After having her first baby girl at just 16, Christina Woods had found her calling in life – being a mother.
The 28 year old went on to have three more children – two girls and a boy.
At their home in South Bend, Indiana, she loved to spend time with her brood. They would do crafts together and they all loved to recite lines from their favourite Disney movies, while singing and dancing along to the songs.
Christina’s father wasn’t around while she was growing up and it hadn’t always been easy for her, so she was determined that she didn’t want the same for her children.
Together with her husband Troy, she tried to create the family she’d always dreamed of – but there was a flaw in her set up.
It was 2017 and Christina was having an affair with Daniel Lynn – the husband of her best friend Brooke, 28. She and Brooke had known each other almost their whole lives and all four had spent time together as couples.
Over time, Christina had acted on her attraction towards Lynn. But it was no fairy-tale romance – Lynn was dangerously domineering.
Several times, Lynn was violent towards her and she had even spent time in hospital following a physical altercation with her lover.
Then in late 2017 Troy discovered what was going on and their family were thrown into turmoil.
Suddenly, Christina’s dream of a perfect home life had fallen apart as Troy filed for divorce and they started talking about custody arrangements.
Brooke and Lynn stayed together, but the affair had destroyed the friendship group forever.
By June 2018, the dust had settled, and the Woods family started to heal. Troy and Christina were getting on better and Troy would later say that their divorce was on hold as they figured out whether their relationship could be saved.
Troy believed there was a chance they could make it work. They even all went to the beach together as a family and Troy said that it had been like old times.
Christina had been smiling and they’d been holding hands as they walked along the sand. Christina was determined that the kids would still have a dad who was very much in their lives.
She had got a new job and told her mother, Mary Robinson, that she was excited about being able to provide for the kids.
Then, a week later, Christina vanished.
On June 13, she sent a message to her stepfather asking for help. She said she was in trouble and needed picking up. But hours later, he got another message from Christina’s phone saying she was now fine, and not to tell her mum.
It seemed like whatever had been going on had blown over, but then there was no sign of her.
No one believed Christina would leave her children by choice and there were no withdrawals from her bank account, which was very unusual.
A missing person’s case was launched and the hunt was on to find her. When an officer discovered Troy and Christina’s marriage had broken down through an affair, it was only natural to look at Troy as a suspect.
He said they were getting back together but had he got it wrong and cruelly punished Christina for knocking him back?
But quickly the investigation turned to Christina’s affair with Lynn. Christina’s phone records placed her near a rural property located hours away near Cook, Minnesota.
The remote home, set in 80 acres, belonged to one of Lynn’s relatives. Coincidence or something more? Had Lynn and Christina still been seeing each other?
Lynn was still local and, when questioned, he admitted that he’d been to the property to do a family member a favour but denied knowing anything about why Christina was nearby.
The police visited the property and found the lawn had been freshly mowed. There were also cleaning products on site, including bleach. It made officers suspicious.
When officers returned on July 2, they found a fire pit that had metal buttons from jeans and a necklace.
Nearby, they saw freshly turned earth. There they discovered a shallow grave and when it was excavated, they found Christina’s bound and wrapped body.
The search was over. Christina’s fate had been discovered.
On the same day, the police received a tip-off from a member of the public after they’d put out a request for information.
The person said that Lynn had admitted to them that he’d killed someone but that he was sure the body would never be found. But Christina’s body had been found and officers went to arrest him.
By then, Lynn had gone on the run. People speculated on the motive behind Christina’s killing.
Troy said that he was about to get back with his wife and he suspected Lynn had killed Christina out of jealousy.
While others said that Lynn had a history of being violent with Christina and it had escalated.
Christina’s heartbroken mum called her daughter a victim of domestic violence.
Finally, Lynn was tracked down and arrested. He was hiding in a camper van on a campsite in Michigan. Officers were shocked to discover who had been helping him hide out – his wife, Brooke.
She knew he’d killed her former best friend and was covering for him. While no one had seen Lynn, Brooke had been seen fetching groceries for them both.
Lynn was put on a $1million bond and charged with Christina’s death. Brooke was also charged with harbouring a fugitive.
In 2019, as part of a plea deal, Lynn, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony.
He admitted to strangling Christina on his relative’s property.
Lynn offered no explanation why – and while the prosecution pointed to domestic violence, they said it was clear Lynn is a very dangerous man who had already harmed Christina before the killing in a separate assault. This time the violence had ended her death.
The prosecution said that Lynn might not have sought to kill Christina but the crime had enormous consequences.
‘He took the life of a daughter,’ they told the court. ‘He took the life of a mother. He took the life of a friend of many.’
Two months later, Lynn was sentenced.
Christina’s mum told the judge she would never stop digging for the ‘whole truth’ about the killing of her daughter.
‘Christina and her children were cheated out of their future together,’ she said in court. ‘Because of Christina’s murder, her children have been torn apart.’
The judge said that Lynn had shown a tendency to be violent and had believed he was superior to others.
She said that no amount of time she bestowed on Lynn would feel like enough. The crime was ‘senseless’ and nothing could ease the pain it had caused.
The judge told Lynn that she hopes he achieves some level of remorse while behind bars and come out of prison a ‘better person.’
Lynn declined the chance to speak and was sentenced to 16 and a half years in prison.
Lynn must serve at least two-thirds of the sentence, a little over 11 years, before he will be eligible for supervised release.
Christina’s mum was disappointed with the sentence. ‘I think he deserved more time,’ she said, but said she was grateful he was off the streets, ‘where he can’t harm anyone.’
Mary added that she didn’t want Christina to be remembered as a victim of domestic violence or a murder victim.
‘She is a human being, a mother, a sister, a daughter,’ she said. She said that Christina loved butterflies and they are always around her children.
In 2019 Lynn’s wife Brooke pleaded guilty to harbouring a fugitive. A month later she was sentenced to a year in prison and two years of probation for her part in the death of her former best friend.
Christina had been betrayed by two people very close to her, and had paid the ultimate price.
