Instead, Natalie and Bruce Hazelton will have to spend the day with their daughter’s memory because a killer took her away from them in May 2004.

The Hazeltons, who live in Kinzers, were even robbed of a proper funeral for their daughter because her remains have never been found.

They hope to change that.

A jury convicted their daughter’s boyfriend, James Arthur Fannings Jr., of first-degree murder earlier this month for killing her in Bolivar County, Miss.

A witness testified during the trial that Hazleton’s body was burned and buried in woods near a creek in Duncan, Miss.

Despite several police searches, the remains were never found. Burned bone fragments were recovered but a DNA match was impossible.

The Hazeltons are desperate for the closure that the discovery of her remains would bring.

“We can’t leave her down there,” Mrs. Hazelton said. “That’s like leaving her behind. She needs to be home. I wish there was a different way, but still she needs to be home.”

The Hazeltons and their son, Christopher, attended Fannings’ two-day trial in Cleveland, Miss. The jury convicted him after deliberating for just 16 minutes.

While in Mississippi, the Hazeltons befriended a woman whose daughter was murdered a decade ago.

The woman, Nancy Webb, read about the Hazeltons in a Cleveland, Miss., newspaper and found them at a roadside motel, where they stayed during the trial.

“They are the sweetest people and very down to earth,” Webb said during a telephone interview. “I could relate to what they are going through and was there for them during the trial.

“Now I just want them to find what’s left of their daughter.”

The Bolivar County Sheriff’s Department is planning to conduct another search for Stacey Hazelton’s remains in January, according to Deputy Sheriff Charles Griffin.

Griffin and Deputy Sheriff Charles Gilmer were among the team of investigators in Mississippi who solved the murder. Both testified at the trial and formed a bond with the Hazeltons over the past two years.

Griffin said Tuesday he is determined to find Hazelton’s remains.

“I believe we will be able to find something for the Hazelton family to help with their need for closure,” Griffin said. “We won’t give up until the remains are found.”

Cold temperatures in rural northwestern Mississippi have killed vegetation in the dense woods where her body likely was buried.

The thinning of vegetation should help searchers, as will cadaver-detecting dogs which are expected to be used, Griffin said.

“Our plan is to contact the Hazeltons and Pennsylvania State Police investigators a week or two before the search starts, so they can make arrangements to be here,” Griffin said. “We want them to be a part of it.”

The Hazeltons plan to make the 17-hour drive to Mississippi and help with the search.

They raised about $4,000 through yard sales, a dinner and private donations to pay for their last two trips to Mississippi, but are now out of money.

“If we could’ve afforded it, we would still be down there,” Mrs. Hazelton said. “Our plan was to stay and speed up finding her, whether through hiring someone or just digging ourselves.”

Stacey Hazelton packed most of her belongings in a Chevrolet Blazer when she and Fannings moved to Mississippi in the spring of 2004.

State police recovered the Blazer after Fannings and a companion drove it back to Lancaster County. The pair, according to court testimony, used the Blazer to take Hazelton’s body into the woods.

State police corporals Patrick Quigley and Tom Waters, who spearheaded the investigation in Pennsylvania and testified at the trial, returned the Blazer and a sewing machine owned by Stacey Hazelton to her parents.

The Blazer is kept under a gray tarpaulin in the front yard of the Hazelton’s home along Old Strasburg Road.

The vehicle is a grim reminder of the murder and one of the few things the Hazeltons have as a reminder of their daughter.

Mrs. Hazelton bought a birthday card for Stacey and might put up a Christmas tree today in her honor.

“She (Stacey) was our Christmas baby,” she said.

“I buy a card for her (Stacey) every year. I put her name on it and the year, and I’ll continue to do that.”

The last birthday the Hazeltons celebrated with Stacey was her 21st. They had a party at home with cake, balloons and presents. Pictures from the party are all that remain.

Fannings, whom police arrested in January in a Lancaster city apartment, will serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Mississippi.

“He (Fannings) thought he was going to get away with it and walk,” Mrs. Hazelton said. “Instead, justice prevailed and now there is no way Fannings can hurt or abuse another girl.”


Brett Lovelace’s e-mail address is blovelace@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus