What Really Happened to Baby Christina?

At around 7:00 a.m. on June 16, 1998, Barton McNeil, a thirty-nine-year-old divorced father, woke up on the couch after a muggy, stormy night. It was the beginning of one of those long summers in Bloomington, Illinois, the air so heavy you could chew it. McNeil traipsed to the bathroom and called out to wake Christina in the bedroom next door. McNeil, a prep cook at the nearby Red Lobster restaurant, had less than an hour to drop Christina off at daycare and get to work. He smoked a cigarette on the toilet and called to Christina one more time. Still nothing. So he took a shower, then checked his email again, and finally crept into the bedroom. There she lay, wrapped in the swirl of her flower-patterned sheets, a copy of Go, Dog. Go! beside her. Her eyes were open, her skin clammy and the color of slate. McNeil froze. His stomach churned. Panic took the wind out of his lungs. He scrambled for the phone and dialed 911. Then a new nightmare began. [View in Browser]( [Esquire]( [SHOP]( EXCLUSIVE [SUBSCRIBE]( [What Really Happened to Baby Christina?]( [What Really Happened to Baby Christina?]( At around 7:00 a.m. on June 16, 1998, Barton McNeil, a thirty-nine-year-old divorced father, woke up on the couch after a muggy, stormy night. It was the beginning of one of those long summers in Bloomington, Illinois, the air so heavy you could chew it. McNeil traipsed to the bathroom and called out to wake Christina in the bedroom next door. McNeil, a prep cook at the nearby Red Lobster restaurant, had less than an hour to drop Christina off at daycare and get to work. He smoked a cigarette on the toilet and called to Christina one more time. Still nothing. So he took a shower, then checked his email again, and finally crept into the bedroom. There she lay, wrapped in the swirl of her flower-patterned sheets, a copy of Go, Dog. Go! beside her. Her eyes were open, her skin clammy and the color of slate. McNeil froze. His stomach churned. Panic took the wind out of his lungs. He scrambled for the phone and dialed 911. Then a new nightmare began. [Read More](   [Why Saatva's Classic Mattress Is the Best One Money Can Buy]( [Why Saatva's Classic Mattress Is the Best One Money Can Buy]( And it's on sale now. [Read More]( [The Shooter's Family Was Begging for Intervention Before She Opened Fire at a Megachurch]( [The Shooter's Family Was Begging for Intervention Before She Opened Fire at a Megachurch]( A troubled woman in Texas had a police record, and had been busted for illegally possessing a weapon, and was still able to buy the AR-15 she used in a shooting. 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