Kevin Neal, Convicted of Murder by Forensic Entomology

After he had all but eliminated the possibility that India and Cody had just walked off and gotten lost, Champaign County Sheriff David Deskins was confronted with the strong probability that the two children were no longer alive. His four scenarios now narrowed to three — a stranger's abduction, a lying family member or a "protective custody" abduction.

Deskins had to accept the fact that most child kidnappings  by strangers that go on as long as this case usually end up turning into homicide investigations. A family member who was withholding information more than a week into the investigation was also very likely trying to cover up a murder. The best-case scenario appeared to be a custody-related dispute.

Publicly, Deskins refused to commit to any single scenario. Privately, circumstantial evidence was mounting against Kevin Neal.