Krystal Higgins was going to be somebody

Where most teenagers have a part-time summer job to make some extra spending money to cover gas and nights out, 17-year-old Krystal held up 2 jobs in the summer, and other jobs during the school year while still making time for the things she loved: hanging out with friends and talking on the phone, reality tv and Spongebob, and watching the Red Sox play.

Krystal was friendly with everyone and always had a smile on her face. One that was genuine, and one that never let onto the adversity she faced in her home life. By the time Krystal was 16, she was legally emancipated from her parents, and took over paying the family bills in times of need while her father was in prison. During this time, she was staying with friends awaiting his release in hopes to reunite with her sister, half-brother, and father.

She was reliable and responsible, and saying she was a hard worker is... underestimating her. And she had dreams—dreams that would hopefully make her a formidable lawyer after she graduated from Narraguagus High School, class of 2005. 

But Krystal never got the chance to go to college to pursue her dreams. Krystal Higgins never even started her senior year at high school.

A night out gone wrong…

The night of Saturday August 7th 2004 started out like a typical late summer night in Harrington. Harrington is a super rural town on the Northern coast of Maine, commonly referred to as part of the broader down east area.  

The popular hangout for teens to meet up was at the Irving’s, a gas station/truck stop, on Route 1 (something I can totally relate to). Kids would meet up there and hitch rides to local hangouts, and this particular Saturday evening a house party was in the works. Krystal was recorded that evening on Irving's CCTV footage. 

After the group dispersed sometime after midnight, Krystal gave rides home to friends and made several phone calls to others without leaving a message. Krystal, who had been living at her best friend, Tara Skeate’s, never came home that night.

But when Tara returned home from work Sunday afternoon and Krystal still wasn’t home, Tara reported her missing.

A life cut short

On the afternoon of Thursday August 12th, after 5 days of searching throughout the downcast area, Krystal’s gold Chevy Cavalier was located about 20 feet from the boat landing in about 16-feet of high tide water. The car was upside down, and the driver’s side window was partially rolled down. The car was also in reverse. Two days later, Krystal’s body was found in the river, close to where her car was found.

Investigators ruled it an unfortunate accident and closed the case, but for the past sixteen years, friends and family still have questions about what exactly happened that night. Was foul play involved? If it was an accident, why are there so many pieces of the puzzle that don't make sense?

A mysterious letter emerges…

Then, in 2015, this closed case took a dark turn... A mysterious letter surfaced in town on the Webb District Road in Harrington, pointing to an unnamed killer, and saying that Krystal's death wasn't an accident, it was murder. Who wrote this letter 11 years after her death and why?

But while the police were skeptical, this letter only reinforced the idea to friends and family that somebody out there knows something, and somebody out there is responsible for murder.

Special thanks to Tara Skeate for sharing her personal stories with me for this episode.

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Sources For This Episode

Newspaper articles

Various articles from Bangor Daily News and Portland Press Herald, written by Katherine Cassidy, Diana Graettinger, and Josie Huang, here

Online written sources

'Teenager missing Down East' (Sun Journal), 8/12/2004, by AP

'Missing girl’s car found in water' (Sun Journal), 8/13/2004, by AP

Interviews

Tara Skeate, best friend

Additional Sources

Autopsy report, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (State of Maine)

Facebook page in memory of Krystal, here

Photos

Photos of Krystal and the mysterious letter compliments of Tara Skeate; photos of Irving, Ridge Rd, and the satellite views from Google Maps; photos from newspaper articles from Bangor Daily News; photos of removing the car from Pleasant River from Portland Press Herald

Credits

Created, researched, written, told, and edited by Kristen Seavey

Research, writing, and photo support by Byron Willis

This episode was co-produced by AKA Studio Productions