エピソード

  • The Birthday Candle in the Shoe: How DNA Broke a Thirty-One-Year Silence

    The Birthday Candle in the Shoe: How DNA Broke a Thirty-One-Year Silence
    2026/10/27
    The Birthday Candle in the Shoe: How DNA Broke a Thirty-One-Year Silence

    A single navy shoe balanced on a concrete piloti with a dry birthday candle tucked inside its paper sleeve, sitting undisturbed in four inches of moving water - an impossible scene that meant someone had placed it there. Thirty-one years later, a mailed saliva sample to an ancestry service would send the frozen physical evidence from Forsyth County back into motion; who placed the candle and why did Valerie Hunter end up two hundred yards downstream from a shoe she did not wear?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from Valerie Hunter's last confirmed sighting after a March 7 birthday party to the morning her body was found on March 9, 1991, and trace how the investigation circled the same small building and a coal door with no lock before a modern DNA lead emerged. How did a routine life with fixed rhythms end at Tanner Creek Park, and what finally broke the thirty-one-year silence?

    Person: Valerie Hunter
    Date: March 9, 1991
    Location: Tanner Creek Park, two hundred yards upstream from the shoe
    Status: Body found; strangled by hand; no charges for thirty-one years
    Event: Autumn 2022 saliva sample sent to an ancestry service

    - Shoe: navy women's pump, size eight, heel pointing skyward, found balanced on a concrete piloti in four inches of moving water
    - Candle: an unmelted birthday candle tucked inside the shoe's paper sleeve, undisturbed despite moving water that should destroy paper in minutes
    - Victim age and occupation: Valerie Hunter, 26, receptionist from Alderton who had never missed a shift
    - Discovery timeline: shoe found at 6:15 a.m. by runner Donald Mueller; body found before 8:00 a.m. tucked beneath birch branches on the north bank
    - Key structure: coal door at Waverly Place with no lock, providing direct stairwell access to the second-floor hallway outside Valerie's apartment

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    18 分
  • The Shoe That Stood: How a Frozen Pump Exposed a Killer

    The Shoe That Stood: How a Frozen Pump Exposed a Killer
    2026/10/26
    The Shoe That Stood: How a Frozen Pump Exposed a Killer

    Cold, deliberate, and impossible to balance: a single burgundy pump, size seven, stood upright on frozen condensation atop a padlocked chest freezer where a woman lay strangled inside. That shoe, a removed brass Master lock found thirty feet away, and a steel padlock that didn't belong to the station became the only physical puzzle pieces - who placed the shoe and why?

    In this episode, we tell the story of the discovery at Crossland Fuel Plaza and follow the trail of small details that connected a freezer, a notebook, and a route Karen Sullivan drove every February - could a shoe and two locks really point to a killer?

    Person: Karen Sullivan
    Date: February 9, 1987
    Location: Crossland Fuel Plaza, Route Nine
    Detective: Harlan Pryce, 44 years old
    Vehicle: 1984 Dodge Aries

    - At 8:14 AM a meter reader named Karen Sullivan found a single burgundy pump, size seven, standing upright on top of a padlocked chest freezer.
    - Inside the freezer was Karen Sullivan, age 47, who had been strangled.
    - Crossland's brass Master lock was found hanging open on the propane cage thirty feet from the freezer.
    - The freezer was sealed with a steel padlock that did not belong to Crossland.
    - Karen's last notebook entry read: Crossland, Route Nine, February 8, 1987, $1.07 per gallon, 312 miles.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    20 分
  • The Freezer Found a Library Card - He'd Been Waiting 29 Years

    The Freezer Found a Library Card - He'd Been Waiting 29 Years
    2026/10/25
    The Freezer Found a Library Card - He'd Been Waiting 29 Years

    A laminated Drover County library card with the name Kevin Weber was found placed in the open palm of Amanda Weber when her body was discovered in a church annex chest freezer in January 2022; the card expired February 1993 and linked her death to a brother who vanished 29 years earlier. Who deliberately positioned that card, and why bring a missing brother’s library card into a scene after nearly three decades?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline from Amanda's last shift at Harwick Regional Hospital to the discovery of her locked car and the evidence that tied her death to a cold missing-persons case; we follow the calls, witnesses, and physical clues that raise the question of whether someone beside Amanda carried the secret of Kevin’s disappearance all along.

    Person: Amanda Weber
    Date: January 9, 2022
    Location: Calvary Lutheran Church annex, Harwick
    Case: Kevin Weber missing since fall 1993
    Evidence: Drover County Public Library card exp. February 1993

    - Amanda left Harwick Regional Hospital at 7:15 a.m, on January 9, 2022 after working overnight shifts.
    - Amanda's gray Honda Civic was found locked in a gravel lot on Millbrook Road on January 10, 2022 with her phone in the center console and a bowling bag in the trunk.
    - Two days before she disappeared, Amanda received an 11-minute call from a prepaid phone that was later discarded and not independently traced.
    - A neighbor saw an older, heavyset man in a canvas work coat enter Amanda's apartment building the evening of January 8, 2022; a dark older American sedan was parked outside.
    - A laminated Drover County Public Library card bearing the name Kevin Weber, expired February 1993, was found deliberately placed in Amanda’s open palm inside the chest freezer.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    19 分
  • Folded Cardigan, Frozen Soil: Who Returned to Valerie Rafferty?

