Dateline: Mystery On The Mississippi - Who was Cory Lovelace and what happened to her? Details of the 2006 incident revealed 

Dateline: Mystery On The Mississippi tells the story of Cory and Curtis Lovelace, who were a married couple in Quincy, Illinois, and seemed to have an everyday life. According to the show, Cory was a mother of four and known for her vibrant personality.

The Cory Lovelace case took place in a small town where everybody knew each other. However, on February 14, 2006, Lovelace was discovered dead, and the tragedy was initially dismissed as death due to natural causes.

Eight years later, when Cory's husband, Curtis Lovelace, was arrested and charged with her murder, the town was shocked. The intense media attention, the polarized town, and two trials that concluded with dramatically different verdicts ensued.

The Dateline episode details every crucial information about Cory's death. From her dead body being discovered by her husband to her children claiming they saw their mother alive in the morning, the episode covers it all.

Keep reading to learn what exactly happened to Cory and whether her husband was involved in her death.

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The death of Cory Lovelace featured on Dateline

It was in February 2006 when Curtis Lovelace found the lifeless body of his wife. The husband informed the police that Cory wasn't feeling well that day and even asked for Tylenol around 3:00 a.m. Despite feeling sick, Cory helped one of their children go to school in the morning, and this was the time when Curtis saw her alive for the last time.

As mentioned in the Dateline episode, when Curtis Lovelace returned home, he called his wife, but she didn't reply. Curtis then went to their bedroom and found his wife unresponsive in bed.

The man immediately contacted his boss, who called the emergency services. The case was taken by Detective Jeff Baird, who initially couldn't identify any sign of foul play. However, there were some unusual details, like Cory's stiff hands, which were drawn up toward her shoulders.

Additionally, her nose was red, and blood pooling in her body was noted. Per Dateline: Mystery On The Mississippi, the coroner first performed an autopsy and couldn't determine an exact cause of death.

However, the coroner did find "unexplained trauma of the mouth and signs of death inconsistent with the time frame given by history" and alcohol-related liver damage. Despite these unusual findings, Cory Lovelace's death wasn't ruled as homicide.

Also Read: Dateline: Manner Of Death - Who was Matt Podolak and what happened to him? Details of the 2006 murder, explored

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Cory Lovelace's case was reopened after many years

Years after Cory Lovelace died, Detective Adam Gibson reopened the case in 2014 and took help from forensic experts. Following the reopening of the case, Curtis Lovelace was arrested, and his trial began.

As explained in the Dateline episode, there were conflicting expert opinions. While Dr. Jane Turner believed the mother of four was suffocated to death, Dr. Shaku Teas argued that Cory died naturally due to fatty liver disease from chronic alcoholism.

Curtis's first trial began in 2016 but ended in a hung jury due to inconsistencies. Since the trial gained most of the town's attention and the Lovelace family had connections with the local jury, the second trial was moved to Sangamon County the next year.

In the end, the prosecutors couldn't prove Curtis guilty of murdering his wife, Cory Lovelace, and he was successfully acquitted. After a not-guilty verdict, the man sued Adams County and the Quincy Police Department for wrongful prosecution and agreed to a settlement.

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Also Read: American Murder: Was Laci Peterson's body found? Explored in detail

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