The Tragic Story of a Small-Town Mu-rder and Unconventional Justice
The Tragic Story of a Small-Town Mu-rder and Unconventional Justice In the quiet town of Crothersville, Indiana, where everyone knows their neighbors and kids roam freely, a routine errand turned into every parent’s nightmare. On January 25, 2005, 10-year-old Katlyn “Katie” Collman stepped out of her home around 3 p.m. to pick up toilet paper from the local Dollar General store—a path she’d walked countless times before. Katie, a bright fourth-grader with a love for basketball and Disney Channel shows, was described by her father, John Neace, as a “happy, bubbly” girl who lit up any room. But that afternoon, she vanished without a trace, sparking a desperate search and a case that would grip the nation with its twists, a false confession, and an act of vigilante justice behind bars. The Disappearance and Desperate Search Crothersville, a small community in southern Indiana with fewer than 2,000 residents, was shaken when Katie didn’t return home. Her mother, Angela Collman...