In Parts 1 and 2 of Junaliza Chappell’s story, we followed the days leading up to her disappearance and the chaotic search that followed.By February of 2007, Juna had decided to leave her husband, Timothy, and start over in California with her 3-year-old daughter, Ashley. Ashley was already there with Juna’s friends, and after Juna finished job training in Florida, the plan was for her to fly back to Atlanta, get her car, and drive west. But Juna never made it, and she's never been seen or heard fro...
In Parts 1 and 2 of Junaliza Chappell’s story, we followed the days leading up to her disappearance and the chaotic search that followed.
By February of 2007, Juna had decided to leave her husband, Timothy, and start over in California with her 3-year-old daughter, Ashley. Ashley was already there with Juna’s friends, and after Juna finished job training in Florida, the plan was for her to fly back to Atlanta, get her car, and drive west. But Juna never made it, and she's never been seen or heard from again.
Timothy claimed he picked Juna up from the Atlanta airport and took her to Walmart, where he said she went inside and never came back out. That story never sat right with the people who knew Juna.
After Juna disappeared, Timothy took Ashley from Juna’s friends in California. U.S. Marshals later found Timothy with Ashley in Juna’s car. Inside the vehicle were many of Juna’s personal belongings, including her purse. Timothy was arrested, and Ashley was eventually adopted by Juna’s younger sister, Kareen. But Timothy wasn't arrested for anything connected to Juna’s disappearance. He was arrested because he was a sex offender who had failed to register, and authorities had found him alone with Ashley.
In Part 3, Timothy finally faces consequences, just not for what so many people believe he did to Juna.
For Ashley, Timothy existed mostly in the background of her childhood. He was her biological father, but he was absent from her life. He wasn't discussed much when she was young, but as Ashley got older, Kareen began sharing more about his past. Eventually, Ashley started searching on her own. She requested records, connected with relatives she had not been in contact with, and began learning the truth about the man at the center of her mother’s disappearance.
This episode focuses on Timothy Chappell: the version of himself he showed to the world, the history that eventually came to light, and the patterns Ashley began to recognize as she dug through records and family stories.
Ashley wasn't only learning about the man who had been arrested when she was a little girl; she was learning about the man her family believes stole Juna from them, and whose past would reshape the way Ashley understood her mother, her childhood, and herself.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Junaliza Chappell, please contact the Atlanta Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 404-546-4235.
Ashley has also created an email address for tips. If you have information but do not feel comfortable contacting law enforcement directly, you can email bringjunalizahome@gmail.com. Tips can be sent anonymously.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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