Unfortunately, the details are cloudy on this one. I remember some names, but not correct spellings. A quick perusal of unsolved.com revealed nothing.

The case was about a man who had a drug problem. He cleaned up his act and married this woman named Christi. They had a baby together. Christi and the the man's parents never got along well at all and would have terrible arguments about the most trivial things. In one re-enactment scene, I remember Christi and the mother-in-law arguing over baby formula and Christi said "the formula is fine, so just shut up about it!"

One day, while the man was at work, the in-laws stopped by the newlywed's house and claimed they found Christi dead in one of the bedrooms. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled apparently by someone's bare hands as there were obvious fingermarks on her neck.

The police found discrepancies in the time the in-laws claimed they arrived at the house. There were no signs of a break-in. Also, the in-laws refused to take a polygraph. I think the in-laws names were Joe and Kate Petrellia, but I don't know if that spelling is correct.

The husband had been cleared as a suspect because he was at work at the time of the murder as verified by company computer records. I remember feeling bad for him because his new wife was dead, and it was pretty apparent his parents were probably involved.

Anyone remember this case or have any thoughts? It seems like it's not discussed around here too often (if at all).

EDIT: Figured it out, it was Kristie Gunderson Lee.

Unfortunately, the details are cloudy on this one. I remember some names, but not correct spellings. A quick perusal of unsolved.com revealed nothing.

The case was about a man who had a drug problem. He cleaned up his act and married this woman named Christi. They had a baby together. Christi and the the man's parents never got along well at all and would have terrible arguments about the most trivial things. In one re-enactment scene, I remember Christi and the mother-in-law arguing over baby formula and Christi said "the formula is fine, so just shut up about it!"

One day, while the man was at work, the in-laws stopped by the newlywed's house and claimed they found Christi dead in one of the bedrooms. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled apparently by someone's bare hands as their were obvious fingermarks on her neck.

The police found discrepancies in the time the in-laws claimed they arrived at the house. There were no signs of a break-in. Also, the in-laws refused to take a polygraph. I think the in-laws names were Joe and Kate Petrellia, but I don't know if that spelling is correct.

The husband had been cleared as a suspect because he was at work at the time of the murder as verified by company computer records. I remember feeling bad for him because his new wife was dead, and it was pretty apparent his parents were probably involved.

Anyone remember this case or have any thoughts? It seems like it's not discussed around here too often (if at all).

I do remember this one, I just watched it not to long ago. I may be mixed up here but it seems to me that someone was charged in her murder and it wasnt the parents. I could be wrong will have to do some digging on this one. I don't blame the parents at all for not taking polygraph. They are useless and only serve to make you look guilty. Breann Rodriguez parents both failed polygraph tests conerning their missing child. The next day a neighbor was charged with her murder. Lie detectors are bogus and any lawyer will tell you never to take one.

I think the MIL and FIL are the most likely suspects, but not to 100% certainty or anything. The screaming that occurred while they were still in the apartment is highly suspect. The lie detector is not what speaks to me about this one. I fully believe Steve Bechtel is innocent and didn't mind when he didn't want to take one, agreeing they are not trustworthy.

Well after doing some digging I found I was wrong. This case was never solved and no arrests where made. I did find an article that was very interesting about it though. I will link it if I can find it again.
It appears that the husband was never really free of drugs as he was busted in 1995 with a kilo of cocaine. So you have to wonder if him claiming to be clean on UM was just something to keep the cops off his back. Also the neighbor that heard Christi screaming didnt call the police because she just figured in was her and Jeff fighting again. Buy all accounts they had a troubled, somewhat violent relationship. Hardly the marriage that was portrayed on UM. Could Jeff be a suspect?? Who is to say that he didn't kill her in the morning before he left and then his parents covered for him by saying that they had seen her around 9 am?

The obvious suspects are Jeff's parents. The mother and Christi did not get along at all and they did have atleast one physical altercation that we know of. One of the neighbors stated that he saw Christi letting the parents in the door around 920 am but the Padilla's claim they where leaving at that time. Its also around that time we have the screams being heard. The police reports say that Christi died fighting someone. Her hair and blood where found in the living room as well as part of one of her fingernails. I would think that if the mother in law had done this then she might show signs that she had been in a fight. Scratches, bruises etc.
The police also looked at several other suspects that where men whom suposedley where infatuated with Christi but all of them had alibis. Seems really strange that someone choose to murder her in that short window of time while the inlaws left. Seems odd that the inlaws claim to have forgotten to bring money to wal mart and thats why they went back. Awfully convienant.
However, it does seem that Jeff was still involved with drugs at this time and someone could have been there looking for cocaine. Police reports said that drawers where pulled out but nothing was taken. Who's to say a kilo or two wasnt in the drawers?? Is Jeff gonna tell the cops that a large amount of illegal drugs are missing from the house? Ofcourse not.
Its also interesting to note that according to Christi's mother Jeff actually blames his mother for her death and for some reason when they moved back to Texas Jeff kicked both parents out of the car and they had to stay at a salvation army for over a week. Can only imagine why.

