On March 30, 1984, the community of Massac County, Illinois, was shaken by the tragic discovery of 26-year-old Lisa Ann Carnes. Her body was found in a rural field south of County Road 1150 N and east of US 45. Earlier that morning, a local property owner had discovered signs of attempted forced entry and blood at a residence, prompting a response from the Massac County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators recovered blood-stained shoes, clothing items, and five pools of blood along the roadway. A set of keys found in a recovered woman’s fleece jacket featured a photograph identifying Lisa and her husband, Ernest; the keys matched an abandoned truck belonging to the couple. A motorist later reported seeing a woman matching Lisa’s description walking toward Metropolis after experiencing mechanical trouble. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest alongside blunt force head trauma.

For over four decades, the murder remained a cold case despite periodic public appeals by the Illinois State Police (ISP) and the FBI’s ViCAP. A breakthrough finally arrived in 2025 when investigators partnered with the Explore With Us (EWU) true crime channel and Parabon NanoLabs. Utilizing advanced genetic genealogy, forensic analysts successfully traced a DNA profile to George E. Bradfield, an ironworker who had commuted daily to a Joppa, Illinois concrete plant in 1984.

The legal resolution accelerated rapidly in the spring of 2026. On April 22, 2026, a grand jury returned a five-count murder indictment, leading to the arrest of 76-year-old Bradfield in Owensboro, Kentucky, the following day. After waiving extradition, Bradfield was transferred to Illinois custody and entered a plea of not guilty during an April 30 detention hearing. Currently held at the Tri-County Detention Center in Ullin, Illinois, Bradfield was denied pretrial release due to safety and flight risks.