On the evening of February 4, 1986, the life of 21-year-old Rae Ann Mossor, a White/Caucasian female, was cut short by a shotgun blast in a quiet Roanoke, Virginia, neighborhood. Her body was discovered on the ground next to her ex-boyfriend's car, a 12-gauge shotgun resting on the trunk. The initial determination by law enforcement was that Rae Ann had died by suicide. This conclusion was supported by the testimony of her ex-boyfriend and three other witnesses, who claimed she had threatened to kill herself after an argument and a failed attempt at reconciliation.
However, Rae Ann's parents, Ann and Ron Mossor, were immediately skeptical of the suicide ruling and began their own relentless pursuit of what they believed to be the truth. They pointed to several pieces of evidence that seemed to contradict the official narrative. Rae Ann's car was found across the street with the driver's side door wide open, the radio playing loudly, and the keys still in the ignition, suggesting she had exited in a hurry. They also questioned how the shotgun came to be on the trunk of the car if she had shot herself. Furthermore, they argued that their daughter's arm length of twenty-nine inches would have made it physically impossible for her to reach the shotgun's trigger, which was thirty-six and a half inches from the muzzle, and inflict the contact wound to her chest.
Fueling their suspicions, the Mossors discovered that an autopsy had not been initially performed. It was only after they had their daughter's body exhumed six months after her death that a medical examination took place. The autopsy revealed a contact wound to the chest, meaning the muzzle of the gun was against her skin when it fired. The family enlisted the help of independent forensic experts who offered conflicting opinions. One expert, Dr. John Butts, concluded that the muzzle was likely several feet away from her body, and powder burns on her wrist suggested a defensive posture. Another expert, Dr. Vincent DiMaio, believed it would have been impossible for her to pull the trigger herself in that position.
Despite the mounting questions and the differing expert opinions, the official investigation into Rae Ann Mossor's death remained stalled. In November 1988, the official cause of death was changed from 'suicide' to 'undetermined.' While suspicion has long fallen upon her ex-boyfriend, no arrests have ever been made, and no suspects have been officially named. The case of Rae Ann Mossor's death remains unsolved, a lingering mystery that her family fought to uncover until their own final days.