Here is the article. Very interesting read

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1996-01-28/features/9601260283_1_kristie-s-mother-blood-cobblestone

I remember that segment. It was first shown in 1997. I particularly remember the interview with one of Kristie Lee's colleagues, who claimed that Kristie always spoke negatively about her parents-in-law.

This is a very underrated segment, and I had forgot about it so I had to refresh at the forbidded website. Here's my thoughts:

There really is no evidence tying the in-laws to her murder. The only hint of any motive they would have in killing Kristie comes from Jeff and Kristie's coworker who said that she did not get along with her in-laws (particularly her mother-in-law Kay) and Jeff says that at one point they got into a physical altercation. The fact that Kristie and Kay did not get along should not be enough to warrant both in-laws as suspects in this crime. Let's look at this logically for a second. Kristie weighed 90 lbs, and she put up one hell of a fight with her attacker before being strangled to death. How hard would it have been for both Kay and her husband to subdue Kristie and kill her? Seems relatively simple if you account for both of them. Based off of what was shown on UM, the possibility was that Kristie and Kay got into an argument, which turned physical, and then ultimately led to her murder. But I have a problem with this. Had Kay and Kristie got into some sort of altercation, where was Kay's husband to step in and break it up? The murder (if we are to believe that the in-law's are guilty) was not premeditated, so why would Kay's husband sit back (with his grandson) and watch his wife kill his daughter-in-law? I know the possibility exists that Kay's husband helped murder Kristie, but I just don't see how two people can become so insensed over an argument and not one of them have a mind cool enough to calm down and not actually go through and kill Kristie. And just what was Kristie's son doing this whole time his grandparents were murdering his mother (allegedly)? He obviously would be crying and/or screaming, especially if he was sitting there watching his mother get attacked by his grandparents. It just doesn't make sense to me, there's too many loose ends to pin the crime on the in-laws. Plus, the 911 call played on UM sounded pretty sincere to me, and they're story of leaving to come back to Kristie's apartment because they forgot money sounds plausible enough.

A lot is made on the fact that the one witness (Kristie's neighbor) claims to have heard a scream "near 9 a.m.", and that Kay and her husband both stated they did not leave Kristie's apartment until 9:30 a.m., which would suggest that they were there when Kristie was heard screaming. But we all know how unreliable "earwitnesses" can be, especially when trying to pinpoint a time on something. The in-laws may have left as much as a half hour before 9:30 a.m. and were just estimating the time they left her apartment. It's interesting that in the UM segment the investigator says that the neighbors heard "very loud blood curdling screams", but in the link of the article that kane7474 posted states that they heard a "brief chilling sound" and figured it was another one of Kristie and Jeff's arguments. And then there was another witness (that UM coincidentally left out) that stated at 9:20 a.m. he saw Kristie's in-laws knocking on her door and Kristie answering and letting them in. Which would pretty much eliminate the two women who heard a scream at 9 a.m.'s account if true. It's so easy for people to mess up remembering a specific time, especially when going about their day to day routines not expecting a murder to be unfolding with a pen and paper ready. So I think it's likely that everyone (including the in-laws) got their times wrong, which makes this case all the more confusing.

So what do I think happened? I honestly think when Kristie was visitied by her in-laws, everything went along uneventful. If they really hated each other as much as those interviewed in UM led you to believe, do you really think Kristie would have let them take her son out for a shopping trip? So I think the in-laws arrived sometime after 8:30 (maybe even as late as 9:20 like the one neighbor reported), to pick up their grandson for the trip. I think everything was civil and the in-laws left with Kristie's son shortly after they arrived. I think there was an unknown intruder who came in through the slider that Kristie had a habit of leaving unlocked. And I think this intruder knew both Jeff and Kristie, which is how he knew to go to the slider instead of the front door. I also think this person was there trying to lift drugs off of Jeff (in UM he made it appear he was clean and sober, but the article posted previously states he was still on drugs while he and Kristie were together and that is what they would often fight about), and I don't the intruder anticpated Kristie being home, so when she sees the intruder she screams, and then she is hit over the head before stumbling into her room where the intruder finishes her off. In the UM segment it states that "nothing was taken", but there were drawers pulled out a rifled through, which seems to indicate someone was looking for something. And maybe Jeff did hide drugs in there and that's what the intrduer retrieved from the residence and then quickly left after the murder. This would also explain why nothing else of value was taken, and why LE believed "nothing was taken from the apartment", since Jeff wouldn't have volunteered that he had cocaine stashed away in his bedroom. There's also another possibility that Jeff owed a dealer money and Kristie was killed in some sort of retaliation, but Jeff insisted that the dealers he went to did not know where he lived. I can't say for certain what happened to Kristie, but it's still an injustice that her murderer is out living the free life. And I think Jeff may know more to the murder than what he's letting on in terms of past drug connections.

