Two months after a civil ceremony in August 2003, Michelle and Jason celebrated their wedding in Raleigh.
Murder on a Quiet Street
Later that day Young stopped to see his parents in Brevard on his way home; his stepfather Gerald McIntyre told authorities that when he broke the news of the murder to Jason, he was stunned and dropped to his knees. Authorities digging through Young's computer, travel and financial records say they are in no rush to make an arrest. "Now's the time to be methodical and sure," says investigator Johnson. "This case will be solved, and when we're there, we'll know we're there."

On Nov. 9 some 200 mourners gathered at the Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Raleigh for Michelle's funeral. Jason Young was there, and so was Michelle Money, but Cassidy was kept away. At the gravesite – which for now is marked only by a small card attached to a temporary tin stake – Michelle's relatives sat at the opposite end of the front row from Young and his family. Linda, who has not seen her granddaughter since the time of the funeral, "had played an active part in Cassidy's life," says someone close to the family. "That is not the case now."

Still, Linda has found some measure of solace in poring through old photos of Michelle – and in the lace handkerchief Michelle gave her just before walking down the aisle at her wedding. "It says, 'Mother, In Loving Thanks, for all the years, You dried My tears,' " says Linda. "And now I use it to dry my tears."

• By Alex Tresniowski. Jeff Truesdell in Raleigh, Kristen Mascia in Sayville, Siobhan Morrissey in Brevard, Steve Helling in Ocoee and Michaele Ballard in Charlotte, N.C.