"48 Hours" probes Missouri murder mystery
A teenage girl is discovered in her car, brutally murdered. Was she running for her life?
In 1992, 19-year-old Mischelle Lawless was found murdered in her car in Benton, Missouri. Her best friend, Melissa Gaines, shared that Mischelle was always there for her and that her diary revealed Mischelle's fearless nature. The brutal murder was unexpected and shocking for the small town of Benton. Deputy Rick Walter discovered Mischelle's body and provided details of the violent altercation that took place.
Blood evidence was used to reconstruct Mischelle's final moments, and it was found that she had been shot multiple times.
Mark Abbott, a 23-year-old local man, reported seeing Mischelle alive moments before her murder. He described her as covered in blood and hair, and he saw a white car with several dark-skinned Hispanic men driving away from the scene. Mischelle's family was notified of her death, and her boyfriend, Leon Lamb, was initially questioned as a suspect.
However, investigators could not find any solid evidence linking him to the crime. Four months later, a 17-year-old Illinois boy, Joshua Kezer, confessed to the murder. Kezer was subsequently charged with the crime.
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