Leah Freeman Cold Case Heats Up

On June 28, 2000, 15-year-old Leah Freeman left her friend Sherri Mitchell's house after getting into an argument and decided to walk home alone. Her boyfriend, Nicholas McGuffin, 19, had dropped her off and planned to pick her up later but she didn't want to wait for him, according to her friend. She would not make it home.

Nicholas McGuffin told police that after he didn't find her at Mitchell's house he drove around the small town of Coquille, Ore., in southern Oregon, looking for her, but eventually assumed she got home okay and went home. Leah's mother reported her missing June 29, 2000, kicking off an intensive search for the bubbly girl in between her freshman and sophomore years of high school.

Police suspicions seemed to quickly focus on Leah's high school sweetheart, Nicholas McGuffin, and a friend of his, Brent Bartley, 20, who had been seen with McGuffin the night Leah went missing. The two men were given polygraphs, which they reportedly did not pass. According to reports, McGuffin failed the part of the polygraph that asked about his involvement in Leah's disappearance, and Bartley failed the questions that asked if he knew anything about what happened to Leah.

Search warrants for McGuffin's parents' house and car, as well as his car, were executed, but nothing was found. Police also issued a search warrant for McGuffin's friend, Brent Bartley's car and parents' house. Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier even sent a letter to Bartley's attorney promising immunity in exchange for information about Leah's disappearance, but Bartley never responded.

On Aug. 3, 2000 Leah's decomposed body was found at the bottom of an overgrown embankment along a rural gravel road, but instead of giving the investigation the boost such a discovery usually does, the investigation seemed to fizzle, and a grand jury that was scheduled was postponed indefinitely.

Then, in January 2010, Coquille police announced that they had created a cold case team to reinvestigate Leah's disappearance and subsequent murder. Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said at the time that the team of about 20 investigators would be starting from square one, treating the case as though it happened yesterday.

The fresh look soon paid off and by June 2010 investigators announced that they had a suspect. They said they would be presenting their evidence to a grand jury and planned to call at least 100 witnesses.

leah-(9)_1.jpg — Coos County Sheriffs Office

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier announced on Aug. 23, 2010 that the grand jury had issued and indictment and that Coquille police had arrested Nicholas McGuffin for the murder of Leah Freeman. While Frasier said the arrest brought him relief after pursuing the case for over ten years, he acknowledged this is only the beginning. "[This is] just the first step in the process, and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us," he said at the press conference.

But Leah's mother says she is confident that investigators have the right man. "It was like it finally, finally, finally happened," Cory Courtright said Aug. 23, 2010. "I think they got the right guy, I do."

On June 28, 2000, 15-year-old Leah Freeman left her friend Sherri Mitchell's house after getting into an argument and decided to walk home alone. Her boyfriend, Nicholas McGuffin, 19, had dropped her off and planned to pick her up later but she didn't want to wait for him, according to her friend. She would not make it home.

Nicholas McGuffin told police that after he didn't find her at Mitchell's house he drove around the small town of Coquille, Ore., in southern Oregon, looking for her, but eventually assumed she got home okay and went home. Leah's mother reported her missing June 29, 2000, kicking off an intensive search for the bubbly girl in between her freshman and sophomore years of high school.

Police suspicions seemed to quickly focus on Leah's high school sweetheart, Nicholas McGuffin, and a friend of his, Brent Bartley, 20, who had been seen with McGuffin the night Leah went missing. The two men were given polygraphs, which they reportedly did not pass. According to reports, McGuffin failed the part of the polygraph that asked about his involvement in Leah's disappearance, and Bartley failed the questions that asked if he knew anything about what happened to Leah.

Search warrants for McGuffin's parents' house and car, as well as his car, were executed, but nothing was found. Police also issued a search warrant for McGuffin's friend, Brent Bartley's car and parents' house. Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier even sent a letter to Bartley's attorney promising immunity in exchange for information about Leah's disappearance, but Bartley never responded.

On Aug. 3, 2000 Leah's decomposed body was found at the bottom of an overgrown embankment along a rural gravel road, but instead of giving the investigation the boost such a discovery usually does, the investigation seemed to fizzle, and a grand jury that was scheduled was postponed indefinitely.

Then, in January 2010, Coquille police announced that they had created a cold case team to reinvestigate Leah's disappearance and subsequent murder. Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said at the time that the team of about 20 investigators would be starting from square one, treating the case as though it happened yesterday.

The fresh look soon paid off and by June 2010 investigators announced that they had a suspect. They said they would be presenting their evidence to a grand jury and planned to call at least 100 witnesses.

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier announced on Aug. 23, 2010 that the grand jury had issued and indictment and that Coquille police had arrested Nicholas McGuffin for the murder of Leah Freeman. While Frasier said the arrest brought him relief after pursuing the case for over ten years, he acknowledged this is only the beginning. "[This is] just the first step in the process, and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us," he said at the press conference.

But Leah's mother says she is confident that investigators have the right man. "It was like it finally, finally, finally happened," Cory Courtright said Aug. 23, 2010. "I think they got the right guy, I do."

On June 28, 2000, 15-year-old Leah Freeman left her friend Sherri Mitchell's house after getting into an argument and decided to walk home alone. Her boyfriend, Nicholas McGuffin, 19, had dropped her off and planned to pick her up later but she didn't want to wait for him, according to her friend. She would not make it home.

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier announced on Aug. 23, 2010 that the grand jury had issued and indictment and that Coquille police had arrested Nicholas McGuffin for the murder of Leah Freeman. While Frasier said the arrest brought him relief after pursuing the case for over ten years, he acknowledged this is only the beginning. "[This is] just the first step in the process, and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us," he said at the press conference.

But Leah's mother says she is confident that investigators have the right man. "It was like it finally, finally, finally happened," Cory Courtright said Aug. 23, 2010. "I think they got the right guy, I do."