The Mysterious Murder of Christy Connor

In 2005, 19-year old Christy Connor was found dead in the trunk of a vehicle parked not even a mile away from the campus of St. Ambrose University. Christy’s case, which is widely underreported, is still unsolved, but his family still hopes to find justice.

Welcome back to the Morbid Midwest! I am your host, Brooke Hass. Last time, we wrapped up a two-part story on the missing paperboys in Des Moines, Iowa. At the very end of the episode, I talked a little bit about the process of reporting a person missing in Iowa, but I wanted to provide you the source material I used for this section so that you can read it yourself. I have a link in the bio of our Instagram page, so be sure to check that out. Now, let’s jump into this week’s story.

Today’s story is one that, admittedly, surprised me. Upon doing a Google search of the victim’s name, there were a mere six results that matched the content. There is little known to the public about this case, but it is very important to bring attention to this case.

Christy Joseph Connor was born in 1986 to Robert and Marnita Connor, and he had two siblings: Sasha and Rico McNeal. Christy was 19 in 2005, and his mother told the Quad-City Times that, shortly before July 2005, Christy had fallen into (QUOTE) “hanging with the wrong crowd.” The young man had been attending classes at a local college, but he had lost his job and had fallen behind on his rent. Unfortunately, Christy was forced to drop out of his classes. On top of it all, Christy had a baby on the way.

Then, on July 24, 2005, a gray Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was found parked in a driveway near 215 East Central Park Avenue. In the trunk of this vehicle, 19-year old Christy was found deceased. Police used the fingerprints on the body to identify Christy. Police determined that they believed Christy was murdered elsewhere, and his body was brought back to East Central Park Avenue. The owner of the vehicle, according to an Iowa Cold Cases article, was allegedly a tenant at a housing complex on Central Park Avenue. However, the owner was never located.

Shortly after Christy's body was found, his family was notified. Marnita, Christy’s mother, received a hysterical phone call from her daughter later that day to tell her that Christy was found dead. Marnita had seen her son three days prior, she told the Quad-City Times. A year later, Marnita held a vigil for her son, hoping to bring light to her son’s still-unsolved murder.

In the same story, the then-Davenport Police Chief said that the Davenport Police Department was still actively investigating Christy’s case.

If you’re familiar with Davenport, you’ll know that the location where Christy was found is not even a mile north from St. Ambrose University. My source material does not specify whether police were summoned to this location if someone found something that led them to check the trunk of this vehicle, or something else. In fact, the source material I referred to was one of the only six results of a Google search on Christy’s case.

This fact alone shows that this case is not only one that is extremely mysterious, but also heartbreaking for the family, who has never found justice for their loved one. If you or someone you know has relevant information on this case, please contact the Davenport Police Department at (563) 326-7979 or submit an anonymous tip to Quad Cities Crime Stoppers at (309) 762 - 9500 or by using the P3 Tips App.

Thank you for listening! Join me and Jamie Huennekins, host of Campus Encounters, next time for something just a little different in preparation for this Halloween weekend. You won’t want to miss this one!

Sources:
https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/christy-connor/

© 2022 Brooke Hass