A 29 year old woman named Christina Nance was found dead in an unoccupied police
van on October 7th in Huntsville, Alabama.
Nance had been missing for 12 days before she was found and was reported missing
on October 2nd. Autopsy reports show no sign of trauma or foul play but her cause of
death is to be determined by the Alabama State Medical Examiner. Surveillance footage
has been released that shows someone believed to be, her entering the parked vehicle
and moving around.
The footage reveals her walking around the parking lot and laying down in the bushes,
then sitting on top of a police car. Nance then walked up to other unoccupied and
parked cars 10 minutes before entering the van she was found in. The video does not
show anyone else present when she entered. The unlocked van was made for inmate
transport and did not have handles inside.
Nance’s sister, Whitney, stated that the surveillance footage was not clear enough to
indicate it was her sister. Christina’s family is searching for answers and are calling for
an investigation into her death. In the meantime they have hired prominent civil rights
attorney, Ben Crump, to represent them.
Christina Nance was known to the Huntsville police department’s crisis prevention team.
The CIT, who treat people with mental illness, had been working with her and her family
for over a year alongside community resource officers. Huntsville Deputy Police Chief
DeWayne McCarver stated “We simply have no idea what her state of mind was.”
Nance is described as a sweet and quiet person who loved to sing and dance. Her
sister, Latausha, said “I just looked back at her, and she was just smiling,”. She added, “And I said,
‘Christina, why are you smiling like that?’ and she just said, ‘Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.’”,
that is the last memory Latausha has of her sister.