The Heartbreaking Case of Adrianne Reynolds

🎧 "I'm going to kill her. I'm not scared to do anything like that."Those chilling words were spoken by Sarah Kolb to her classmates just days before she and her best friend Cory Gregory murdered 16-year-old Adrianne Reynolds in a Moline, Illinois Taco Bell parking lot. The date was January 21, 2005 — and the brutality that followed would shock the nation.Adrianne had moved from Texas to live with her adoptive father Tony and stepmother Joanna, hoping to earn her GED and join the Marines. She made friends quickly — too quickly, it turned out. When Adrianne asked out Cory Gregory, Sarah Kolb's ex-boyfriend and best friend, something inside Sarah snapped. She had even written in her English journal about wanting Adrianne dead [citation:1][citation:3].When the four teenagers went to lunch, Sean McKitrick left after an argument erupted. What happened next was captured in testimony: Cory held Adrianne down while Sarah strangled her — first with her bare hands, then with a belt. She was still breathing when Cory finished the job [citation:8].The cover-up was equally horrifying. Sarah and Cory drove Adrianne's body to her grandparents' farm, doused it with gasoline, and tried to burn it. When that failed, they recruited 16-year-old Nate Gaudet to help dismember the body using his grandfather's handsaw. After severing Adrianne's head and arms, the three teenagers stopped for lunch at McDonald's before dumping the remains at Black Hawk State Historic Site [citation:1][citation:3].Adrianne's parents knew immediately something was wrong. She never showed up for work. Tony Reynolds drove to Cory Gregory's house that night — while Cory was out driving around with Adrianne's body in the trunk [citation:1].Gregory eventually led police to the remains on January 25, 2005. Sarah Kolb's first trial ended in a hung jury (11-1 for conviction, one holdout). At her retrial, she was convicted and sentenced to 53 years in prison. Gregory pleaded guilty and received 45 years [citation:1][citation:3].Today, Adrianne's parents still drive past that Taco Bell twice a day. And every time, they say a prayer for the daughter whose dreams of becoming a Marine were stolen by two teenagers who chose hate over humanity [citation:5].This is the heartbreaking case of Adrianne Reynolds — and a family's 20-year fight for justice.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/red-tree-crime--6847553/support.