ATLANTA — Norma Patton, the mother of Melissa Wolfenbarger, testified Monday in a Fulton County courtroom about the abuse her daughter suffered at the hands of Christopher Wolfenbarger, her husband. He is on trial for her death.
Her testimony also included chilling details about her involvement with her late husband, Carl Patton, known as the Flint River serial killer.
“I helped him dispose of the bodies,” Patton admitted on the stand when asked if she was involved in the murders of the women he killed in the 1970s.
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Investigators had reached out to Norma Patton for assistance in the Flint River case. In exchange for her cooperation and testimony, which included details of the murders, she was granted immunity.
Patton said that her daughter was repeatedly abused by Christopher Wolfenbarger before her disappearance in 1998.
The defense has questioned Patton’s credibility because of her criminal past.
Melissa Wolfenbarger disappeared in 1998 not long after Thanksgiving. In April and June of 1999, detectives found dismembered human remains in trash bags not far from her home.
Her remains were identified via dental records in March 2003.
Christopher Wolfenbarger was arrested for Melissa Wolfenbarger’s murder in 2024 because of new DNA evidence.
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- Mother of murdered woman testifies in son-in-law’s cold-case trial
- Murder trial begins for husband accused of killing, dismembering wife 27 years ago
- How a serial killer may have helped find Melissa Wolfenbarger’s murderer
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