25 years later, Twilight Crooks case remains unsolved as investigators await new DNA testing

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Twenty-five years after 15-year-old Jessie Marie “Twilight” Crooks was murdered in Warren County, investigators are still searching for answers.

Now, new DNA testing could provide a new lead in the case.

Crooks was last seen alive on Aug. 28, 2001, after receiving a late-night phone call that investigators traced to a payphone outside the Plano Country Store.

She left her home barefoot and never returned.

On Sept. 10, 2001, Crooks’ body was found in a wooded area adjacent to a field off Matlock Old Union Road, about five miles from the Plano Country Store.

Her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators have never publicly released the cause of death.

For her family, the case has never simply been about an unsolved homicide.

It is about a daughter, sister and friend who was just 15 years old.

“Twilight was a bubbling 15-year-old that loved life,” her mother, Linda Crooks, said. “Loved friends, loved her family. Never met a stranger. Loved school.”

Linda said Twilight loved soccer, baking and making people laugh.

One of Linda’s final memories of Twilight happened shortly before her disappearance.

Twilight had colored a picture before sitting in Linda’s lap, putting her arm around her and telling her she loved her.

Twenty-five years later, Linda said the family still talks about her.

“There’s rarely a day that goes by that we don’t talk about,” Linda said. “The what-ifs. What would she be like now? What would she be doing? If she would have children.”

Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower said the case was reopened and reexamined with fresh eyes, including a review of evidence and the use of newer forensic technology.

Hightower said investigators recently sent evidence to a laboratory in Florida for additional testing.

That testing is focused on finding DNA that could help investigators identify someone connected to Crooks’ death.

Hightower said advances in forensic technology, including forensic genealogy, give investigators tools that were not available when Crooks was killed.

Even a partial DNA profile could potentially provide a lead.

The sheriff said the case remains assigned to an investigator and has not been forgotten.

Linda recently returned to the area where her daughter’s body was found.

Walking through the property brought back memories of the investigation and the years the family has spent without answers.

Linda said the family had left flowers and other items at the site years ago.

During her return, she found remnants of those memories still there.

“You relive it,” Linda said. “You really relive.”

The anniversary has also renewed the family’s call for anyone with information to come forward.

Hightower said investigators believe there are people who know more about what happened to Crooks.

That person does not necessarily have to be the person responsible for her death.

Someone could have seen something, overheard a conversation or been told information that could help investigators.

“I believe that there’s people that know more about what transpired with Twilight,” Hightower said.

He urged anyone with information to contact investigators, even if they do not believe what they know is significant.

For Linda, 25 years have not made the loss easier.

“We miss her. We love her,” Linda said. “We would have done anything to have protected her that night.”

The Crooks family is still waiting for the answers that have eluded them for a quarter century.

And investigators are hoping new technology can help provide them.

Anyone with information about Crooks’ death is asked to contact the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at 270-842-1633.

This is a developing investigation. WNKY will provide additional information as it becomes available.