Jeannette ‘Charlie’ Atwater

In the early morning hours of 16 January 2000, firefighters responded to a call on the outskirts of Billings, MT. The fire, which seemed to have been intentionally started in a gravel parking lot near the MetraPark Arena, had engulfed a vehicle within minutes of the 3:32 AM call being placed to emergency dispatchers…

In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 16th, 2000, the Billings Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire near the intersection of Bench Boulevard and Lincoln Lane. This was a small gravel parking lot in the Billings Heights neighborhood, on the northern outskirts of Billings itself.

A couple of sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene first, shortly after 3:30 AM, and waited for firefighters to arrive just a minute or two later. They then attempted to extinguish the blaze, which seemed to have spread quickly; by the time the firefighters arrived, the entire vehicle - an Oldsmobile Cutlass - was engulfed in flame.

During the process of extinguishing the fire, firefighters had to force the trunk of the vehicle open, to ensure that there wasn't an accelerant inside providing fuel for the blaze. When firefighters looked inside, they were shocked to find the badly-burned body of a human being... who, unbeknownst to the firefighters attempting to extinguish the fire, had been alive less than two hours beforehand.

This is the story of Jeannette "Charlie" Atwater.

Jeannette Rene Atwater was born on January 12th, 1966 in Miles City, Montana to her parents, James and Dona Atwater. Through her entire life, she would end up going by the nickname "Charlie," which was given to her before her birth by her uncle, who won a stuffed animal at a county fair and then gave it to his sister - Charlie's mother, pregnant at the time - telling her:

"Here, this is for little Charlie."

Charlie's parents would divorce early in her life, and she would lose touch with her father for the first half of it, not reconnecting until she was well into her teenage years. She would spend most of her formative years with her mother, Dona, in Miles City, a small town of approximately 8,000 people approximately 150 miles northeast of Billings. Her mother would later remarry, with her stepfather Brownell Parks telling reporters with the Billings Gazette:

"She was always an outgoing kid."

Dona and Brownell would have two daughters of their own, before eventually divorcing. Despite that, however, Charlie would remain close with her.

Charlie graduated from Dawson County High School in 1986, in the town of Glendive, out in eastern Montana, near the North Dakota border. From there, she went on to attend MSU-Billings with a volleyball scholarship. However, a knee injury would bring her student-athlete career to a standstill, and she dropped out of MSU after a single semester.

At this point, in 1985, Charlie decided to change her surroundings and moved to Washington state; in particular, to the town of Bellingham, approximately 90 miles north of Seattle, near the Canadian border, where she would live for the next several years. There, she reunited with her father, James Atwater, who at this point had long since remarried to his wife, Sheila. Charlie and Sheila would grow close over the next several years. Charlie started to attend Bellingham Technical College and worked a number of odd jobs in the area, never attaching herself to any one place for that long.

A couple of years later, in 1987, Charlie decided to make an abrupt life change, joining the U.S. Air Force. However, after making it through basic training, she discovered that military life was not for her, and she decided to leave the Air Force and return to Bellingham.

Shortly after returning to Washington, Charlie met a man named Robert Aiken, and the two married in 1990. They would have three children together over the next four years, with Aarren, Zachary, and Kailynn being born in 1990, 1992, and 1994, respectively. However, Charlie and Robert's marriage was not long for this world, with the two choosing to divorce in 1995.

In 1997, Charlie would choose to go back to her roots, moving to Billings, Montana. There, her two youngest children would live with her, and I can only assume the oldest decided to remain behind with her ex-husband in Washington. Now back in Montana, Charlie began working a series of jobs at bars and restaurants, developing a comfortable routine that would last for at least the next couple of years.

In November of 1999, Charlie volunteered to donate a kidney to her Uncle "Buck," who lived in Nevada at the time. In order for the procedure to take place, Charlie needed to temporarily move back to Washington, and her two youngest children would go on to live with their father, Robert, for the time being.

