Unsolved Crime Stories

The Woman Who Pressed Her Lips to a Murdered Man's Glass A single glass of iced tea, upright and still cold nine minutes after a man lay dying in his garage, would become the only physical trace linking a decades-old murder to a stranger's DNA - a female profile with no name. How did a woman who once worked inside the victim's house leave a microscopic imprint on that glass and then refuse to give a sample when genealogy closed in? In this episode, we follow the path from the June 12, 1991 discovery through decades of police work, retired files, and modern genetic genealogy that narrowed dozens of distant matches down to one person of interest; what drove investigators to seek a warrant for Nicole Christensen, and what questions remain about the glass, the timeline, and who brought the tea? Person: Douglas York Date: June 12, 1991 Location: Fieldstone Drive, Merritt Falls, Indiana Age: 52 Investigator: Art Pelham - A meter reader named Wade Jensen found Douglas York at 8:47 AM with his arm extended and a glass of iced tea upright on the concrete. - The ice in the glass had not melted and the glass was still cold when the first officer arrived nine minutes later. - Douglas York had no tea, no tea bags, and family said he drank coffee and called his mother every Wednesday at 10:15 PM. - A partial female DNA profile from the lip of the glass was developed in 2001 and later showed 47 distant matches in a public genealogy database. - By September 2022, genetic genealogy narrowed potential contributors to seven women; Nicole Christensen, who painted York’s kitchen in fall 1990, declined to provide a DNA sample and a warrant was requested.

A Stranger's Coffee Cup Solves a 31-Year-Old Murder: The Vicki Underwood Case A warm QuikTrip coffee cup on the passenger seat contradicted everything known about the victim: Vicki Underwood had a documented condition that made coffee physically painful and she never drank it. The cup carried a male DNA profile that went unmatched for thirty-one years-so who owned the cup, and why was it in her car the morning she was strangled? In this episode, we lay out the facts from the morning of May 11, 1993, following the scene, the evidence collected, and the direction investigators took as the QuikTrip cup became the case’s lone biological lead. How did one discarded cup become the key that would outlast three decades of dead ends? Person: Vicki Underwood Date: May 11, 1993 Location: Aldine Cutoff, Mercer Falls, Indiana Case: Homicide by strangulation Evidence: QuikTrip paper cup with male DNA, one-third full and warm at 8:47 a.m. - Vicki Underwood was 44 years old and had worked eleven years at the Hendricks County Library’s Mercer Falls branch. - The QuikTrip coffee cup was found one-third full with a wax-coated lid, still warm when catalogued at approximately 8:47 a.m. - The cup yielded a partial male DNA profile that did not match the national database at the time and remained unmatched for 31 years. - Vicki had a documented gastroesophageal reflux condition, confirmed by her physician and family, and did not drink coffee. - The nearest QuikTrip to Aldine Cutoff was in Brownsburg, 12 miles east, implying the cup was bought between about 8:15 and 8:25 a.m. and carried west on I‑74.

The Boot, The Knot, and the Secret That Stayed Buried for 31 Years A dog named Hatch unearthed a cracked leather ankle boot on April 9, 2022, with articulated foot bones tied at the ankle by a square knot in ivory nylon hosiery-deliberate and thirty-one years old. Who tied that knot, and why did three telling facts about Lori Mason sit in a file for decades without being connected? In this episode, we follow the discovery and the case file that spanned from April 1991 to April 2022, tracing the last known movements of Lori Mason, the evidence left at the scene, and the overlooked notes that later rewrote the investigation - could those three details finally answer what happened to her? Person: Lori Mason Date: April 4, 1991 (last seen); April 7, 1991 (car found); April 9, 2022 (boot found) Location: Calloway County, Tennessee; Sulphur Springs Road duplex; timber access road trailhead Status: Remains found articulated inside a boot; square knot tied with nylon hosiery Person: Hatch (chocolate Labrador) and Roger Roberts (caller who contacted 911) - The boot with articulated foot bones was found half-buried thirty feet off a trail on April 9, 2022. - The square knot was tied around the ankle bones with a scrap of ivory nylon hosiery. - Lori Mason was 28 years old in spring 1991 and worked as a bookkeeper at Crestline Freight. - Lori’s 1987 Nissan Sentra was found locked at a trailhead on April 7, 1991 with her purse inside but her keys missing. - A partial palm print was lifted from the left side of the car’s trunk lid in 1991 and matched nothing in databases at that time.

