Christie Neely, Shawn Southerland: TV One’s New Season Of ‘Fatal Attraction’ Dramatizes Story Of Bayonne, New Jersey, Woman Whose Body Was Found In Suitcase

The Christie Neely, Shawn Southerland, Henry Hudson body in a bag murder case will premiere on the new season of Fatal Attraction. TV One‘s hit crime show comes on just before their newest show, For My Man. In tonight’s Fatal Attraction, the sad case of Christie Neely, a missing single mother whose body was found in a bag eight years ago, will be the feature story. Viewers will listen to commentary from crime experts, journalists, and law enforcement officials who are familiar with the case. Christie Neely’s case made headlines in 2007, when a state worker found a bag containing human remains. After an exhaustive investigation, the body was identified as the woman who disappeared from her New Jersey home. It took investigators a few years to find the man who killed Christie. The man turned out to be her boyfriend, golf caddie and expert law wannabe Shawn Southerland. Southerland was eventually found guilty of her murder and sent to prison, according to NJ.com.

The Washington Heights, New York, woman was raised in a loving family. As she grew older, Christie Neely gave birth to a son named Jordan whom family members say was the love of her life. Working hard as a telemarketer, Christie Neely wanted to make more money in order to give her son an even better life. That’s what made her go back to school to take up her studies. It is there that she met Shawn Southerland, a nice-looking man who was well-spoken and intelligent. While studying law, Shawn Southerland worked as a caddie, where he made good money from some of the well-to-do clients at the golf club. Things really took off when he met Christie. Finally, she was sure that she had met someone with whom she could build a life.

Once they began dating, it seemed that Shawn Southerland was a good father figure to Jordan. Not only that, but it appeared as though he had made a real connection with the young man. With their relationship thriving, it seemed that this couple was destined to have a wonderful life together in their suburban New Jersey home. What Christie Neely didn’t know was that Shawn Southerland had a violent streak, one that ended up costing her her very life.

Anyone who knew Christie will tell you that the woman adored her son, Jordan. That is why it was odd when she disappeared from the home in April, 2007. According to court testimony from Jordan, he awakened to find his mother gone, and when he went to check on her, Shawn stopped him from entering the bedroom. Believing that he would see his mother later that day, he hurried off to school. When Jordan returned home, still, there was no Christie. Eventually, Shawn returned home to leave him some money for food, then took off. Jordan wouldn’t see Shawn Southerland again for years.

By the end of the fourth day, Jordan was out of money and out of food, and his mother was nowhere to be found. It was then that he decided to contact his grandparents, who were frantic with worry to know Christie had disappeared days ago. When the body was found in the bag, detectives later connected it to the report of the missing woman in New Jersey. A positive identification was made that the body in the bag was indeed 36-year-old Christie Neely. When police learned Jordan’s story, they tried their best to locate Shawn, but by then he had disappeared. It was a couple of years later that police received a phone call with a tip that Shawn was working as a caddie at a gold club in Philadelphia. Detectives went to the location to confront him and were able to identify him as Shawn Southerland. He was eventually arrested and charged with Christie’s death.

At trial, an arrogant and cocky Shawn Southerland defended himself in court. But, Jordan’s testimony and the evidence were enough to secure a guilty verdict. Prosecutors alleged that Shawn and Christie engaged in a heated argument in their home, where he choked her. Today, Southerland is incarcerated in a New Jersey correctional facility where he is serving a 30-year-term. You won’t want to miss TV One’s dramatization of the case on Fatal Attraction tonight at 9/8 central. For more reading, take a look at Inquisitr‘s coverage of more Fatal Attraction cases on TV One.

[Image via TV One / Twitter]