FORT MYERS, Fla. — As a Southwest Florida family remembers the loss of a young mother 20 years ago, they’re calling for information to try and get answers and an arrest.
A person walking a dog found Christina Wilson’s body on June 23, 2002 at Hunter Park in Pine Manor.
“Not Christina, not Christina…no…no…no,” Jennifer Trout, Wilson's cousin, said.
That is still the reaction that Trout has years later. She remembers back 20 years ago when her cousin was found dead next to a playground at Hunter's Park. The Lee County Sheriff's Office said someone murdered Wilson.
"There’s just so much. I guess the main question is, why her?" Trout asked.
That's only one question on the long list the Wilson Family has regarding Wilson's death. In late June 2002, the family last saw Wilson at about 3 a.m. when she went to her room to go to bed. That was the last time she was seen alive.
“I believe her son was two at the time. Who was going to take care of him?" Trout asked. "How did she get out of my grandparents' house without them hearing anything?”
A couple of days after Wilson was reported missing, her body was found at Hunter’s Park, which is about eight minutes away from where she was living. Trout said her body was found near the playground and she suffered from strangulation and sexual assault.
“I cannot go into Hunter’s Park. I can’t go into Pine Manor. I will go into a full-blown panic anxiety attack. I can’t go in there,” Trout said. "I think the main question is, will we ever get answers? Being 20 years and still nothing; it makes you kind of wonder if it will ever be solved.”
“You can’t even imagine how a family must feel when their family member disappears and there are no answers.”
Two years ago, Crime Stoppers and the Florida Sheriff’s Association raised the combined reward money up to $8,000. But more than that, Trout and the family hope someone will step up to help provide a lead that leads to an answer.
