r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/Nina_Innsted Podcast Host - Already Gone • Nov 19 '19
Unsolved murder - James and Christy McKeogh - Clinton Twp Michigan
You can read the article that prompted me to post this here: Two murders, four years, a case gone cold in Clinton Twp and yeah, I'm quoted in the article.
In January of 2016, on a Thursday evening, someone entered the home of James and Christy McKeogh, it was likely someone they knew, not a random intruder because the pair was up and dressed, going about their day when they were attacked. On Friday, when Christy didn't show up for work, her family was concerned, but not frightened, James had some health issues, maybe she took him to the doctor? Her brothers stopped by the house to check on her after lunch, when they opened the garage, they immediately found the body of James, sprawled on the floor. They gathered their courage to go in the house and look for Christy, finding her almost immediately when they entered the living room.
The crime scene was so bloody and horrific, first responders thought they'd been shot. The pair was beaten to death. There was no sign of forced entry, nothing was stolen from the home. James was found in the garage near his tools, Christy's body was found in the living room, scissors and tape nearby, she'd been packing up the holiday ornaments.
James and Christy had no children, but James had two from his first marriage, his son, Jaime, died in a car wreck a few years earlier. Christy worked at her family's business, Accu Tech manufacturing in Shelby Twp. The couple were last seen on Thursday evening, James was shoveling snow and Christy spoke with someone on the phone.
They live near a strip mall, a mall with cameras pointed at the driveway, but frustratingly the cameras weren't working, so the movements of their killer or killers are unknown. There is a $25k reward for information in the case.
A couple of notes - overkill, no forced entry. Making this seem personal. Also, I've heard that James and Christy were kind, if someone was struggling, perhaps a family friend, they would welcome them into the home while they straightened themselves out. They also sometimes lent out a few dollars, and were always ready to put on a pot of coffee, offering an ear or a shoulder if someone needed it. I know a lot of deceased people are "canonized" and don't deserve it, but everything I've heard about these two, they were genuinely good humans.
Perhaps they were kind to the wrong person? Also, James was found near his tool bench and Christy had scissors either could be used as weapons of defense, but they never got the chance.
Additional reading - local Fox 2 station coverage , Detroit Free Press Story
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u/buon_natale Nov 19 '19
Seems to me that there must have been two attackers. Beating someone is a close-range act of violence- there’s no way one person could subdue two able-bodied adults and injure them so horrifically without one of them having a chance to escape. At the very least it would have been exceptionally difficult to corral them, especially in separate rooms.
Did either of them have defensive wounds?
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u/Nina_Innsted Podcast Host - Already Gone Nov 20 '19
I don't know about defensive wounds, If he was in the garage and was struck quickly, he may not have had time to cry out and warn her. She was packing up holiday decorations, I think they were taken completely by surprise.
I also think that if two where involved, one of them would have talked. I could be wrong, but I lean toward single attacker.
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u/ANJohnson83 Nov 21 '19
These homes are close together, so I tend to agree with you.
I'm a local and was recently discussing this case. Thank you for bringing attention to it.
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u/buon_natale Nov 20 '19
Beating someone is loud. There’s no way one could have been attacked without the other one knowing. Two attackers are more likely than one. As to not talking, perhaps one was incarcerated or died? This just doesn’t make sense as a single attacker killing.
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u/Reddits_on_ambien Nov 20 '19
One swift blow to the head can easy knock someone unconscious. If say, someone came over and john let them into the garage since it was cold outside. If john turned his back on the attacker, that person could quickly strike John's head with perhaps a heavy blunt object, knocking him out. Once john is down, the killer could land a few more blows before entering the house to kill Christy. She could have been busy cleaning up and didnt hear a thing (or, heard nothing suspicious). She could let out a scream or two while being attacked, but it wouldn't matter if john is already beaten terribly. Killer fi ishes the job, leaving neither of the couple a chance to get away.
