Lillied Murders vol 2: Other Perpetrators

Other Perpetrators

All six suspects were from Kentucky, all were known to have troubled backgrounds, struggled in school, struggled with substance abuse, and all attended high school in Floyd County, Kentucky, most at the same school.

Edward Dean Mullins, 19, was born in 1978 in Harold, Kentucky. He left school in 1996 during his senior year but was reportedly working on getting his GED.

Edward Dean Mullins had no criminal record, and was employed at a grocery store in Pikeville, Kentucky. Family and friends said his behavior became worse after he began seeing Natasha Cornett. The two had discussed plans to wed.

Joseph Lance Risner, 20, was born on October 13, 1976 in Hazard, Kentucky. He never knew his biological father and took his stepfather's last name. Risner was described as a good student with a good work ethic until his mother and stepfather separated, which left him emotionally troubled.

He had a history of marijuana, alcohol, and LSD usage, and he claimed he had sexual relationships with two of his babysitters when he was 12 years old. Risner failed seventh and eighth grade. He met the other perpetrators, including his girlfriend Karen Howell, at Betsy Layne.

Risner joined the US Army but was discharged after testing positive for marijuana during a drug screening. He earned his GED on May 29, 1996, and was accepted at Mayo Regional Technology Center in September 1996. He was the oldest of the group of friends.

Crystal Rena Sturgill was born on March 13, 1979 in Harold, Kentucky. Her mother refused to provide a name for her father, and his name does not appear on her birth certificate.

She was in her senior year at Betsy Layne High School and also attended Floyd County Technical School in Drift. Records show she was an above-average student. Sturgill's academic performance declined in high school, which she blamed on drugs and alcohol. She performed well on standardized tests, including a score of 28 on her ACTs, and applied for admission to several colleges.

She worked in the Betsy Layne Elementary School daycare co-op program, and her supervisors believed Sturgill was a good child caregiver, and she received high marks from them. Sturgill had no prior criminal history but had been suspended from school several times. In December 1996, she accused her stepfather of repeated sexual abuse.

After the accusations, Sturgill moved in with her aunt in Prestonsburg and began attending Prestonsburg High School in January 1997, but soon moved out. She lived in approximately thirteen different places from the time she made the allegations in December until the shootings occurred in April.

Sturgill was friends with Edward Mullins, and critical of his relationship with Natasha Cornett. She had no history of violence nor a criminal record before April 1997.

Jason Blake Bryant was born July 18, 1982 in Hellier, Kentucky. Bryant had an IQ of 85, and the emotional and social skills of an eleven-year-old. He had a history of alcohol and drug abuse, beginning at age three, and was in eighth grade at Millard High School in Pike County, Kentucky.

He met Natasha Cornett in Pikeville, Kentucky, a month before the murders. Bryant was the youngest of the group, and a minor when the shooting took place.

Karen R Howell was born on September 25, 1979 in Delaware, Ohio. Her family moved to Kentucky when she was three, and her childhood was colored by violent fights between her parents, until they divorced when she was nine.

She was recorded as having a “borderline retarded” IQ of 78. Howell claimed that she was sexually abused between the ages of five and ten by her uncle and a cousin, and described herself as being afraid of relationships. By the age of 13, she was engaging in self harm. She lived with her mother until she was 14. The two often fought.

By her early teens, she was abusing drugs, particularly LSD. Aside from claims of a bad trip where she tried to chew her friend's arm off, she otherwise had no history of violence, and no criminal record prior to the murders.

Howell had a dysfunctional history, with four previous suicide attempts, twice by cutting her wrists and twice by overdosing on drugs. She had problems with drugs, problems in school, and problems at home, and she had run away repeatedly. She also developed an interest in witchcraft which began with her use of a Ouija Board and "automatic writing", and said she hears voices.

Her mother brought in ministers who attempted to "cast out demons” from her daughter. Howell said she had created "love spells" to get boys to date her.

She met Natasha Cornett and her boyfriend Joseph Risner at school. After Howell dropped out of school, she moved back in with her father and worked towards her GED. Howell was a minor at the time of the crime, and was saving up to buy a car by babysitting full-time.

Howell was assigned David Leonard as a public defender, who had never worked a murder case before. He is currently with the law firm of Leonard, Kershaw and Hensley, L.L.P.