The Hand in the Calvert River: How a Trotline Solved a 31-Year Disappearance A human hand, still wearing a turquoise ring, surfaced from the Calvert River in March 2022 after thirty-one years in the water - and a single six-foot tangle of submerged timber explains why it was missed for three decades. Who was the woman the hand belonged to, and how did a retired school cafeteria supervisor’s trotline finally break a case that sat cold since 1991? In this episode, we tell the story of Marcia Duncan’s disappearance, the clues that were overlooked, and the chain of people and evidence that eventually connected across counties to reopen the case. How did a fragment of yellow rain jacket, an unattended latch, and a genealogist in Nashville help answer what happened on March 19, 1991? Person: Marcia Duncan Date: March 19, 1991 Location: Tanner Road, Keswick community, Aldine County, Tennessee Event: Disappearance Evidence: Yellow rain jacket fragment found six miles downriver - The hand was pulled from the Calvert River at 6:20 a.m. on March 14, 2022 after thirty-one years submerged. - Marcia Duncan was fifty-four years old when she disappeared on March 19, 1991. - Marcia walked two miles every morning at 7:15 toward the grain elevator and always wore a yellow rain jacket. - A fragment of Marcia’s yellow rain jacket was found six weeks after her disappearance on a sandbar six miles downriver. - Curtis Vane was informally suspected, interviewed four times, and died in 2006 without charges; he was never linked by evidence to the crime.

The Dry Shoe in the Snow: How Gloria Vanished and Returned A pale-blue size seven sneaker sat upright on a limestone shelf in eight inches of undisturbed snow, bone dry inside and with no footprints within thirty feet - yet the woman who wore it was already dead two hundred and thirty yards away. Thirty-one years later a sealed swab from her neck would finally point to an answer that every unanswered detail in this scene seemed to contradict. How did a dry, double-knotted shoe end up alone on that shelf while Gloria Bailey lay strangled in a ravine? In this episode, we follow the timeline from Gloria’s last known movements at the Renwick County Public Library to the discovery of her body and the evidence preserved by Detective Sergeant Kenneth Mapes. You’ll hear what was found at the scene, what was missing for decades, and the one preserved swab that remained untouched in an evidence freezer for thirty-one years - could that swab solve the mystery? Person: Gloria Bailey Date: February 5-9, 1991 Location: Crider Avenue corridor and ravine, Kellerton, Indiana Cause of death: Strangulation Evidence retained: Biological swab sealed and refrigerated for 31 years - Gloria was 22 years old and worked as a nursing aide on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday day shifts. - She was last seen at 9:15 PM leaving the Renwick County Public Library on Garrett Street with a nursing pharmacology textbook. - The pale-blue canvas sneaker was size seven, lace double-knotted, upright on a limestone shelf in eight inches of snow on February 9, 1991. - Gloria’s body was found 230 yards south-southwest of the shoe, half-covered by brush and partially frozen. - Detective Sergeant Kenneth Mapes collected abrasions swabs from Gloria’s neck and hands and sealed the swab in evidence with a handwritten note: hold for future capability.

The Freezer on Ridge Spur Road: A Casserole, A DNA Breakthrough The discovery of a labeled casserole dish sealed in a chest freezer for 31 years promised a quiet relic - but a single DNA upload in Columbus set a decades-old disappearance spinning toward answers. How did a dish marked "T. Marshall, Jan. '87" and one saliva swab connect a missing intake coordinator to a cold case that outlived suspects and detectives? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from Tammy Marshall's routine life and her last known trip with a chicken-and-rice casserole, through the original 14-month investigation and its lone suspect, to the 2018 discovery on Ridge Spur Road that reopened the file - and the question of what evidence finally bridged the gap between freezer and family. Person: Tammy Marshall Date: January 14, 1987 Location: Ridge Spur Road Investigator: Detective Sergeant Frank Odell Event: Casserole dish found March 6, 2018 - Tammy Marshall was 38 years old in January 1987 and worked as an intake coordinator at Kellerton Regional Medical Clinic. - On January 14, 1987, Tammy planned to drive seven miles to drop off a chicken-and-rice casserole and be back by noon but never returned. - Detective Sergeant Frank Odell conducted more than 300 interviews over a 14-month investigation after Tammy's disappearance. - A sticker handwritten in blue ballpoint on the underside of the casserole dish read "T. Marshall, Jan. '87" when it was found in a chest freezer on March 6, 2018. - The original suspect, Douglas Fenn, had a gas receipt dated January 21, 1987 placing him 60 miles from Ridge Spur Road, and he died in 2009 with the case still open.

The Forsythia in the Freezer: Why He Kept Her Shoe for 31 Years An impossible clue sat blinking in a Dellard County evidence room for thirty-one years: a single blue canvas sneaker with a pressed sprig of forsythia tucked into the toe - a flower that blooms in April and May, yet was carried in December. Who wrapped a spring bloom in wax paper and slid it into Julie Carter’s shoe the night she vanished, and why did that shoe sit in a freezer labeled CARTER / DO NOT OPEN for three decades? In this episode, we lay out the timeline from Julie Carter’s last confirmed sighting at Dunmore’s IGA to the discovery of her body near a drainage culvert, and trace the decisions investigators made - and the threads they followed - that left the forsythia unexplained. How did a pressed spring sprig become the single physical link between her life and the person who moved her body? Person: Julie Carter Date: December 1993 Location: Moorfield, Dellard County Status: Body found, cause of death strangulation Investigator: Detective Norma Leach - Julie Carter was 58, retired sixth-grade science teacher who walked two miles east each morning and played bridge Monday evenings since 1988. - Last confirmed sighting: Sunday at Dunmore’s IGA loading bags into a sand-colored Dodge Caravan. - Julie failed to arrive at bridge Monday; Shirley Ott called her house at 9:15 p.m.; the phone went unanswered. - On January 14, 1994, Grant Johnson found a body six miles south of Moorfield near a drainage culvert; medical examiner determined strangulation in early December. - Evidence bagged at the culvert contained a women’s size seven blue canvas sneaker with a folded wax-paper packet holding a pressed forsythia sprig.

