The Disappearance of Joey Lynn Offutt
For this case, I watched another episode of Disappeared. This is season 5 episode 10 titled ‘Little Girl Lost.’
I have a love-hate relationship with Disappeared. I want to talk about cases that still don’t have answers, and talk about underreported cases. I hate them because sometimes we have no answers. This is probably one of the more frustrating episodes I’ve watched because there are just so many questions.
Background
Joey Lynn Offutt
Joey Lynn Offutt was a 33 year old mother of three when she disappeared. In this episode, Joey’s mom, Sherry is one of the main talking heads and she said Joey was very smart, but very naive. She also said Joey was a 33 year old, but had the mentality of a 14 year old.
Joey was always struggling to hold down a job, and struggled with her love life, until she met Alexis Brolin in 2003. Alexis and Joey both had kids from previous relationships and eventually had two kids together. Joey and Alexis weren’t living together, but they were trying to make their relationship work before she disappeared.
Timeline of Events
On June 3, 2007, Joey and Alexis’ son was born. They named their baby boy Alexis Brolin III.
Baby Alexis
On June 30, 2007, four weeks after baby Alexis was born, Joey, Alexis and their kids went to Sherry’s in Warrenton, Virginia to visit. Joey hadn’t seen her extended family for awhile. Joey told her family that she and Alexis were now engaged and planning to get married within the next year.
They stayed in Virginia for a few days. Joey’s oldest daughter stayed with Sherry, so that Joey could get some rest.
On Tuesday, July 3, Alexis went over to Joey’s in Sykesville, Pennsylvania, to help her grocery shop and do some work around her house. Alexis was interviewed, and he said everything was fine that day, until he and Joey got into a fight. Alexis left, this was the last time he would see Joey.
On July 4, Alexis and Joey had plans to go and see Alexis’ family and watch fireworks. Alexis called Joey to apologize for their fight the previous night, but there was no response. He called several times and at this point, he thought she was just mad and she’d be fine later.
July 5, Alexis called again and she still wasn’t answering. He went by her house and no one answered.
Two days days later on July 7, Alexis still didn’t get a response from Joey. Joey also missed an appointment with a Health Aid nurse. The nurse had gone by the house and noticed Joey’s red Saturn car in the driveway, the mail was piling up and she noticed some things for the baby by the front door. The nurse called Alexis.
On July 8, Alexis went by Joey’s again. He said there was no movement inside the house. He called Sherry, and they decided to not call the police yet. Alexis said he stayed at the house for an hour and left a note for Joey.
On July 11- a week later, Alexis finally called the police.
A Terrible Tragedy
On July 12, Alexis went into the police station in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The police said they wanted to talk to him. They told him that Joey’s house had gone up in flames that day at around 4am. A neighbor named Terry Laukitis had called the police.
After the fire was put out, the fire did a search of the house and found a body in the bathtub. At first they had thought it was an animal, but they discovered they had found the body of baby Alexis.
The police told Alexis about the fire and about the death of his son, and they also called Sherry. Sherry said that the police implied to her that Joey set the fire and killed her son. Sherry said Joey would never hurt her kids.
The fire department determined that the fire was intentionally set and had started in two areas of the house. They also found Joey’s purse, but her keys were missing. There was also raw hamburger meat found on the counter and by this point there were flies that were all over the meat. It was determined that the meat had been out as early as July 3-5, which is around the time Joey disappeared.
After Alexis’ autopsy, it was discovered that the baby died before the fire was set.
Joey’s Car is Found
The picture is really small, but this picture is of Joey’s red Saturn.
On July 15, the State College police called and said they found Joey’s red Saturn at the Nittany Garden Apartments. This actually was significant to Joey, as it was where she had lived at one time with Alexis, before they decided not to live together. The police believed someone had to have intimate knowledge of Joey’s life.
The police searched the car and there was no viable DNA or fingerprint evidence. They did find that the car seat had been pushed back, like a taller person was driving. Joey was 5’1” and petite, and her mom believed Joey wasn’t driving. Her car had also been backed into the parking space, and again Sherry said it couldn’t have been Joey because she was a terrible driver and didn’t know how to back in like that.
Where is Joey?
The police said that this is an open and active case, and right now there are no suspects.
Joey’s family is waiting until they can go in and take polygraph tests.
Alexis failed his first polygraph test, and has refused to take another. Again, he is not a suspect.
Alexis is remarried, and his daughter with Joey was 6 years old at the timing of the episode airing.
There is a $25,000 reward for any information about Joey’s disappearance.
In June 2016, Joey was declared legally dead.
JUSTICE FOR JOEY AND BABY ALEXIS!!!
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wonder why Alexis isn’t a suspect considering he was the last person to see her and he failed a polygraph, which isn’t admissible in court, but still. I wonder if Joey’s mom and the rest of the family believe Alexis is innocent. I wonder if the fire could have been prevented if the police were called earlier. AND I AM NOT BLAMING ANYONE FOR THAT, JUST SOMETHING I’M CURIOUS ABOUT.
I hope one day there will be answers for Joey’s family, because I’m sure once Joey’s kids get older, they will ask questions. This is such a sad case because there are SO many questions.
Sources
https://charleyproject.org/case/joey-lynn-offutt
https://soapboxie.com/government/Declared-Dead-The-Disappearance-of-Joey-Lynn-Offutt
