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  • The Left Shoe and the Payphone: How a Name Broke Silence

    The Left Shoe and the Payphone: How a Name Broke Silence
    2026/07/26
    The Left Shoe and the Payphone: How a Name Broke Silence

    A single left sneaker in a gallon zip‑lock bag, a woman’s name scribbled on a folded note, and seven digits that traced to a payphone removed twenty‑six years earlier - the tiny clue left at a curb in 2022 reopened a thirty‑one‑year‑old murder that had gone cold. How did a payphone call on the night Sarah Thorpe vanished become the thread that unspooled two murders and cleared a wrongfully blamed man?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Sarah Thorpe’s disappearance on October 17, 1991 through the discovery on March 4, 2022, and the genetic genealogy work that revived the case, asking how one overlooked detail shifted everything and who placed that call from the Route Nine Sunoco payphone.

    Person: Bruce Wells
    Date: March 4, 2022
    Location: Pembrook Street, Calloway Falls, Ohio
    Event: Discovery of left shoe sealed in gallon zip‑lock bag inside chest freezer
    Case: Sarah Thorpe disappearance and murder, October 17-18, 1991

    - The sneaker was a women’s size seven, left foot, and had been missing for thirty‑one years.
    - The note tucked against the shoe contained one woman’s name and seven digits for a payphone removed twenty‑six years earlier.
    - Sarah Thorpe disappeared from a birthday hall at 11:15 PM on October 17, 1991 after answering a call at 10:43 PM from the Route Nine Sunoco payphone.
    - Sarah’s body was found at 6:45 AM on October 18, 1991 in a drainage ditch on County Road Fourteen; cause of death was strangulation by a thin nylon‑type ligature.
    - A partial male DNA profile from skin cells on Sarah’s neck, labeled Unknown Male One, remained unmatched in databases until genetic genealogist Eric Myers uploaded it in January 2019.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • The Bite That Stayed Frozen: How a 1979 Cast Cracked a Killer

    The Bite That Stayed Frozen: How a 1979 Cast Cracked a Killer
    2026/07/25
    The Bite That Stayed Frozen: How a 1979 Cast Cracked a Killer

    A frozen wax cast of seven tooth impressions sat untouched in evidence for thirty-six years, the single physical clue from a woman found strangled and hidden in goldenrod on September 4, 1979. Who left a clear upper-arch bite with one chipped incisal edge, and why did the investigation focus on a man whose dentition did not match the cast?

    In this episode, we tell what the case file contains and how routine details - a garden notebook, a foreman at the lumberyard, and a cast in a chest freezer - shaped decades of inquiries; what question finally reopened the file and led toward the truth?

    Person: Wendy Griffin
    Date: September 4, 1979
    Location: drainage channel on Vesper Mill Road, Calhoun Falls
    Cause: manual strangulation; body moved after death
    Evidence: wax cast of seven upper-tooth impressions preserved in a chest freezer for 36 years

    - The body was discovered by road grader operator Randy Tillman at sunrise on September 4, 1979, a quarter mile from the nearest occupied house.
    - The bite mark on Wendy Griffin's left forearm displayed seven distinct tooth impressions from the upper arch with one chipped incisal edge.
    - Wendy Griffin was 38 years old, worked at Vance Lumber, and tended her garden every Wednesday evening from April through October.
    - Louis Farber, a foreman at Vance Lumber, had been seen arguing with Wendy about ten days before her death and had no verified alibi for the night of September 3, 1979.
    - A Pittsburgh odontologist concluded in 1979 that the wax cast did not match Louis Farber's dentition.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • The Grocery List That Framed a Small-Town Killer

    The Grocery List That Framed a Small-Town Killer
    2026/07/24
    The Grocery List That Framed a Small-Town Killer

    A routine Thursday walk ends with an olive-green tote and an eight-item grocery list tucked inside a paperback-written in block capitals for someone who had spent twenty-three years handling the town’s mail. Thirty-one years later that printed handwriting will finally crack a case that began with a postmaster who never made it home. Who wrote the list, and why was it in Jean Smith’s bag?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Jean Smith’s last known movements to the discovery of her body on Ridgepost Road and the mysterious envelope found between pages 112 and 113 of her paperback; we ask whether Jean placed the list in her tote herself or whether someone else left it there as a deliberate clue.

