Kacie Rene Woody (October 17, 1989December 4, 2002) was an American teenager from Holland, Arkansas, who was
catfished
Catfishing is a deceptive activity in which a person creates a Sockpuppet (Internet), fictional persona or Privacy concerns with social networking services, fake identity on a social networking service, usually targeting a specific victim. The ...
, abducted, and murdered by 47-year-old David Leslie Fuller, from
La Mesa, California
La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, located east of Downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of the Hills."
History
La Me ...
, whom she met in a Yahoo Christian chat room for teens. Fuller had given his name as Dave Fagen, claimed to be a 17-year-old living in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, and used a photo of a younger male on his profile. Fuller traveled to
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, and abducted Kacie from her home on the night of December 3, 2002. The next day, her body was found in the rear of a minivan inside a
storage unit
Self storage (a shorthand for "self-service storage," and also known as "device storage") is an industry that renting, rents storage space (such as rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space), also known as "storage units," to tenants, us ...
in Conway, along with the body of Fuller. After he had
shot
Shot may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard
*''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck
*''Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy
* "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus
* ''Shot'' (2017 fi ...
her, he also shot himself, as law enforcement closed in on the unit. Kacie's case has been featured on the ''
Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...
'' documentary shows ''Web of Lies'' and ''Man with a Van'', and the podcast ''
Crime Junkie
''Crime Junkie'' is a true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Production and format
In a Q&A with ''Inside Radio'', Flowers said that she and Prawat, her co-host, have been friends since birth ...
''. It is possibly the first well-documented case of a
pedophile
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
using the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
to
groom
A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...
, abduct, and murder a victim.
Since Kacie's murder, her friends and family founded the Kacie Woody Foundation, which is designed to educate parents and children about dangers associated with the Internet.
Background
Kacie was born on October 17, 1989, at Baptist Medical Center in
Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
, to Rick and Kristie Woody. She had two brothers, Austin and Tim. She suffered from
meconium aspiration syndrome
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) also known as neonatal aspiration of meconium is a medical condition affecting newborn infants. It describes the spectrum of disorders and pathophysiology of newborns born in meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF ...
, and spent the first weeks of her life in the
NICU
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. Neonatal refers to the first 28 days of life. Neonatal care, as kn ...
. After returning to the hospital a few more times in early infancy, Kacie didn't have any more lung problems.
On June 19, 1997, when Kacie was 7 years old, her mother Kristie was killed in a car accident, while the family was on their way home from Tim's baseball game. The car collided with a horse that had run into the road, which shattered the windshield and hit Kristie, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Everyone else in the vehicle survived, although Rick, who was driving, suffered broken ribs.
In 2002, Kacie lived in Holland, Arkansas, with Rick, Tim, and Tim's friend Eric Betts. Her maternal aunt, Teresa Paul, lived next door. Paul's daughter and Kacie's cousin Jonna had died in a car accident, like Kristie, in 1994, at the age of 17. Kacie was a student at Greenbrier Middle School, and a member of the band, choir, and gifted and talented programs.
The Woody home was in a
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
, heavily wooded area, and due to many outgoing calls being long-distance, Rick allowed Kacie to use
instant messaging
Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...
on the computer to keep in touch with her friends. She registered on
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger (sometimes abbreviated Y!M) was an advertisement-supported instant messaging client (computing), client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!. Yahoo! Messenger was provided free of charge and could be downloaded and used wit ...
with either the username modelbehavior63 or modelbehavior36 (accounts vary). Kacie eventually started using
chat room
The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
s to meet new friends, and on either New Year's Eve 2001 (according to ''Web of Lies''), or in the summer of 2002 (according to the written documentary ''Caught in the Web''), she befriended "jazzman_df", who claimed to be a 17-year-old boy named David "Dave" Fagen, in a
Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...
Christian teen chat room. The photo on jazzman_df's profile was of a "surfer dude"-type attractive young man; he claimed to love surfing and the beach, and the two bonded quickly and began to chat often. Kacie eventually told Dave about the loss of her mother, and he told her that his aunt, who also happened to live in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, was recently in a car accident and now comatose, and wasn't expected to live much longer.
