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  • The Man Next Door: How a Coffee Cup Solved a 31-Year Murder

    The Man Next Door: How a Coffee Cup Solved a 31-Year Murder
    2026/10/27
    The Man Next Door: How a Coffee Cup Solved a 31-Year Murder

    A small-town murder sat cold for three decades with a DNA profile untouched in a state evidence repository while the sprinkler ran all night and a door stood unlocked. The missing piece was a discarded coffee cup that finally closed the six-block gap between victim and neighbor-so who left it, and why did it take 31 years to connect the dots?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Peggy Griffin found Marcia Carter face-down on her kitchen floor to the long trail of evidence, retired detectives, and exclusions that left more questions than answers; how did a single coffee cup break the silence?

    Person: Marcia Carter
    Date: August 5, 1992
    Location: 412 Ashford Drive, Kellerton
    Cause of death: Manual strangulation
    Investigator: Detective Arthur Vance

    - The sprinkler outside 412 Ashford Drive ran for eleven hours starting around 8:30 PM on August 4, 1992.
    - Marcia Carter was 28 years old and had lived in the rear unit for fourteen months.
    - She was last seen alive the Tuesday before August 5 and was estimated to have died between 10 PM and midnight.
    - Investigators collected a DNA profile from the scene that remained unmatched for thirty-one years.
    - Dennis Fowler dated Marcia for seven months, ended the relationship six weeks before her death, and his 1993 DNA sample excluded him on every locus.

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    © 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 Mason Jar Finger: How a Ring Broke a 30-Year Silence

    The Mason Jar Finger: How a Ring Broke a 30-Year Silence
    2026/10/26
    The Mason Jar Finger: How a Ring Broke a 30-Year Silence

    A preserved severed human finger, an opal ring, and a mason jar found on a grain elevator shelf in 1992 sat in a freezer for thirty years before a consumer DNA kit finally broke the silence-how did a routine jewelry repair receipt and a distant maternal match close a case gone cold? What connection tied a Scottsbluff kit to a jar on Hendricks Road?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the discovery at the Hendricks Road grain elevator to the retired technician’s solo cold-case work, describing the evidence, the gaps that persisted for decades, and the single line of DNA that produced the breakthrough-could a mitochondrial match and a family receipt be the key?

    Person: Tammy Romano
    Date: July 9, 1991
    Location: Millhaven (car found in Millhaven Public Library parking lot)
    Investigator: Detective Warren Pruitt
    Technician: Curtis Jensen

    - The mason jar with the severed finger was found on a shelf at the Hendricks Road grain elevator in the summer of 1992 and was placed in an evidence freezer.
    - Tammy Romano was fifty-six, worked nineteen years at Calloway Farm Supply, and left work at 5:15 p.m. on July 9, 1991; her car was found the next morning with keys in the ignition and purse on the passenger seat.
    - On July 7, 1991 Tammy had a ring resized; a receipt in her name recorded the date, cost, and adjustment and was kept by her daughter for thirty years.
    - Detective Warren Pruitt worked the case for eighteen months, interviewed Dale Fichter three times, retained biological evidence indefinitely against standard protocol, and retired without an arrest.
    - In early 2020 a private lab produced a complete mitochondrial DNA sequence (Haplogroup H1e) from the jar’s tissue after retired technician Curtis Jensen commissioned new testing.

    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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    17 分
  • The Woman's Hand in Wet Concrete: 29 Years of Silence

    The Woman's Hand in Wet Concrete: 29 Years of Silence
    2026/10/25
    The Woman's Hand in Wet Concrete: 29 Years of Silence

    A woman’s right hand lay pressed into wet concrete for twenty-nine years before a dog found it - a thirty-inch square block with an eight-inch depth bearing a perfect fingerprint that matched a 1992 courthouse record. How did Tammy Hamilton’s print end up in concrete poured the summer before she vanished on June 8, 1993, and what secret kept that impression hidden until 2022?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the day Tammy disappeared through decades of investigation, the overlooked evidence, and the breakthrough link made when a fingerprint and a preserved hair were finally re-examined - could those details finally answer why the hand was there?

