Texas Woman Found Dead in "Haunted House" After Mysterious Disappearance, Leading to a Shocking Confession

Texas Woman Found Dead in "Haunted House" After Mysterious Disappearance, Leading to a Shocking Confession

After Rhonda "Chantay" Blankinship was discovered murdered in the cellar of an abandoned Texas farmhouse known as the "Haunted House," investigators were led down an unexpected path—one that ultimately took them to a house of worship.

The chilling case of Chantay Blankinship will be featured in an all-new episode of Dateline, airing Friday, February 28, at 9/8c p.m. on NBC. The episode, titled "The Haunted House Confession," marks the debut of Blayne Alexander as an official Dateline correspondent.

"This report took me to Brownwood, Texas, where I truly understood how Chantay’s murder affected the community," Alexander shared with NBC Insider. "Even years later, I spoke with people who were brought to tears as they relived those painful moments from nearly a decade ago. This is my first official story as a correspondent, and it's one I’ll never forget."

According to the episode's synopsis: "After 25-year-old Chantay Blankinship’s remains are found in an abandoned building locals call the Haunted House, investigators hit dead ends until a shocking confession during a church service turns the case around."

What Happened to Chantay Blankinship?

On Friday, May 13, 2016, Chantay Blankinship mysteriously disappeared while taking her usual evening walk through her family’s rural neighborhood in Brown County, Texas. Two days later, her body was found at the bottom of a cellar staircase inside an abandoned farmhouse off a backcountry road.

Elisha Bird, an assistant district attorney with the Brown County District Attorney’s office, described the farmhouse as "straight out of a horror movie."

Blankinship’s brutal murder left investigators perplexed. "This was an innocent girl who hadn't done anything wrong, and then we find her in the bottom of a cellar," said Texas Ranger Jason Shea.

Linda Lemond, a close friend of Blankinship who attended the same church, was shocked by the news. "I thought, 'No, this doesn’t happen here, not at all,'" she recalled.

As authorities delved deeper into the case, they began to question the timing of the murder. “Friday the 13th—it made us wonder, 'Is there something more sinister than just a simple murder?'” Bird reflected.

Given the remote location of the body, investigators believed the killer was likely familiar with the area. "The killer was probably among them," Alexander noted in a Dateline preview.

The investigation took an unexpected twist when a confession was made during a church service. "I grabbed the pew and I was like, 'How?'" recalled Russell Lemond, a friend of Blankinship who also attended the same church.

The case reached a stunning conclusion, as Blayne Alexander reflects in her voiceover: "Had evil made its way there too?"

The Dateline Episode

In the Dateline broadcast, viewers will hear from Chantay’s sister, Destinee Jarvis, her mother, Michelle McDaniel, and Captain Scott Bird of the Brown County Sheriff's Office. The episode will provide more details about how the investigation unfolded and reveal the person responsible for the horrific killing.

To learn more about this case and the shocking confession, tune into Dateline on Friday, February 28, at 9/8c p.m. on NBC, or stream the episode on Peacock the following day.

For more Dateline content, subscribe to the show's newsletter and check out its podcast.

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