Circle of friends

Rob Stafford Correspondent • Profile

EAST MOLINE, ILLINOIS - In a quiet river town in the middle of America, there is a bridge.

You could say it runs from good to evil. And one day, without warning, the kids next door crossed over.

Rob Stafford, Dateline correspondent: This is a small town. And these kids have no criminal histories of any significance.

Prosecutor Jeff Terronez: Ordinary human beings consumed by emotion. It’s that simple.

If it could happen here, could it happen anywhere?

Teresa Gregory, mother of Cory Gregory: I think that no family is exempt from this kind of horror hitting their family

What kind of horror? Unimaginable.

Cory Gregory: Lighting a fire’s one thing, but I can’t, I can’t cut up a body. It ain’t right.

Stafford: None of this is right.

Cory Gregory: I know, I know, none of this is right.

At its heart, this is a story of ordinary teenage love and jealousy that ended in extraordinary pain.

It begins along the Mississippi river in East Moline, Illinois, with a vibrant 16-year-old girl named Adrianne Reynolds.

Tony Reynolds, Adrianne Reynolds’ father: She always liked singing...

Tony Reynolds’ daughter often felt more comfortable in front of a crowd than in the middle of one. She’d spend hours belting out songs in preparation for a school talent show.

Reynolds family 16-year-old Adrianne Reynolds on her birthday.

Tony Reynolds: We heard all the practicing for weeks. She’d make the whole house rattle.

Joanne Reynolds, Adrianne’s stepmother: You didn’t know if it was her singing or was it the radio.  I couldn’t tell—distinguish.

Her stepmother, Joanne, loved to hear her sing, even though Adrianne’s coming to live with them turned their quiet home in western Illinois a bit upside down.  Adrianne had moved from her mother’s house in Texas because the two weren’t getting along. 

Joanne Reynolds: The kids here called her “Texas” because she had that cute little Southern accent and the kids liked it.

“The kids” were students at this alternative high school aimed at helping teens who struggled to fit in at traditional schools. When Adrianne arrived in November 2004 at age 16, she had no high school credits to her name.

Tony Reynolds: Her biggest problem was she didn’t like school; she didn’t like homework.

While her parents were concerned about her education, Adrianne was focused on her social life. She was a girl in a hurry and crazy about boys. One boy she eventually spent some time with was Cory Gregory, a student at her school.

Cory Gregory: Adrianne was a pretty cool person. We started talking. We talked on the phone for like four or five hours.

Adrianne also wanted girlfriends and she struck up a friendship with Cory’s close friend, Sarah Kolb. But Adrianne’s dad did not approve.

Tony Reynolds: I only met her once, and my first impression was a thug and a freak. She was dressed all in black, had piercings and everything.

Joanne Reynolds: She kind of had a Goth look.

Stafford: Is Adrianne into the Goth thing at this time?

Tony Reynolds: Never.

Stafford: But why do you think she’s attracted to Sarah?

Joanne Reynolds: I think she wanted a friend.

Tony Reynolds: She just wanted friends.  It wasn’t, per se, just Sarah.  She wanted to be everybody’s friend.

Though her father didn’t like Sarah, he felt Adrianne’s transition to the new school was going well two months after she arrived. He didn’t sense anything was wrong when he said good night to his daughter on the evening of Thursday January 20, 2005.

Tony Reynolds: I always tell her I love her.  She said, “I love you, too.”  And I went like that [a gesture] and she gave me a kiss. And that was it.

Her father went to his truck driving job at 4 a.m. the following morning, so Adrianne’s stepmom got her ready for school.

Joanne Reynolds: I woke her up that morning and I just asked her, “Do you have work tonight?”  She said, “Yeah, at five.” 

But after school, Adrianne did not come home to change into her uniform for work at a Checkers fast food restaurant. 

Tony Reynolds: She wasn’t an angel or anything, but she always—she had never not come home from school. Never. 

Stafford: So do you call Checkers?

Joanne Reynolds: No, we ran up there.  Got in our cars and ran up there.  And no, they hadn’t see her.  And we started calling everybody we could think of.

Stafford: At what point do you call the police?

Joanne Reynolds: Eight o’clock at night.

Police thought she might be a runaway, but her parents said she hadn’t packed any belongings and she hadn’t picked up her paycheck at work.

Tony Reynolds: I said, “You know, you’re not going to make me believe that a kid run away from home and didn’t even bother to get her paycheck.”

Adrianne’s friends told the police she’d left school that day for lunch with Sarah Kolb, Cory Gregory and another boy. An officer phoned Sarah at home to see if she’d seen Adrianne since then.

Police (police interview): Okay, you had contact with her today?

Sarah Kolb:  Yes, I did.

Police:  When was that?

Sarah Kolb:  Uh, in between 12:30 and 1:00.

Police: Were you and Cory giving her a ride somewhere?

Sarah Kolb: Yes, sir.

Sarah told the officer that Adrianne did not want to be dropped off at home so they let her out at a nearby McDonald's.

Sarah Kolb: Because she said that she didn’t want her parents to see that she was in the car with a boy.  And before when I had hung out with her one time, she told her parents that Cory was my brother and he’s not.

Police: OK.

Sarah Kolb:  So I dropped her off at McDonald’s, which is like right across the street from her house.

Police: Right.

Sarah Kolb: And that was the last time I saw her.

Police: You haven’t heard from her since then?

Sarah Kolb: No, I haven’t.

Sarah suggested Adrianne had probably run away and expressed concern for her friend.

Sarah Kolb: If you do hear anything, I would appreciate it if you would call me and let me know.

While it was true Adrianne’s dad didn’t approve of her being in a car with boys, something didn’t make sense to him. Why would Adrianne worry about being dropped off at home around noon when he didn’t come home from work until hours later?

Tony Reynolds: That was the first thing that hit my head.  I’m never here at noon. 

Stafford: And Adrianne knows you’re not here at noon?

Tony Reynolds: Right, exactly. She knows I’m never here.

Stafford: What does that feel like at this point?

Tony Reynolds: I’m scared.

The more Adrianne's parents learned about her relationship with Sarah, the more frightened they became.

Stafford: Was Sarah bisexual?

Cory Gregory: Yes.

Stafford: Was Adrianne?

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