The Pharmacy Bag That Framed an Innocent Man-And Unmasked Truth A cold November morning, a paper pharmacy bag with someone else’s name, and a strand of genetic material that lay unreadable for nearly thirty years - one small object redirected a murder inquiry that had stalled for decades. Who left the bag at 41 Birnam Lane, and how did a routine pharmacy pickup come to look like a hand pointing at the wrong man? In this episode, we follow the timeline from the open front door discovered at 6:19 a.m. to the acquittal that left the case unresolved, tracing the details that stalled investigators for thirty years and the later biological clue that finally changed everything. Can a timestamp and a bottle cap unravel a murder that resisted easy answers? Person: Emily Turner Date: November 14, 1993 Location: 41 Birnam Lane, Cassell, Ohio Status: Victim; case unsolved for thirty years before new evidence Person: Raymond Stills - Front door found open eight inches at 6:19 a.m, on November 14, 1993. - Neighbor’s motion-activated camera recorded a blurred hooded figure at 11:47 p.m. the previous night. - A pharmacy bag with a filled, unopened prescription bottle labeled to Raymond Stills was found on the floor near the entryway. - The pharmacy receipt timestamp printed 5:18 p.m., while the pharmacist recalled the pickup occurring “around closing, maybe eight or eight-thirty.” - Raymond Stills was arrested in February 1994, tried, and acquitted after four days of jury deliberation.

The Foot in the Snow: How a Laundered Sock Solved a 11-Year Mystery A severed human foot, wrapped in a clean dark green argyle sock and tucked inside a size 10½ leather dress shoe, lay half-buried in snow for eleven years before it cracked a cold case wide open - but who washed the sock, and why was the foot so carefully hidden? The discovery on February 9, 2004 forced investigators to reconnect a missing man’s life to a single forensic thread that would not be explained until DNA and a new database entered the picture. In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Marvin Jones’s last confirmed sighting on October 14, 1992 to the snowplow operator Tammy Hunter’s morning find and the forensic work that followed, asking how a laundered sock and a retired sergeant’s persistence finally brought a name back into a courtroom. Person: Marvin Jones Date (disappearance): October 14, 1992 Date (discovery): February 9, 2004 Location: Crescent Spur Road Age at disappearance: 48 - The shoe found by Tammy Hunter was a men's brown leather dress shoe, size 10½, lace tied in a neat double knot. - The severed foot was wrapped in a dark green argyle sock that had been laundered with no blood or soil present. - Marvin Jones had been missing for eleven years, four months, and twenty-six days when the foot was found. - The last confirmed sighting of Marvin was at 8:20 p.m. on October 14, 1992, speaking to an unknown man beside a late-1980s dark pickup. - Forensic anthropologist Dr. Susan Farrell determined within 72 hours that the ankle disarticulation was made by a handsaw or reciprocating saw, not by a plow strike or animal activity.

The Missing Padlock: How a Bite Mark Locked a Killer Decades Later A single, typed evidence label kept a plaster cast and a swab in a Caldwell County freezer for thirty-one years-and a missing padlock in a photograph held the key no one realized. A perimortem bite mark with a uniquely rotated upper left lateral incisor sat untested while the man who left it lived forty miles away under an alias; what changed after three decades to finally bring this case back to a judge? In this episode, we lay out the timeline from September 17, 1979 through the decades that followed, detailing the scene, the forensic cast, and the investigation notes that went untouched-asking whether a small, overlooked physical clue and one typed label were the turning point that solved a cold case. Person: Chad Nelson Date: September 17, 1979 Location: Perch Street, Dellview, Caldwell County, Ohio Cause of death: Blunt-force trauma to the head Evidence: Plaster cast and swab of bite mark stored in evidence freezer for 31 years - The evidence label read "NELSON, C. - SEPTEMBER 1979 - SWAB/CAST - DO NOT DISCARD." - The plaster cast noted an adult-male arch width and a pronounced rotational twist on the upper left lateral incisor. - Chad Nelson was 35 years old at the time and kept a padlock with a four-digit combination on his back gate. - The back gate's exterior hasp was photographed open without a padlock while the back door was locked from the inside. - Lead detective Walt Sievers wrote "tenant moved - couldn't locate - FU needed." in the margin of a property file and did not follow up.