The Case of Lisa Irwin

The case of Lisa Renee Irwin is different from any of the other cases I’ve covered on my blog for one heartbreaking reason– Lisa was not even a year old when she went missing from her home in Kansas City, MO. Born on November 11th, 2010 to her parents Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, Lisa was described as a sweet and happy baby– the one that truly completed their family, in Deborah’s eyes. 

On Tuesday, October 4th of 2011, Deborah Bradley checked on her baby Lisa at around 10:30 pm to see her sleeping soundly. From that point forward, with her baby put to sleep, Deborah decided to open a bottle of wine and start drinking with her friend and neighbor, knowing that all of her responsibilities for the day had been completed. Her partner, Jeremy, had just begun a job working on building a new Starbucks, and for the first time was working overnight away from his family. 

Upon arriving home from his job in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Jeremy was annoyed to find the lights on, an open window, and the front door unlocked. Jeremy and Deborah had spoken multiple times in the past about keeping doors and windows locked and leaving the lights off to help bring down their heating and electric bills, as money had been tight. Once he went to check on his daughter and couldn’t find her in her crib, he woke up his wife and the couple frantically searched through their home and street to see if Lisa had somehow managed to climb out of her crib and strayed from home. Once they realized could not locate her, they called 911 and filed a missing person report, and subsequently, an AMBER alert went out to the area. 

There has been much suspicion around Lisa’s parents, with many questioning the character of her mother, Deborah, for getting drunk with a baby in the house. However, this has prevented police from conducting a proper investigation and has taken much of the media spotlight away from Lisa and towards defaming Deborah. Deborah also claims that the police have accused her of being involved in her daughter’s disappearance and have unfairly targeted her without evidence, claiming that she was told by police, “You did it. You did it. And we have nothing”. Deborah also claims they lied about her failing a polygraph test in order to coerce a false confession. 

In terms of real suspects, two witnesses interviewed by police during the investigation claim to have seen a man walking down Lisa’s street carrying a baby. They reported that the baby seemed as if it had been carried out on last-minute notice, citing that she was dressed inappropriately for the chilly October weather, wearing no coat or warm clothing. While the police located the man one witness believes to have seen and cleared him, the other witness said that the man police apprehended was not the man she saw that day. 

In continuing the investigation, the family still hopes for answers. An anonymous benefactor has since hired a private investigator for the case and has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to Lisa’s return. Thankfully, the police have the suspicion that baby Lisa may still be alive, and have no evidence to point to the contrary. Her father, Jeremy, stated, “We just want to make sure that we tell everybody that we’re still cooperating. We’re still talking to the police. We’re doing everything we can to try to find Lisa and bring her home.” The family holds out hope and wishes that the public will continue to do so as well.