Case Info
Courthouse: Fulton County, Georgia
Charges:
- Malice Murder – Not Guilty
- Felony Murder – Judgement Acquittal
- Verdict Rendered: 22nd August 2025
Judge: Rachel Krause
Prosecutor: ADA Vincent Faucette, ADA Brian Trepanier, ADA Simone Hylton
Defense Attorneys: Donald Samuels, Joel McDurmon
Victim: Melissa Wolfenbarger (Deceased)
Todays Witnesses
- #26 – Defence Witness #3 – Wendy Woldell – Friend of Melissa
- #26 – State Witness #13 – Alton Calhoun recalled
- #27 – State Witness #23 – Andre Cureton – Senior Investigator at Fulton County
- #25 – Defence Witness #3 Wendy Woldell – Friend of Melissa
- Direct Exam
- She testifies to going over to the Pattons house every weekend. She says that the house smelt. She says that Norma was not a nasty person.
- She testifies that Melissa had a skin condition that caused her to have marks on her body that resembled scratches.
- She testifies that she perceived Melissa to be an autistic person.
- She testifies that she would be locked in a room with Melissa when she was growing up and her sister was locked up too and they werent allowed to go out for food and drink.
- She testifies that she was doing drugs and not Melissa.
- She testifies to never meeting Christopher Wolfenbarger
- She testifies that Melissa was not allowed to have makeup and she had to use pencils to do her makeup
- She testifies that she never said that Melissa used socks as one of her feminine product. The audio was played and she said she was probably high when she said that.
- Cross exam
- She testified she didnt lock Melissa that young for the timeframe of when she was around the age 13.
- She testified that no one had known what Carl Patton had done till the police came and got him.
- She testified she last saw Melissa in 1997 or 1998.
- She testified that Melissa was easy to control, submissive, not the leader in a relationship followed her as a friend, after she had left the picture that Melissa had no friends. She says that Christopher would not allow her to speak to Melissa.
- Redirect Exam
- She says that she was on heroin when she was speaking with the defense and is not on herion now because she was locked up.
- Recross Exam
- She testifies to asking for Melissa’s number so she can call whilst at a Pattons family function.
- Huge error by the state to not ask her what date the family function was held to help formulate a sequence of events. [My Thoughts]
- She testifies to asking for Melissa’s number so she can call whilst at a Pattons family function.
- Direct Exam
Rebuttal Witnesses:
- #25 – State Witness #13 Alton Calhoun recalled
- Direct Exam:
- He testifies to speaking with Kimberly Cambryn and says he spoke with her over the telephone and she told him about her relationship with Melissa and shared that both Chris and Melissa had problems in the relationship.
- He testifies that Kimberley had told investigators that as much as she loved her brother, that she said Melissa was planning to leave him. He also mentions letters Kimberly had from Melissa.
- Cross Exam
- He testifies that he had transcribed his notes to the report and there was no audio interview with Kimberly. Defense highlights that there is no way to verify that this is what Kimberly had said to him.
- Redirect Exam
- State asks if he would make anything up and he testifies that he has no reason to make anything up
- Direct Exam:
- #26 – State Witness #23 Andre Cureton – Senior Investigator at Fulton County
- Direct Exam
- He testifies to meeting with Norma Patton at the office and the information that Norma had brought in to be investigated.
- Direct Exam
No cross exam
State rests their case.
- Closing arguments prosecution
- The defense closed with the theory that she was coerced abused to giving her children to him. Says that we dont even know if the bruises are healed yet. They said that this was a case of DV and relayed the facts of the case that Melissa had died because of trying to leave Christopher who was her abuser.
- He says that the case is about DV and they shouldnt look at Carl Patton just because of his past and that Norma had actively looked for her and wouldnt make sense to report her missing if they were responsible for her death.
- He then highlights and explains what reasonable doubt is.
- They went through the timeline of the case and went through the testimonies and mentions the instances of DV.
- The statement highlights what Chris had told to detective Shephard in their interview. In the audio, Chris says that he didnt even know you can dismember someone with a saw and he last saw Melissa after she had got up and left.
- Closing Arguments Defence
- The defense encourages the jury to focus on the evidence in the case, not what him and the prosecution says. He lists out the evidence such as DNA, hair, fibres and highlights that it all excluded Chris.
- The defense says that all evidence is pointing away from Chris.
- The defense highlights that Thomas Dickson didnt mention any abuse back then, that the witnesses never mentioned DV and also how the witnesses were unreliable in their eyewitness testimonies.
- The defense highlights that they never singled out Carl Patton as the single person that could have done this. They highlighted reasonable doubt and why it must be considered as it means they should have been looked at.
- Defense highlighted Eric and motive being revenge. He also highlighted the boyfriend who could have been angry to find out she was married or pregnant and didnt want responsibility.
- The defense highlights that maybe the power and control wheel applies in the Patton’s relationship with Melissa too.
- Joel McDurmon argues that there is no evidence of poisoning, beaten to death, anything. However, ADA Faucett didnt even highlight in his closing that Chris shouldnt be rewarded for successfully covering his tracks after murder.
- Prosecution rebuttal arguments
- The prosecution theorises that Melissa was killed by Chris either in late 1998 or march 1999. She explained the red bike theory explaining that there is a red bike and border patrol personnel how he focused on what was in the basket rather than the red bike that was being smuggled into the border.
- The prosecution highlights that other people may have touched the bag that the head was in and leave their DNA on it after Chris DNA had degraded. They didnt know there was a head in the bag.
- The state highlights that Chris had last saw her in April 1999 at the 2001 interview and also highlights that he had left the neighbourhood abruptly.
- The state highlights that Chris had filed for divorce in 2002 and said that she may have overdosed in 2003. They highlight that Chris had said in 2003 that Carl couldnt have killed her.
- The state highlights that his story changes in 2021 that he began blaming the parents now that the spotlight was on him.
- This would be an interesting argument in isolation however considering he was interviewed in March 14th 2003 a month after the arrest but based on Joey’s testimony, the Pattons story only began getting famous when he was in high school and that may have been in 2006 or 2008, so he naturally would assume perhaps the parents had done it from them without knowing the case. [My Thoughts]
Jury returned with a Not guilty verdict after approximately 58 minutes of deliberation!
Court Adjourned for the Day!