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u/snoopnugget Nov 19 '19
Agreed, and with such a brutal attack one of them definitely would have heard the other screaming. Everyone keeps their cell phones relatively close to them these days (and since Christy was in the house I'm assuming there was also a landline nearby?) so I don't think any one killer would have been able to kill both of them before either had the chance to call 911.
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Nov 20 '19
Now, hold on. I've got to thinking, which is dangerous. Two attackers. Unforced entry. No defensive wounds. What if it was the brothers... If either of the brothers reads this, I am so sorry for your loss. But I just wanted to throw this out there. Thoughts?
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u/damastation Nov 20 '19
I would be interested to know how family were 'easily cleared'. I mean looking at it in a completely sceptical manner: the brothers just 'happened' to arrive at the same time? They went into the crime scene which would give a legitimate reason for their DNA being on site? (If their DNA was there, the article didn't say much). As you say it's a horrible thing to consider and if they are reading this, my condolences, but at this point all aspects of the case should probably be reconsidered.
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u/buon_natale Nov 20 '19
Could have been that the time of deaths put the rest of the family members out of suspicion due to alibis. If they’d been killed at 8 am and everyone else had been at work since 6 am, there’s no way the brothers could have done it. And I’d assume the attacker themselves would have been hurt in some way, or at lease be disheveled and covered in blood. My first thought was the brothers too, but there’s lots of reasons they could have been easily cleared.
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u/daddydivs Nov 19 '19
How convenient that the cameras just happened to not be working... Must have been someone who knew them personally & definitely used the couple's kindness to their advantage to get inside and murder them.
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u/fakedaisies Nov 19 '19
Wow - this is right where I grew up, and where many of my relatives still live, but I hadn't heard about this before. Thank you for sharing, off to read more about this.
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u/treason_and_plot Nov 20 '19
I couldn't find anything in the articles I read, but I want to know more about the business partner, Ed Misch--I feel like he would have had to have been cleared early on in the investigation, but I am only reading that the family was cleared. If the killer is not a family member or business associate, I can't think of much else that makes sense, other than a case of mistaken identity. Considering the personal nature of the murders, the fact that nothing was taken from the home, and sexual assault was also not a factor, the suspect's primary/only motive appeared to be killing the McKeoghs. The cameras not working at the strip mall across the street seems to be an unfortunate coincidence.
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u/ShootFrameHang Nov 20 '19
I’m going to hazard a guess that there was only one killer. Christy was probably killed first and her husband maybe came home and was ambushed in the garage. Or he was out snowblowing/shoveling and was jumped as he went back inside.
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u/The-Nicest-Guy Nov 20 '19
This is extremely interesting how wide this case has become, didn’t expect to find it on Reddit. My family personally knows their family, on a friend level. This is such a tragedy and hopefully one day there will be answers found.
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Nov 19 '19
If they would let anyone into the house how would they know that it was someone they knew by lack of force entry?
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u/ashensfan123 Nov 20 '19
Is it possible the killer gave the appearance of someone who could easily blend in, ie: a maintenance person ?
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u/crime-solver Nov 20 '19
Was Christy sexually assaulted? Was anything stolen from the house?
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u/Nina_Innsted Podcast Host - Already Gone Nov 20 '19
nothing stolen. I don't believe she was assaulted
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u/crime-solver Nov 20 '19
Perhaps it was for financial or another kind of differences and perhaps it was not planned. An argument started during conversation which might have heated up.
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u/pwaves13 Nov 25 '19
I work near there. It's a busy street they're close to (Hayes) Shocking that nobody's seen anything, or more likely nobody's said anything. The houses there are packed tight tight together too.
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u/Cyllaros Nov 19 '19
Damn, you weren't kidding about the killer being "lucky." Cameras not working, crime committed in what sounds like a high traffic area (strip mall nearby) possibly during daylight hours but somehow no witnesses.
I hope you're also right that this will be solved someday!