    Person: Tammy Hamilton
    Date: June 8, 1993
    Location: Calloway State Recreation Area; parcel purchased February 1993
    Status: Disappeared; fingerprint matched 1992 courthouse filing
    Investigator: Pete Shanahan (forensic officer); Detective Steve Pulaski

    - The concrete block measured approximately thirty inches square and eight inches tall.
    - The handprint had been in the concrete for twenty-nine years before being found on June 8, 2022.
    - Tammy Hamilton was twenty-three years old when she disappeared on June 8, 1993.
    - A gas station receipt was generated at 8:47 PM on June 8, 1993, two miles from the shelter route.
    - A single hair with its follicle was preserved in a freezer in evidence storage from 1993 until 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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    16 分
  • Locked Car, Missing Earring, 19 Unexplained Miles: The Meridian Secret

    Locked Car, Missing Earring, 19 Unexplained Miles: The Meridian Secret
    2026/10/24
    Locked Car, Missing Earring, 19 Unexplained Miles: The Meridian Secret

    The locked car, keys inside a jacket that was found in the river, and an odometer showing 63 miles - 19 more than Debra Christensen could have plausibly driven - create a cold, stubborn puzzle that went unresolved for decades; what sequence of events could place a stranded Escort a mile and four-tenths from the river while the woman lay dead at the east bend? Where did the missing right gold hoop earring go, and why was a phantom business card for "Carver Mobile Lock and Key" in her pocket with the single word "Thursday" on the back?

    In this episode, we lay out the facts from the discovery on May 14, 1983 through the painstaking investigation that followed, the partial DNA lead and parish record that closed the case thirty-eight years later, and the persistent questions detectives carried for decades. What do the locked car, the extra nineteen miles, the lone earring, and that impossible business card together reveal?

    Person: Debra Christensen
    Date: May 11-14, 1983
    Location: Meridian Spur Road; east bend of the Linden Fork of the Crestfall River
    Occupation: Licensed practical nurse at Crestfall Regional Medical Center
    Investigator: Detective Tom Brauer

    - Debra was 37 years old and worked the same unit for six years without missing shifts.
    - Debra's pale blue 1980 Ford Escort was found locked 1.4 miles from the river two days after her body surfaced.
    - The odometer showed 63 miles more than could be accounted for; the maximum plausible mileage was 44 miles.
    - Debra's jacket was found in the river with her car keys in the jacket pocket and a business card for "Carver Mobile Lock and Key" with "Thursday" handwritten on the back.
    - Only the left gold hoop earring was recovered at the scene; the right earring remained missing for 39 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 Navy Pump, Four Hairs, and a Dead Sergeant's Envelope

    The Navy Pump, Four Hairs, and a Dead Sergeant's Envelope
    2026/10/23
    The Navy Pump, Four Hairs, and a Dead Sergeant's Envelope

    A single size seven navy pump was found upright nine feet below a cracked concrete lid; its partner turned up four years earlier near a back fence twelve miles away, and four dark brown hairs with roots were clenched in the victim’s hand. How did a brown paper envelope carried home by a retired sergeant, then buried among his effects, become the hinge that could reopen a case that had no forensic match in 2019?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline and the forensics surrounding Pamela Mueller’s disappearance and death, the lone shoe discoveries, the phone call trail to an acquaintance identified as an electrician, and the envelope that changed everything - could that envelope finally link the hairs to a suspect?

    Person: Pamela Mueller
    Date: April 9, 2019 (last communication) and April 14, 2023 (shoe recovered)
    Location: Birchfield Road, Adler County and drainage culvert 12 miles east of Adler
    Cause of death: Manual strangulation
    Evidence: Four dark brown hairs with intact roots recovered from victim’s clenched right hand

    - Pamela Mueller was 58 years old and had lived on Birchfield Road for 22 years.
    - On April 9, 2019 at 6:47 PM Pamela texted her sister saying “the electrician from work was stopping by.”
    - A dark pickup truck was seen outside her house between 7:00 and 8:00 PM on April 9 by neighbor Wendell Garza, age 71.
    - The remains were found in May 2019 in a drainage culvert; medical examiner determined time of death consistent with the evening of April 9.
    - Four dark brown hairs with intact roots were processed in summer 2019 and deemed consistent with a Caucasian male but produced no database match.

    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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    18 分
  • The Cooler in Locker 7: Who Paid to Keep a Murder Cold?

    The Cooler in Locker 7: Who Paid to Keep a Murder Cold?
    2026/10/22
    The Cooler in Locker 7: Who Paid to Keep a Murder Cold?

    Cold, controlled preservation kept a secret intact for thirty-one years: a styrofoam cooler stored at a steady fifty-five degrees contained a glass vial dated March 14, 1991 - the night Ronald Evans vanished - and a chain-of-custody form signed by an evidence technician. Who put evidence for a murder into a paid storage unit and kept paying $42 a month until a septic contractor opened the door in March 2022?