Charlie's uncle had already received one prior kidney transplant, but was falling ill again and needed another in order to stay alive. After finding out that she was a perfect match, Charlie volunteered to help out her beloved uncle, which surprised no one that knew her. As recalled by her father, Jim Atwater, to the Bellingham Herald:

"Even if she didn't have something, she'd give it anyway. She was like that - she'd shortchange herself to help somebody else."

The kidney transplant would go off without a hitch, and in the following weeks, Charlie would return to her life in Billings. There, she returned back to the routine she had developed over the prior couple of years, but her two youngest children would stay with their father for the time being - at least, until Charlie got settled again and was comfortable to look after them.

Things seemed to be progressing positively by January of 2000, when Charlie went back to work. She had just started a new job at a NAPA Auto Parts distribution center in Billings a few months earlier, and had actually just been promoted a short time prior to her returning to work. There, she was well-liked by everyone she worked with, and one of her coworkers - Cory Jo Nieskens, a friend that celebrated Charlie's 34th birthday with her on January 12th - later recalled to the Bellingham Herald:

"She was kind of our uplifter here."

On the evening of Saturday, January 15th, 2000, Charlie attended a company banquet for her employer, NAPA Auto Parts.

Afterward, Charlie had gone to a nearby bar that she previously worked at, so she knew most of the staff and even a few of the patrons. She appeared to have been by herself, having not been joined by any of her new coworkers - or anyone else, for that matter. She seemed to only stay for a brief time, visiting with some former-coworkers, before leaving.

From there, she seems to have gone to another bar called the Player's Club, located at 231 Main Street, at around midnight, where she met up with some of her coworkers from NAPA Auto Parts. She stayed there for at least an hour, dancing with a man she met there a few times, and hanging out with her coworkers until approximately 2:00 AM.

It's believed that Charlie hung around until closing time, but none of her coworkers remember her being there when they all began to filter out at around 2:00 AM. A review of surveillance footage would prove unable to find Charlie in the crowd of people leaving the bar at close, nor any time thereafter.

No one at the bar, neither coworkers nor staff, recalled seeing Charlie leave that night. Similarly, no one at the bar that night recalled any kind of incident out in the parking lot... at least, nothing that drew anyone's attention.

By 2:15 AM, the parking lot was empty, and Charlie's vehicle - a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera - was nowhere to be found.

A little over an hour later - early on the morning of Sunday, January 16th - a couple driving along Billing's Bench Boulevard saw a small fire emanating from the gravel parking lot of the MetraPark Trail bike path, just off of the road. They called in the fire to 911 at approximately 3:32 AM, and police would arrive at the scene minutes later, followed closely by firefighters.

Firefighters responded to the burning vehicle in the trailhead parking lot on the outskirts of Billings, in the neighborhood known as Heights. By the time they arrived at the location, the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames, which would not only destroy the car, but leave a charred patch in the middle of the parking lot for weeks and months to come.

There, as described in the episode introduction, firefighters spent several minutes trying to contain and extinguish the fire, which seemed to defy their expectations of a vehicle fire. During their efforts, they would open up the vehicle's trunk to determine whether or not the source of the fire could be snuffed out at the root. As the tide started to turn and the flames grew lower and lower, the firefighters and police officials at the scene noticed a human body inside of the trunk.

Because of the damage done to the person, police were unable to determine this individual's race, age, or gender. Almost all of their distinguishing features had been burned away. But in the hours to come, police would begin to get a good idea on who they - or, rather, she - had been.

The vehicle, a white 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, was registered to local Billings resident Jeannette "Charlie" Atwater, who lived just a few miles north on the outer reaches of Billings. Attempts to locate Charlie in the hours to come would prove unsuccessful, but pieces of jewelry and clothing found at the crime scene matched what she had been wearing when she was last seen.

Within a day or so, dental records obtained from Washington state would confirm that the remains belonged to 34-year-old Charlie Atwater - local resident, daughter, sister, friend, and most importantly, mother - who had been seen alive less than two hours before the discovery of her charred remains.

Because the fire had been started in Heights, a neighborhood outside of Billings' city limits, this case wouldn't be handled by local police. Rather, the investigation into the death of Charlie Atwater would be handled by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.