    Person: Jean Smith
    Date: August 8, 1991
    Location: Ridgepost Road, Carvell, Oregon
    Status: Homicide, cause strangulation, time of death between 6 and 9 PM
    Item found: Olive-green canvas tote with romance paperback containing a Carvell Municipal Utilities mailer with an eight-item grocery list printed in blue ballpoint block capitals

    - Jean Smith had been Carvell postmaster for 23 years and postmaster for the last 9 years.
    - Jean walked four blocks to her sister Norma’s house every Thursday for six years without missing a visit.
    - Jean left home between 8:30 and 9:00 PM on August 8, 1991 and did not return; her car remained in the driveway.
    - Her body was found four days later, approximately 40 feet off Ridgepost Road, partially covered by arranged sword ferns.
    - The grocery list included exactly eight items, including “stamps, quantity twenty,” and was written on the back of a Carvell Municipal Utilities water-bill mailer.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 分
  • The Glove in the Drain: How DNA Broke a 31-Year Silence

    The Glove in the Drain: How DNA Broke a 31-Year Silence
    2026/07/23
    The Glove in the Drain: How DNA Broke a 31-Year Silence

    Fear and relief collide: a latex glove turned inside out, stained with industrial Permaseal, sat beneath Sharon Bailey’s shoulder blade for 31 years before DNA finally pointed investigators toward a man who had been in the building two days earlier-so how did that glove end up in a drainage channel one block from her apartment in July 1993?

    In this episode, we lay out the facts of Sharon Bailey’s last night, the evidence preserved in a freezer, and the breakthrough steps that connected a state cold-case grant, a genealogist, and distant home-DNA uploads to a retired contractor-could a single inverted glove and a trace of refrigerant sealant finally close the case?

    Person: Sharon Bailey
    Date: July 9, 1993
    Location: Dellard, Illinois
    Item: Latex glove (inside out) with orange-rust Permaseal residue
    Age: Sharon was 24 years old

    - The glove was found at 6:15 AM on July 9, 1993 by Ruth Burns, a 51-year-old retired school librarian.
    - Sharon left a coworker’s apartment at approximately 9:45 PM on July 8, 1993 and was one block from her building when she disappeared.
    - The interior stain was identified as Permaseal, an industrial refrigerant sealant distributed only to licensed HVAC contractors.
    - Three employees had access to Building C’s service entrance; two were cleared quickly, the third-Ralph Vickers, 31 at the time-cooperated with detectives and was not arrested then.
    - In summer 2024 a forensic genealogist on a state cold-case grant received a database match within 72 hours after a home DNA kit was uploaded by a 67-year-old in Tucson and another relative in Fort Wayne used a different last name for 21 years.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • The Plumber Who Walked Out: How DNA Cracked 28-Year Silence

    The Plumber Who Walked Out: How DNA Cracked 28-Year Silence
    2026/07/22
    The Plumber Who Walked Out: How DNA Cracked 28-Year Silence

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the morning Diane found the unlocked house through the decades-long cold case and the moment modern DNA testing and genealogy reopened everything. How did a partial profile from beneath April’s fingernails, a plumber’s crew note, and one genealogist’s persistence lead to answers?

    Person: April Dempsey
    Date: June 9, 1994
    Location: 4 Aldercroft Lane, Tanner Falls, Ohio
    Status: Cold for 28 years; DNA reanalyzed in 2019
    Investigator: Linda Marshall (Harker County Cold Case Unit)

    - April was 48 years old in spring 1994 and had lived at 4 Aldercroft Lane since 1983.
    - Diane Henderson found the unlocked house and lights on the morning of June 9, 1994 after April missed her Wednesday call.
    - Investigators recovered a degraded partial DNA profile from beneath April’s fingernails and stored it in a forensic freezer for 25 years.
    - Hadley Plumbing and Mechanical had performed repair work at 4 Aldercroft Lane in March 1994; no individual worker was interviewed alone.
    - In 2019 Linda Marshall requested reanalysis using short tandem repeat technology and the degraded partial profile returned as a complete profile.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • One Shoe in the Drainage Ditch: The Roger Rafferty Case

    One Shoe in the Drainage Ditch: The Roger Rafferty Case
    2026/07/21
    One Shoe in the Drainage Ditch: The Roger Rafferty Case

    A man found face-down in a drainage easement, one brown oxford still on his right foot and the left foot bare - his wallet with $42 and a Sunoco card untouched - and a blunt-force wound to the back of his skull. Thirty-seven years passed with a dried blood sample from a parking-structure wall and a missing shoe as the only stubborn clues; what finally shifted the case decades later?