    Folded Cardigan, Frozen Soil: Who Returned to Valerie Rafferty?
    2026/10/24
    Folded Cardigan, Frozen Soil: Who Returned to Valerie Rafferty?

    The discovery that stopped Donna Speight was a neatly folded dark green wool cardigan with a laminated library ID placed on top, found forty yards from Valerie Rafferty's body in frozen soil - and forensic review later suggested the cardigan arrived one to two days after the body was left. Who made a return trip to that drainage cut and why was the cardigan folded like someone putting something away?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Valerie Rafferty's last confirmed sighting at 5:20 p.m. on December 6, 2004 to the discovery five days later and the 31-year investigative thread that led from a preserved hair follicle to a partial male DNA profile and a genetic genealogy match. How did a partial profile from a follicle in evidence lead investigators toward Roger Gray?

    Person: Valerie Rafferty
    Date: December 6-11, 2004
    Location: drainage cut off the Alan Hayes trail, Harwick County
    Case: cold case with 31 years of evidence transfer
    Event: partial male DNA profile matched via genetic genealogy

    - Valerie Rafferty was 52 years old and had worked 14 years at the Harwick County Public Library, six as circulation supervisor.
    - Last confirmed sighting was 5:20 p.m. on December 6, 2004; Nora called Fenwick PD at 9:53 p.m. the same night.
    - Valerie’s body was found five days later, with the folded cardigan discovered 40 yards away and a laminated library ID placed on top.
    - A partial male DNA profile was recovered from a hair follicle inside the cardigan, preserved in evidence since winter 2001.
    - Genetic genealogist Howard Brooks traced a match from a public database to Sandra Kohler and, after four months of research, identified Roger Gray as a person of interest.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    18 分
  • The Empty Envelope, The Phantom Technician, and a Stamp of Proof

    The Empty Envelope, The Phantom Technician, and a Stamp of Proof
    2026/10/23
    The Empty Envelope, The Phantom Technician, and a Stamp of Proof

    A sealed, stamped envelope was found in the breast pocket of a drowned woman after three days underwater - perfectly preserved yet empty - and it outlasted thirty years of silence. What does a one twenty-nine-cent stamp and an empty letter tell us about the final seconds of Sarah Sharp's life, and why did that envelope survive when answers did not?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries and anomalies around Sarah Sharp's disappearance and death, from the sealed envelope to an unaccounted-for clinic visitor and tire tracks near the reservoir, and we follow the thread that kept investigators returning to the case: could these isolated details fit together to explain what happened?

    Person: Sarah Sharp
    Date: November 9, 1991 (body found); last confirmed walk November 5, 1991
    Location: Sauder Creek arm of Pelham Reservoir; Pinecroft Family Medical Clinic in Dellard, Ohio
    Status: Homicide by manual strangulation; case unresolved for decades
    Investigator: Craig Bailey (detective who returned to the case after retirement)

    - Sarah Sharp was 44 years old and worked as a licensed practical nurse and office manager at Pinecroft Family Medical Clinic for more than a decade.
    - The envelope found in her jacket was off-white, personal-size, addressed in Sarah's handwriting to Nora Hines, sealed, and had a one twenty-nine-cent American flag stamp.
    - The envelope remained sealed and preserved after an estimated 60 to 72 hours submerged and was refrigerated in evidence for thirty years.
    - On November 4, 1991, a man claiming to be from Starline HVAC entered Pinecroft's rear entrance, stayed about 40 minutes, but Starline had no record of a service call that week.
    - Tire tracks consistent with a heavy service vehicle were photographed on a muddy service road approximately 0.3 miles from where Sarah's body was found, a road used by Tri-County Fuel drivers.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    19 分
  • The Stolen Glove: How a Hidden Evidence Bagfinally Broke 1991 Murder

    The Stolen Glove: How a Hidden Evidence Bagfinally Broke 1991 Murder
    2026/10/22
    The Stolen Glove: How a Hidden Evidence Bagfinally Broke 1991 Murder

    Fear that time can bury the truth - a single latex glove, sealed with original evidence tape and locked in a crime lab freezer for 30 years, turned up in a food-bank tote under an uprooted oak in 2022; it still carried a partial palm print and enough biological material to build a DNA profile. Who hid the glove in the woods, and why did someone steal it after a detective had been dead for four weeks?

