The victims were sons, fathers, mothers, daughters, or friends. Catch my Killer is a podcast that focuses on the victim's surviving family and friends who give a voice to those who no longer have one. If you are listening and can help bring a killer to justice, please call in your tips. Even the smallest clue could be large enough to break a case wide open.

Please be sure to visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by subscribing to my true crime Patreon page. You will receive an extra podcast episode per month (true crime, paranormal or a combination of both.) To subscribe, please visit my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/catchmykiller.

• No. of episodes: 188
• Latest episode: 2023-10-19
• True Crime

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