Mother of Murder Victim Reveals Disturbing Past: She Once Helped Serial Killer Husband Dispose of Bodies

An Atlanta murder trial took an unexpected turn this week when the victim’s mother revealed on the witness stand that she was once married to a serial killer—and even helped him commit murders.

The revelation came Monday as Norma Patton testified in the case against her son-in-law, Christopher Wolfenbarger, who is accused of killing Norma’s daughter, Melissa Wolfenbarger, in 1998.

Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys attempted to challenge Norma’s credibility as a witness, according to 11Alive.com and WSB-TV. They questioned why she waited months to check on Melissa after she failed to show up on Christmas Day that year. Norma testified that she didn’t want to travel alone to Atlanta, even though she had long suspected Wolfenbarger.

Defense attorneys then brought up Norma’s past marriage to Carl Patton, who confessed to killing five people in the 1970s and died in prison in 2024. Known as the Flint River Serial Killer, Carl was convicted after Norma accepted immunity in exchange for testifying against him.

“I helped him dispose of the bodies,” Norma admitted on the stand.

“So you were involved?” a defense attorney asked.

“Yes,” she replied, according to video shared by 11Alive.

Norma further testified that she overheard her husband planning several murders and even helped plan two of them. When asked if she ever considered leaving him or alerting authorities, she said no. “I loved my husband,” she explained, acknowledging she never went to police.

Wolfenbarger’s defense team honed in on Norma’s testimony after prosecutors relied on her statements to show the jury that Melissa allegedly endured abuse at the hands of her husband before her disappearance, according to WSB-TV.

Melissa went missing shortly after Thanksgiving in 1998. Investigators discovered parts of her remains in April and June of 1999. She was just 21 years old at the time.

According to 11Alive, Melissa’s remains weren’t identified until March 2003, when DNA testing—originally used to help convict her father—confirmed her identity. It would take another 26 years before DNA evidence tied Wolfenbarger to the crime, leading to his arrest in September, Atlanta News First reported.

Wolfenbarger’s trial is ongoing this week.