Kacie felt bad about Dave's aunt, and told her family and friends about him and the situation. Her friends Sam and Jessica also befriended Dave, and added him to their Yahoo buddy lists. At the same time, Sam in particular was fearful over Kacie's naivety, and warned her about becoming close to and falling in love with people that she hadn't met in person. Since Kacie's father, Rick, worked long-hour swing shifts as a police officer with the Greenbrier Police Department, he often wasn't home to monitor her Internet activity. Although, he stated during his ''Web of Lies'' interview, that at the time, he was aware she was talking to boys online. However, he wasn't very afraid, as long as he knew that she was at home, and the boys were elsewhere. Around the summer of 2002, when Kacie told him that Dave was turning 18, Rick told her that he was too old for her, and to stop talking to him. Although Kacie told Dave about this, she disobeyed Rick, and began talking to Dave over the phone, despite the long-distance call issue.
One night, likely in the autumn of 2002, Dave called Kacie while Jessica was spending the night at Kacie's house. During this, the girls heard strange sounds around the outside of the house, and a floorboard squeak in the kitchen, as if an intruder was on the property. The girls rushed into Kacie's bedroom and blocked the door with a dresser. Kacie told Dave that she was afraid someone was in the house; he told her that nobody was in the house and not to worry, and then the noises stopped.
Sam was skeptical of Dave's age, because of his use of outdated slang, using terms such as "groovy" and "far out". Kacie assumed this was simply because he came from California, and that people there talked differently than in Arkansas.
At some point, Kacie met another boy in a chat room, Tazz2999. He claimed to be a 14-year-old named Scott from
Alpharetta, Georgia
Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551.
History
In the 1830s, the Ch ...
, who loved
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
. The photo on his profile was of a young teen boy in a football uniform. Kacie and Scott began dating on October 3, 2002. When Dave learned about the relationship, he wanted to remain friends with Kacie, but he began talking about his aunt and her worsening condition more.
On the morning of Tuesday, December 3, 2002, Sam noticed that Kacie had the photo from Scott's profile in her locker. She told her that he was hot, which Kacie misheard as "fat". Kacie became angry, and the two began arguing. When Sam asked Kacie how she got the photo, she told her that Scott had mailed it to her. Alarmed over the fact that this meant Kacie had given Scott her address, Sam warned her again about giving her address to people that she had never met in person, and told her that Scott "could be an 80-year-old rapist and that the photo could be of his grandson". Kacie did not take this warning seriously, and without her knowledge, Sam told the school counselor, Diana Kellar, about how Kacie was giving out her phone number to strangers online. Kellar later called Kacie into her office, where she warned her about the dangers of the Internet and told her not to meet any online friends in person without a parent present. Kacie responded that she only gave her phone number to people her father approved, which Sam disbelieved. Kellar then called Sam to the office and left her and Kacie alone to talk, and the girls reconciled. When classes dismissed, Kacie asked Sam if she could spend the night at her house. The latter declined, because her mother likely wouldn't have allowed a sleepover on a school night, and Kacie would have needed a written note from her father in order to be allowed to be dropped off at Sam's house. Kacie then asked Jessica, and then another friend, being turned down by both as well. She was not upset about the refusals, and told her friends goodbye before boarding the school bus. Her friends found it unusual that Kacie asked about a sleepover on a school night.
Disappearance and investigation
That evening, Kacie was home alone, while Tim was doing research at his college's library, Betts was at his electrician's class, and Rick was on duty in Greenbrier. In addition, Paul was at her daughter's basketball game in Conway. Kacie was instant messaging with Scott on the computer while talking to Dave over the phone. Dave told Kacie that his aunt's condition continued to worsen, and that he was driving to Arkansas to be by her side until she passed away. At 9:41 PM (unknown if CST or EST), Kacie's messages with Scott suddenly stopped. Scott quickly became concerned, and continued to message Kacie, in an attempt for her family or Betts to see. He emailed Jessica, and attempted to call the Woody house, all to no avail.
When Betts returned home at about 10:15 PM CST and noticed that Kacie wasn't around, he assumed she was in bed, or out with family or friends, and continued his normal activities. When Tim returned home around 11:40 PM and noticed that Kacie wasn't in bed, he called Rick, who raced home in his squad car. Rick noticed that the house showed signs of forced entry, Kacie's reading glasses that she used on the computer (which was still on with the chat window between her and Scott still open) were damaged with a lens missing, and her pet
Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorkshire Terrier (often shortened as Yorkie) is one of the smallest dog breeds of the terrier type and indeed of any dog breed. The breed developed during the 19th century in Yorkshire, England.
