(WWJ) Where is Amber Griffin?
Detectives in Battle Creek, Michigan, believe the 27-year-old was murdered, although her body has not been found.
Griffin was last seen with her boyfriend, 25-year-old Derek Horton, at a party early in the morning of June 23, 2020.
The boyfriend reported her missing the next day after he claimed he saw her leave their home on Oneita Street at around midnight.
Battle Creek Detective Sgt. Joel Case told reporters that witness accounts and a 911 call from Griffin's phone don't line up with the story Horton told police,
"Eventually detectives located a crime scene in the city of Battle Creek. We found evidence that look like it was a violent assault that took place. And we believe assault took place with Griffin and Horton," Case told reporters.
WOOD-TV reports Horton can allegedly be seen on surveillance video buying a shovel at a Battle Creek hardware store, and that police believe Horton killed and buried Griffin.
They just don't know where, and authorities say Horton — now behind bars — won't offer any information.
Horton, who was arrested last month, remains held without hond on an open murder charge.
Also in custody is an alleged accomplice, 27-year-old Julice Haggerty, charged with tampering with evidence and lying to a peace officer in a violent crime investigation.
As for a motive, the missing woman's mother, Carman Griffin claims that Horton had a history of abusing her daughter. "What am i going to tell her kids, like when they get older; that we'd never been able to find her?" she told WMMT's Sam Knef. "She didn't disappear," Carman Griffin added. "She never go a day without calling me, or coming over here. And if they ever got into it, she'd come straight to me."
Several divisions of the of the Michigan State Police have assisted in the search, and now police are hoping someone in the public has information that could help bring closure in this case.
Anyone who knows anything is asked to contact Calhoun County dispatch at 269-781-0911 or the Silent Observer anonymous tip line at 269-964-3888.
