Julia Dawson

In December 2004, a young woman named Julia Dawson, aged 23, disappeared from her home in Sparta, Michigan. Her family's worst fears were realized when her body was discovered on January 3, 2005, alongside a road in Montcalm County. The cause of her death was determined to be a combination of being bludgeoned and strangled. The discovery of her body launched a homicide investigation that would span several years and cross state lines.

From the early stages of the investigation, suspicion ...