1996

Aug. 28: Friends drop off Carrie Culberson about 11:30 p.m. in front of her home in Blanchester after a volleyball game. Culberson, who apparently never went inside the home, disappears. Her 1989 red Honda CRX, Ohio license ROL 402, vanishes.

Sept. 2-6: Homemade fliers are posted throughout Blanchester and several counties describing Culberson. Police search junk yard owned by Lawrence Baker, of Blanchester, father of Culberson's boyfriend, Vincent Doan, and drain a pond on Baker's property. They find no clues.

Sept. 7: About 200 people from Blanchester and surrounding towns meet to search for Culberson. Search goes through six counties within a 20-mile radius of her home.

Sept. 16: Then-Blanchester Police Chief Richard Payton is charged with three felony counts of obstructing justice and one misdemeanor count of dereliction of duty in the case. Payton was accused of mishandling the case, warning the suspect and destroying or concealing evidence.

Sept. 17: Culberson family offers a $10,000 reward for information about Carrie.

Dec. 30: Warren County sheriff's deputies unearth a freezer filled with what appears to be bags of decaying flesh and clothing on property rented by Doan's father. Items later determined to be animal parts.

1997

January: People questioned about Carrie's disappearance testify before a Clinton County grand jury.

August: A Clinton County jury convicts Doan of kidnapping and killing Culberson. He is serving a life sentence at Mansfield Correctional Institution.

1998

June: Tracey Baker is convicted of helping Doan, his half-brother, cover up Culberson's killing and is sentenced to eight years in prison. He is serving his time at London Correctional Institution.

August: A jury acquits Lawrence Baker, father of Doan and Tracey Baker, of helping Doan cover up the killing. In a separate case, Payton is convicted on two misdemeanor counts of dereliction of duty.

2000

April: An appeals court upholds Tracey Baker's conviction.

2001

February: An appeals court upholds Doan's conviction. In a separate case, a federal jury faults Payton for halting a search of a pond, despite indications Culberson's body might be there, and failing to protect a potential crime scene.

July: In a settlement with the village of Blanchester, Culberson's family is awarded $2 million. The village also agrees to have police officers undergo domestic violence training, establish a domestic violence coalition and create and maintain a memorial, named after Culberson, to women who have suffered domestic violence in Blanchester and Clinton County. The village also agrees to continue searching for Culberson's remains.

2004

April 28: Authorities begin excavation under a barn in Perry Township in Brown County. Police will not disclose what information led them to the property, owned by Jeanette G. Spangler, the mother of Jarrod Messer. Messer, an acquaintance of Doan's, is serving a prison term for a drug crime.