(NewsNation) — Norma Patton, the wife and accomplice of a serial killer, is also the grieving mother of a daughter who was allegedly murdered by another suspect: the daughter's husband.
Earlier this month, Christopher Wolfenbarger was arrested by Atlanta police and charged with the murder of his wife Melissa, who was found dead and dismembered in 1999.
The arrest could solve a 25-year-old unsolved case in which police questioned Melissa's father, Carl Patton, the notorious “Flint River Killer.”
It wasn't until 2003 that investigators identified Melissa's remains, initially found in black garbage bags. The body's DNA matched that of her father, who had been arrested for the murder of five people. He was taken into custody for the 1977 murder of Liddie Matthew Evans, 31, and was soon linked to four other victims.
Melissa's mother, Norma Patton, who is still married to Carl Patton, discussed the incident on NewsNation's “Banfield.” She said her husband was “devastated” to find out their daughter may have been murdered, but also relieved to know who might be responsible.
“He (Carl Patton) was overjoyed when he heard that Chris had been arrested,” Norma Patton said in “Banfield.” “He jumped for joy. He called me to tell me he knew.”
She also said she had suspected “from day one” that Wolfenbarger was involved in her daughter's death.
Patton said her daughter's death “showed us what we do to other families, and no one deserves that.”