I remember that segment. It was first shown in 1997. I particularly remember the interview with one of Kristie Lee's colleagues, who claimed that Kristie always spoke negatively about her parents-in-law.
This is true but there again there is no shortage of people who dislike or talk bad about inlaws

This is a very underrated segment, and I had forgot about it so I had to refresh at the forbidded website. Here's my thoughts:

There really is no evidence tying the in-laws to her murder. The only hint of any motive they would have in killing Kristie comes from Jeff and Kristie's coworker who said that she did not get along with her in-laws (particularly her mother-in-law Kay) and Jeff says that at one point they got into a physical altercation. The fact that Kristie and Kay did not get along should not be enough to warrant both in-laws as suspects in this crime. Let's look at this logically for a second. Kristie weighed 90 lbs, and she put up one hell of a fight with her attacker before being strangled to death. How hard would it have been for both Kay and her husband to subdue Kristie and kill her? Seems relatively simple if you account for both of them. Based off of what was shown on UM, the possibility was that Kristie and Kay got into an argument, which turned physical, and then ultimately led to her murder. But I have a problem with this. Had Kay and Kristie got into some sort of altercation, where was Kay's husband to step in and break it up? The murder (if we are to believe that the in-law's are guilty) was not premeditated, so why would Kay's husband sit back (with his grandson) and watch his wife kill his daughter-in-law? I know the possibility exists that Kay's husband helped murder Kristie, but I just don't see how two people can become so insensed over an argument and not one of them have a mind cool enough to calm down and not actually go through and kill Kristie. And just what was Kristie's son doing this whole time his grandparents were murdering his mother (allegedly)? He obviously would be crying and/or screaming, especially if he was sitting there watching his mother get attacked by his grandparents. It just doesn't make sense to me, there's too many loose ends to pin the crime on the in-laws. Plus, the 911 call played on UM sounded pretty sincere to me, and they're story of leaving to come back to Kristie's apartment because they forgot money sounds plausible enough.

A lot is made on the fact that the one witness (Kristie's neighbor) claims to have heard a scream "near 9 a.m.", and that Kay and her husband both stated they did not leave Kristie's apartment until 9:30 a.m., which would suggest that they were there when Kristie was heard screaming. But we all know how unreliable "earwitnesses" can be, especially when trying to pinpoint a time on something. The in-laws may have left as much as a half hour before 9:30 a.m. and were just estimating the time they left her apartment. It's interesting that in the UM segment the investigator says that the neighbors heard "very loud blood curdling screams", but in the link of the article that kane7474 posted states that they heard a "brief chilling sound" and figured it was another one of Kristie and Jeff's arguments. And then there was another witness (that UM coincidentally left out) that stated at 9:20 a.m. he saw Kristie's in-laws knocking on her door and Kristie answering and letting them in. Which would pretty much eliminate the two women who heard a scream at 9 a.m.'s account if true. It's so easy for people to mess up remembering a specific time, especially when going about their day to day routines not expecting a murder to be unfolding with a pen and paper ready. So I think it's likely that everyone (including the in-laws) got their times wrong, which makes this case all the more confusing.

So what do I think happened? I honestly think when Kristie was visitied by her in-laws, everything went along uneventful. If they really hated each other as much as those interviewed in UM led you to believe, do you really think Kristie would have let them take her son out for a shopping trip? So I think the in-laws arrived sometime after 8:30 (maybe even as late as 9:20 like the one neighbor reported), to pick up their grandson for the trip. I think everything was civil and the in-laws left with Kristie's son shortly after they arrived. I think there was an unknown intruder who came in through the slider that Kristie had a habit of leaving unlocked. And I think this intruder knew both Jeff and Kristie, which is how he knew to go to the slider instead of the front door. I also think this person was there trying to lift drugs off of Jeff (in UM he made it appear he was clean and sober, but the article posted previously states he was still on drugs while he and Kristie were together and that is what they would often fight about), and I don't the intruder anticpated Kristie being home, so when she sees the intruder she screams, and then she is hit over the head before stumbling into her room where the intruder finishes her off. In the UM segment it states that "nothing was taken", but there were drawers pulled out a rifled through, which seems to indicate someone was looking for something. And maybe Jeff did hide drugs in there and that's what the intrduer retrieved from the residence and then quickly left after the murder. This would also explain why nothing else of value was taken, and why LE believed "nothing was taken from the apartment", since Jeff wouldn't have volunteered that he had cocaine stashed away in his bedroom. There's also another possibility that Jeff owed a dealer money and Kristie was killed in some sort of retaliation, but Jeff insisted that the dealers he went to did not know where he lived. I can't say for certain what happened to Kristie, but it's still an injustice that her murderer is out living the free life. And I think Jeff may know more to the murder than what he's letting on in terms of past drug connections.

