Christopher Wolfenbarger, the man charged with the 1998 murder and dismemberment of Melissa Wolfenbarger, his wife, has been acquitted on all charges. Melissa was the daughter of Carl Patton, a serial killer who killed five people in Georgia in the 1970s and died in 2024 while serving a life sentence.
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As reported by Law & Crime, Christopher was found not guilty after a Fulton County jury deliberated for two hours on Friday, August 22. He was arrested in August 2024 and charged with murder in connection with the 1998 death of his wife, Melissa.
Melissa was last seen on Thanksgiving 1998. Months later, in April 1999, a severed head inside a trash bag was found near Christopher’s place of work. A month later, more body parts were found nearby. However, at the time, the remains were believed to belong to a missing man.
Everything changed in 2003, when Carl Patton was arrested for the 1970s Flint River Murders. It was thanks to a DNA sample used to convict Patton that police were able to identify the remains found in 1999. They belong to Patton’s daughter, Melissa. Decades later, in 2024, Christopher was arrested, thanks to new DNA evidence, as per WSB-TV.
However, according to defense attorney Don Samuel, hair and DNA evidence found in the bags where Melissa’s remains were found didn’t match Christopher.
‘I’m Not A Murderer’
As reported by NBC News, back in 2021, Christopher Wolfenbarger told police that Melissa had left to start a new life in California. At the time, he even accused her of creating fake IDs and Social Security cards.
After thinking she had abandoned him to live a new life, Christopher didn’t report her missing. He cited his wife’s desire to start over as his reason for not reporting Melissa missing.
“She wanted to get away from her parents and from this place,” Christopher added. “So she had to become someone else. I just thought she’d come back when things settled down.”
Prosecutors alleged that Christopher had killed Melissa due to the nature of their relationship. As per NBC News, he had a criminal history of family violence.
“Yeah, I have a criminal history,” Christopher admitted to the outlet. “But I’m not a murderer.”
As per WSB-TV, Patton, when arrested, denied killing his daughter. He, however, asked authorities to find her with the same determination they used to find him.