Faces of Death

Christina White still carried a baby face during the days leading up to her 20th birthday. Her dark hair, soft blue eyes and petite frame often made her appear far younger than most sophomores taking courses at Adirondack Community College.

She argued late one summer night nearly three years ago. She was supposedly angry about her living arrangement in her mother’s trailer at what is now called Saratoga Village, an anonymous mobile home park wedged against the forgotten edges of the Spa City. She was never seen again.

Her mother claims the quiet girl wandered into the night as she was prone to do, taking long walks to quell her depression. Days went by without word from Christina and her family began to worry. Her 20th birthday came and went, as did the summer and fall of 2005.

Deputies from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s department were contacted and a missing person’s case was launched; the newspapers were alerted and a picture of the 19-year-old girl was plastered on bulletin boards and utility poles in a several miles around the park with a number advising to potential tipsters to call investigators. Christina changed from a living breathing person into a black-and-white brief buried inside local papers.

Months went by and the case became a footnote even ignored by the few reporters who had bothered to cover Christina’s disappearance in the first place. Her name had been all but forgotten until abductor John Regan attempted to grab a high school runner from track practice in a city on the right side of the tracks. Regan’s story received national headlines and later drew Stone Philips and camera crews from Dateline NBC. Unfortunately for Christina, her disappearance had nothing to do with Regan. Otherwise, her stabbing murder might be solved by now.

The almost wraith-like girl’s skeletal remains were found splayed in the 550-acre Daketown Forest preserve two years ago, six-miles north from where her mother last saw her. Her cloths were in taters, her bones picked of flesh and her unburied remains scattered by woodland animals.

The discovery caused initial frenzy among the media, which thirsts for a good murder. But when the case went cold after several weeks, they lost interest. One year after her death, her disappearance was ignored. This year, with the discover of her remains more than two years old and her disappearance nearly three years old.

Had Christina carried a different surname –let’s say Bruno for instance –her body would have been found within days of the murder. Better yet, maybe she would have been found alive. But because she was an anonymous girl all but ignored in life, she is also ignored in death.

The Keystone Kops of Sheriff’s Department never offered any insight or urgency regarding Christina’s disappearance, much less her murder. In both instances, they decided to simply toss her information out to the media and play the waiting game in hopes someone would come forward. Today, they claim deputies are still out beating the bushes for Christina’s killer, even though it’s never been more clear that they’re not.

They haven’t bothered to elaborate on the sparse few leads they have tossed to the public. For instance, Christina was allegedly seen walking with two other individuals on the eve of her death. Investigators have yet to substantiate this claim or divulge who offered it. An examination of the remains suggests Christina was stabbed in the abdomen, yet no other details about the murder weapon or the nature of the girl’s fatal injuries have been released to arouse even cursory interest in the case.

There are other details that are not being discussed. There are some indications that Christina was sexually abused long prior to her disappearance; something that might have contributed to her often mentioned bi-polar disorder.

However, to simply fault the negligence of the sheriff’s department is short sighted. Joining in the blame are the journalists who could care less about case; Christina’s parents and siblings, who continue to be muted since the discovery of her body. Most of all, the apathetic communities of Milton, Ballston and Saratoga Springs deserve a fair amount of blame for all but condoning the vicious murder and unceremonious dumping of an underprivileged girl’s body with callous malice.

There are still some who are dedicated to finding the truth about Christina’s final demise. These are people unwilling live with the notion of an unrepentant murderer wandering the streets, perhaps even preparing to slay again. There are also those who believe this case should strike more of a chord and take higher precedence with the public than bullshit front-page political scandals involving high-price hookers.

Editor’s note: For three years in a row, I’ve posted Christina’s picture on this blog. And each time, I find myself filled with an increasing degree of remorse for the shattered young life that was clipped short and left to rot for nine months in a forest. To date, it’s the only image I’ve ever reposted on this site. Hopefully, her pleading eyes will one day haunt someone who can actually affect change in this case. Then maybe she can finally rest in peace.