Law enforcement authorities and crime scene re-constructionists later concluded that certain aspects of the crime scene did not add up:
• If Christian, who is right-handed, shot himself in his right temple, how did the pistol end up between his left leg and the outside of the bathtub?
• Why was the gun, a .45 Kimber semi-automatic 1911 pistol, found in an uncocked position with a live round in the chamber if it had been fired?
• If the death was definitively a suicide, why did the coroner rule it as “undetermined?”
• Why did forensic experts hired by the Andreacchio family conclude that the blood spatter in the bathroom and the location of a bullet hole near an electrical outlet above the sink and behind Christian did not line up with what would have happened if he had shot himself while kneeling over the tub?
• The District Attorney’s son spoke to several witnesses describing what happened the day Christian died. How did the DA’s son know what happened? Was that the reason the case was never investigated?
Investigation?
Why did police never look into the fact that Christian’s vehicle was moved in his work parking lot in Vicksburg the day he died in Meridian?
And, even more striking, why was gunshot residue found by police on the hands of both Christian’s girlfriend, Whitley Goodman, and friend Dylan Swearingen the day Christian died? Tests showed Goodman and Swearingen had residue on both hands, while Christian had residue on his palm.
Her explanation, according to police reports, is that she and three friends had shot a gun in the early morning hours near Hayes Road in Meridian.
The Day Christian Died
Only 21 years old when he died, Andreacchio had worked for three years on a tug boat in the Mississippi River called the Magnolia Marine. He had been promoted twice during his time on the boat and had a goal of being the youngest employee to become captain.
Christian set out for a 30-day hitch on Feb. 22, 2014. However, on the night of the 25th, according to a statement from Cheryl Stanley, a friend and coworker on the boat, Christian began receiving phone calls from a male telling him he had seen Christian’s girlfriend riding around with a “dope dealer” in Christian’s BMW and that he needed to come home.
“He was in a good mood,” Stanley told Mississippi Today about Christian’s demeanor that night. “He said he was going to go over (home) and get his car and lock his apartment and make her (Goodman) go back to her grandma’s where she was supposed to have been. Then he was supposed to have been back to the boat for crew change at 5:30 that evening.”
Police have never interviewed Stanley.
According to a timeline created by the Andreacchios’ attorney based on phone records, police reports and witness interviews, Christian’s debit card was used at a gas station in Picayune, Miss., around 9:24 a.m. Christian and Swearingen arrived at Willow Ridge Apartments in Meridian around 11:30 a.m. Goodman, who was living in the apartment, was also there.
From then until about 5 p.m. that day, the only two people around Christian were Swearingen and Goodman. Each has a different version about what happened between 11:30 a.m. and the time police arrived to find Christian’s body in the bathroom.
Key Questions
Did anyone have a motive to kill Christian?
Was there a cover-up?
Are politics involved to the highest office?
Will trace evidence tell the story?
Was it suicide or murder?
This case summary was provided by Sheila Wysocki.
