The Horrifying Crime Scene Of 22-Year-Old Karen Lynn Styles

Several weeks passed with no breaks in the case. In late November, a hunter was passing through the Pisgah wilderness, not far from the trail that Styles had vanished from. While out looking for game, he saw something that he is not likely to ever forget. The decomposing body of a young woman was bound to a tree.

Police arrived at the scene and noted some ghastly details about Styles' last minutes alive. She had been killed by a gunshot to the head, later revealed to be from a .22 caliber rifle. Styles had 10 burns on her body from a stun gun, nearly all of which were inflicted near her pubic area. Police surmised that she had been dragged to the tree and duct-taped to it. After her attacker had secured her into place, he viciously raped her (via Case Law). 

At the crime scene, police gathered evidence that the killer had left behind. The spent shell of a Remington .22 was on the ground, presumed to be from the one that ended her life. There was also a pornographic magazine near the tree. The third clue would be the one that helped investigators crack the case. The killer had left behind the packaging from the duct tape, which was recognized as a brand sold at a local K-Mart store. Detectives contacted the store closest to the murder site and were able to uncover chilling clues on a receipt that was stamped October 28 — three days before Styles was murdered.

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