The Skeleton Key Chronicles

17 hours ago

Nearly 25 years after walking away from her family just before Christmas, Michelle Hundley Smith is now in custody on a warrant from the year she disappeared.

Last week I posted about Smith, who left her Eden, North Carolina home on December 9, 2001, telling her family she was driving to a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia to do a little Christmas shopping. She was 38 at the time and left behind a husband and three children.

Many of you asked whether she would face charges related to the years of investigative resources spent searching for her, but so far, there has been no indication that will happen. An old warrant from 2001, however, is a different story.

Apparently authorities in Robeson County took Smith into custody on Wednesday for an outstanding failure to appear charge relating to a 2001 driving while impaired case. It seems this warrant remained active for nearly 25 years.

As for Michelle, she has reportedly been living in a rural county near the South Carolina state line, about three hours from the family she walked away from. A neighbor told reporters she kept mostly to herself and lived with a man she described as her husband. As for reconnecting with her now-adult children, Smith told one reporter, “My daughter is forgiving me. We are in contact, so leave me alone.”

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

1 day ago

More than 200 bodies have been recovered from Houston’s waterways since 2017. That number alone has fueled years of online debate. Every time another recovery makes local news, the same theory starts circulating again.

Roughly 2,500 miles of bayous, creeks, and drainage channels weave their way through Houston. They cut behind subdivisions, alongside highways, and through public parks. In a metro area of that size, with waterways woven into the landscape, recoveries are not unusual, but when the total passes 200, people start looking for a pattern.

A new documentary by a local Houston network takes a look at how the sheer number of recoveries began fueling theories around the city and beyond. It follows one local family in their search for answers and also includes interviews with Sean Teare, the district attorney, who states that investigators have found no evidence the cases are tied to one person.

Although officials maintain there is no common thread linking these cases, as long as the number continues to grow, the theories will continue.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

2 days ago

Robert Cosby Jr., the 23-year-old son of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member Mary Cosby and Robert Cosby Sr., has passed away.

The family had been in the news after TLC aired the three-part documentary The Cult of the Real Housewife, which took a look into Mary Cosby’s life and the unusual history surrounding how she came to inherit Faith Temple, the church founded by her grandmother. The series included interviews with former congregants, family members, and journalists who have followed the story since she joined The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

On Wednesday, the Cosbys released a brief statement confirming his passing and asking for privacy. A difficult moment for a family, especially one that has recently been under scrutiny.

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