The victim's partial skull was located near the pair's home not long after her death, but it was not identified until 2001 after mitochondrial DNA testing confirmed the identity of the remains.

St. Hillaire later moved into a mobile home on the couple's property,[3] and he and Oakes grew quite close during that time; Bill Major allegedly "encouraged" the relationship, suspiciously.

[1] Major reportedly told several individuals that he would murder Oakes if she was to end their relationship, and went into detail of the steps he would take to make her body unidentifiable.

[2][3] Additionally, she had written that Major had agreed to sign divorce papers, provided that the abuse of their son was not made public.

[2][5] St. Hillaire learned about Major's lies two days later and knew that Oakes would not have abandoned her children willingly and alerted police.

[3] There was no evidence Oakes had taken anything with her, except for her vehicle (now believed to have been disposed of in the Ohio River), yet her drivers license was left at the residence.

Authorities initially found the suggestion that Oakes left due to an unsatisfactory marriage somewhat plausible but searched the property with no results.

At the time, they did acknowledge the details she listed in her diary to be a motive for her disappearance, but no signs of foul play were found in the couple's trailer.

[2] Detectives asked Major to take a polygraph test, but he refused and moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island with his son and daughter.

[3] A partial skull, lacking teeth, was discovered a mile from the Major residence by a hunter on November 29, 1981, but would not be identified for years after its discovery.

[1] After his release in 1996, he was set to face additional charges from Kentucky officials but due to the statute of limitations and "insufficient evidence", further action was not possible.

LaLana eventually confronted her father and asked where Oakes' remains were, stating she would not seek legal action as long as her mother would get a proper burial.

When she was 20 years old, Boone County police gave her access to their file on Oakes' case, and she began interviewing witnesses.

[2] The jury deliberated a mere forty-three minutes before releasing a guilty verdict after his trial concluded on July 28, 2003.