Pamela Pitts body was found burned beyond recognition in a pile of trash in 1988.
Tips flooded in blaming a Satanic cult, a drug dealer, an ex-lover, an overdose at an Arizona party spot.
It would take more than 30 years, some prison calls and an eyebrow-raising plea deal before a convicted murderer would confess.
But in a shocking twist, a court recently agreed the 19-year-oldâs killer wouldn t spend any more time behind bars.
Pamela Pitts body was found burned beyond recognition in a pile of garbage in 1988.(Associated Press)
Over the years, investigators couldn t pin down the evidence they needed to arrest anyone in the slaying that stoked fear about a killer on the loose around Prescott, a tourist town about 160 kilometres north of Phoenix.