In 2004, Sheila Gibbons, by this point called Sheila Wysocki, was living in Tennessee, a mother of two. "So I was reading," she told BBC, "and then I remember looking to the right and there was Angie. I thought, 'Am I dreaming? Am I asleep? What is it?'"
Taking this encounter as a sign that it was time to figure things out once and for all, Sheila started making phone calls — roughly 700 of them, by her estimates. She phoned the police again and again and was, by her recollection, largely blown off. Later that year, she went so far as to become a licensed private investigator, all in the hopes of landing a little more clout with law enforcement.
Eventually, police reopened the investigation, assigning a female detective to the case. They dug up evidence that was thought to be lost, including DNA pulled from bodily fluids and skin found under Samota's fingernails. In the end, it was concluded that Angela's murderer was Donald Bess, a convicted rapist out on parole at the time of the killing. Already in prison for a different charge by then, he was given the death penalty and is currently awaiting execution, according to the Texas DoJ.
Oh, also. After the trial concluded, Sheila apologized to Russell Buchanan, which he probably appreciated.
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