The Unsolved Murder of Judy Carol Rawlings: A Teen’s Life Lost in the Fields of Randolph County
On October 5, 2001, 16-year-old Judy Carol Rawlings vanished from her family’s home on Marsh Mountain Road in Sophia, a small, rural community in Randolph County, North Carolina. Two weeks later, on October 19, her partially clothed body was discovered in a field just a half-mile away, off Groom Road, transforming a missing persons case into a chilling homicide investigation. More than 23 years later, as of March 15, 2025, no arrests have been made, and the mystery of Judy’s death remains a cold case that continues to torment her family and baffle the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
A Disappearance That Shook a Family
Judy Carol Rawlings was a spirited teenager, the daughter of Tammy and Joe Schmidt, living in the quiet expanse of Sophia. On October 3, 2001, her mother last saw her at home around 7:30 a.m. before leaving for a doctor’s appointment. Judy, who had recently stopped attending school and was no longer taking medication for Attention Deficit Disorder, was expected to be there when Tammy returned. She wasn’t. Two days later, on October 5, Tammy reported her missing, adamant that Judy wasn’t a runaway. “She was afraid of the dark,” Tammy told deputies, a poignant detail that underscored the urgency of her disappearance.
The Sheriff’s Office initially classified Judy as a possible runaway, a decision Tammy contested fiercely. She rallied neighbors and the Church of the Living Word in nearby Glenola to distribute 5,000 missing persons fliers, while a teenage neighbor, 18-year-old Tony Ray Sierra Jr., offered the first clue. Sierra told investigators he’d given Judy a ride on his four-wheeler the night of October 4, dropping her off at Farlow Oil Co., a local convenience store, around 11:30 p.m. He claimed he didn’t know whom she was meeting and saw no one waiting—a statement that raised eyebrows but led nowhere definitive.
A Hunter’s Grim Find
Hope turned to horror on October 19, when raccoon hunter Wyatt Farlow detected a foul odor near an ATV trail in a wooded field off Groom Road. Alongside Judy’s purse, he found her badly decomposed body, face-down, nude from the waist down, with a nylon strap twisted around her right wrist—evidence of possible restraint. She wore a long-sleeved T-shirt over a rugby shirt, a bra, toe socks, and a ring and watch on her left hand. Animals had ravaged her remains, complicating the investigation. Dental records confirmed her identity, but the autopsy, conducted by Dr. Deborah Radisch of the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, listed the cause of death as “undetermined.” The report noted the circumstances were “extremely suspicious for an intentional fatal injury,” pointing to foul play despite the lack of a definitive conclusion.
The scene painted a disturbing picture: an isolated field, a binding strap, and a teenager left exposed to the elements. The Sheriff’s Office launched a homicide investigation, focusing on Sierra as a person of interest. On October 24, deputies searched his home at 2597 Marsh Mountain Road, seizing two Honda four-wheelers, a handwritten note from Judy, marijuana, and other items. On November 15, they collected blood, hair, and saliva samples from Sierra for DNA comparison with trace evidence from Judy’s body. Yet, no charges followed, and the case stalled.
An Investigation Marred by Delay and Doubt
The early days of the investigation were marked by contention. Tammy Schmidt accused the Sheriff’s Office, then led by Sheriff Litchard Hurley, of dragging its feet, believing a swifter response—perhaps with police dogs—could have preserved crucial evidence. Hurley countered that the family’s two-day delay in reporting Judy missing, coupled with initial suggestions she’d run away before (though no prior reports existed), slowed their efforts. This friction spilled into the public sphere, with Tammy hiring a private detective from High Point and later supporting Hurley’s opponent, Robert Hines, in the 2002 sheriff’s race, hoping for a fresh approach.
Deputies interviewed witnesses and sent evidence to the State Bureau of Investigation for DNA analysis, but results were months away, and leads evaporated. The rural setting of Sophia, with its scattered homes and tight-knit residents, offered few eyewitnesses, and rumors—about Sierra, about Judy’s final hours—remained unsubstantiated. By 2002, Tammy’s grief was palpable as she spoke to The Courier-Tribune, lamenting, “The guilty have had a Christmas and an Easter Judy didn’t have,” while visiting her daughter’s grave on what would have been her 17th birthday.
A Cold Case Reopened
The case languished until 2018, when Randolph County Crime Stoppers increased its reward from $2,000 to $5,000, matched by a $5,000 Governor’s Office offer and a $10,000 pledge from family friends Ronnie and Tate Tate, totaling $20,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. In 2019, private investigator Derrick Levasseur, host of Investigation Discovery’s “Breaking Homicide,” brought national attention to Judy’s story. Invited by Sheriff Gregory J. Seabold, Levasseur’s June 2019 episode uncovered new leads, including a 2001 police interview previously unknown to the original detective. He tracked down witnesses—some never interviewed, others now willing to speak—and shared his findings with Captain Chris Maness, who’d taken over the case.
Levasseur believed he’d pushed the investigation forward “100 percent,” identifying new connections in a case dormant for nearly two decades. Items from 2001 were resubmitted for advanced DNA testing, though Maness cautioned that results could take time. Both agreed: multiple people know what happened to Judy, and the perpetrator—or perpetrators—may still be in Randolph County.
A Family’s Endless Wait
Tammy Schmidt has never wavered in her quest for justice. “I have suffered all of these years waiting for answers,” she told The Courier-Tribune in 2019, grateful for Levasseur’s efforts. Her pain echoes through a community where Judy’s death remains an unresolved scar. The field off Groom Road, a mere half-mile from her home, is a somber reminder of how close yet unreachable safety was that night.
As of March 15, 2025, Judy’s case sits on the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Cold Cases list, with no arrests and no named suspects beyond Sierra’s early implication. The $20,000 reward persists, and tips are sought via Crime Stoppers (336-672-7463) or the Criminal Investigations Division (336-318-6682). Forensic advancements offer a glimmer of hope, but without new witnesses or a breakthrough, the truth remains buried.
A Mystery That Endures
Judy Carol Rawlings’ murder is a poignant tale of loss and lingering questions. Did she leave home willingly that night, or was she taken? Was Sierra’s account the full story, or a fragment of a larger truth? The nylon strap, the four-wheeler ride, the silent field—all hint at a narrative just out of reach. For true crime enthusiasts, this case is a stark exploration of rural secrets and the slow grind of justice. Until someone steps forward—or science pierces the past—Judy’s memory lingers as a quiet plea for resolution, her life a chapter in North Carolina’s unsolved mysteries that refuses to close.