Investigators initially considered the possibility that Kacie had run away, which Rick denied, stating that she was happy with her life, and would not leave the house without telling him. He had last spoken to her around 7 PM that evening; when he had called to check in on her, she had been practicing her
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
, and nothing had seemed unusual. It was noticed that Kacie's coats and shoes were left behind, when temperatures that night were above 30°F with rain, leading authorities to suspect an abduction. A massive investigation, involving the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI), the
Arkansas State Police
The Arkansas State Police is a state police division of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety and the "premier" law enforcement agency in the State of Arkansas. The Arkansas State Police is responsible for enforcing motor vehicle laws, traf ...
, every law enforcement agency in
Faulkner County
Faulkner County is located in the Central Arkansas region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 113,237, making it the fifth most populous of Arkansas's 75 counties. The county seat and largest city is Conwa ...
, police dogs, and dozens of volunteers was launched. A Level II Morgan Nick alert was issued at 5:14 AM. Investigators seized the Woody computer, and questioned students and staff at Greenbrier Middle School, and were told about Scott and Dave by Kacie's friends. FBI agent Jerry Spurgers also discovered discarded notes containing the two males' names in Kacie's trash can. Scott's computer was traced to his home in Alpharetta. FBI visited the property, where his mother answered the door. Scott’s parents were unaware of who Kacie was, or even that he’d had a girlfriend. However, FBI determined that Scott had given his true identity online, and was at home when Kacie disappeared, and he was cleared of suspicion.
Investigators learned from Kacie's friends that Dave had told her he was en route to Arkansas from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, at the time she disappeared. They launched a search around the local area for clues about him, and at a Conway
Motel 6
Motel 6 is a privately owned hospitality company with a chain of budget motels in the United States and Canada. Motel 6 also operates Studio 6, a chain of extended-stay hotels. The hotel brand is owned by The Blackstone Group's real estate busi ...
, they discovered a 1993
Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a line of mid-size cars marketed by Buick since 1973. For nearly its entire production, the Regal has served as the premium mid-size/intermediate offering of the Buick product range. Introduced as a submodel of the Buick Cent ...
with a California
license plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...
. Detectives learned that it belonged to a man named David Fuller, who had checked in December 2 and booked his stay for a week, requested no maid service, and had complained to the staff about not being able to connect to the Internet from his room, which he had become very angry over. When the detectives searched his room, they found Fuller's packed suitcase, laptop, camouflage clothing, rubber gloves, and that the bed hadn't been slept in.
After checking with the Conway
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an American car rental agency headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. Enterprise is the flagship brand of Enterprise Holdings, which also owns other agencies including Alamo Rent a Car and National Car ...
(where an employee stated that Fuller had behaved strangely, and repeatedly went outside to smoke while filling out paperwork), detectives
subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed his paperwork. They learned that his phone number matched one repeatedly dialed from the Woody home, that he'd rented a silver
Dodge Caravan
The Dodge Caravan (and the long-wheelbase Dodge Grand Caravan) is a series of minivans that was manufactured by Chrysler from the 1984 to 2020 model years. The Dodge version of the Chrysler minivans, the Caravan was marketed as both a passenger v ...
minivan, and that his credit card had been charged by Guardsmart Storage (now StoreSmart Self-Storage) in Conway. Fuller was confirmed to be "Dave", and at this point, he was upgraded from a person of interest to a suspect in Kacie's disappearance.
Conway Police Sgt. Jim Barrett and two FBI agents arrived at Fuller's unit at Guardsmart, at around 6:00 PM on December 4. The door was down and did not have a lock, and when it was lifted, they noticed the silver Dodge Caravan inside, forward-facing with its engine running. When Barrett began to enter the unit, a single gunshot rang inside. Law enforcement ran for cover and called for backup, while shouting commands for whoever was inside to surrender the weapon and emerge with their hands up, with no result. When a
SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
team arrived around 8:30 PM, they stormed the unit.
