Killer Crystal

KILLER CRYSTAL

ANA BENSON

TABLE OF CONTENTS

KILLER CRYSTAL

DANA SUE GRAY

DENA THOMPSON

VIRGINIA LARZELERE

BETTY LOU BEETS

JANIE LOU GIBBS

JUDY BUENOANO

KRISTIN ROSSUM

LYDA TRUEBLOOD

MARGARET RUDIN

MICHELLE REYNOLDS

MICHELLE HALL

KILLER CRYSTAL MAE WAGNER

History shows us that men are most likely to commit heinous crimes but women are no strangers to violence either. Yes, they do not kill frequently and female killers do not engage in killing sprees so often. Instead, their crimes are driven by passion and sometimes even obsession with another person. They are not prone to selecting a random victim but would turn on their partners, friends, or family. Women are usually not killing for the thrill but they do so for their own personal gain, even if it seems illogical to a bystander. So as you may already know, whenever a body turns up somewhere, the police would immediately question the closest family members.

Crystal Mae Wagner’s case is intriguing because she managed to include a third man into the whole narrative and make him do the dirty job for her. The overly brutal killing and the disposal of the body shocked the Bibb County in Georgia. Luckily, Crystal Mae Wagner’s body count didn’t escalate and she was caught in time. But the trial and the analysis of her psychological profile intrigued everyone who was involved in this case. What makes a loving mother turn on her husband? And was there something that pushed her over the edge to seek help from her lover in order to do this gruesome murder? Let’s dive in deeper into this case and discover more details about Crystal Mae Wagner and her life.

Early life

Crystal Mae Wagner (née Carver) was born in 1980 and grew up with her grandparents, mother, and an uncle. The Carvers were a tight family that kept to themselves but remained close to their relatives who were living in the same area. The identity of Crystal Mae’s father was unknown. However, a rumor that her uncle is her actual father kept circulating among the neighbors. Crystal Mae was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a very young age and this horrible illness will leave a permanent mark on her physique. This is an autoimmune disease that makes your own body turn on itself and destroy the tissue. She was left with physical deformities on her joints and skin.

Crystal Mae’s childhood wasn’t easy at all. Besides rheumatoid arthritis that caused great pain to her body, she was also physically and mentally abused by her family members. She would often be ignored and left to take care of herself without any help from those who were closest to her. The feeling of loneliness would be predominant in her early life and she desperately needed someone who would make her feel wanted. She felt like her family didn’t need her at all and that she was unwelcome in her own home. On the other hand, she was often locked in the house and was forbidden from going out. Crystal Mae had no friends which undoubtedly took a toll on her mental state. Her views on emotional relationships were influenced by the lack of affection she got from her mother and grandparents. Crystal Mae was certain that the only way to attract someone is to act like a piece of meat and do anything that was asked of her even if she didn’t feel like it.

So when Crystal Mae met her future husband, she saw him as the way out of the abusive and loveless environment she grew up in. It didn’t matter that Bobby Gene Wagner was seven years older than her. Crystal Mae loved the attention she was getting from him and felt like she finally belonged somewhere. Bobby Gene Wagner had a steady job and he was capable of supporting Crystal Mae. The pair got married soon after and they had a son. But things got a bit rocky after some time. Crystal Mae and Bobby Gene decided to take some time off and see other people. She was only twenty-two years old and wanted to explore different things after gaining her independence.

Crystal Mae Wagner met Shay Alan Morey while she was estranged from her husband. They were the same age and clicked almost immediately. Their romance blossomed quickly and he accepted Crystal Mae’s son as his own. However, Crystal Mae Wagner got back together with her husband and the family was back together. She continued to see Shay Alan Morey every now and then. It seems like Bobby Gene Wagner was oblivious to his wife’s affair even though he met Shay Alan Morey and the two of them would end up spending a lot of time together.

