Norma Jo Crutchfield

• Missing Since 10/31/2020
• Missing From Decatur, Illinois
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 41 years old
• Height and Weight 5'6 - 5'7, 115 - 125 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. Crutchfield dyes her hair blonde; the natural color is brown. Her ears are pierced. She has the following tattoos: a name on her neck, a butterfly on her right shoulder, a flower on her left shoulder, a heart on her right thigh, a rose and vine on her right thigh, an animal on her left thigh, a butterfly on her right ankle, and a star on her left foot.

Details of Disappearance

Crutchfield was last seen at when her mother dropped her off at the home she shared with her boyfriend, Troy D. Slaw, in the 1100 block of East Olive Street in Decatur, Illinois on October 31, 2020.

According to Crutchfield's family, Slaw had beaten Crutchfield severely prior to her disappearance and she had gone to stay with her mother as a result. She disappeared after returning home and has never been heard from again.

In May 2022, Slaw and another suspect were arrested in her case. Slaw was charged with first-degree murder, and he and Chase Freeman were both charged with dismembering a human body and concealment of a homicidal death. Photos of Slaw and Freeman are posted with this case summary.

Authorities stated Freeman had confessed to his role in the crime. He said he went to visit Slaw sometime in November 2020, and Slaw showed him a dead woman's body inside a closet and said he'd killed her by stabbing her to death. Freeman identified the deceased woman as Crutchfield from a photograph.

He said Slaw asked him to help dispose of the body in exchange for $200. Freeman helped carry Crutchfield's body to the bathroom and stood guard on the front porch while Slaw dismembered it. Both men then cleaned up the crime scene and took two large garbage bags from the house to a dumpster. Police found bloodstains matching Crutchfield's DNA in the bathroom, dining room and living room, which supports Freeman's story.

In August 2024, Slaw pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree murder in Crutchfield's case, and all the charges against him will be dismissed. He was sentenced to serve 28 years in prison with no eligibility for parole. Freeman also took a plea deal after Slaw did, and was sentenced to four years in prison. With credit for time served, he will only have to serve four months.

Crutchfield's family believes her body may be in a landfill and may not be possible to locate. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.