There actually is evidence tying the parents to the murder. It may not be really strong evidence but none the less they do look suspicious. We know they where in the apartment very near the time Kristy was killed. That combined with the fact that the husband clearly stated there had been a physical altercation in the past is evidence. If you have an unsolved murder you first look at who the last person you can place the victim with is. Well in this case we know that. We have Christi's freinds who say she always spoke negative of her in laws. Look at who is closest to this case, Im talking about the people who may have knowledge we don't. The husband clearly blamed his parents on the UM episode. He even called them by actual names on not mom or dad. This guy has to know something to basically accuse his own parents. He knew the situation, he knew what his mother was capable of and we simply don't.

Now, I agree with your statements about the witnesses hearing screams and seeing Kay coming when she says she was going and how their timeline is unreliable. However the witness who claimed to hear the screams had a reference point for the time she gave. She knew it was around 9 because both her and her husband where running late for work. So to me at least that witness can be considered accurate on the time because she was in her daily routine. Kinda like if I leave for work every morning a 7 am and one day I see my neighbor being robbed well Im going to know what time I saw it even without a watch on.

Im very impressed with the lead investigator in this case. The man used his own time and money to track down the killer. He investigated this case tiressly and he seems to have come to the conclusion the parents killed her much like the husband openly thinks. Again this is someone else very close to the case.

It is also very possible that someone knew Jeff had drugs in the house and went in the with the intention of stealing them. Then had to kill Christi in order to get what he wanted. May also have been a serial killer that had his eye on her for awhile also. Just seems really coincidental that she was killed in that very small window of time while the parents say they had left.

There actually is evidence tying the parents to the murder. It may not be really strong evidence but none the less they do look suspicious. We know they where in the apartment very near the time Kristy was killed. That combined with the fact that the husband clearly stated there had been a physical altercation in the past is evidence.

I actually meant hard evidence, not circumstantial. And even the circumstantial evidence is slim to say the least. The fact that they were the last known people with Kristie, and that they did not have the best relationship with her is all there is tying them to her murder.

The husband clearly blamed his parents on the UM episode. He even called them by actual names on not mom or dad. This guy has to know something to basically accuse his own parents. He knew the situation, he knew what his mother was capable of and we simply don't.

The husband says on UM that when his parents refused to take a polygraph, that's when he knew they had to be involved. While I would probably feel the same way, since it appears as if his parents have something to hide, we simply have no way of knowing their reason for refusing to take one. May not have been because they had anything to hide. Perhaps they were given legal advice from an attorney who told them not to take one, since most attorneys/lawyers do this with their clients. Or maybe they knew how unreliable they were and simply didn't want to take one and have "inconclusive" or "deceptive" results.

However the witness who claimed to hear the screams had a reference point for the time she gave. She knew it was around 9 because both her and her husband where running late for work. So to me at least that witness can be considered accurate on the time because she was in her daily routine. Kinda like if I leave for work every morning a 7 am and one day I see my neighbor being robbed well Im going to know what time I saw it even without a watch on.

Well you're right, if they claim they were running late for work, then that would be a good reason to note the time and remember it. But again, we don't know what time Kay and Joe arrived the first time and left (before they came back and found Kristie's body). If the neighbors did in fact hear a scream around 9 a.m., and the other witness is correct when he places the in-laws arriving after and Kristie letting them in, then that means the scream was meaningless. Maybe she stubbed her toe, dropped something, who knows? Anything's possible.

Im very impressed with the lead investigator in this case. The man used his own time and money to track down the killer. He investigated this case tiressly and he seems to have come to the conclusion the parents killed her much like the husband openly thinks. Again this is someone else very close to the case.

Of course the lead investigator is going to become overly suspicious when a POI/suspect in a case becomes uncooperative. Anytime someone refuses a polygraph, it instantly raises red flags in the minds of an investigator, and I think that's what shifted the focus of the investigation to them.

It is also very possible that someone knew Jeff had drugs in the house and went in the with the intention of stealing them. Then had to kill Christi in order to get what he wanted. May also have been a serial killer that had his eye on her for awhile also. Just seems really coincidental that she was killed in that very small window of time while the parents say they had left.

I agree, but had the killer been watching the apartment, perhaps he saw Kay and Joe leave and figured there was no one home (since Kay allegedly had a key to the apartment) and decided to go break in. That's another point I forgot to bring up, had the relationship between Kristie and Kay been that volatile, why would Kristie go along with the fact that this woman had a key to access her home whenever she wanted? I got the impression from the segment that the bad blood between them was exaggerated a bit.