The couple moved into a south Macon motel called Travel Inn which is located near the Interstate 475. Their son lived with them as well. Shay Alan Morey would join them in the motel but he was in a separate room. Bobby Gene Wagner was certain that Morey was still just a friend and that he was helping Crystal Mae with the toddler. Bobby Gene worked at Heart of Georgia Towing Company and he was really well liked there. He was an excellent employee that never complained and truly enjoyed his job. Bobby Gene Wagner loved both Crystal Mae and their little boy so he was very happy to provide them with everything they needed. He even tried to find Shay Alan Morey a position at the firm and help him get his life back on track.

Unfortunately, the situation between the three of them would turn sour pretty quickly and Bobby Gene Wagner would end up dead. There were no signs that could have warned Bobby Gene on what was about to unfold in their motel room.

The murder

Crystal Mae Wagner and Shay Alan Morey talked about the murder at least a couple of days prior to the crime itself. They discussed everything in detail and made a quick plan that involved the exact manner of the killing and the body disposal site. What prompted Crystal Mae Wagner to start thinking about eliminating her husband is still unclear but her relatives would later say that she felt like she had no freedom in the marriage and that the fact that she was tied down to one man was suffocating her. So she confided in her lover who was willing to do the dirty work for her in order to prove his devotion and love. Crystal Mae didn’t even consider getting a divorce and though that the only way she could be with Shay Alan Morey was to completely erase Bobby Gene from her life.

The plan was to get Bobby Gene Wagner into the motel room’s bathroom with the story that the entire family is invited to a birthday party and that he needed to get ready as soon as possible. Shay Alan Morey would enter the bathroom and murder Bobby Gene quickly and without making a huge mess. Crystal Mae was certain that the best way to hide Bobby Gene’s corpse is to tie him down to a heavy object and submerge him in the water. The police would later discover cinder blocks and cables stashed in both the motel room and Crystal Mae’s vehicle.

But even the best plans do fail somewhere along the way and this happened in the murder of Bobby Gene Wagner as well. It was February the 10th 2005 when Bobby Gene Wagner entered the bathroom. His wife told him to get cleaned up because they will be visiting some family friends. Shay Alan Morey waited outside and as soon as Crystal Mae gave him the signal, he burst into the bathroom and started beating Bobby Gene who was in the shower. He was clearly startled and didn’t fight back. Even though Shay Alan Morey injured him badly, Bobby Gene was still alive and conscious. He was bleeding and had visible bruises all over his body but that didn’t prevent him from going back to his room and telling Crystal Mae what happened. He asked her to call the ambulance and the police because he was attacked. Crystal Mae ignored him and the couple went back to the bathroom together. She left the bathroom and went straight to Shay Alan Morey’s room to inform him that her husband is calling the police.

Shay Alan Morey quickly returned to the scene of the crime and launched himself on Bobby Gene. He stabbed him straight into the heart, delivering the fatal blow that left Bobby Gene dead on the spot. The lovers started to panic because it was obvious that it would be very difficult to carry out Bobby Gene’s corpse from the motel without being seen. Plus, Bobby Gene was a large man and Shay Alan Morey was simply not strong enough to do it on his own. Therefore, his only option was to dismember Bobby Gene’s body and load him up in the car once piece at the time. It is also important to mention that Crystal Mae’s and Bobby Gene’s two-year-old son was present in the room while all of this was happening, including the murder of his father.

The plans to go to a river or a lake with the cinder blocks fell through and Shay Alan Morey decided to leave the body behind an abandoned house that was rarely visited by anyone living in the area. He tried to conceal Bobby Gene Wagner’s identity by burning his face but left plenty of clues on the spot. Morey didn’t stop there but tried to pile up various garbage and aluminum construction pieces on top of the corpse. However, his behavior on the disposal site was unorganized and even left the tools he used back in the motel in order to cut up Bobby Gene’s lifeless body. 

The discovery of the body

Even though the location that was chosen by Shay Alan Morey was remote and pretty secluded, it took only four days for Bobby Gene’s body to be discovered. The first clue that something was wrong was the fact that Bobby Gene Wagner failed to show up at his workplace on the day after the murder. His boss, Robert Allen Wagner called him several times but got no answer. He knew that Bobby Gene sometimes talked about his rocky marriage so he drove to the motel in order to see if everything was alright. Robert Allen Wagner noticed that Bobby Gene’s car was parked in the parking lot in front of the motel so he expected to find him in his room. He knocked on the door for a couple of minutes but nobody answered.

