The Murder of Theresa Lockhart
I watched an episode of Hometown Homicide on ID for this case. It’s season 2, episode 3 titled ‘In the Neighborhood.’ It’s a tragic case, and it has affected a small hometown in the Midwest.
Background
Theresa Lockhart lived in Portage, Michigan with her husband Chris. They met 11 years earlier, and according to their friends, it was love at first sight. They lived in an upper middle class neighborhood, and Theresa was a Spanish teacher at Schoolcraft High School. Theresa also loved working out, and was also a Zumba instructor at a nearby gym.
Theresa
Chris and Theresa
Theresa was described as loving and fun, but she also battled with mental health. She seemed to be doing fine when she disappeared, but throughout the investigation a lot would come out about Theresa and her marriage.
Disappearance Timeline
May 15th, 16th, 17th- Theresa calls in sick to work. Which was weird to the superintendent of the school, Rusty Stitt.
Rusty had driven to Theresa’s home, and Chris said that she wasn’t home, and according to Rusty, “didn’t seem very concerned with her whereabouts.”
May 18, 2017- The last known time Theresa was seen alive. Theresa’s husband, Chris said she left the house at 10pm. Chris said he was trying to sleep, and Theresa was dealing with her mental health, which has happened before.
May 19- Theresa’s car is found at a park n ride. The police don’t find anything in Theresa’s car.
June 5- Chris and Theresa’s neighbor came forward, and showed the police an audio clip of Chris screaming and threatening to kill her. They also said Chris would often get intoxicated and yell in his backyard.
June 7- Police obtained search warrants and spent several hours searching the Lockhart home. They could not find anything, and many people started to believe Chris may have been innocent after all. He soon became the only person of interest.
July 2017- Chris was arrested for vandalism. There is a video of Chris running into his neighbor’s lawn, attempting to cut the wires to their surveillance. He apparently cut the wrong wire.
Chris was arrested 4 times in July. One for a DUI. Since he had a DUI, he had to wear an ankle monitor. Chris’s change in appearance was criticized, but he does appear tired in his mugshots.
Chris’ mugshots, all from July 2017
The police go to Chris’s house to ask him to take a polygraph, he agreed but never would take one.
October 23- Chris was supposed to check in with police at 10am. He doesn’t, so the police go to his house. The door was unlocked, and the police called him and called out to him. There is video of this on the episode. They found Chris hanging in his basement, dead.
In a written confession, Chris admitted to killing Theresa on May 18, 2017. He said he was drunk, and snapped. He said he choked her to death. He also drew a map of where Theresa’s body would be.
Chris’ handwritten confession
The map that Chris drew
Theresa’s body was found in a shallow grave, submerged in water in the Allegan State Game Area, a large wooded area. She was 44 years old when she was killed.
Chris said this in part of his note:
““I am so sorry for this horrible act. I apologize to her mother, friends, family and the community for this senseless act. I live with it every moment of the day and I miss her so much. I didn’t put her first, that was my biggest mistake.””
Other
A few months before her death, Chris had been arrested for pushing Theresa, and a cop had apparently seen it and he was arrested. A court order was written, and Chris was supposed to stay away from her. She dropped it because she wanted to work on their marriage. Theresa’s friends said they had no idea what was going on, because she only said they were having problems, but not to this extent.
Chris’s father, Harry Lockhart, always maintained Chris’ innocence and even claimed Theresa as the “unstable” one, who had a history of running away.
Theresa was finally laid to rest, and was described as a friend, mentor and faithful wife.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case is so sad. I feel like if Theresa had just left Chris or talked to one of her friends about it, she still could be alive. Chris was clearly troubled, and abusive and from the looks of it a terrible person. He was given chance after chance to be put back on the street after he was arrested, and I understand that his crimes weren’t as severe as murder, but this could 100% have been prevented.
I also think Chris’s dad seems like a piece of work. How dare you call someone unstable, when it was your son who was unstable. He also laughed in the interview he had about Chris not being able to do this to her, and how she just ran away.
Chris took the easy way out, but at least he could provide Theresa’s loved ones with getting the closure they needed.
Sources
https://people.com/crime/missing-michigan-teacher-body-found-after-husband-confesses/
https://heavy.com/news/2017/06/theresa-lockhart-missing-husband-christopher-kids-photos/
