A STUDENT'S chilling murder which has gone unsolved for almost 30 years may finally see her killer unmasked, an amateur sleuth has claimed.
Melissa Witt, 19, vanished on December 1, 1994, after going to meet her mother at a bowling alley, and her body was found in woodland six weeks later.
For more than two decades, the identity of Melissa's killer has remained a mystery, with several promising leads going nowhere.
But now, an author and private investigator who has dedicated years to solving the case believes that the murderer will face justice imminently.
LaDonna Humphrey - who lives close to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where Melissa grew up and was last seen alive - told The U.S. Sun why she believes the savage crime is on the verge of being solved, and why she ruled out the most likely suspect.
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The case has haunted LaDonna, and the state of Arkansas, for 29 years, ever since Melissa's naked body was found in the Ozark National Forest by two hunters on January 13, 1995.
She had been strangled and her body placed by a headstone-shaped rock, some 45 miles from her home.
Melissa had gone to meet her mother following an argument on the day of her disappearance, but her clothes and belongings were never found.
Detectives said the teen was planning to surprise her mother at the bowling alley but never made it inside.
Cops found blood in the parking lot and apparent signs of a struggle.
A major campaign was launched to find the killer, with billboards being put up, fliers handed out, and a tireless doorknocking campaign led by Melissa's late mother.
For a while, police suspected a convicted killer, Larry Swearingen, of being behind Melissa's murder.
He had been found guilty of the murder of another 19-year-old girl, Melissa Trotter, one state over in Conroe, Texas in 1998.
Alongside having the same ages and first names, and occurring within the same geographical area, both crimes shared several other chilling similarities.
But Swearingen - who was executed by lethal injection in August 2019 - went to his grave denying any involvement in either case.
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And LaDonna, whose third book on the Melissa Witt case comes out this month, is convinced Swearingen was not involved in the grisly events of December 1994.
LaDonna's third and, she says, final book on the murder, Connected By Fate, speaks to law enforcement who investigated the case at the time, and sets out the three key pieces of evidence she believes will lead to the unmasking of the real killer.
"We are very confident that we know who killed Melissa, which
is a huge place to be," she said.
LaDonna has dedicated the past eight years of her life to studying the case, moved by a desire to ensure the teenager didn't become "just another female victim."
Her work has seen her do a "deep dive" into the evidence and the people "closest to Melissa in her life," she explained.
And poring through Melissa's diary, LaDonna says, "There was one particular person that kept coming up."
That individual, whom LaDonna chooses not to name so as not to jeopardize a potential criminal case, "has a very violent history," she said.
"Almost two dozen people came forward to talk about the violence that they had experienced at his hands," she added.
This included women who had "dated, been abused by, and been beaten and strangled," by the suspect, she said.
But the true breakthrough, LaDonna explained, came when she spoke to a former roommate of the man she believes killed Melissa.
"That started this chain of events that led us to where we are today," she said.
The roommate told her that one night, the suspect had told her he was "supposed to see Melissa the night she disappeared."
He also had, in his possession, a woman's Mickey Mouse watch that he kept on display.
Melissa was wearing a Mickey Mouse watch that was stolen by her killer, along with her other possessions, which further made the fact such an item was on display in the apartment more suspicious.
"He fits the profile given by the FBI of Melissa's killer," LaDonna added. "He's been in prison."
I made a vow to find you
LaDonna Humphrey
Of the watch, she says: "Can we prove that that was Melissa's until we get our hands on it? No, we can't. But after a while, it becomes more than just a coincidence.
"All of these things start building a circumstantial case that needs to push investigators further to find the evidence they need to bring him to justice."
A third key piece of evidence for LaDonna, after the watch and the former roommate, was the chance to "re-hypnotize" one of the witnesses in the bowling alley parking lot who overheard an argument between Melissa and the man she suspects to be her killer.
"It's been an intense journey for me," she said. "The book follows how that unraveled and pointed to this particular suspect."
Last December, to mark the 29th anniversary of Melissa's murder, LaDonna's organization, All The Lost Girls, in partnership with the Who Killed Missy Witt Investigative Team, offered a $29,000 reward for "critical pieces of information" connected to the case.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to call 1-800-440-1922 or email whokilledmissywitt@gmail.com.
On her confidence that the murderer will be named and charged imminently, LaDonna says she addresses Melissa's killer on the final page of her book.
"I say, 'I made a vow to find you,'" she said. "I want to be able to say I have done everything I can to bring this case the exposure that I can and do all the investigative work to help."
The U.S. Sun has approached the Fort Smith Police Department for comment.
LaDonna Humphrey's latest book, Connected By Fate, is out now.
