HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. – It’s been three years since a Halifax County woman disappeared, and her sister is making sure that her life is never forgotten.
Emma Compton Layne was last seen leaving the Cody Convenience Store on the evening of June 17, 2017.
“She meant everything to me,” said Shawna Krohn, Emma’s older sister.
Layne would have turned 55 years old this year on March 6.
“She was born on my birthday,” said Krohn. “She stood by me. My best friend. My biggest cheerleader and my hero.”
The last time Krohn heard Layne’s voice was on that fateful Saturday three years ago.
“We said, ‘I love you’ and blew kisses through the phone and we hung up,” said Krohn.
Layne was reported missing a few days later. Five months after that, hunters found her remains in the woods. Investigators said Layne was violently murdered. To this day, her killer walks free.
“Hurt, anger, rage,” said Krohn. “I want to wake up and it all be a nightmare.”
Krohn said she talks with investigators regularly about her sister’s case.
“It’s moving forward. It’s still top priority,” said Krohn.
This year, Krohn hung the pictures and names of other victims and missing people on a tree in her backyard that she planted in her sister’s honor.
“To remember her,” said Krohn. “Because that’s what Emma would have wanted.”
As the years go by, Krohn said the pain doesn’t get any easier. Even after all this time, Krohn is still fighting for answers and to keep her sister’s memory alive.
“I want her death to mean something,” said Krohn. “That Emma’s story will save somebody else. I just don’t want her forgotten.”