Christina Lee Powell told her mother she was late for work on the morning of July 5, and was never seen alive again. The security camera outside of the San Antonio home the two shared caught Powell, a mother of two, rushing out of the door. Currently, that clip shows the last time Christina was seen alive.
On July 23, a security guard found her body in the front passenger seat of her 2020 Nissan Rogue, which had been parked outside of a mall for at least a week. Police were able to identify her, but they're not yet sure how she died.
Powell’s car had not moved for a week.
The security guard who found her body reported a foul odor coming from the area before he realized that Powell was inside, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The windows of the vehicle were closed, and temperatures in that part of Texas have ranged from the 80s to 90s over the past few weeks.
Powell was found with identifying items in the purse she carried with her. Her cause of death has yet to be determined, but authorities did note there were no signs of trauma.
The mall is about 4 miles from Powell's home.
Before police found Powell, her mother had asked people to keep her family in their prayers.
Powell’s mother, Claudia Mobley, reported her daughter missing on July 6, after Powell never showed up to her office, which was just 15 minutes away from her home. Curiously, she left her phone, medication, and possibly her Apple Watch at home the day she disappeared, Fox News reported.
In the days since she vanished, Mobley had taken to social media to spread awareness about her daughter’s disappearance. She wrote on Facebook: "I love her and miss her. Keep us in your prayers."
Police have ruled out Powell's ex as a suspect, even though the two recently got into an argument.
Powell had two sons, a 12-year-old who lived with her and her mother, and a 3-year-old who lived with his father. In the days before her body was found, police said the father, had been cooperating with the investigation and was "clearly not a person of interest" in the search for her, Fox News reported.
But Powell’s family said the two had gotten into an argument days before she went missing. Ted Williams, a former homicide detective in Washington, DC, questioned why police shared this information so early in their investigation.
"I would have to believe the mere fact that he had an argument with her, he would continue to be a person of interest," Williams told Fox News. "I don’t know if this is just a fake or what. Maybe they know more, quite naturally, than we know at this stage."
Powell's mother doesn’t believe her ex was involved.
Mobley said tense interactions between the two were common. They have had "an on and off again relationship" and would "argue like cats and dogs," she said, according to The Sun.
When asked if she thought the father of Powell's second child could have been involved in her disappearance and subsequent death, she said no. "I don't think so," Mobley said. "He works from home and stays to himself."
Her friend said nothing seemed off before she disappeared.
Powell's longtime friend, Lauren Leal, said that aside from her leaving her phone and medication and rushing off to work that morning, nothing about Powell "seemed off" in the days before her disappearance, People reported.
Leal said Powell did not mention any concerns for her safety. "I don't believe she would ever want her children to go through what they're going through right now," Leal said.
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