David Fuller had shot himself in the head when Barrett had lifted the unit's door; his body was found lying on the floor behind the minivan, still holding a
9 mm Luger
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and along with the van's back seats. Barrett found Kacie's body lying supine in the back of the minivan, with her wrists and ankles chained to the four corners of the van's floor. Fuller had raped her before shooting her in the head. Also found was a half-empty bottle of
chloroform
Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with chemical formula, formula Carbon, CHydrogen, HChlorine, Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to ...
and a rag next to Kacie's head. (The ''Man With a Van'' episode states that the bottle of chloroform was found in the Woody home at the beginning of the investigation.) Although Kacie's time of death could not be agreed upon, it was determined that she had been deceased for hours, and a medical examiner concluded that she had likely been unconscious from the chloroform, from when she was abducted, to when she was murdered.
Perpetrator
David Leslie Fuller (January 18, 1955December 4, 2002) was born in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
; the fourth and youngest child of Edward "Ned" and June Fuller. His parents were devout
Mormons
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
.
At age 19, he married an unidentified girl, and moved with her to
Moab
Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀
''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
, although they ended their marriage shortly after. He met his future wife Sally Krens in the early 1980s, while he played bass guitar at a local bar. They married on May 21, 1983, and moved to Salt Lake City. Fuller would remain married to Krens until the time of his death.
Fuller became a Navy Seabee in 1989, before the couple moved to
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan ...
, in which state they had a son. They later moved to
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, where they had a daughter, and then to San Diego. The children were 11 and 7 years old at the time of Fuller's death.
The family moved to La Mesa around 1997, and Fuller left the Navy two years later. As the marriage went on, and Fuller and Krens began social drinking less, Fuller developed anger problems and
mood swing
A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning, or be disruptive. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as par ...
s. He also eventually began spending long hours online, and taking nighttime walks around the neighborhood while talking on the phone. In June 2002, Krens obtained paperwork from a divorce workshop while Fuller took the children to visit his parents. When he returned, he was very angry to learn this.
In August of that year, Child Protective Services of California investigated a report that Fuller had been showering with his daughter; it was eventually concluded that this was untrue. Sometime after Fuller moved into his own apartment, still in La Mesa, he was arrested and charged with
spousal abuse
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
after he had returned to Krens’ home one night, shoved and screamed at her, and then unlocked a bedroom door with a screwdriver after she had locked herself and the children inside. Fuller had also once been arrested and fined for
indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...
after exposing himself to two young girls, and had been fired from his job as a used car salesman after being caught watching pornography (possibly of children) on the work computer.
After Fuller's death, FBI got a warrant to search his apartment, and discovered a framed collage of photos of Kacie near his computer, and paper with her and her friends' names, phone numbers, and addresses written down. Stored on the computer was a poem Kacie had written about her mother's death, and photos of Kacie and her friends. The FBI also learned that under Fuller's Dave Fagen persona, he had attempted to groom at least three other girls around Kacie's age, beginning in the winter of 2000, although none of these attempts led to offline encounters. He had offered to buy a
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
girl a plane ticket to California, which she refused, and in March 2002, mailed a
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
girl flowers, although she told detectives that she'd never given him her address.
Police also discovered that Fuller had already visited Arkansas twice before, both times in the fall of 2002. The first time, he'd flown into
Clinton National Airport
Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport , also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective December 30, 2021. It is operated by the Little Rock ...
on October 11, rented a car from Adam's Field, and checked into a Motel 6 in Conway. It is believed that he spied on Kacie and her home during this trip, although it is not certain.
Fuller bought a gun on November 2, telling his children that he needed it for
target practice
In the military and in shooting, target practice are exercises in which weapons are shot at a target. The purpose of such exercises is to improve the aim or the weapons handling expertise of the person firing the weapon.
Targets being shot at ...
. Two days later, he again flew to Little Rock, rented a car, and checked in at the Motel 6. On November 6, he visited Guardsmart, looking for the largest unit available and telling an on-site manager that he bought vehicles and needed a place to temporarily store them. He extended his stay on November 8. Authorities speculated that he'd planned to abduct Kacie at this time, but was unable to.
After returning home, Fuller bought duct tape, chain, and zip ties from his local
Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...
, and obtained the bottle of chloroform from a chemical supply company. He then packed the supplies in his Buick Regal before driving to Arkansas and succeeding in abducting Kacie.
Investigators later ran Fuller's DNA through a national database, in order to learn if he had committed similar crimes prior to Kacie's abduction and murder, which produced no results.
Fuller's remains were
cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
. Krens kept his ashes in her closet with intent to someday take the children to
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
to scatter them. However, at some point, he was interred at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in
Millcreek, Utah
Millcreek is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, and is part of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population as of the 2020 Census was 63,380. Prior to its incorporation on December 28, 2016, Millcreek was a c ...