    In this episode, we lay out the chain of events from Alice Davis’s disappearance and the recovery of Item Seven through decades of cold-case work, new DNA technology, and genetic genealogy that narrowed suspects to a cluster of men with the surname Olson - could that lead finally answer who killed Alice?

    Person: Alice Davis
    Date: October 23, 1991
    Location: drainage culvert on a farm access road east of Alderton
    Item: Item Seven - single latex glove, double-bagged and sealed with original evidence tape
    Event: Glove found in forest-green Alderton Area Food Bank tote on March 14, 2022

    - Alice Davis missed her regular volunteer shift on Wednesday, October 23, 1991, and was reported missing the same night.
    - A body was found on November 3, 1991; time of death was established as late October 23-24, 1991 and cause was strangulation.
    - The glove recovered near the body contained a partial palm print and interior trace biological material used to create a DNA profile in 1994.
    - The glove was sealed, tagged as Case 91-1047 AD Item Seven, and stored in the Alderton Area Crime Lab freezer for 30 years.
    - Genetic genealogy work in 2022 produced third- and fourth-cousin matches and narrowed suspects to male descendants born between 1950 and 1965, including a repeated surname Olson.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    19 分
  • Freezer on Sycamore Flats: The Woman Preserved Nine Years Silent

    Freezer on Sycamore Flats: The Woman Preserved Nine Years Silent
    2026/10/21
    Freezer on Sycamore Flats: The Woman Preserved Nine Years Silent

    Cold, calculated preservation: a running compressor kept human remains in an avocado-green chest freezer on an abandoned farm for nine years while the dead man's trust paid the electric bill - and no one knew who she was for four more years. How did a locked shed, a 50-foot outdoor-rated extension cord threaded through conduit, and a contractor-grade padlock stay invisible on a vacant property for almost a decade?

    In this episode, we lay out the timelines, the people, and the overlooked records that connect a missing woman last seen in 2016 to a freezer discovered in 2019 - and follow the question that kept the case cold for years: who arranged nine years of secrecy and why?

    Person: Jessica Anne Gallagher
    Date missing: September 2016
    Discovery date: September 4, 2019
    Location: abandoned farm outside Harmon's Bluff, Caldwell County, Missouri
    Status: unidentified at discovery; missing person reported September 2016

    - The freezer was avocado-green and had a running compressor when septic contractor Duane Jensen lifted the lid on September 4, 2019.
    - Human remains in frost-covered orange landscape bags were skeletal and partially mummified after being preserved by continuous refrigeration.
    - The property had been vacant since Harold Mabry died in 2010 and the Mabry trust paid the electric bill automatically for nine years.
    - Jessica Gallagher was last confirmed seen on the evening of September 9, 2016, at Keller's Bar with Arthur Pell, who lacked a solid alibi for September 10-12.
    - An investigator in September 2023 noted Pell had been questioned three times in winter 2016-2017 but the case went cold in spring 2017 with no body or physical evidence.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    18 分
  • The Coffee Cup in the Freezer That Broke a 30-Year Silence

    The Coffee Cup in the Freezer That Broke a 30-Year Silence
    2026/10/20
    The Coffee Cup in the Freezer That Broke a 30-Year Silence

    A twenty-ounce foam coffee cup and a climate-controlled freezer held the thread that unspooled a mystery frozen for thirty years: a partial DNA profile logged in a property room after Judith Perry was found strangled in August 1991. How did a discarded coffee cup pulled from an outdoor trash can in October 2021 connect to evidence stored since the 1990s, and who closed the loop?

    In this episode, we tell what the episode covers and who and what appear in the story, following the physical evidence, the people closest to Judith, and the chain of custody that led investigators back to a long-dormant vial - and ask whether that vial finally answered the century-long question of who killed Judith Perry.

    Person: Judith Perry
    Date: August 9, 1991 (disappearance) and August 20, 1991 (body found)
    Location: Marsh Road pull-off, Hessler Marsh corridor, Calloway County
    Status: Partial DNA profile logged and kept in a climate-controlled freezer; evidence reconnected in October 2021
    Event: Twenty-ounce foam coffee cup pulled from an outdoor trash can in October 2021

    - Judith Perry was 22 years old when she left The Anchor on August 9, 1991 and was last seen entering a tan 1987 Civic at 7:15 p.m.
    - Her car was found unlocked at a Marsh Road pull-off about 15 miles north the morning of August 10, 1991 with no signs of a struggle inside.
    - Her body was discovered on August 20, 1991 in a drainage culvert a quarter-mile from the pull-off and the medical examiner ruled strangulation with death occurring within hours of disappearance.
    - Investigators recovered a partial palm print from the driver-side door and trace epithelial material from the ligature; the partial DNA profile was entered into CODIS and re-run in 1994, ~2001, and ~2018 with no matches.
    - A twenty-ounce foam coffee cup pulled from an outdoor trash can in October 2021 became the new link that required a genealogist working 14 months and other chain-of-custody elements to extract the answer stored in the freezer.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    21 分