The long cold case of a couple murdered Christmas Eve 1998 has been solved with a single drop of blood, but for me, this is no ordinary case. One of the victims was my friend Carrie. 

Carrie Richter was a runaway who had lived on her own since she was 15. She managed to turn herself around and graduate high school, find a good job as a manager with a glassware company and even took on the duty of raising her little brother.

I never met Dustin Baity, but from what I heard he was a good guy who was madly in love with Carrie and was also working hard at getting his GED so he could go to technical college and do something with his life.

There was a lot of head shaking and a lot of tears and a lot of asking why, but no answers came.

All of their forward progress was brought to a screeching halt on Christmas Eve 1998. They were supposed to go to a Christmas party and the family got worried when they didn't show up.  Carrie's brother was not home when it happened and he was the one who found Carrie and Dustin murdered on the couch. They were covered up with a blanket and he just assumed they were sleeping, but no. Someone had broken in and killed them both. Carrie's little brother was gone when it happened and there's no doubt in my mind that the monster responsible for this would have killed her 11 year old brother, too.

It was Christmas night when I saw what happened on the TV news. Carrie's name and photo flashed up on the screen and I lost it. I was hysterical to the point that my mom and dad wouldn't let me drive home.

The question we all had was, "Who would do something like this to Carrie and Dustin? They're good people." There was a lot of head shaking and a lot of tears and a lot of asking why, but no answers came. No suspects were arrested and the case soon grew cold.

There's no doubt in my mind that the monster responsible for this would have killed her 11 year old brother, too.

Yesterday, it was announced that new DNA evidence was discovered and a 35 year old man named Jason Preston has been indicted on charges of both first and second degree murder by a grand jury in California where he is currently serving time in prison for a home invasion.

I am so happy for Dustin and Carrie's families and friends. The sense of relief I feel right now is indescribable. I cannot imagine what they are feeling.

There is no current extradition request for Jason Preston to be tried in Minnesota, but Mr. Preston is not scheduled to be released from prison until 2038.

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