Graves County: Chapter 2 | Jessica

Joe Currin did right by Mayfield. He played defense for the beloved high school football team, went to church every Sunday, ran his own business, and became a lieutenant for the fire department. So when his daughter Jessica was brutally killed, Joe thought Mayfield would do right by him. Instead, her case went unsolved for years.

Key figures in this chapter:

Joe Currin: Jessica’s father. A lieutenant with the Mayfield Fire Department, bailiff, business owner, and churchgoer – Joe had to fight for years to get law enforcement to solve his daughter’s murder case.  

Jessica Currin (1981 - 2000): In the summer of 2000, Jessica had a seven-month-old baby named Zion. She had just moved out on her own and was dating a boy she really liked.  

Vinisha Stubblefield: A friend of Jessica and the last known person to see her alive. She was 16 at the time. Citizen investigator Susan Galbreath became convinced that Vinisha knew more than she was letting on about Jessica’s death.  

Quincy Cross: He was 23 at the time and lived across the border in Tennessee. He went to Mayfield for a party the same Saturday night Jessica was last seen alive. He was arrested early Sunday morning for drug possession along with many other partygoers from ta house at Chris Drive. 

Jessica Lindsey: Jessica Currin’s best friend. They went to Graves County High together. She recalls Jessica as a sweet girl who stood up for herself and for others. 

Tim Fortner: The lead detective in Jessica Currin’s murder investigation. He was a patrolman with the Mayfield Police Department who had just been promoted to detective. This was his first homicide investigation, and he ran it from August 2000 until the case was transferred to the Kentucky State Police in 2003. 

Susan Galbreath (1960 - 2018): After watching police bungle Jessica's murder case, Susan began her own citizen investigation in 2004 with the blessing of the Kentucky State Police. 

Victoria Caldwell: She moved to California as a teen after Jessica’s death and made contact with Susan Galbearth on Myspace seven years after the murder, saying she knew things but was afraid for her life. 

Tom Mangold: He traveled to Mayfield to report with Susan Galbreath in the spring of 2004 and then wrote two articles that year  – one for The Age and one for The Independent – pointing at Quincy Cross as the main suspect.  

Darra Woolman: Our source.

For photos and images from this chapter, visit Lava for Good

Graves County is hosted by Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, and is executive produced by Gilbert King. 

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