The Trail Went Cold

August 1, 2007. Powder Springs, Georgia. After not being heard from for over 30 hours, 46-year old Jane Kuria and her two daughters - 19-year old Isabella and 16-year old Annabelle - are found bludgeoned to death inside their home. Jane’s eight-year old son, Jeremy, and her eleven-year old nephew, P.K. Thande, are also severely beaten and left comatose, but while they wind up surviving their injuries, they are unable to provide muc...

May 28, 1981. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 30-year old Christine Schultz, the ex-wife of police officer Fred Schultz, is shot to death inside her home and Fred’s current spouse, Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek, is soon charged with the crime. Even though Laurie insists that she was framed by the police and the evidence against her was planted and fabricated, she is convicted of first-degree murder and receives a sentence of life imprisonment. In ...

May 28, 1981. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 30-year old Christine Schultz, the ex-wife of police officer Fred Schultz, is shot to death inside her home and Fred’s current spouse, Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek, is soon charged with the crime. Even though Laurie insists that she was framed by the police and the evidence against her was planted and fabricated, she is convicted of first-degree murder and receives a sentence of life imprisonment. In ...

February 15, 1994. Indianapolis, Indiana. While waiting for her school bus, eleven-year old LaShonna Bates walks into a nearby convenience store, but she soon vanishes without a trace. A month-and-a-half later, LaShonna’s remains are found in a wooded area located eight miles away and it is determined that she has a skull fracture and died of blunt force trauma. In 2000, Charles Daughtery, the man who found LaShonna’s remains, is c...

March 15, 2000. Jacksonville, Florida. After completing her shift at a hospital pharmacy, 27-year old Tina McQuaig drives out of the parking garage, but she never returns home. Four days later, Tina’s abandoned car is discovered in a Wal-Mart parking lot. In December 2002, Tina’s remains are discovered in a wooded area on the property of a decommissioned naval base and it is determined that she was the victim of a homicide. Suspici...

October 21, 1985. Brooklyn, New York. Three days after she is born, Marlene Santana is carried out of Brookdale Hospital by her mother, Francesca Santana, before they are confronted by a woman who had been seen hanging around the hospital nursery earlier that night. The woman points a gun at Marlene and orders Francesca to walk six blocks before she abducts the baby and escapes in a car being driven by an accomplice. There is specu...

November 27, 1985. St. Augustine, Florida. While attending a neighbourhood social gathering, 12-year old Martha Jean Lambert tells her mother that she needs to take a brief trip back to their mobile home, but she never returns and is eventually reported missing. Suspicion falls on Martha’s 14-year old brother, David, after he gives conflicting stories about the last time he saw his sister. 24 years later, David confesses to killing...

July 4, 1954. Bay Village, Ohio. 31-year old Marilyn Reese Sheppard is bludgeoned to death inside her bedroom and her 30-year old husband, Sam Sheppard, is injured after claiming he was attacked by an intruder. Since Sam was known for conducting extramarital affairs, police believe that he fabricated the story and was responsible for killing his wife, so he is charged with Marilyn’s murder. After being convicted at what is describe...

July 4, 1954. Bay Village, Ohio. 31-year old Marilyn Reese Sheppard is bludgeoned to death inside her bedroom and her 30-year old husband, Sam Sheppard, is injured after claiming he was attacked by an intruder. Since Sam was known for conducting extramarital affairs, police believe that he fabricated the story and was responsible for killing his wife, so he is charged with Marilyn’s murder. After being convicted at what is describe...

July 4, 1954. Bay Village, Ohio. 31-year old Marilyn Reese Sheppard is bludgeoned to death inside her bedroom and her 30-year old husband, Sam Sheppard, is injured after claiming he was attacked by an intruder. Since Sam was known for conducting extramarital affairs, police believe that he fabricated the story and was responsible for killing his wife, so he is charged with Marilyn’s murder. After being convicted at what is describe...

December 7, 2003. Montgomery, Alabama. 19-year old LaQuanta Riley stops off at her mother’s residence to borrow a jacket from her brother. He sees LaQuanta leave in a dark green car being driven by an unidentified man, but she subsequently goes missing. A few weeks later, LaQuanta’s mother receives a garbled message on her answering machine from a panicked woman whom she believes is her daughter and a male voice can be heard in the...

November 28, 2004. Nairn, Scotland. An unidentified man arrives at the front door of 30-year old Alistair Wilson and hands him an empty envelope with the name “Paul” written on it. The man shoots Alistair three times and takes the envelope back before fleeing the scene and the murder weapon is found in a nearby drain ten days later. Investigators explore a number of different theories and eventually conclude that the crime might be...

November 19, 2006. Littleton, Colorado. First Lieutenant Nonnie Dotson, a 33-year old nurse with the United States Air Force, has travelled from San Antonio, Texas to Colorado with her infant daughter and is saying with her brother, Tony Dotson. Nonnie leaves Tony’s residence in order to presumably travel to a nearby shopping center, but she never returns. Even though police track Nonnie’s cell phone signal and her scent to a nearb...

July 12, 1988. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four-year old Barbara Jean Horn disappears from the front yard of her home before her nude body is discovered inside a cardboard box resting on a curb in the same neighbourhood. Nearly four years later, a suspect named Walter Ogrod, who had lived across the street from Barbara Jean’s residence, is arrested after he confesses to her murder and after two trials, he is convicted and sentenced...

July 12, 1988. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four-year old Barbara Jean Horn disappears from the front yard of her home before her nude body is discovered inside a cardboard box resting on a curb in the same neighbourhood. Nearly four years later, a suspect named Walter Ogrod, who had lived across the street from Barbara Jean’s residence, is arrested after he confesses to her murder and after two trials. he is convicted and sentenced...

If you like highly detailed and thoroughly researched podcasts, you will love “DNA: ID”. The show has over 100 episodes available to binge on right now. This is a sneak preview of Episode 122 (https://www.abjackentertainment.com/dna-id/9xglar65zhwgblh), which covers the case of Patricia Stichler.

New Years’ Day 1985 should have rung in an exciting new year for Patti Stichler and her three young daughters. Instead, in the middle of ...

March 2, 1996. Culpepper County, Virginia. After leaving her home in Baltimore, Maryland in order to drive to Charlottesville, 25-year old Alicia Showalter Reynolds goes missing and her abandoned car is found alongside U.S. Route 29. Eyewitnesses report having seen Alicia speaking with an unidentified man in a pick-up truck and it becomes apparent that he may have tricked Alicia into pulling over before abducting her. Two months la...

Since “The Trail Went Cold” originally launched in February 2016, we have featured nearly 500 cold cases on the podcast, a number of which have wound up being solved or have experienced major developments. As a result, we have now released a total of six special “update” episodes and this is our second episode about updates which took place in 2024. This time around, we’ll share major developments in such cases as the 1996 murders ...

On this special holiday bonus episode titled “True Crime Convos”, “The Trail Went Cold” has been teamed up with two other fellow true crime podcasters to converse about our various experiences in the medium. Join me as I chat with Melissa of the “Navigating Advocacy Podcast” and Robert Parmer of “The Broken System Podcast” about such topics as researching cold cases, working with victims’ families, and even some of the more bizarre...