Christian Andreacchio Wiki – Christian Andreacchio Biography
Christian Andreacchio was on track to being one of the youngest towboat captains on the Mississippi River when he died of a single gunshot to the head. His parents say he was murdered, but law enforcement says it was suicide.
Andreaccchio’s live-in girlfriend Whitley Goodman and friend Dylan Swearingen say they discovered him in the bathroom of his apartment in Meridian, Mississippi on February 26, 2014.
Christian Andreacchio Age
Christian Andreacchio has died at the age of 21-years-old.
Cause of Death
Police quickly ruled out foul play, and the death was ruled a suicide despite suspicious clues: there was little blood spatter and there were no fingerprints found on the gun.
“I believe 100% he was murdered,” Andreacchio’s mother, Rae, tells “48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant.
Determined to find out what happened to Christian, the Andreacchios hired a team of investigators and experts to look at the evidence. They came up with a different conclusion: murder.
“Did your son, Dylan, shoot Christian?” Van Sant asks Swearingen’s mother Pam. “Absolutely not. On a very bad day, my son lost his best friend,” she said.
Goodman’s mother Christie Chatterton says: “I just want them to know that she did not kill him.”
A grand jury heard the case in 2017 and chose not to indict Goodman and Swearingen in Andreacchio’s death. But “48 Hours” has learned jurors did not hear all of the evidence.
Rae Andreacchio: I can’t believe this is happening to our family — I think everybody was just kind of in shock. … This is something, you know, that happens to other people. It doesn’t happen to you.
From their Lakeside home just outside Meridian, Mississippi, Rae and Todd Andreacchio are haunted by the death of their 21-year-old son, Christian, in 2014.
Todd Andreacchio: A lot of days I look out there and, you know, expect to see him out there with the jet ski floating about, but you know, every day you get caught with memories.
Christian grew up on Dalewood Shore Lake, where he fell in love with the water, and dreamed of becoming a towboat captain on the Mississippi River.
Todd Andreacchio: He was on his way to being a really good man, and I think he would have made a good father, a good husband.
Peter Van Sant: It’s tough to talk about this, isn’t it?
Todd Andreacchio: Yep. Yep. I miss him every day [crying].
Peter Van Sant: Have either of you honestly been able to have any peace in your life during all of this, since your son’s death?
Rae Andreacchio: No.
Todd Andreacchio: No. We’ve kind of been at war since it started.
Peter Van Sant: And you’re at war now.
Todd Andreacchio: Yes sir.
Peter Van Sant: This isn’t over?
Todd Andreacchio: No. Not by a long shot.
For now, there are two unanswered questions at the heart of this case: Why would a young man with so much to live for take his own life? Or perhaps more importantly, did someone take Christians life from him?
Peter Van Sant: Your son’s death—suicide or homicide?
Todd Andreacchio: Homicide.
Rae Andreacchio: It’s definitely a homicide.
But Lauderdale County District Attorney Kassie Coleman, who took over the case in 2018, says the evidence points in another direction.
Kassie Coleman: Well, at this point, there has been further investigation by multiple agencies … that have determined it to be a suicide.
At issue are the events of February 26, 2014.
Rae Andreacchio: I had talked to Christian that morning. He was on the boat. You know, everything was fine.
Christian was a few days into what’s called a “hitch”—a 30-day work trip on the Mississippi River where he was a first mate on a towboat. Rae called him about getting tickets for a Rihanna concert.
Rae Andreacchio: And he said, “well, let me check the date to see” … he said, “I gotta go. … I’ll call you back later. Love ya”. Got off the phone.
Just hours later, they were told that Christian was found dead in his apartment, which he shared with his girlfriend Whitley Goodman.
Todd Andreacchio: And I was like, “no. I don’t think so. Christian’s at work. He’s not even – he’s not even in town.”
A Meridian Police detective broke the horrible news to them in person.
Rae Andreacchio: And he said, well, “this is his driver’s license.” And … when we saw his driver’s license, it became a little bit more real.
But suicide? Nothing made sense to Rae and Todd.
Todd Andreacchio: He’s never had any … kind of mental problems, any kind of depression.
Professionally, at the age of 21, Christian’s life couldn’t have been better. And on the personal side, he adored Whitley, who had dropped out of high school and wanted to become a hair and makeup artist.
Christie Chatterton: They made each other happy. He was crazy about her.
Christie Chatterton is Whitley’s mother.
Christie Chatterton: She’s very funny, very creative, and adventurous.
Peter Van Sant: She’s a young woman that Christian Andreacchio fell in love with.
Christie Chatterton: She is.
Whitley even moved in with the Andreacchios. But after a few weeks, Rae says Whitley became jealous, defacing a picture of Christian and his ex-girlfriend.
Rae Andreacchio: I figure that she stabbed the faces out and then she brought the picture to me and gave it back to me.
Peter Van Sant: What did you think Todd?
Todd Andreacchio: I thought she was a nut.
The Andreacchios asked Whitley to move out.
Rae Andreacchio: And so, you know, his kind of attitude was, well, if she can’t be here, then I can’t be here.
Christian and Whitley moved into an apartment, which Christian paid for.
Rae Andreacchio: I felt … that she was using him for money. … He was providing her with a place to stay, with a car … clothes, makeup, whatever.”
Whitley’s mom saw problems, too. Especially when Christian was on the towboat.
Christie Chatterton: She would have to stay on the phone with him at night … so he can keep up with where she was and what she was doing.
Peter Van Sant: You mean, for like an hour after an hour …
Christie Chatterton: Like hours and hours and hours. … Every night … I didn’t know how unhealthy the relationship had become.