, above the grave of his parents, both of whom passed away after Fuller.
Reactions
Around the time of the discovery of Kacie's body, Sam and Jessica were at the former's house watching the news for updates. Jessica reported in her ''Web of Lies'' interview that when the girls learned of Kacie's death, they huddled together on the porch and cried. At that time it began to snow, and since Kacie had mentioned within the prior few days that she'd wanted it to snow, Jessica believed that this was a message from her.
Fuller's parents did not believe reporters who told them about their son's crime and death, but police were able to convince them. Fuller's father, Ned, wanted to call Rick Woody to express his condolences, but was discouraged by the officers.
Kacie's funeral was held on December 9, and she is buried in South Crossroads Church Cemetery in
Rose Bud, Arkansas Rose Bud is a town in White County, Arkansas, in the United States. Rose Bud has a population of 482 according to a census taken in 2010. Rose Bud even with its small population is the third largest town in White County by area behind Beebe and Se ...
, next to her mother.
Kacie's friends and family founded the Kacie Woody Foundation, a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
designed to teach parents and children about
Internet safety
Internet safety or online safety or cyber safety and E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user's awareness of personal safety and security risks to private information and property associated with using the i ...
. Her father, Rick, stated that Kacie liked to help people, and that he founded the organization as a way to do this in her honor, as well as to help prevent other children from suffering her fate.
In spring 2003, Rick granted federal and state authorities permission to share Kacie's story in an Internet safety and law enforcement training program by the FBI called "Innocent Images". That June, the FBI released patches depicting a
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
sitting next to a computer, with its screen reading "KACIE WOODY 1989-2002" for the program's task force to wear.
During her ''Man With a Van'' interview, Jessica recalled the night she was at the Woody home, and she and Kacie heard an intruder, and stated that in retrospect, maybe that could have been Fuller looking to abduct Kacie, and possibly herself as well.
On December 3, 2012, 10 years from the day of Kacie's abduction, her friends and family held a service for her at Greenbrier High School.
Kacie is described as a very friendly and caring girl, who was very close to her family and friends, and whose hobbies included
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, singing, dancing, and playing the
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
.
Media appearances
* In December 2003, former ''
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties.
By virtue of one of i ...
'' journalist Cathy Frye wrote a four-part documentary about Kacie's life and murder titled ''Caught in the Web''.
* On January 15, 2014, the
Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...
documentary series ''Web of Lies'' aired an episode titled ''Age, Sex, Location'' about Kacie's case.
* In March 2019, ''
Crime Junkie
''Crime Junkie'' is a true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Production and format
In a Q&A with ''Inside Radio'', Flowers said that she and Prawat, her co-host, have been friends since birth ...
'' aired a podcast about Kacie's case titled ''MURDERED: Kacie Woody''. Five months later, Frye accused ''Crime Junkie'' co-host Ashley Flowers of
plagiarizing
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
''Caught in the Web''. Per Frye's request, Flowers removed the episode, before restoring it with source links to ''Caught in the Web,'' but without verbal attribution in the episode. Frye and the ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' then issued a
cease and desist
A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...
order to ''Crime Junkie,'' and threatened further legal action if verbal attribution wasn't added, or the episode wasn't again removed. ''Crime Junkie'' removed the episode again, but at some point restored it a second time.
* On February 20, 2020, fellow Investigation Discovery documentary series ''Man With a Van'' aired an episode about the case titled ''Catfish Killer''.
* On March 8, 2021, Kacie's brother Tim, now a police officer, was interviewed by
KATV
KATV (channel 7) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located at the former Worthen Bank Building on East 4th and Main Streets in d ...
about losing his younger sister to an online predator.
See also
*
Murder of Carly Ryan
Carly Ryan (31 January 1992 – 20 February 2007) was an Australian schoolgirl who was befriended online and then murdered by a serial paedophile, 50-year-old Garry Francis Newman. The case, which highlighted the emerging phenomena of catfishing, ...
*
Alicia Kozakiewicz
Alicia Kozakiewicz ( ; born 1988) is an American television personality, motivational speaker, and Internet safety and missing persons advocate. Kozakiewicz is the founder of the Alicia Project, an advocacy group designed to raise awareness about ...