The McCreary County Record

Homepage

Related Photos

  • Leland B. Neal Jr.

    Leland B. Neal Jr.
January 9, 2013

Husband charged 14 years after woman goes missing

Victim’s skull found in McCreary woods in 2003

Record Staff Report Associated Press

BOWLING GREEN —   Fourteen years after a southern Kentucky woman went missing, police have taken out a warrant charging her estranged husband with murder.

    The Daily News reports Leland Neal is charged in the death of Carol Neal, a Bowling Green social worker who was reported missing in November 1998.

    Although Carol Neal's body has never been found, hikers found part of her skull in April 2003 in a densely wooded area of the Daniel Boone National Forest known as Parkers Mountain.

    At that time, Dr. Emily Craig — State Forensic Anthropologist — indicated that the victim had died from blunt force trauma.

    Last week Warren County Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Cohron said Leland Neal — a Wayne County native — was last seen in 2008 crossing the Mexican border, and there is no record of him returning.

    "Once we realized he had fled to Mexico, some additional information that I can't comment on came forward," Cohron said. "When we looked at the arrest warrant affidavit ... looking at its entirety, my office felt that the investigation was at a stage where charges needed to be filed."

    The arrest affidavit provides some details into the case.

    According to the document, the couple separated in July 1998, and within the next month Carol Neal filed a domestic violence report against Leland Neal and filed for divorce. They had a hearing scheduled on Nov. 12 to set a date for divorce proceedings.

    The affidavit says friends of Carol Neal and a relative told police that she had been afraid of her husband, who had threatened to kill her.

    "This case is an example of the culmination of tenacity in a number of detectives who have worked on this case, with Detective Raley being the most recently assigned detective to this case," Bowling Green police Chief Doug Hawkins said. "We don't let the passage of time be a deterrent to our desire to bring those who have committed heinous crimes to justice."

    The affidavit also cites a diary that Carol Neal kept.

    "Carol Neal memorialized in a journal in her own handwriting several events leading up to her death that show her relationship with Leland B. Neal, Jr. was over and that the ensuing divorce and child custody issues were causing mounting stress and tension," the affidavit said.

    "The totality of the circumstances finally brought us to this point," Cohron said. "We expect for the case to proceed to the Warren County grand jury shortly."

 

Text Only
Homepage
Madie Parriman

McCreary County Sheriff Gus Skinner (center) and Deputy Tom Smith escort Madie Parriman to a cruiser following her arrest on a federal indictment yesterday.

Local News
  • Feds target local woman

    WHITLEY CITY  — A Pine Knot woman was arrested yesterday on a federal warrant related to drug trafficking.
        Madie S. Parriman, 57, has been indicted by U.S. District Court grand jury for conspiring to

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • Bond set in school threat case

     WHITLEY CITY  — James Paulson, the computer technician accused of making threats while on the job at Pine Knot Primary, was arraigned Thursday in McCreary District Court.
        The 50-year-old Stearns man was arrested May 7 after a brief investigation into statements

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • Low turnout again for second town hall meeting

    WHITLEY CITY — Attendance wasn’t any better for the District 2 Town Hall meeting held Saturday afternoon but the conversation was much livelier.
        As with last month’s meeting at the Stearns Depot, fewer than 20 citizens came to this event —

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • County budget passes 1st reading

    WHITLEY CITY  — Topping the agenda for the May meeting of McCreary County Fiscal Court last Tuesday was the first reading of the 2013-14 county budget.
        At $7.65 million, this budget is down more than $650,000 from last year’s $8.3 million budget.

    May 21, 2013

  • KY 92 dedicated as Veterans Memorial Highway

     WHITLEY CITY — Several state and local officials were on hand at the McCreary County Senior Citizens Center yesterday for a ceremony dedicating East KY 92 from the Whitley County line to US 27 as “McCreary County Veterans Memorial Highway.”

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

Local Sports
Obituaries
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Raw: Train Derails After Overpass Collapse Raw: Rescues From San Antonio Flooding Raw: French Soldier Stabbed in Throat Near Paris Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse American Held in Grisly Czech Murders Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Facebook
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide