Pann claimed Gray had stayed at her mother’s house and overslept. Four days later, Gray’s car was found abandoned. It was unlocked, with the keys inside, and the window slightly down. Inside, police found Gray’s belongings, but also two bullet casings and a bullet. Importantly, there was blood – Gray’s blood – in the car, suggesting she’d been shot while in the driver’s seat.

Suspicion immediately fell on Pann. He and Gray had a troubled relationship: she’d recently moved out after he’d been abusive, and she’d rejected his marriage proposal just days before her disappearance. The night before she vanished, she told a friend that Pann threatened to kill her. After Gray disappeared, Pann returned her engagement ring, and oddly claimed to have spent the day digging a nine-foot hole by hand. He also told Gray’s uncle that he knew she was dead.

Pann had a history of violence, including a previous attempted murder of his ex-wife. Although Gray’s body was never found, prosecutors argued the evidence in the car, combined with Pann’s behavior and violent past, pointed to him killing Gray. Despite the lack of a body, he was convicted of first-degree murder in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison. Gray was declared legally dead in 1995.