Trace Evidence

August 11th, 2009 was a hot and humid day in the North Georgia town of Blairsville. Thirty-eight year old Kristi Cornwell was visiting with her parents that summer as she had recently embarked on major changes in her life. She’d left her career as a probation officer, and was pursuing a new journey into the medical field. She had gotten divorced a few months earlier, but in recent times, had begun dating a new man with whom she hoped she might develop a future. Due to a lower back injury sustained during a fall, Kristi had taken to late evening walks. They eased her pain and, in the evening, the hot and sticky weather wasn’t nearly as intense. Her mother didn’t like her walking so late, but Kristi assured her she could take care of herself, and besides, they were in Blairsville, a picturesque southern town with less than a thousand residents. They’d live there all their lives, and Kristi, if nothing else, always felt safe there. That night, with her phone in her pocket and an earbud in, she spoke to her new b