As they awaited the results of Charlie's autopsy, investigators attempted to re-trace Charlie's final steps, looking to figure out where she had been and gone in the hours before her tragic death. They quickly learned from her employer, NAPA, that she had been at a company banquet early in the evening, before traveling to a nearby bar where she had previously worked. After that, she had gone on to the Player's Club, where she had met up with some of her fellow NAPA employees.

Police would end up interviewing more than 100 employees and patrons of these two bars, hoping to determine if Charlie had been there with anyone, had encountered anyone of note, or if her situation might have led her to encounter her eventual killer.

At the Player's Club, multiple coworkers and staff members recalled Charlie dancing with a man she had just met that night, who left well before closing time. This man was later tracked down by police and when questioned, admitted to meeting Charlie that night and dancing with her. He said they seemed to hit it off well, but only danced together a few times before he left.

Charlie stayed at the bar with her coworkers until approximately 2:00 AM, which was the Player's Club closing time. At 2:00, the lights turned on and the bar's patrons began to filter out. Noticeably absent from this process was Charlie herself, who wasn't seen by any of her coworkers at closing time - and was noticeably absent from the bar's surveillance footage. Not only did the footage not show her leaving at closing time... it didn't show her leaving at all.

Yellowstone County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Wilson would later state to the Billings Gazette:

"We could never locate Charlie leaving... We don't know if she went out the front door, if it is possible she went out the back door or how exactly she left the bar."

While no one at the Player's Club had seen Charlie arrive, by 2:15, the parking lot was almost completely empty, and her Oldsmobile Cutlass was nowhere to be seen.

By 3:30, though, something bad had happened to Charlie Atwater.

Approximately 90 minutes after last being seen alive at the Player's Club, Charlie had ended up in the trunk of her own vehicle, which was then set on fire. The location where she was found - a gravel parking lot near what is now Earl Gus Park - was located not far from the Player's Club. In fact, at least one newspaper article indicates that the gravel pullout was within sight of the bar where Charlie had last been seen.

Only one set of visible tire tracks led into the gravel parking lot that night, indicating that Charlie's killer hadn't driven a second vehicle to the scene. However, one set of footprints led from the driver's side door to a nearby road, Bench Boulevard, indicating that the killer had driven Charlie's vehicle there and then left the scene on-foot; perhaps having stashed a car behind, or was staying at a place nearby.

At the crime scene, investigators would find a small gasoline container - which was empty at the time - as well as a book of matches on the ground nearby. I'll go into some more detail on both in just a minute.

When asked by reporters from the Billings Gazette whether Charlie had been alive at the time her vehicle was set on fire, Yellowstone County Sheriff's Detective Seth Weston responded:

"Why would I tell you that? There's only two people who know that. One is me. One is the suspect. It wouldn't be prudent for me to release that. There's certain parts of our investigation we won't release."

Despite never commenting on the specifics of her death, authorities would reveal the results from Charlie's autopsy, which indicated her cause-of-death as being smoke inhalation, which would only be possible if she had been alive when the fire was set. Surprisingly, though, the autopsy would reveal no other potential causes-of-death or major injuries to Charlie at the time of her death... no bullet wounds, stabs, or any signs of blunt force trauma. She also did not appear to have been gagged or bound.

Investigators would continue to shy away from giving up any additional details of Charlie's death, not revealing whether or not sexual assault had played a part, nor how her body had been found inside of her vehicle's trunk. To this day, they remain rather coy about certain details... which is pretty common for unsolved cases, and will hopefully make more sense later in the episode.

In the days after Charlie Atwater's mysterious and grisly death, authorities would release a description for a potential suspect, who had been seen near the crime scene in the vital minutes before Charlie's vehicle was set on fire. While police would label this individual a "potential witness," it's quite obvious that this individual was seen as the primary suspect as soon as police learned about him.

This mysterious individual had been seen at a convenience store near the location that Charlie's vehicle was parked and set ablaze. In fact, he had been seen at the convenience store just minutes before firefighters had been called, less than a mile away from the scene of the fire.

