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Kristie Gunderson Lee

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Kristie, Jeff, and Zachary Lee

Kristie, Jeff, and Zachary Lee

Real Name: Kristie Lynn Gunderson Lee
Nicknames: None known
Location: Pompano Beach, Florida
Date: March 31, 1994

Case[]

Details: Kristie Gunderson met Jeff Lee in Austin, Texas. They fell in love and married on March 6, 1993. Jeff had been involved in drugs, but decided to leave that lifestyle behind him. He and Kristie moved to Pompano Beach, Florida, to be closer to his parents, Kay and Joe Petralia. He found a job as a travel agent while she worked as a hairstylist. They seemed to be living a great life, especially after the birth of their son, Zachary. Tragically, on March 31, 1994, Kay and Joe found Kristie murdered in their home. She had been struck on the head, and then strangled to death.
To date, police have looked into several theories, including Jeff being involved, Kristie being killed in a burglary gone wrong, and Kay and Joe being involved. However, this case remains unsolved.
Suspects: Jeff was first considered a suspect; the evidence pointed to a crime of passion. However, log-in records on his work computer showed that he was at work at the time of the murder. Also, coworkers claimed that he was there the whole morning.
Police next looked into the possibility that Kristie had interrupted a burglary. They learned that she had a habit of leaving the sliding glass door open. Blood was found throughout the home, which indicated that there was a struggle that started in the living room and ended in the bedroom. However, the theory was weakened after police discovered that nothing was missing from the home. They suspected the crime scene may have been staged to look like a robbery. Only two drawers had been pulled out. A pillowcase with some items was found next to Kristie, but none of the items were valuable. TVs, VCRs, jewelry, and other expensive items had not even been touched.
Suspicion soon fell on Kay and Joe, who had reportedly found Kristie's body. They had a key to the home and often watched after Zachary. On the day of the murder, they claimed that they arrived at 8:30am left with Zachary at 9:30am and returned at 10:30am to find Kristie dead. However, two neighbors reported hearing screams coming from the home at 9am. According to their own accounts, Kay and Joe were still in it at that time.
Kay and Joe came up again when detectives questioned Kristie's best friend at work. She told them that Kristie was having problems with them. Kay was apparently very controlling and was interfering with Kristie's raising of Zachary. Jeff claimed that one of Kay and Kristie's arguments turned into a physical altercation and that he had to step in to keep them from hurting each other. She also told her friend that if anything ever happened to her, she hoped that Kay would not be allowed to raise Zachary. Kristie, Jeff, and Zachary had planned to move back to Texas, which angered Kay and Joe. They refused to take a polygraph test and proclaim their innocence. The police and Jeff still consider them suspects.
Some also suspect that the murder might have been due to Jeff's past drug habits. However, he claimed that none of his suppliers knew where he lived.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the April 25, 1997 episode.
Some sources list her name as "Kristie Skinner" and "Kristie Gunderson".
Results: Unsolved. In 2000, Joe was arrested for domestic violence against Kay. However, the charges were later dropped. In 2004, evidence from the crime scene was tested for DNA; unfortunately, the results were inconclusive. Joe died in 2009 but he and Kay are still considered suspects by police.
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