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  • The Badge, the Solvent and the Morning She Never Returned

    The Badge, the Solvent and the Morning She Never Returned
    2026/07/26
    The Badge, the Solvent and the Morning She Never Returned

    A retired bookkeeper vanished from her usual two-mile morning loop on July 2, 2019, and twelve days later was found strangled with a laminated county fair visitor badge clenched in her hand - its face dry and its clip corroded by industrial solvent, not river water. What did a badge issued at an agricultural exposition three years earlier have to do with a murder beside the Kellerman River, and who had access to that kind of solvent?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the forensic detail about the badge and solvent, and the detective's shift from tracing people to tracing places - a turn that would shape the hunt for answers. How did a faded fair badge become the one lead that refused to be ignored?

    Person: Heather Thorpe
    Date: July 2, 2019
    Location: Clarkton Reservoir / Kellerman River (Cooter's Elbow)
    Cause: Manual strangulation
    Detective: Rebecca Tucker

    - Heather Thorpe arrived at the Clarkton Reservoir parking lot at 6:12 AM and was last seen leaving on foot at 6:17 AM on July 2, 2019.
    - Twelve days later, on July 14, 2019 at 5:40 AM, Bruce Casey found her body at a bend called Cooter's Elbow.
    - The laminated visitor badge in her left hand was issued April 9, 2016 for the Kellerman County Agricultural Exposition and the exposition had not operated since 2017.
    - Forensics determined the badge face was dry after eleven days in the river and the metal clip showed corrosion consistent with industrial solvent rather than river water.
    - Detective Rebecca Tucker reviewed vendor contracts from county fairs within a 100-mile radius across 2017-2019 seeking overlap in access to industrial solvent.

    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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    23 分
  • Spotless Glasses on a Mangrove Marker - Why Quinn Wouldn't Explain

    Spotless Glasses on a Mangrove Marker - Why Quinn Wouldn't Explain
    2026/07/25
    Spotless Glasses on a Mangrove Marker - Why Quinn Wouldn't Explain

    A county surveyor found a bronze marker disk in a palmetto stand on June 4, 2011 - and on top of it, folded neatly, were a pair of reading glasses completely spotless despite heavy dew on every nearby surface. The glasses were never explained by investigators, by the confession, or by four years of trial testimony - who left them there, and why?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events from the marker discovery to the medical findings and the lead suspect’s role, outlining the unexplained details that persisted through arrest and trial. What does a pair of immaculate glasses on a secluded monument reveal about Emily Donnelly’s last hours?

    Date: June 4, 2011
    Person (victim): Emily Donnelly, 22 years old
    Person (suspect): John Quinn, 44 years old
    Cause of death: Strangulation with intravenous lorazepam administered before death
    Location (body found): Tidal flats, quarter mile east of marker

    - The bronze marker disk had been set into concrete eight years earlier and was found 60 yards from the nearest path inside a dense palmetto stand.
    - The folded reading glasses on the marker showed no pollen, grit, or moisture despite overnight dew on grass, palm fronds, and concrete.
    - Emily Donnelly was last seen at Pelican Cove on the evening of June 2, 2011 and reported missing by June 8, 2011 after missed calls and absence from work.
    - The medical examiner found a needle mark on Emily’s left forearm and detected non-therapeutic intravenous lorazepam, indicating someone trained in IV placement administered the sedative.
    - Harold Voss, age 79, recorded twice in a personal journal observing John Quinn enter a residential bungalow through a rear porch door on days when no wellness visits were scheduled.

    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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    25 分
  • The Glove in the Septic Tank that Tracked a Killer

    The Glove in the Septic Tank that Tracked a Killer
    2026/07/24
    The Glove in the Septic Tank that Tracked a Killer

    Fear starts small: a single Red Wing boot standing upright in caliche dust, laces tied, with an uncashed paycheck folded inside the toe - found two weeks after a pipe-fitter from Enid, Oklahoma vanished. How did a twelve-dollar phone charger, a receipt timestamp, and one boot become the first clues that would later link disappearances across the Permian Basin?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries from the last confirmed movements to the moment a detective first sees the boot, detailing the exact evidence that turned a routine no-show into a criminal inquiry. What did the Flats Mart receipt, the missing charger, and the white van with an Olson Water Services sign reveal about where Brian Whitley went?

