Graves County: Chapter 2 | Jessica

Joe Currin did right by Mayfield. He played defense for the beloved high school football team, went to church every Sunday, ran his own business, and became a lieutenant for the fire department. So when his daughter Jessica was brutally killed, Joe thought Mayfield would do right by him. Instead, her case went unsolved for years.

Key figures in this chapter:

Joe Currin: Jessica’s father. A lieutenant with the Mayfield Fire Department, bailiff, business owner, and churchgoer – Joe had to fight for years to get law enforcement to solve his daughter’s murder case.

Jessica Currin (1981 - 2000): In the summer of 2000, Jessica had a seven-month-old baby named Zion. She had just moved out on her own and was dating a boy she really liked.

Vinisha Stubblefield: A friend of Jessica and the last known person to see her alive. She was 16 at the time. Citizen investigator Susan Galbreath became convinced that Vinisha knew more than she was letting on about Jessica’s death.

Quincy Cross: He was 23 at the time and lived across the border in Tennessee. He went to Mayfield for a party the same Saturday night Jessica was last seen alive. He was arrested early Sunday morning for drug possession along with many other partygoers from ta house at Chris Drive.

Jessica Lindsey: Jessica Currin’s best friend. They went to Graves County High together. She recalls Jessica as a sweet girl who stood up for herself and for others.

Tim Fortner: The lead detective in Jessica Currin’s murder investigation. He was a patrolman with the Mayfield Police Department who had just been promoted to detective. This was his first homicide investigation, and he ran it from August 2000 until the case was transferred to the Kentucky State Police in 2003.

Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): After watching police bungle Jessica's murder case, Susan began her own citizen investigation in 2004 with the blessing of the Kentucky State Police.

Victoria Caldwell: She moved to California as a teen after Jessica’s death and made contact with Susan Galbearth on Myspace seven years after the murder, saying she knew things but was afraid for her life.

Tom Mangold: He traveled to Mayfield to report with Susan Galbreath in the spring of 2004 and then wrote two articles that year – one for The Age and one for The Independent – pointing at Quincy Cross as the main suspect.

Darra Woolman: Our source.

For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good

Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.

New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graves County: Chapter 1 | Something Stinks

On August 1, 2000, the body of 18-year-old Jessica Currin was found outside of the middle school in Mayfield, KY. Jessica was a new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department. Her case would go unsolved for years, until a local homemaker, a British journalist, and a few local girls came forward with a story that law enforcement would use to convict six people – including one man for life. It’s a good story: an ordinary woman helps solve a crime and bring justice to a small town. Maybe too good to be true.

Key figures in this chapter:

Jessica Currin (1981 - 2000): 18-year-old from Mayfield, KY. A new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department.

Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): Mayfield, KY homemaker originally from Chicago, IL. Received an “outstanding citizen” award from the Kentucky Attorney General’s office for her help in solving Jessica Currin’s murder.

Tom Mangold: British investigative reporter who covered Jessica’s murder and helped Susan Galbreath with her citizen investigation. She helped find Victoria Caldwell.

Victoria Caldwell: Mayfield, KY local who was 15 at the time of Jessica’s death and would end up being the state’s key witness in the trial of her accused killer. She was also convicted as an accomplice to the crime.

Quincy Cross: A Tennessee man convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Jessica Currin in a 2008 capital murder trial. Currently serving life in prison without parole. He dated Tamara Caldwell.

Tamara Caldwell: Mayfield, KY local convicted of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse. She took a plea after Quincy Cross’s 2008 trial. Served almost six years. She is Victoria Caldwell’s cousin.

Darra Woolman: She leads the "Department of Collaborators" – a group of folks from all walks of life committed to helping people in prison and connecting them with resources.

For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good

Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King.

New episodes of Bone Valley Season 3 | Graves County are available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Graves County is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder.

In Season 2, “JEREMY” Gilbert King brings us a story about her actual killer, Jeremy Scott, fighting to prove his guilt. The State of Florida does not believe either man.

Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY is a new story about a new case. A story that shares many familiar themes with the first two seasons of Bone Valley - an unspeakable crime, a dubious investigation, half-truths that ensnare innocent people, and heartbroken families caught in the middle.

GRAVES COUNTY is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction and is executive produced by Gilbert King.

Maggie is going to take us to a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, where a terrible discovery on the front lawn of a middle school invites a string of amateur and professional investigators to try to solve a murder. Maggie is the latest investigator to get pulled in. And she’ll take all of us along as she teases out this complicated web of rumors and lies, and perhaps even the truth.

Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY will be available every Wednesday beginning September 17 wherever you get your podcasts. To binge the entire season, ad-free, starting September 17, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.