Killer's Son Leads Police to Victim's Body 15 Years Later

For 15 long years, Christie Wilson’s family wrestled with one question for their daughter’s killer: Where was her body? Through relentless determination and the unwavering support of dedicated investigators, Wilson’s mother Debbie Boyd finally found the answers she had been seeking for so many years with help from an unlikely source, the killer’s family.

Some Background

The last time anyone saw Wilson alive was 2005, when Mario Garcia crossed paths with Christie Wilson at a casino. Despite Garcia’s denial of involvement in her disappearance, questions lingered.

Despite being the last person seen with Wilson, Garcia initially seemed an improbable suspect. He held a stable job as a project manager at a local hospital and was married with two teenage sons. His wife Jean described him as a family man, and son Kris called him a “great dad.”

The Suspect’s Past

However, investigators met Wendy Ward, a woman from Garcia’s past, who revealed a different side of him. Ward met Garcia back in 1978 near Oakland when they were both in their mid-20s. Ward told police Garcia seemed supportive and caring in the relationship’s early stages, but she had witnessed Garcia’s dark side when his temper flared. When she decided to end the relationship, he forced her into his van and drove to a secluded location, where he threatened violence and sexually assaulted her. After returning to his apartment, Garcia held a gun to Ward’s head. Instead of pulling the trigger, he threatened: “I can come and get you anytime I want.”

After Garcia returned Ward to her apartment, she sought medical help, and police arrested Garcia. However, the legal proceedings hit a snag and stalled for two years before prosecutors presented him with a deal, which Ward figured was better than nothing. Garcia accepted the plea deal, pleading guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon and received 18 months of probation. Ward worried Garcia would eventually hurt someone else.

Her fears were realized in 1979, when Garcia began dating a woman named Lynette Davis. This tumultuous relationship was marked by Garcia’s anger over Davis’s decision to end a pregnancy with his child. Despite their issues, they joined Davis’s mother for Christmas celebrations. After dinner, the trio got into Davis’s car.

According to Oakland Police reports, the streets were dry and the weather clear that Christmas night. Garcia was the only survivor after the car that he, Davis, and her mother were in plunged into the water near the Oakland airport. According to witnesses, the car pulled to the right shoulder and then suddenly accelerated, shooting off the ledge into the water. No charges were ever filed against Garcia in this case.

Once Boyd learned about Garcia’s attack on Ward and his involvement with Davis, she believed he was capable of her daughter’s murder. But when authorities decided to charge Garcia with Wilson’s murder after three weeks of searching for her body, Boyd worried about the lack of evidence. Boyd wanted to make sure Garcia never hurt anyone else. Authorities believe once Garcia got Wilson in a vehicle outside the casino in 2005, he incapacitated her somehow. During the investigation in the days after her disappearance, crime scene investigators found Wilson’s blood inside the car, and police saw scratches on Garcia’s face when they questioned him. Authorities believe the scratches resulted from Wilson fighting back.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office processed Garcia’s car and discovered Christie’s hair in the trunk. Garcia was arrested and charged with murder, despite the absence of Christie’s body.

The Trial

Garcia’s trial commenced on Sept. 11, 2006. Prosecutors presented a compelling case alleging that Garcia met Christie at the casino, left with her, subdued her, committed the murder, and concealed her body. Subsequently, Garcia was convicted of Christie’s murder. On Jan. 11, 2007, he received a sentence of 59 years to life imprisonment. But he still maintained his innocence.

Following Garcia’s conviction and sentencing, the quest to locate Wilson’s body continued for 13 years. But Boyd never gave up hope. In 2019, investigators questioned Garcia’s sons, Kris and Andy, about the four days following Christie’s disappearance in October 2005, just before police began questioning Garcia. What did they observe? How did their father behave?

The Killer’s Family Helps

Turns out Kris had an important soccer game that Saturday, but Garcia was working on a tractor and refused to go. Missing a game was out of character for him. Investigators brought Kris back to his childhood home, which the family lost in 2007, to point out where he had seen his father working on the tractor. The spot was next to the detached garage, a stone’s throw from the Garcia house.

Investigators knew cadaver dogs had already combed the property back in 2005 and found nothing.

A year later, in August 2020, investigators decided to revisit the property, this time with a ground-penetrating radar. Nearly the entire 5-acre property was scanned, revealing eight areas with voids or anomalies beneath the surface. Initial attempts yielded no results.

While working the third hole, where Garcia had been working on the tractor that day, an investigator saw a bone popping out of the ground. Eventually, investigators found a near-entire skeleton. Testing confirmed the remains were Wilson’s. The autopsy showed a broken hand and nose, but no cause of death.

Wilson’s mother and father had her remains cremated. In October 2020, to mark the anniversary of her death, Boyd visited a pier in Capitola where the family put a plaque many years ago. They chose this place for the plaque because Wilson loved going there. Boyd said that no longer having to wonder where Christie is has allowed the family to grieve in a way they couldn’t back in 2005.

Mario Garcia died of pneumonia on Dec. 24, 2020. He died without ever admitting guilt.

References: A Killer’s Family Helps Detectives Find Victim’s Remains After 15 Years | What Happened to Christie Wilson?