    In this episode, we lay out the facts recovered from storage, interviews and records to show what was stored, who handled it, and how the case slipped into cold status - and we ask whether the missing explanation is a mistake, a cover-up, or something more deliberate.

    Person: Ronald Evans
    Date: March 14, 1991
    Location: storage unit seven, Building C, Dellman, Ohio
    Status: evidence vial found March 2022; case cold since 1995
    Person: Rebecca Campbell

    - The cooler sat in a climate-controlled unit at 55 degrees for 31 years.
    - The storage payments were $42 per month until the unit was opened in March 2022.
    - Ronald Evans was 24 years old and last seen at 5:22 PM on March 14, 1991.
    - Ronald’s body was recovered March 19, 1991; cause of death was blunt force trauma from a single rounded strike.
    - Evidence vial labeled March 14, 1991 and a partially completed chain-of-custody form signed by evidence technician Rebecca Campbell were inside the cooler.

    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 Rest Area Bone: How a Hawk Found a Missing Truck Driver

    The Rest Area Bone: How a Hawk Found a Missing Truck Driver
    2026/10/21
    The Rest Area Bone: How a Hawk Found a Missing Truck Driver

    A lone hawk and a human finger bone on top of two inches of fresh snow - found on February 3, 2022 at Harmon Flats rest area - reopened a disappearance that had sat cold for 35 years. What linked a discarded coffee cup, a frozen vial of hair in a state lab freezer, and a daughter waiting each Wednesday at ten o'clock?

    In this episode, we tell the events that connect the February 2022 discovery to the February 11, 1987 disappearance of long-haul driver Carol Bishop, and how modern forensic genealogy and small pieces of evidence pushed a decades-old case toward resolution. How did a hawk, a photographer named Grant Collins, and a genealogist named Kelly Thorpe become the unlikely keys to an answer?

    Person: Grant Collins
    Person: Carol Bishop
    Date: February 3, 2022
    Date: February 11, 1987
    Location: Harmon Flats rest area

    - The bone was discovered lying on top of two inches of fresh overnight snow between two concrete parking stops.
    - Carol Bishop was 49 years old when she disappeared on February 11, 1987 after running a Grand Island to Scottsbluff refrigerated route.
    - Carol's truck was found at Harmon Flats on February 12, 1987 at 11:40 AM with engine cold, logbook open, thermos on the dash, and overnight bag in the sleeper.
    - A single hair root from the passenger headrest was collected in spring 1987, placed in a vial, frozen through two freezer replacements, and submitted to the national DNA database in 2001 with no match.
    - Grant Collins had been visiting Harmon Flats for three consecutive mornings photographing a rough-legged hawk when he noticed the hawk lift and then saw the finger bone.

    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 John Doe with the Combed Hair: How a Blood Card Broke 29-Year Silence

    The John Doe with the Combed Hair: How a Blood Card Broke 29-Year Silence
    2026/10/20
    The John Doe with the Combed Hair: How a Blood Card Broke 29-Year Silence

    The discovery of a neatly dressed man with combed hair in a culvert on January 9, 1991, left a county with a nameless body and one frozen blood sample that would later unlock a thirty-year mystery: how did a single vial kept by a medical examiner finally lead to a name? Who recognized the man only after decades of silence and fractured family ties?

    In this episode, we tell how the case moved from a cold file labeled John Doe Number Four, 1991 to the identification of Douglas Foster, and why a barroom remark and a preserved blood card mattered more than initial police activity. How did disconnected family searches, a remembered bowling ball, and scientific advances converge to end a 29-year silence?

    Person: Douglas Foster
    Date found: January 9, 1991
    Age at disappearance: 32 (born spring 1958)
    Location: Hessler Road, Greer County, Ohio
    Case file label: John Doe Number Four, 1991

    - The body was discovered at 7:19 AM on January 9, 1991, by 14-year-old Melvin Gallagher.
    - The victim wore polished boots and had hair that had been combed; he carried no wallet or keys.
    - Douglas Foster was reported missing in March 1991 by his sister Beverly; the missing persons report was inactivated after roughly six weeks.
    - A preserved blood sample from the county medical examiner's freezer was the piece of evidence kept for decades.
    - Bartender Al Dietrich saw Foster leave Hendry's Tap around 11:30 PM on January 8, 1991, with a heavyset man wearing a jacket bearing a company logo.

    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