A young woman is killed outside her father's home on Christmas Eve On Christmas Eve of 2008, 38-year-old Margaret 'Mae' Sweet, a white female, was spending the holidays at her father's home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She and her father, James Egger, were taking turns visiting her stepmother who was recovering from surgery in the hospital. The evening of December 24th, it was her father's turn to be at the hospital, leaving Margaret at the house alone. At some point that evening, she visited her best friend, Tammy Matthies.
Later that night, neighbors reported hearing a loud argument between a man and a woman at the Egger residence, followed by a single gunshot. Tragically, no one called 911.
The following morning, on Christmas Day, James Egger returned home to a horrific discovery. He found his daughter's body on the front porch. Margaret had been fatally shot at close range. When paramedics arrived, she was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Colorado Springs Police Department immediately began an investigation into her homicide.
The investigation quickly uncovered a history of domestic turmoil in Margaret's life. Months before her murder, she had moved back to Colorado Springs from Nashville, Tennessee, to distance herself from a tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Jere Dale Batts. Her friend, Tammy Matthies, later stated that Margaret had shown her bruises from a severe beating she had received from Batts and that he had threatened to shoot her. In May 2008, Margaret had been granted a permanent restraining order against Batts after he followed her to Colorado Springs. On one occasion, he had left a teddy bear, roses, and an engagement ring on her car. She had also been receiving counseling from TESSA, an organization that supports victims of domestic violence.
Suspicion naturally fell on Jere Dale Batts, but he provided an alibi, stating that he was on a date with another woman at the time of the shooting. While he was questioned, he was never charged in connection with Margaret's murder. Ballistics testing of the murder weapon revealed another layer to the mystery; the gun had been used in a shooting during a drug deal the previous year. The victim in that incident had survived, and no arrests were made. However, a toxicology report showed that Margaret was sober at the time of her death, and investigators found no evidence to connect her to the drug trade. To this day, Margaret Sweet's murder remains unsolved, and no arrests have ever been made. The case is considered a cold case, leaving her family and friends without answers.
