The Murder of Melissa ‘Missy’ Thornton
I watched an episode of American Monster for this case. It’s season 6 episode 4, titled ‘Plus-One.’
This was a hard episode to get through, especially watching the body cam footage when Missy’s family found out she was dead. This is probably the saddest footage I’ve ever seen, and you can tell how loved Missy was.
Background
Missy Thornton
Melissa or Missy as she was called, was a 24 year old from Montrose, Michigan. She came from a very loving family, and despite being the youngest child, she was very close with her two older sisters.
When Missy was 19 she left Montrose and moved about 20 minutes away to live with her sister in Saginaw, Michigan, where she lived when she was tragically killed.
Missy was described as being loving, fun and nurturing. She worked as home health care worked, and eventually went back to school to become a nurse.
Robert Propp
In July 2010, Missy met a man named Robert Propp. She met him when she was at her sister’s celebrating her nephew and niece’s birthday. Robert had just moved next door, and was living with his parents after going through a divorce.
Missy was instantly attracted to him, and it seemed like they had hit it off right away. Robert owned his own business, a car repair shop called Proper Auto. Robert was successful and very nice and loving to Missy. Missy’s family even liked him for awhile.
In 2012, Missy and Robert moved in together, and this is where all their issues began. Robert was never home, he was always staying late at his business and telling Missy that he had a lot more business and had to stay late. Missy thought he was doing other things there.
Their issues seemed to get worse, but then Missy found out she was pregnant. Robert wasn’t happy, and at Christmas in 2013, Missy’s family could tell something was wrong. Robert was apparently very quiet and distant.
This didn’t stop Missy from being excited about her baby. In January 2014, Missy gave birth to their daughter, and they named her Bea. Missy was described as an amazing mother and she lit up every time she talked about her daughter.
Missy and her daughter.
In 2015, Missy and Robert were engaged. By Christmas of that year, they put on a happy face, even though Robert kept disappearing to his truck. He was caught doing cocaine off of the dashboard in his car, one of Missy’s sister’s boyfriends caught him. Missy was pissed and ended the relationship.
Missy’s Moving On
Once the relationship ended, Missy and her daughter moved out and moved back in with her sister. Missy’s family said that Missy was finally happy again, and being her old self.
On July 5, 2016, Missy and Angela went out for a drink at a few local bars. Missy was hoping to see a new man that she had gone out with a few times, but he ended up not being there.
Once they got to the second bar, Robert showed up and made himself comfortable by sitting down with them. Missy and Angela, her sister, decided to go home, but Robert followed them and apparently invited himself in. WTF.
Angela went to bed, and Robert and Missy left to go have more drinks. This would be the last night of Missy’s life.
The Murder
On July 6, around 10:15am, Robert called the Saginaw police. He said his girlfriend wasn’t breathing. The dispatcher asked if he could perform CPR, and he told her that he thought she was dead.
The Saginaw police arrived at Angela’s house where Missy was living. They walked upstairs and found Robert on top of Missy, doing CPR. Missy was dead at the scene.
Robert told the police that he left around 3am when Missy fell asleep. He tried calling her before he went to work, and then went to her house when she didn’t answer. He said the doors were all locked, so he used a crowbar to get inside. The police immediately saw the front door and that it was forced open.
The Michigan State police was called in, because Missy’s death was ruled as a homicide. During this time, Missy’s family showed up, and when they learned of the news, Missy’s sister, best friend and mom can be heard screaming and wailing. The body cam footage is shown, and Angela collapsed and had to be held by their mom, Barbara. It completely broke my heart.
Investigation
Robert was also seen on the body cam footage, he was now outside talking to the police. He had a black eye, cuts and scraps on his arms and stomach. They brought him into the station for questioning.
Without being asked, Robert said he got a black eye because a man punched him at the bar. He said he had made a smart comment to the man and was hit.
The police knew that the bar they had been at had surveillance cameras, so they went to the bar to look at the footage. On the footage, Missy and Robert can be seen getting out of Robert’s car and walking into the bar. They had a few drinks, and walked out. There was no bar fight, and the police knew Robert was involved in Missy’s murder. He was let go at the time because they didn’t have any evidence.
They didn’t have evidence, until Missy’s autopsy results came back. Missy had been strangled. The medical examiner knew it immediately because he could see marks on her neck and her windpipe had been crushed.
Robert was arrested and charged with murder.
Trial and Conviction
Robert’s trial started in February 2018. He pleaded not guilty, but he did take the stand.
He said he didn’t mean to kill Missy, and choked her during sex because that’s what she liked. Missy’s family was appalled.
Several of Missy’s ex-boyfriends were called to testify, and Missy’s sex life was talked about for the world to hear. Her exes said she didn't like rough sex.
The prosecution’s theory was that Robert killed Missy after they got home because he was jealous that she was moving on and he couldn’t control her anymore. He became obsessed with her after they broke up and had even stalked her.
Robert Propp was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Robert Propp and another picture of Missy.
Other
Robert’s 2020 appeal was denied.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s just so sad. Missy was killed because her stalker ex-boyfriend thought he needed to kill her because she broke up with him. He should have moved on and left her alone. Plus, how could you leave your daughter without parents???? He’s lucky that Missy had such a loving family for their daughter to live with, but she still doesn’t have her mom or dad. He’s a monster.
I talked about Christmas a lot in this case because all of the home videos are from Christmas, and you could see the love everyone had for Missy. I am absolutely heartbroken for her family, and I hope they are happy with knowing that Robert is in jail for life.
Sources
https://www.abc12.com/2020/12/28/docuseries-sheds-new-light-on-2016-saginaw-murder/
https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/2018/02/sisters_of_slain_woman_detail.html