    Person: Brian Whitley
    Date: May 8-9, 2011
    Location: Camp Six, off FM 1936, Permian Basin
    Item: Uncashed paycheck folded twice inside a Red Wing boot
    Vehicle: White Ford Econoline van with "OLSON WATER SERVICES" magnetic sign

    - The last confirmed timestamp is 11:14 PM on May 8, 2011, from Flats Mart, where Brian bought water, peanuts, and a $12 phone charger.
    - The found boot was a Red Wing, size 10½, with "WHITLEY" written in black Sharpie inside the heel.
    - The uncashed paycheck stub was pink carbonless paper, folded twice, and tucked inside the toe of the boot.
    - Camp Six lot attendant Phil Oakes reported no unusual activity the night Brian disappeared; Brian's Chevy pickup sat untouched with half a tank the morning of May 9.
    - Surveillance showed a white Ford Econoline van leaving Flats Mart at 11:22 PM with a magnetic sign reading "OLSON WATER SERVICES" and a caliche-smeared license plate.

    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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    23 分
  • The One Shoe in the Van: How a Bird Photo Broke a Killer's Silence

    The One Shoe in the Van: How a Bird Photo Broke a Killer's Silence
    2026/07/23
    The One Shoe in the Van: How a Bird Photo Broke a Killer's Silence

    A retired postal worker's bird photo captured a dark van in the only corner of a rest stop not covered by cameras-and inside the frame was the sole of a woman's shoe, no foot attached. That single, blurred image sat on a memory card for eleven days while a sixty-one-year-old mother vanished; what did that lone shoe prove, and who had been watching her routine?

    In this episode, we tell how a photograph, a fresh-cut dahlia on a car floor mat, toll records and a storage locker full of mismatched left shoes connected in the investigation into a missing woman. Listen to learn how those details aligned to point toward a man who had operated in plain sight for years.

    Person: Sherry Sawyer
    Date: April 13-14, 2011
    Location: Kessler Welcome Area and Cracker Barrel off Interstate 24
    Investigator: TBI Special Agent Troy Harrison
    Photographer: Alan Anderson

    - Photographer Alan Anderson was 53 and did not review the image until April 25, 2011, eleven days after taking it on April 14.
    - Sherry Sawyer was 61 years old and sent her last confirmed text the night of April 13, 2011 reading "ran into an old friend, out late."
    - Sherry's silver Honda Civic was found with her purse on the front seat and phone missing, parked about seven miles from the Kessler rest stop.
    - A fresh-cut dahlia was found on the passenger floor mat of Sherry's car despite her garden dahlias not blooming until late June.
    - A storage locker on Turney Road in Dickson County contained eleven left-foot women's shoes of mixed sizes discovered two years after the disappearance.

    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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    25 分
  • The Dry Shoe on Slip Nine: How a Tiny Clue Unraveled a Killer

    The Dry Shoe on Slip Nine: How a Tiny Clue Unraveled a Killer
    2026/07/22
    The Dry Shoe on Slip Nine: How a Tiny Clue Unraveled a Killer

    A young delivery boy found a white cooler at the water’s edge with its lock turned to face the road - but the cooler had never been opened, and inside was a twenty-four-year-old woman sealed with braided marine rope. The discovery came six days after she left a waterfront bar at 10:40 PM and two years after strange launch times in a public boat ramp log hinted at a lone charter boat running for seventeen hours; who was the man whose pattern matched the night she vanished?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a March 4th night out to the March 10th morning discovery, trace the routines that made Gina Myers noticeable when she stopped answering calls, and return to the Piney Cut sign-in that recorded a Delta Current launch at 6:15 AM and a retrieval at 23:40 - could that entry explain why investigators waited years for answers?

    Person: Gina Myers
    Date: March 10, 2011 (discovery)
    Location: Piney Cut / Pelican Reach gate road (Belleport)
    Event: Cooler found sealed with braided marine rope
    Case: Missing after leaving Anchor Tap on March 4, 2011

    - A fourteen-year-old named Thomas Young found the cooler at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2011.
    - Deputy Frank Solis arrived at 9:15 AM and used bolt cutters to open the cooler containing Gina Myers.
    - Gina was 24 years old and had left the Anchor Tap at approximately 10:40 PM on March 4, 2011.
    - Gina worked five days a week on the shrimp trawler Miss Nadine and called her sister twice weekly.
    - The Piney Cut log records "R. Thompson, Delta Current, 6:15 AM" with a retrieval time entered as "23:40" on March 5, 2011.

    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 Dead Woman's Hotel Key: How a Fake Room Unmasked a Serial Killer

    The Dead Woman's Hotel Key: How a Fake Room Unmasked a Serial Killer
    2026/07/21
    The Dead Woman's Hotel Key: How a Fake Room Unmasked a Serial Killer

    Cold detail, calculated placement: a hotel key for Room 219 - a room that never existed and a lodge torn down five years earlier - was found clenched in a dead woman's hand, and it would unravel four deaths and a locked metal case. What pattern did one fake key reveal, and how many other deaths had been quietly misclassified before investigators pulled a single thread?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline and the concrete evidence that shifted one death from probable accident to suspicious homicide, following the clues that tied victims, medical records, and a single physical therapist together to ask the question investigators could not ignore.