    In this episode, we lay out the known facts of Roger Rafferty’s disappearance and death, the scene found by Terry Sloane on May 14, 1983, and the stalled investigation that followed, asking whether inventory disputes, a suspect seen nearby, or the unidentified blood sample held the answer that prosecutors could not prove.

    Person: Roger Rafferty
    Date found: May 14, 1983
    Location: drainage easement behind the Millhaven Civic Center
    Status: deceased; cause blunt-force trauma to posterior skull
    Investigator: Detective Frank Noonan

    - Body estimated to have been there between six and ten days when found.
    - Wallet contained forty-two dollars and a Sunoco credit card; nothing reported stolen.
    - Roger was thirty-one and had worked four years as parts coordinator at Fenton Brothers Agricultural.
    - A 1979 Ford pickup belonging to Roger was found two blocks away with key in ignition and driver door unlocked.
    - A blood sample from a parking-structure wall sixty feet from the easement did not match Roger’s blood type.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • A Dog Finds the Clue That Solves a 30-Year Murder: The Dennis Hunter Case

    A Dog Finds the Clue That Solves a 30-Year Murder: The Dennis Hunter Case
    2026/07/20
    A Dog Finds the Clue That Solves a 30-Year Murder: The Dennis Hunter Case

    Fear and disbelief collide: an evidence envelope sat in a drainage ditch all winter, its ink bled but five words still readable - "Hunter - hair - right hand - do not destroy." Four strands of dark brown hair, root-bulbs intact, had been clenched in Dennis Hunter’s fist for thirty years; how did that envelope travel from a retired sergeant’s garage to a culvert and finally into a dog’s mouth, and who did those hairs belong to?

    In this episode, we follow the chain of events laid out in the case file and witness how ordinary, accidental steps returned a piece of evidence that had been missing for decades. Listen to how the envelope resurfaced, what it contained, and why that single physical item reopened the question of who killed Dennis Hunter.

    Person: Dennis Hunter
    Date: April 8, 1994
    Location: Ridgeway Fabricating, west Kellum, Tennessee
    Status: Cold case reopened (evidence recovered April 2024)
    Investigator: Sergeant Donald Frey

    - Dennis Hunter was 51 years old and had worked at Ridgeway Fabricating for 23 years.
    - He died from a single blow to the base of his skull on the night of April 8, 1994.
    - Four strands of dark brown hair with root-bulbs intact were found clenched in his right hand.
    - Sergeant Donald Frey signed out the evidence and stored the envelope in his garage for 17 years.
    - In April 2024 a walker’s golden retriever retrieved a water-stained brown paper envelope from a drainage ditch containing the original glassine pouch stamped April 1994.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Creek Kept Time: Watch That Breathed Life Into a Killer's Truth

    The Creek Kept Time: Watch That Breathed Life Into a Killer's Truth
    2026/07/19
    The Creek Kept Time: Watch That Breathed Life Into a Killer's Truth

    A running Seiko wristwatch sat two feet underwater for thirty-one days and still kept perfect time - despite its owner being buried upstream. How did that watch end up exactly one and a half miles downstream from a Sycamore Bend Road bridge, and what secret did its survival hold about a killing that would stay unsolved for twenty-one years?

    In this episode, we tell the story of Sherry Quinn, the missing watch, the cold case file that sat dormant, and the forensic genealogist who revisited an incomplete DNA profile in August 2021; could an overlooked wristwatch and a prepaid phone trace finally point to a killer?

    Person: Sherry Quinn
    Date: March 7-9, 2002
    Location: Colter Creek / Sycamore Bend Road, Farwell, Tennessee
    Status: Case remained unresolved until genetic genealogy review in August 2021
    Event: Gold-tone Seiko wristwatch found running after 31 days submerged

    - The Seiko wristwatch was underwater for 31 days and remained running when retrieved.
    - Sherry Quinn was 44 years old and worked nights, leaving through the back door at 6:15 a.m. daily.
    - Her body was recovered March 9, 2002, in a drainage channel about 1.5 miles downstream from Sycamore Bend Road bridge.
    - Investigators recorded six incoming calls from one unregistered number in the 14 days before March 7, 2002.
    - The prepaid phone linked to those calls was activated at a convenience store in Calloway, Tennessee, 22 miles from Farwell.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分