There is a new effort to reopen a 1975 cold case murder. 14-year-old Christie Mullins slaying shocked the Cintonville community. Police made an arrest, but the charges didn't stick.
"That day, all of our safety was taken away," said friend Lynn Dean.
It was August 23, 1975.
"It was terrible. We were kids. We were kids, 14-years-old," said friend Julie Young.
They were teenagers when Young and Dean lost their best friend. It was a horrific crime.
"I was screaming. I was running through the house. I was hysterical," said Dean.
Mullins' body was found in the woods behind the Graceland Shopping Center by a neighbor and his wife. She was tied up and beaten to death.
"Kelly and I were going to the fair and we wanted her to go with us, but she didn't have any money so she wasn't allowed to go," said Dean.
Mullins went swimming with her sister instead. A neighbor girl came by the pool and Mullins left with her.
"I'm not sure why she would go with her. We didn't even like her," said Dean.
The girl told police Mullins was sitting on a guardrail behind the old Woolco store and she went inside to check the time. When she came back, Mullins was gone.
"Just the story that that girl that was with her told, we all knew that wasn't the truth," said Young.
The neighbor who found Mullins identified a mentally challenged man as the killer. He stood trial, but was acquitted.
"There's no way he could have gotten from the west side to up north in that length of time," said Dean.
People applauded and cried at the Clintonville Area Commission meeting, as members unanimously agreed to send a letter to city, county and state leaders, asking to reopen the case. Columbus Police say the case is closed. They believe the man they initially arrested is the killer.
But friends and family disagree. And have forever questioned the stories of the girl Mullins was with and the man who found her.
"Just please, give us some answers, that's it, it's been way too long," said Young.
Police say the only way they would reopen the case is if there is new evidence pointing to a suspect.
Push To Reopen Teenager's Cold Case Murder
The Clintonville community banded together to ask police to reopen a murder investigation dating back to 1975.