I actually meant hard evidence, not circumstantial. And even the circumstantial evidence is slim to say the least. The fact that they were the last known people with Kristie, and that they did not have the best relationship with her is all there is tying them to her murder.



The husband says on UM that when his parents refused to take a polygraph, that's when he knew they had to be involved. While I would probably feel the same way, since it appears as if his parents have something to hide, we simply have no way of knowing their reason for refusing to take one. May not have been because they had anything to hide. Perhaps they were given legal advice from an attorney who told them not to take one, since most attorneys/lawyers do this with their clients. Or maybe they knew how unreliable they were and simply didn't want to take one and have "inconclusive" or "deceptive" results.



Well you're right, if they claim they were running late for work, then that would be a good reason to note the time and remember it. But again, we don't know what time Kay and Joe arrived the first time and left (before they came back and found Kristie's body). If the neighbors did in fact hear a scream around 9 a.m., and the other witness is correct when he places the in-laws arriving after and Kristie letting them in, then that means the scream was meaningless. Maybe she stubbed her toe, dropped something, who knows? Anything's possible.



Of course the lead investigator is going to become overly suspicious when a POI/suspect in a case becomes uncooperative. Anytime someone refuses a polygraph, it instantly raises red flags in the minds of an investigator, and I think that's what shifted the focus of the investigation to them.



I agree, but had the killer been watching the apartment, perhaps he saw Kay and Joe leave and figured there was no one home (since Kay allegedly had a key to the apartment) and decided to go break in. That's another point I forgot to bring up, had the relationship between Kristie and Kay been that volatile, why would Kristie go along with the fact that this woman had a key to access her home whenever she wanted? I got the impression from the segment that the bad blood between them was exaggerated a bit.

Check out the follwing story here. I don't know who wrote this but they seem to have personal knowledge on the people involved. Im not sure how much of this is accurate or what can be confirmed her but there seems to be alot of info that we didnt get in the UM case or anywhere else.
http://www.geocities.ws/missing_kristie/

According to whoever posted this Jeff got a page from Kristi around 9am but when he called there was no answer. If this is true the time of a page can easily be confirmed. He calls and no answer. This is when his mom and step dad are suppose to be there. Could it be that Kristi and Kay where arguing and she tried to call Jeff to intercede?

This article also states someone filled a pillow case with items from the home and left it next to Kristy. Odd. We never heard that before.
The most telling piece of info in this is where it says Jeff's parents did not use their key but instead entered through the sliding door. Very strange

This article also states someone filled a pillow case with items from the home and left it next to Kristy. Odd. We never heard that before. The most telling piece of info in this is where it says Jeff's parents did not use their key but instead entered through the sliding door. Very strange

It says they tried their key but it "wouldn't work". Which is odd, but I don't see why they would lie about this. Why even say anything about this if they just murdered her? It would have been more simple and believable for them to have said that when they returned for the grandson's clothes that they entered through the front using their key and finding Kristie in the bedroom. Volunteering that they used the slider would not be a very smart thing to do, especially if they did in fact kill Kristie.

As for the pillow case, it may have been the result of someone setting up the scene to look like a robbery. But it's just as likely that a burglar was in the process of stealing the items when Kristie disrupted him and he dropped the pillow case and just hightailed it out of there after he killed her. It really could go either way if you think about it.

And you have to consider the source of that website, it's written by one of Kristie's friends who obviously believe that the in-laws murdered her, so it's very biased in that respect.

It says they tried their key but it "wouldn't work". Which is odd, but I don't see why they would lie about this. Why even say anything about this if they just murdered her? It would have been more simple and believable for them to have said that when they returned for the grandson's clothes that they entered through the front using their key and finding Kristie in the bedroom. Volunteering that they used the slider would not be a very smart thing to do, especially if they did in fact kill Kristie.

As for the pillow case, it may have been the result of someone setting up the scene to look like a robbery. But it's just as likely that a burglar was in the process of stealing the items when Kristie disrupted him and he dropped the pillow case and just hightailed it out of there after he killed her. It really could go either way if you think about it.

And you have to consider the source of that website, it's written by one of Kristie's friends who obviously believe that the in-laws murdered her, so it's very biased in that respect.

You know I had considered that possibly this was a robbery for drugs etc but after the burglar killed Christie he heard the parents at the door and ran out the back. However if they actually went in the back then they more then likely would have encountered him. Which makes that theory less plausible.

Anyone else have any thoughts/opinions on this one?

Anyone else have any thoughts/opinions on this one?

I never really "got the feeling" about Joe and Kate. I always thought it was probably more likely that Kristi was murdered by someone linked in with Jeff's drug activity, although we didn't hear a lot about that in the segment.