Robert Allen Wagner gave up and decided to return the next day. The second try was successful and he was greeted by Shay Alan Morey. Crystal Mae and her son stood behind him in the doorway. They told Robert that Bobby Gene suddenly decided to go to Florida. Robert could see that the motel room was chaotic and that the clothes and trash were all over the place. He would later tell the law enforcement: That room was a total mess. The odor was so bad I could hardly go in. In the meantime, the authorities discovered Bobby Gene Wagner’s body in Twiggs County. The scene was horrifying because the body was dismembered and burned by fire. They managed to find Bobby Gene’s wallet that had his ID card inside and a letter with his current place of residence. They discovered his cellphone nearby as well. They checked the call list for his number and saw that he tried to contact the sheriff’s office on the 10th of February. 

Due to the nature of this crime, the detectives were certain that someone who was close to Bobby Gene Wagner was the perpetrator. They immediately drove to the motel and found the room he was staying in with his wife and child. Crystal Mae Wagner was in there and she appeared to be shocked when the investigators told her that they have discovered her husband’s remains. She repeated the Florida story but when the detectives presented her with their own timeline that included the exact date of the call to the sheriff’s office, she made a claim that she was sleeping in their motel room while the crime was being committed. Crystal Mae Wagner also mentioned that she drank a sleeping potion that knocked her out completely and she couldn’t register what was going on around her. Her second statement did not include the so-called sleeping potion so it was obvious to the detectives that Crystal Mae was lying.

Crystal Mae Wagner and Shay Alan Morey were arrested while they were attempting to pick up Bobby Gene Wagner’s last paycheck. The scene itself was quite traumatic because both of them were crying and were visibly upset. Department of Family and Children Services picked up Crystal Mae’s two-year-old boy. Crystal Mae Wagner’s story was filled with holes and she finally pointed her finger in the right direction. She told the detectives who were working on the case that Shay Alan Morey was the killer. However, she also added that Morey was threatening to murder her and her son if she turned him to the authorities. That was the way to justify the fact that she lied to the detectives in her previous statements. She was arrested five days after the murder and Bibb County was getting ready for the trial of both Crystal Mae Wagner and Shay Alan Morey.

The investigation and Morey’s trial

The authorities immediately knew the identity of their victim but they needed to get a couple of things straight regarding the crime scene. Since they had both Shay Alan Morey and Crystal Mae Wagner in the custody, they headed straight to the motel room at the Travel Inn. After thorough testing, they concluded that the murder took place in the bathroom and the bathtub was used in order to drain the blood and reduce the possible mess during the dismemberment of the murder victim. The crime itself was starting to look grislier than they thought at first.

Crystal Mae Wagner stopped denying her knowledge about the crime but she stood by the claim that her life and the life of her baby boy were in danger if she told the authorities what happened. She even said to the detectives that she was present when Shay Alan Morey was purchasing the tools he would later on use for cutting up Bobby Gene Wagner’s body. She sat in the car while Shay Alan loaded up a hatchet and a mallet into the trunk. She told the investigators that he choose Twiggs County as the location for body disposal because it is quite rural but the detectives were a bit skeptical about this claim. Crystal Mae’s grandmother lived close by so the spot was probably chosen because she knew about it prior to the murder and could provide Shay Alan Morey with the directions on how to get there.

The police investigators started digging deeper into the lives of both the victim and the perpetrators. A large number of witnesses that included friends and relatives of both Crystal Mae and Bobby Gene talked to the authorities and filled up the holes in the story that painted a picture of an abusive marriage.

After speaking to Bobby Gene’s friends and family, they discovered that the marriage between him and Crystal Mae was troubled from the very beginning. Bobby Gene Wagner had a tendency to fall for difficult women and all of his