Just after 3:00 AM on Sunday, January 16th, a car had pulled into a 24-hour Cenex gas station and convenience store, which was just a stone's throw away from the location where Charlie Atwater's vehicle and body were found approximately 20 minutes later. The vehicle parked at the outermost pumps of the gas station, and a man got out of the vehicle and walked into the convenience store at approximately 3:09 AM.

There, the man purchased approximately $1 of gas with a handful of change, which - even back in 2000 - was less than a gallon of gas. While at the check-out stand, he picked up a book of matches from the counter, before leaving. This book of matches matches the description of the one left at the crime scene.

The convenience store clerk couldn't identify the make or model of this individual's vehicle, but recalled it looking like a mid-1980s two-door hatchback, which was tan or light brown in color, with a 1.5" - 2" orange stripe running across the side. Similarly, the clerk was unable to recall whether the man had been alone at the time, or if he had put the gasoline into his car or a container. Because police recoved a small gasoline container at the scene of the crime, I find it likely to be the latter.

The clerk recalled this man wearing a strong or expensive aftershave or cologne, and wearing either a jogging suit or pants and a jacket of some sort - something casual and comfortable, less formal. She was also able to help police develop a sketch and description of this unknown individual, who she described as:

- A white male in his mid-thirties

- Standing approximately 5'8" to 5'10"

- Weighing approximately 170 - 180 pounds

- With short brown hair

- Possibly brown eyes

- And acne scars on both sides of his face

As I mentioned, police would originally describe this unknown subject as a "potential witness," but the knowledge that this man was seen less than a mile from the crime scene, approximately 20 minutes before the fire was reported to police, and had purchased just $1 of gasoline along with a book of matches... all of that leads me to believe that this individual was at least partially responsible for the death of Charlie Atwater.

In the immediate aftermath of Charlie's murder, police began to probe the plausibility of someone close to her committing the crime. After all, as I mention pretty regularly on this podcast, most violent crimes are committed by someone close to the victim, so investigators almost always start there.

In this case, Charlie was not actively dating anyone, and really hadn't for at least a few years. However, she did have three children with her ex-husband, and since they shared custody of their kids, this lead had to be eliminated.

Charlie's ex-husband had no other known connection or ties to Montana, let alone Billings, so police found it incredibly unlikely that he had committed this crime. Additionally, he had been taking care of all three of their children in Washington state at the time, so it was impossible for him to have been in two places at once. While police officials never publicly "cleared" Charlie's ex-husband, I find it unlikely that he played any role in this crime.

Police would also attempt to look into Charlie's known acquaintances in the area, but because she had no family members in the Billings region, this would prove tougher than expected. Regardless, no one that Charlie knew seemed to suspect any one person in particular... indicating to police that the killer was someone not known or connected to Charlie's inner circle.

Whoever this was, they seemed to have emerged out of thin air and almost immediately disappeared.

Investigators with the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office would continue to look into this case over the next several weeks and months, but the leads that came into them early on began to dry up throughout 2000. By the end of the year, the case was running on fumes, and already destined to become one of the region's darkest cold cases.

In an interview with the Billings Gazette in 2009, Yellowstone County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Wilson would describe how he believed this case was one that'd be solved quickly, stating:

"At first, it seemed like this may be kind of a cut-and-dried case. She was out on a date or she was with some people and something happened that led to this."

However, over time, investigators would learn that almost all of the few leads they had were dead ends. Charlie had no known enemies or rivals at work or in her personal life: no work grudges or love triangles or anything like that. Nothing seemed to point towards someone wanting her dead. Even her divorce had been rather-amicable, and that was the only real thing that detectives found that pointed to any kind of motive.

Beside that, Charlie didn't even have any real financial trouble. She hadn't taken back any loans she couldn't pay back, and didn't have any gambling debts or anything like that. She also didn't have any kind of legal encounters beyond a couple of traffic tickets. She also didn't have any creepy coworkers or neighbors; nobody that had been obsessing over her. At least, as far as investigators could learn. If she did, those details have been lost to time.

