Albert L. Bert Oliver III was 31 when he was last seen on July 6, 1989, in Columbus, Georgia. He gave an acquaintance, Scott Lynn Christenson, a ride in Oliver’s Toyota SUV; Christenson directed the vehicle to a remote spot in Harris County where he produced a handgun. A struggle followed, the fight moved out of the vehicle, and Oliver was shot five times. Christenson concealed Oliver’s body about 100 yards off the highway with sticks and brush and then fled in Oliver’s SUV.

Christenson was arrested in Arkansas on the evening of July 7 for stealing gasoline. He later confessed to stealing the vehicle and to killing Oliver, giving four separate statements including a written confession, two audio-taped statements, and a videotaped reenactment. A jury convicted Christenson of murder and armed robbery and sentenced him to death; the conviction was affirmed while the death sentence was at one point vacated on grounds related to ineffective sentencing-phase counsel.

Does anyone have memories of Oliver from Columbus in 1989 or information about the days leading up to July 6?