I never really "got the feeling" about Joe and Kate. I always thought it was probably more likely that Kristi was murdered by someone linked in with Jeff's drug activity, although we didn't hear a lot about that in the segment.

Yeah I tend to think Jeff wasn't being honest when he said he was clean on drugs. I don't think he wanted to admit to still using out of fear that maybe he'd get caught and/or out of fear of retribution.

Yeah I tend to think Jeff wasn't being honest when he said he was clean on drugs. I don't think he wanted to admit to still using out of fear that maybe he'd get caught and/or out of fear of retribution.

Yeah, I kind of tend to think so too--which is understandable; it's extremely hard to get totally clean if you've been using and/or dealing a while. Unfortunately as we know that lifestyle brings with it a whole lot of risk, including that risk bleeding over into the lives of people close to you. I think that article kane7474 posted mentioned that Jeff was actually stealing Kristie's tip money from the salon to buy drugs for a while. (Actually, that whole article really put an entirely different spin on Jeff than what was presented in the segment, which I find extremely interesting.)

I tend to think it might have something to do with someone breaking in looking for drugs (I have a theory on why no valuables were taken from the apartment) because that party knew Jeff used them, rather than some retaliatory thing for an unpaid debt or something like that. I tend to think this way because Kristie wasn't sexually assaulted, which is something that unfortunately happens to a lot of women who are targeted to "get at" someone else in situations like that. I think someone broke in, didn't realize she was home, and fought with her instead of running because of how small she was.

I get the feeling whomever broke in was actually on a high at the time. The frenzied attack and lack of attention to detail (that is, not stealing anything else from the residence when the party had opportunity to do so and later sell it for drug money) seem to indicate that to me.

I think Jeff knew a whole lot more than he was telling.

There was also a portion of some article I read somewhere that a pillow case stuffed with belongings was found in the house, which leads me to think that maybe it was an attempted burglary that Kristi disrupted. If this person saw the in-laws leaving with the son, perhaps they figured that they lived there and the apartment would be vacant?

There was also a portion of some article I read somewhere that a pillow case stuffed with belongings was found in the house, which leads me to think that maybe it was an attempted burglary that Kristi disrupted. If this person saw the in-laws leaving with the son, perhaps they figured that they lived there and the apartment would be vacant?

Exactly. I think it probably completely surprised the person breaking in that Kristie was even there.

I was the best friend of Kristie Lee.

Lots of people have opinions on her unsolved murder and I am here to straighten them out.

First off, all detectives who has been assigned to this case all believed Joe and Kay had something to do with her murder.

Neighbors heard Kristie screaming at 9: am, and both Joe and Kay BOTH ADMITTED they were in the apartment at that exact time but said nothing was wrong.

Kristie wore gold rings on every finger and yet all of them were on her dresser.
Detectives said the pillow case with a remote and VCR was set there to look like a burglary. Kay Petrailia said she didn't go thru the front door because her copy of the key to Kristie and Jeff's apt didn't work, but yet when the detectives tried it, it worked fine.

Kay Petralia did not have a good relationship with Kristie. She physically pushed Kristie down and pulled her hair because of a argument over orange juice.

Kay declined to take a lie detector test because she said she was too upset. Then when detectives asked her months later, she declined saying her "friends" told her not to. Friends? She did not have any friends.

Bumping an old thread.

Went back and reread the article posted earlier in here and this caught my eye:

"Kristie died fighting. In her living room, where photos of her 20-month-old son Zachary adorned a wall and the top of a china cabinet, she struggled with her assailant and was struck in the head with an object. Police know this because of the blood in Kristie's hair and on the living-room carpet. One of her fingernails also was found there.

She then staggered down the hallway, past Zack's highchair on which lay the book Baby Lamb Chop Loves Words. There was another struggle. Kristies blood was smeared on the hallway wall.

Kristie, who was 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 92 pounds, was finally overpowered in her bedroom."

I don't see how the grandparents could be involved. Sure there was a report of an "altercation" prior that had some hair pulling, but all of this violence? While Kristie's son was in the apartment too? I just don't buy the grandparents being capable of committing such a brutal murder while their grandson was present. I still think Kristie found a burglar in her bedroom (the burglar probably figured that Kay and Joe lived in the apartment and saw them leave, figuring the apartment was empty) who then chased her into the living room and began to attack her. After he killed her, he fled the apartment leaving his loot behind.

*Bumping again*

The biggest detail which sticks with me is the way Kristi died. She was first struck twice in the head with a blunt object (possibly fatal in it's own right) before being finished off by strangling.

I would think a drug dealer would likely just shoot her if he simply wanted to send a message to Jeff. If Jeff was still involved in the drug world, and an addict knew where he lived I feel like their first option would be to try to ask Jeff at the door for drugs. Even if they did break in, I feel sure Kristi would let them have the drugs rather than endanger her son.

