Family calls for new review of woman’s death in Independence: ‘Her life mattered’
Cindy Caswell continues to fight.
Years after her daughter, 21-year-old Libby Caswell, was found dead in an Independence motel room, Cindy Caswell clings to her belief that her daughter was murdered, the result of alleged domestic violence. Police have said they believe her death was most likely a suicide, and prosecutors have said they don’t have evidence to pursue charges.
“She just had so much to give our world,” Cindy Caswell said, reflecting on her daughter’s life Thursday, the eighth anniversary of her death. “She was the light of our lives.”
As she has in years past, Caswell again raised concerns about the Independence Police Department’s investigation at a news conference Thursday. She called for an independent review of the case, and asked for anyone with information about her daughter’s death to bring it forward.
A $12,000 reward is available to anyone who has information that leads to a conviction, she said.
Experts with the advocacy group Alliance for HOPE International reviewed Libby Caswell’s case and came to the conclusion she was murdered and that her body was staged to look like a suicide, Caswell said. In 2023, a true crime podcast called “What Happened to Libby Caswell” sparked renewed interest in her death.
“I am here because she mattered, her life mattered, my daughter mattered,” Cindy Caswell said. “The way her case was handled left our family without answers, without closure and without confidence that every possible step was taken.”
Independence police responded to a “suspicious medical” call around 8 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2017, at the Sports Stadium Motel at 9803 E. U.S. Highway 40 in Independence, and investigators found Caswell dead in a motel bathroom with a belt around her neck.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded she died from asphyxiation, but her manner of death was ruled to be undetermined. Independence police investigated her death and have said they believe it was most likely a death by suicide.
A spokesman for the Independence Police Department did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
In a statement, Jazzlyn Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said Prosecutor Melesa Johnson has met with Cindy Caswell and those connected to the case several times this year and “understands how difficult and painful this time has been for her and their family.”
“After a thorough review, the office has affirmed that the available evidence does not support charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” she said. “This decision was also based on an independent review by an FBI medical expert and consultation with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.”
“While we understand this outcome is difficult for the family, Missouri law requires charging decisions be based on evidence prosecutors can legally support beyond a reasonable doubt. If new evidence becomes available, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office will look into it.”
While she holds out hope for more investigation of her daughter’s death, Cindy Caswell is now pushing for legislation in Missouri that would mirror a measure that went into effect in California earlier this year known as “Joanna’s Law,” which sets standards for investigating deaths that are suspected suicides in which the person who died had a history of domestic violence.
“I’ll never stop,” she said of her efforts to find answers about her daughter’s death. “She deserves better than that, all people do. For that to happen to her, and then just no answers, no real questions answered by them. There’s no reason that is big enough to not do something better.”
This story contains previous reporting from The Star’s Robert Cronkleton.
