A popular crime documentary aims to unravel the harrowing true story of a 14-year-old schoolgirl who was sexually abused and strangled by her own stepfather.
Chyenne Kircher disappeared from her family home in East Dubuque, Illinois, in October 2011, with a note left behind from the teen saying she had run away.
Large-scale searches were launched, but the situation took a shocking turn two years later after her decomposed body was found buried in the woods just 100 meters away from the house.
Her stepfather Terry Abbas, now 50, would eventually be convicted of murder, sexual abuse and concealment of a homicidal death.
Here, FEMAIL has uncovered the chilling details of an upcoming episode of FBI True exploring The Disappearance of Chyenne Kircher.
Chyenne Kircher, from East Dubuque, Illinois, was sexually assaulted and strangled by stepfather Terry Abbas
Chyenne had grown up in a dysfunctional household where she lived with her mother, stepfather and two brothers – as well as another man who she told teachers was her mother’s boyfriend.
Amy Taylor, special education manager at the girls’ school, said: ‘She always seemed a bit disheveled.’
‘She needed some tender loving care. She was a student who loved attention – maybe not always positive attention.
‘She had difficulty with certain social circumstances, but she really wanted to belong. She had to fit in.”
The family’s social services were called on more than one occasion, but in October 2011, things took a dramatic turn after Chyenne failed to show up at school.
Her family started looking for her and called her friends, but eventually reported her missing to the local police.
They claimed she ran away after finding a handwritten note left in a car that read “Don’t come looking for me.”
Chyenne had grown up in a dysfunctional household where she lived with her mother, stepfather and two brothers – as well as another man who she told teachers was her mother’s boyfriend.
The situation took a shocking turn two years later after her decomposed body was found buried in the woods just 100 meters away from the house.
Abbas took the police to the cemetery, but would later reveal that he had actually dug the grave the day before with premeditation.
Nevertheless, police launched a large-scale search involving more than three different forces.
Officers also looked into Chyenne’s internet history and discovered she had been talking to older men online across the US – from Florida to Texas and Alaska.
But further investigation revealed that none of these people were involved in her disappearance.
Family and friends remained vigil, but with no immediate signs of foul play, authorities had few leads and the trail went cold.
But when a new task force was formed nearly two years later, agents decided to renew the search for Chyenne.
During the course of the investigation, suspicion had fallen on stepfather Terry Abbas, with Chyenne previously telling friends that he had sexually abused her.
She had also claimed to one of her teachers that she had caught him watching porn and threatened to tell her mother.
As authorities built the image that Abbas was a “threat” to Chyenne, they administered a polygraph test that showed he had lied.
He was immediately taken to a separate interrogation room, where his story began to unravel to the point where he confessed.
“Well… you have your man. You have Terry Abbas. Chyenne is not with us. She’s gone,” he said during the interview.
Abbas also said he forced the 14-year-old to write the note about a month earlier as part of a “practical prank” the pair planned to play on Chyenne’s mother.
In his first confession, Abbas told police that he had taken the youth to the woods behind the family home to run around.
He claimed he slipped and blacked out – adding that Chyenne was dead when he woke up and he had his hand around her neck.
“Before I knew it, I was standing over her body,” Abbas said, before bursting into tears.
‘My life is over. It’s been over for a long time. I just haven’t faced reality.’
He later revealed that he had sex with Chyenne in the backyard of the family home before strangling her to death.
“The last thing I remember was my hand being around her neck for some reason… Squeezing, I think. Then I panicked.’
Abbas claimed he then dug a hole about five feet deep and dumped her body less than 100 yards from the family home.
He took the police to the cemetery, but would do so later revealing that he had actually dug the grave the day before with premeditation.
Abbas also said he forced the 14-year-old to write the note as part of a ‘p’ about a month earlier.‘ractical joke’, the pair went to play with Chyenne’s mother.
He pleaded guilty in October 2013 to six charges, including three counts of murder, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of concealing a homicidal death.
The killer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.