While police haven't publicly spoken about this case in several years, I get the sense that detectives don't believe this killer to be someone with a prior connection to Charlie. If so, it'd make sense that he didn't make any prior appearances in her life, and why very little in this case seems to make any sense.

For that reason, I believe that this crime was the worst-case scenario for investigators: a random act of violence carried out by someone with no known connection to Charlie Atwater, which would make it incredibly hard to piece together this case.

Speaking to this, Lt. Ron Wilson would tell the Billings Gazette in 2009:

"One of the theories is that it was somebody passing through and she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have been anyone that night. We can't find anything that singles out Charlie Atwater as a target."

It's been theorized by some over the years that this man may have just been a transient, just someone traveling through Billings at the time of this crime. A couple of online commenters theorize that this man may have been attending a semi-professional basketball game or a monster truck show taking place in town that weekend, but these remain just possible theories to explain why he had crossed paths with Charlie in those tragic and fateful early morning hours.

To this day, a motive for Charlie Atwater's death has never been established, nor has the identify of the man seen visiting a nearby convenience store to purchase gasoline and matches.

This story was featured on "America's Most Wanted" in June of 2000, but has received very little press or attention in the years since. It gets featured in a random news article published every couple of years and gets a random mention in a blog post here and there - often talking about the scariest stories from Yellowstone County - but it sadly seems like the story of Charlie Atwater is slowly being lost to time, like an abandoned building that is slowly-but-surely reclaimed by nature.

In the years since, authorities with the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office have refused to release certain tidbits of information, such as whether or not sexual assault played a component in this crime or what Charlie's blood-alcohol level was at the time of her death. They have also refused to comment on certain elements of the crime scene, such as how Charlie had been placed into the trunk or what evidence was found or where.

However, while it's pretty common for evidence to be withheld from the public in unsolved cases, it makes even more sense here. On the rare occasion that police officials have spoken about this case, they have talked about the lack of trace evidence recovered from the crime scene. It seems like investigators were unable to find any fingerprints or DNA from the offender at the crime scene, with most of it likely lost in the fire. If there truly is no trace evidence, then that would explain why years have gone by - decades, even - without any sign of progress. Without vital evidence like that, the odds of solving a random killing like this remain incredibly low... and may take a stroke of luck or two.

When asked about how Charlie's children were faring months after her murder, Jim Atwater - Charlie's father and her children's grandfather - would tell reporters with the Bellingham Herald:

"They have come to accept the fact that mom is no longer with us. You can see the lonesomeness still with them."

Charlie's stepmother Sheila Atwater would tell reporters with the Billings Gazette in 2009:

"I try and live in the present and not dwell in the past, and I try very hard to find the good in all things. For about three years (after her death), I lived with mixed hope and fear. Hoping the case would be solved, yet dreading having to live through it all again if someone were found.

"Now, I firmly believe that the person responsible for this evil will be punished, either in this world or the next."

In the same article, Sheila would share:

"I really dislike the word 'closure.' There really is never any end. Nothing will ever bring her back. The empty place will always be there."

After her tragic death, Charlie was buried at a cemetery in Forsyth, Montana. There, her tombstone bears the symbol of three dolphins meant to represent the three children she left behind, who have since grown up and started families of their own... having children that will never know their grandma.

That is the kind of long-lasting generational trauma that is inflicted upon victims of violent crime, like an inherited disease that continues to fester, silently infecting those affected until eventually, the symptoms start to fade with time, only to be forgotten entirely. All we can do is try and spread the word and hope that justice comes for the vile individual responsible for this heinous crime.

Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the Yellowstone County Cold Case unit at (406) 869-3530. You can also send an email to mwallis@yellowstonecountymt.gov, which I will include in the show notes below. Those that wish to reach out anonymously can do so at the following CrimeStoppers line: (406) 254-6660.

Until such a time, the story of Jeannette "Charlie" Atwater will remain unresolved.

Episode Information

Episode Information

Writing, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan

Published on August 6th, 2022

Music Credits

Original music created by Micheal Whelan through Amper Music

Theme music created and composed by Ailsa Traves

Sources and other reading

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