On a winter evening in Little Rock, Arkansas, seventeen-year-old Christopher Gene Cummings was looking forward to a night out. It was December 19, 1992, and having recently been grounded for poor grades, he was appreciative that his parents had lifted the restriction due to his academic improvement. He informed them he was going to see a movie with a school friend named Amy and would be back later.
Christopher was a dependable teenager who had no history of running away and was always punctual, never being more than fifteen minutes late for his curfew. When his parents woke the next morning to find that their son had not returned home, their concern grew. For two years, law enforcement treated Christopher's disappearance as a runaway case, a classification that baffled his family who knew his responsible nature.
The case took a dramatic turn in December 1994, when a friend of Amy Blankenship Peeler contacted the police with a chilling revelation. Amy had confided in her friend that her husband, John Christopher 'Chris' Peeler, was responsible for Christopher's disappearance and death. At the time Christopher vanished, Amy was fifteen and John was eighteen. The investigation that followed uncovered a dark story of alleged assault and retribution. Amy claimed that Christopher had assaulted her, an event she says she only disclosed to John, who was her boyfriend at the time, and his mother. John, a Marine home on leave for Christmas, orchestrated a plan for revenge. He instructed Amy to arrange a meeting with Christopher behind a local grocery store late at night.
Following John's instructions, Amy drove to the arranged meeting spot with John hidden in the backseat of her car. When Christopher arrived and entered the vehicle, John launched an attack from behind. Amy then assisted John in tying Christopher up and placing him in the trunk of the car. After the abduction, John drove Amy home. He later informed her that he had killed Christopher, describing that it 'took forever for him to die,' and had disposed of his body in a watery, swamp-like area near Scott, Arkansas. In 1995, Amy Peeler pleaded guilty to kidnapping and received a sentence of seven years' probation and a small fine; she also agreed to testify against John. As a condition of her probation, she was ordered to mail one dollar to Christopher's family on the 19th of every month for seven years. In 1996, John Peeler was tried and convicted of the kidnapping and capital murder of Christopher Cummings. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a sentence he is serving while maintaining his innocence. Despite the convictions, the body of Christopher Gene Cummings has never been recovered. His case is a heartbreaking example of a young life cut short, leaving a family with unanswered questions and the unending pain of not being able to bring their son home for a final rest.Last Seen: Dec 19, 1992
