On Sunday, May 12, 2024, emergency personnel found the body of 42-year-old Crystal Dale Branam at a residence on Highway 62 near Lilbourn, Missouri. The New Madrid County coroner pronounced her dead at the scene; an autopsy performed the following Wednesday determined she died from a single gunshot wound. Law enforcement is treating the death as a homicide.

The Missouri Highway Patrol’s Drug and Crime Division and the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department are jointly investigating. As of the last reports, investigators have processed evidence and followed leads but have not publicly named any suspects or made any arrests. Crystal was born in Charleston, Missouri, and was the daughter of MariJane Johnson Branam and the late Dale Hardin Branam; she was the mother of three sons, Caleb, Kyle, and Charles, and a daughter, Krysta. Funeral services were later held in Malden, Missouri.

Anyone with information about what happened that Sunday afternoon is asked to come forward to assist investigators.