    Person: Rebecca Marshall
    Date: February 4, 2014
    Location: access road above Telfer Basin
    Cause: acute cold exposure with posterior skull contusions
    Person: Lena Pruitt

    - Rebecca Marshall was found at 5:40 AM on February 4, 2014, with a hotel key card for Telfer Basin Lodge Room 219 in her closed left hand.
    - The Telfer Basin Lodge had been demolished in 2009 and Room 219 no longer existed, but the card stock vendor Summit Access Systems dissolved in 2011.
    - Rebecca’s lift pass scanned at 9:12 AM and 2:47 PM on January 31, 2014; no records, sightings, or messages exist after 2:47 PM.
    - Medical examiner listed acute cold exposure as proximate cause and noted posterior skull contusions described as “inconsistent with a simple fall.”
    - Lena Pruitt, age 44, died in January 2013 with posterior skull contusions and a blood alcohol level of 0.12; she had visited the same physical therapy clinic one month earlier and had Scott Walker as her treating provider.

    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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    23 分
  • The Boot on the Steps: How a Culvert Hid a Killer

    The Boot on the Steps: How a Culvert Hid a Killer
    2026/07/20
    The Boot on the Steps: How a Culvert Hid a Killer

    A single women's winter boot sat upright on the third step of a bunkhouse staircase after the last snowfall - laces tied, tongue neat, snow undisturbed - and it turned out to be the smallest clue that would expose a six-year pattern of violence. The boot was found January 9, 2011, the same month Sandra Chambers was placed in a drainage culvert and later ruled strangled; who left that boot and why did a killer move unnoticed through remote work camps for years?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Sandra Chambers’s last confirmed sign-in to the stray boot photographed by a line worker, tracing access logs, delivery routes, and the rotations that governed life at Harkin Basin. How did a delivery clipboard, a four-digit door code, and two unexplained entry timestamps point investigators backward to a driver who’d been on site for years?

    Person: Sandra Chambers
    Date: January 9, 2011 (boot found); body recovered late February 2011
    Location: Harkin Basin bunkhouse and drainage culvert 11 miles east of Dellard, Wyoming
    Cause of death: Strangulation
    Record: Unauthorized service entrance entries December 30, 2010 at 11:41 PM and January 3, 2011 at 6:17 AM

    - The boot was a women's winter boot, size seven, placed on the third exterior stair after snowfall on January 4, 2011.
    - Sandra signed out of Harkin Basin on December 28, 2010 and was estimated to have died in the first week of January 2011.
    - Grow lights in Sandra’s apartment were observed on continuously in the first week of January, indicating she had not returned to reset them.
    - Sandra’s car was found January 19, 2011 at an interstate rest area with keys in the center console and a half-eaten sleeve of crackers on the passenger seat.
    - Delivery driver Robert Fleming appeared on Harkin Basin delivery records spanning six years and used the service entrance clipboard with the four-digit door code.

    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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    22 分
  • Dead Man's Pocket Hides a Key to a Demolished Hotel: The Curtis Vaughn Case

    Dead Man's Pocket Hides a Key to a Demolished Hotel: The Curtis Vaughn Case
    2026/07/19
    Dead Man's Pocket Hides a Key to a Demolished Hotel: The Curtis Vaughn Case

    A lone black dress shoe stood upright four feet off a desert road, laces tied and toe pointing north, containing a casino loyalty card and a buffet receipt dated two days earlier-an ordinary object staged like a photograph that led to a buried body and a fractured timeline. Who could move through casino corridors unseen and leave a single shoe as a clue to a disappearance that began with a last recorded swipe at 6:44 p.m.?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from a runner's discovery to the investigative threads that connect a missing checkout swipe, maintenance badge logs, and an unfamiliar technician's work orders, asking whether those routine records can reveal intent or only opportunity.

    Person: Gregory Hunt
    Date: December 11 (body found); December 9 (last loyalty card swipe)
    Location: Fallon, Nevada (road and scrub near basalt outcrop)
    Status: Deceased; body discovered under displaced caliche
    Event: Loyalty card swipe at Clearwater Pines casino at 6:44 p.m.

    - Gloria Russo found a single black lace-up dress shoe standing upright four feet off the road at 6:15 a.m, on December 11.
    - Inside the shoe was a casino loyalty card and a buffet receipt dated December 9.
    - Gregory Hunt, age 53, was found twenty yards into the scrub, partially sheltered by low desert brush.
    - The final recorded swipe on Hunt's Cascade Club loyalty card at Clearwater Pines casino was at 6:44 p.m, on December 9 with no checkout swipe later.
    - Badge-access logs show an exterior maintenance door on the southern corridor was accessed six times over four months, including at 11:52 p.m, on December 9 with five entries lacking work orders.

    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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    23 分