A robbery is plausible, but why would a robber use two methods to kill her? Also, I doubt a robber could've had time to find and fill a pillowcase before finally realizing someone was home; it was only an apartment after all. Not exactly a huge space. On top of that, I think if Kristi heard someone in her home and she was able to get to a phone she would call the police...yet it was Jeff she tried to call in the time before the scream was heard.

This brings me to Joe & Kay Petralia.

We know they arrived at 8:30 due to witnesses. Jeff received a page somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00. For the sake of argument lets say there was a short delay while he finished something up and got to a phone. That means his call (which went unanswered) would've been just before the scream was heard at approximately 9:00. The page is very telling to me. I feel that If someone had broken in for any reason, Kristi would call the police, not Jeff.

My theory is that an argument broke out between Kristi and Kay in the living room. Kristi paged Jeff so that he could help intervene as Joe wasn't of much help, or was perhaps in another room with his Grandson. I think between the page and Jeff calling, Kay's temper flared to the point of grabbing an object and starting to hit Kristi. I think it was Kristi's initial scream in pain/surprise that her neighbor heard, and the reason she only heard one scream is Kristi suffered brain trauma.

At this point Joe came rushing in and restrained/calmed Kay. However after he followed Kristi's slow stumbling steps to the bedroom, he realized how badly she was injured. I think that to protect Kay, Joe strangled her to death and then initialized the cover up.

They were likely truthful when they said they left at 9:30 in case someone saw them, but didn't realize someone heard Kristi scream at 9:00. If they had, they probably would've said they left the apartment shortly after arriving.

As far as not believing they would murder Kristi with their Grandson nearby, that's rubbish to me. He wasn't even a year old, he wouldn't understand much of what was happening. Plus even if everyone was in the living room when Kay starting beating Kristi, Joe wouldn't have brought his Grandson with him to check on her afterward.

Finally, consider that Jeff dropped his parents like hot potatoes after the murder and Kristi's friends immediately pointed their fingers at Joe/Kay when they were contacted by the detective. I would think that while many women/wives complain about their in laws, you don't often see their friends/husbands immediately accuse them in the event of their murder. The detective even said on UM that he was totally taken aback by that.

Also of note:
Kay & Joe tried to do a Sandra/Marvin Maple and convince authorities that Jeff was abusing his son, and ended up attempting to leave the state with him during a visit. Thankfully they got a flat tire and weren't able to get far.

Also of note:
Kay & Joe tried to do a Sandra/Marvin Maple and convince authorities that Jeff was abusing his son, and ended up attempting to leave the state with him during a visit. Thankfully they got a flat tire and weren't able to get far.

I had never heard that before, thanks for that info. Definitely casts more doubt towards the innocence of the Petralia's.

ETA: The article linked earlier in this thread (written in 1996) is a bit odd, to say the least. It makes it seem like the Petralia's weren't looked at as suspects until the lead detective took a psychic to the apartment and she had a "vision" that Kristie was killed by an older man and a "tall, dark woman". After this visit with the psychic is when the lead detective began to seriously consider the Petralia's as possible suspects. And with regards to the polygraph, he showed up at their house 9 months after Kristie's murder, with a polygraph expert. He wasn't interviewing them at a police station, or somewhere else, the guy literally showed up with a polygraph expert at their house unannounced. Within that context, I could understand why they refused to take one.

Where can I see this one? I don’t remember this at all. I’m pretty sure it was omitted from Amazon Prime... at least the Stack version anyway. Did this one make it to the Farina episodes at all and if so, which season/episode is it on?

Anyone else have any thoughts/opinions on this one?

I don't know anything about this case. I can't envision any of these people and I'm not sure I ever saw the segment, although likely I did.

In sampling this thread for 5 minutes, Kay seems guilty to me. If it's an extended struggle involving a short light female victim, I'm picking another woman on the other end.

Jeff Lee is up to his ears in the death of Kristi. He may have been at the travel agency but that doesn't mean he didn't set this in motion. A cocaine junky who was 22 when he started dating a 14 year old?! Absolutely sickening. I hope Kristi's mother has a lot of guilt and shame. She admitted to letting the relationship happen. I have a daughter. My wife and I would never allow something as sickening as a 22 year old man date our 14 year old girl. He would have gotten 1 warning from me. The warning being if i see you again no one will ever find you.

Where can I see this one? I don’t remember this at all. I’m pretty sure it was omitted from Amazon Prime... at least the Stack version anyway. Did this one make it to the Farina episodes at all and if so, which season/episode is it on?

If you Google, "Kristie Gunderson Lee unsolved" the 3rd link down contains a link to a Facebook group which has the video of the segment. For some reason this was omitted on Amazon. And to my knowledge, it was never reproduced for the Farina episodes. It's missing completely from their website.

