A tragic incident unfolded as a teenage girl sent a chilling final message to her boyfriend before being murdered. The haunting text read, “Andy’s in my room,” referring to Andy McCauley Jr., her mother’s partner. Regrettably, the boyfriend was asleep at the time and did not respond.

Riley Crossman, 15, sent her last two text messages just 12 minutes apart on May 7, 2019, before being reported missing the next day by her mother, Chantal Oakley. Riley was last seen at her Berkeley Springs, West Virginia home by her grandmother. Chantal informed the authorities that she noticed Riley’s bedroom light on with the door closed, while McCauley was asleep downstairs around 10:30 pm. The next morning, Chantal discovered Riley missing and initially thought she had gone to school. She expressed her worry and frustration, stating that Riley would not run away as she loved her family.

Tragically, Riley’s body was found nine days later on a remote embankment in Martinsburg, approximately 26 miles from Berkeley Springs, following an extensive search involving hundreds of volunteers.

In October 2021, McCauley Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder, death of a child by child abuse, and concealment of a body in Riley’s slaying. He remained emotionless as the verdict was delivered. The conviction came after police dogs detected the scent of a deceased body and drywall mud, which was also found on Riley’s body, in the back of McCauley’s truck. He gave conflicting statements about his whereabouts when Riley disappeared, initially claiming he had not left his work site before later admitting to driving home to retrieve cocaine.

During his sentencing to life in prison without parole, McCauley Jr. opted to remain silent, leaving Riley’s grieving family to speculate about his motives. Evidence presented in court indicated that he entered Riley’s room and suffocated her with a pillow containing DNA evidence of her blood and saliva.