The suspicious death of Elizabeth “Libby” Caswell remains one of the most troubling cases connected to Independence, Missouri. Libby was 21 years old when she was found dead on December 11, 2017, inside Room 319 of the Sports Stadium Motel. She was a young mother, a daughter and a woman whose life was cut short under circumstances that have continued to raise questions years later.
Police initially treated and later closed the case as a suicide, but the Jackson County Medical Examiner listed her manner of death as undetermined. That difference is at the center of the controversy. To law enforcement, the case appeared to have a conclusion. To Libby’s family, especially her mother Cindy Caswell, the case was never fully answered.
Libby’s death has drawn attention because of the setting, the details of the scene, the reported history of domestic violence in her relationship and the questions about how thoroughly the investigation was handled. Her family has argued that too many warning signs were ignored and that her death deserved a deeper review from the beginning…