"Michelle (left, with a fellow N.C. State cheerleader in '96) and her sister and mom were passionate about cheerleading," says former high school classmate Kelly Chapin. "We made it into a really big program at our school." Photo by: BROWN-WYNNE FUNERAL HOME
Murder on a Quiet Street
When Michelle got pregnant in 2003, "she was thrilled and could not wait," says Powers. "She had everything ready when the baby came. The closet was filled with beautiful outfits and the room was apple green with pink curtains. She loved every minute of being a mom." Michelle and Cassidy "had their routines, especially at bedtime," remembers Linda. "Cassidy would take her bath and brush her teeth, and Michelle would sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.' She would tuck her in, kiss her good night, and Cassidy would go right to sleep. You could see the love both ways . . . Cassidy has that same sparkle in her eyes that Michelle had."

Young, too, "dearly loves Cassidy," says his friend Spencer Smith. The notion that Young could have been having an affair with Money – a part-time community-college math teacher who lives in Ocoee, Fla., with her husband, Steve, 34, a golf- course superintendent, and their 2-year-old son – "would absolutely floor me," Smith says. "He's always been an ethical man."

On Nov. 2, the night in question, Young says he left his wife and daughter at home and drove to Virginia for a meeting the next day; police won't say whether such a meeting ever occurred. On Nov. 3 Young left a voicemail for Michelle's sister Meredith, asking her to go to their home to pick up a fax; a source told PEOPLE it was a receipt for a purse that Young planned to give Michelle as a gift. When Meredith arrived around 1:30 p.m., she found her sister's black mixed-breed, Mister Garrison, acting frantically and then discovered Michelle's body.