On the evening of Saturday, January 24, 1981, twelve-year-old Melanie Sue Polk went with her cousin and close friend, thirteen-year-old Amanda Joy Neal, to a sleepover at Amanda’s father Bobby Neal’s farm near Monticello in Lawrence County, Mississippi. The three were last seen that night. Melanie’s mother, Betty Sue Langston, reported her missing the next day after finding Bobby’s truck at the house, the house unlocked, and Bobby’s eyeglasses lying on a table.

Ten days later a fisherman found the bodies of Amanda and Melanie in a wooded area. Investigators focused on family member Howard Monteville Neal, Bobby’s half-brother and the girls’ cousin. Neal was arrested on March 6, 1981, in Stockton, California, after a routine check linked him to the case. During interrogation he confessed, admitting he shot Bobby in the woods, then drove the two girls elsewhere, sexually assaulted Amanda, attempted to assault Melanie, and shot both girls.

Neal was convicted of capital murder in Amanda’s death and sentenced to death, and received a life sentence for Bobby’s killing. He was not formally tried for Melanie’s rape and murder; his death sentence was later commuted and he was resentenced to life without parole. Does anyone have memories or information about Melanie’s last night at the farm?