'Dr. Phil' to detail Servo case
The unsolved 2002 murder of Columbia Falls native and television reporter Jennifer Servo remains in the news, this time with a segment on Monday's "Dr. Phil" TV show.
"Dr. Phil" airs at 3 p.m. on CBS Channel 8 and at 4 p.m. on Channel 2. The show features Phil McGraw, who uses his experience as a clinical psychologist to offer advice.
"48 Hours Mystery" also is re-running its April 2008 segment about Servo at 8 p.m. Saturday, also on Channel 8.
Servo was 22 when she was beaten and strangled to death Sept. 16, 2002, in her apartment in Abilene, Texas.
She was the daughter of Norm Olson and Sherry Servo Abel and had graduated from the University of Montana shortly before her death.
The circumstances of Servo's death are remarkably similar to the death of Anne Pressly, a 26-year-old aspiring TV news anchor from Little Rock. Ark., who also was brutally murdered in her home in October.
Little Rock police recently arrested a suspect in the Pressly case, but Servo's killer is still out there.
The Servo and Pressly cases will be one segment in a broader theme of "Horrible Headlines' on "Dr. Phil," according to Servo's mother, Sherry Abel.
Abel and her daughter, Christa Slaten, flew to Hollywood on Tuesday to tape their segment of the show, which also will feature an interview via satellite with Nancy Grace, the CNN legal commentator who frequently discusses victims' rights.
"She [Nancy Grace] was the first one to put the two cases together," Abel said. "Both were news reporters, both were killed in their homes, both had their purses and keys taken."
Abel said Dr. Phil was 'very kind and caring" as he questioned her about her daughter.
Servo's short career took her to television stations KECI and KPAX in Missoula while she attended college, and KUFM Public Radio, also in Missoula.
Servo's ex-boyfriend and a co-worker remain "people of interest" in the investigation, Abel said, though both men deny any involvement in the murder.
There have been no arrests in the case. It has been the focus of several television news shows and newspaper stories. The crime was featured on the FOX network's "America's Most Wanted" show, and later was the focus of an eight-part series in the Abilene Reporter News written by true-crime author Carlton Stowers. "Primetime" also did a segment on the unsolved case.
"The case is still progressing," Abel said. "We've had lots of interest in it."
A Web site, www.justiceforjennifer.org, remains active, and anonymous tips may be made directly to Abilene Police Crimestoppers at 676-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-868-8477.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com