If you Google, "Kristie Gunderson Lee unsolved" the 3rd link down contains a link to a Facebook group which has the video of the segment. For some reason this was omitted on Amazon. And to my knowledge, it was never reproduced for the Farina episodes. It's missing completely from their website.

Thank you. Just watched it and I have definitely never seen that segment until now. It’s pretty clear to me that the grandparents killed her. So sign of forced entry, nothing stolen, they “found” her body, fresh hand marks still on her neck, etc.

Pretty open and shut if you ask me.

Thank you. Just watched it and I have definitely never seen that segment until now. It’s pretty clear to me that the grandparents killed her. So sign of forced entry, nothing stolen, they “found” her body, fresh hand marks still on her neck, etc.

Pretty open and shut if you ask me.

I disagree.

At least I don't think it's a clear case that the grandparents are guilty. By their own account, they got to the apartment at 8:30 in the morning, left at 9:30 to go shopping, and came back at 10:30 to find Kristie dead. Kristie would leave the sliding door in the apartment open often. A would be burglar could've seen the grandparents leave the apartment and thought that they lived there and were gone. They go to the sliding glass door, open it, start rifling through some belongings before Kristie startles them and screams (this is what the neighbors heard) before she is killed.

The 2 neighbors say that they heard "loud, blood curdling screams" coming from the apartment. If the grandparents and Kristie were simply fighting and arguing loudly, why didn't the neighbors hear any of that? That's another sign, IMO, that points to an unknown assailant.

Seems like there would have been enough physical evidence that with today's technology the grandparents could be ruled in or out by now.

Bump

So I just watched this one today going through some old VHS tapes (yes, somebody on the planet still has a vcr). Anyway, I have to say the grandparents stand out to me as guilty. Obviously some other issues going on with this family, but in the end, there is no evidence at all of an actual intruder. The VCR in a pillowcase? Come on. That has “planted” all over it to me. How could an intruder get in, open a bunch of drawers looking for something, take apillowcase (either from a closet or off the bed), unhook a VCR and have time to bother with the remote control, and then suddenly be discovered by Kristie? No way she wouldn’t have heard them doing all of that.

Had to be the grandparents. Either in an argument somebody got physical and took it too far, or they went there with the intention of harming her (although this I doubt- I lean more towards an in the moment killing). They knew they had to come up with a story, so they quickly staged the scene.

While the case is still unsolved, the UM wiki page has this update:

“In 2000, Joe Petralia was arrested for domestic violence against Kay. However, the charges were later dropped. In 2004, evidence from the crime scene was tested for DNA; unfortunately, the results were inconclusive. Joe Petralia died in 2009; he and Kay are still considered suspects by police.”

Also, the timeframe, why would they be picking up their grandson to take him shopping for less than an hour? What’s the point?

There is a Twitter account (https://twitter.com/kristieleecase) which serves as a sort of memorial to Kristie. One of the tweets from 2020 says that after the person running the account (presumably one of Kristie's friends or relatives) spoke with the most recent detective assigned to the case, the detective believes that the initial fight broke out between Kristie and Kay, and that Joe was the one who strangled her to death.

It still doesn't explain the "blood curdling scream" heard by the neighbor. That is something that would fit with the scenario that Kristie was surprised by an intruder, not a fight with Kay that led to her murder. Joe died in 2009. Kay is still alive.

Listened to a podcast this morning that had an interview with Kristie's friend (the one who runs that Facebook group dedicated to her), and the friend said that the lead detective on the case thinks Kay and Kristie got into a fight, and that Joe was the one who strangled her. Her friend also said that both Jeff and Kristie's son have an almost indifferent attitude towards the case, and feel as if it's not worth pursuing since the cops never acted on Kay or Joe (who died in 2009).

I remember this case, especially the quote about the baby formula.

Sadly, there are so many toxic in-laws out there. While a contentious relationship doesn't mean that Joe and Kay were guilty, the fact that Joe was a domestic abuser definitely sheds a new light on everything from human nature. We talk a lot on this forum about the details of the crimes (important), but the psychology is just as important.

Hear me out: if Joe was abusing his wife, that might explain her attitude towards Kristy. She might be adopting his aggressive and abusive behavior. Abuse victims sometimes turn around and repeat the cycle with other people in their lives. And i buy that Joe might have killed Kristy. If he abused his wife like that, he wouldn't hesitate to do it to his daughter-in-law.

Listened to a podcast this morning that had an interview with Kristie's friend (the one who runs that Facebook group dedicated to her), and the friend said that the lead detective on the case thinks Kay and Kristie got into a fight, and that Joe was the one who strangled her. Her friend also said that both Jeff and Kristie's son have an almost indifferent attitude towards the case, and feel as if it's not worth pursuing since the cops never acted on Kay or Joe (who died in 2009).

Maybe Jeff and Zack don't want to admit the truth.