Christa Worthington

During his interrogation, McCowen provided troopers with contradicting accounts of what happened around the time Christa was murdered. He said that he was intoxicated on the night of her death and couldn't remember much that occurred, including whether or not he had sex with Christa. He later recanted and said that he did have sex with her, although it was consensual. The man who interviewed McCowen after his arrest, state trooper Christopher Mason told jurors that McCowen then began to describe how he and his friend Frazier drove from a bar to Christa's house to have sex with her, even though he claimed earlier that he never knew her. McCowen said that when he arrived at Christa's house, she willingly consented to sex with him but during that time, she became fearful that Frazier "who had wandered into her home office, was stealing from her," Ryan reported. He then claimed that after Christa confronted him, Frazier beat her up. In later testimony, McCowen admitted to also beating Christa up and that at some point Frazier stabbed her. His story of Frazier murdering Christa was the only account that remained consistent throughout his interview. Yet, was there evidence to back it up?

Christa Worthington

Based on the prominent role Frazier played in McCowen's testimony and the fact that DNA and handprints from other men were obtained from the crime scene, it was not surprising that Frazier became a second person of interest in the trial. In the hopes of finding out the truth of his involvement or lack thereof, Frazier was asked to take the stand. During his much-anticipated testimony, Frazier claimed that he had no part in Christa's murder and was at least thirteen miles away at the time it was alleged to have occurred.

According to Frazier, he was at a house party where he drank all night and brawled with a group of men before going home with a friend to sleep off the alcohol. Several witnesses attested to seeing Frazier at the party and driving home with his friend. McCowen was also seen at the party that night, although no one remembered seeing him as the evening progressed. Frazier had an alibi. Moreover, the prints that were found at the scene of the crime, as well as the DNA, did not match with Frazier's hand and fingerprints or his genetic profile. Interestingly, the identities of those who left behind the prints and DNA at the crime scene remain unknown. Nevertheless, the jury's focus landed back on McCowen, who was beyond doubt with Christa near or at the time of her murder.