Coffee and Cases Podcast

In this week’s episode, Maggie and Allison explore the mysterious deaths of 44-year-old Bobby, 40-year-old Sherilyn, and 6-year-old Madyson. From angry letters to missing weapons, hidden money, and a witch’s bible, the details of this case are both creepy and confounding. If you would like to hear bonus content because once a week just isn’t enough, head on over to patreon.com/coffeeandcases to jo...

On April 20, 1989, 37-year-old Patricia Meehan walked away from a head-on collision on a remote Montana highway and vanished into the darkness. What followed was one of the strangest missing persons cases we’ve covered: more than 5,000 reported sightings, possible memory loss, cross-country leads, and a family desperate to bring Patricia home. More than 37 years later, the question remains: what h...

Cathy Moulton had just experienced a long summer of travel across the country with her family and had returned only days before the start of her junior year at Deering High School in Portland, Maine. On September 24th, 1971, hours before a dance she was excited about attending, she disappeared. In what is now one of Maine’s oldest cold cases, Cathy Moulton’s case is one in which the discovery of c...

Was this the outcome of a sordid love triangle, a serial killer, or a calculated mob hit that resulted in the murder of a young family of three? Whatever it was, it rocked the small community of Green Township, Ohio-- whose neighborhoods changed from open windows and open conversation to barred d⁠⁠⁠oors and distrust. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreo...

Before the Kunz name became tied to one of Wisconsin’s most unsettling murder cases, another family tragedy had already left its mark. In this episode, we trace the Kunz family from a shocking 1905 murder to their isolated life on a rural Marathon County farm. Then came July 4, 1987 — a small-town holiday that ended with four family members dead and one missing. Rumors, shifting stories, legal twi...

Henry McCabe’s case is filled with theories ranging from the supernatural, to ritual sacrifice, to suicide, or to the Smiley Face Killers. But no theory seems to fully explain all of the details of his bizarre death nor do they come close to revealing the cause behind the horrific phone call recording. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you...

The case of Virginia Douglas is an odd one. Not only do we not know where she is nor what happened to her, we don't even know from which town she disappeared. Her husband, Frank, it seems, was the only one who could provide the truth. Unfortunately, he could also have been the very one trying to hide it from the world. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patr...

In Part 1, we told the stories of Willard Douglas Watts and Eliyahu Moskowitz, two men killed just 36 hours apart while walking through Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. Police had surveillance footage. They had witnesses. They had ballistics tying both murders to the same gun. They had a distinctive clue in the way the suspect moved. But what they still didn’t have was a name. In Part 2, the in...

On Sunday, September 30, 2018, 73-year-old Willard Douglas Watts was walking his dogs through Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood when an ordinary morning turned deadly. Just over 36 hours later, on Monday, October 1, 2018, 24-year-old Eliyahu Moskowitz was walking through that same community when he, too, was killed. The two men did not appear to know each other. They were different ages, from dif...

Kristi Cornwell’s brother, Richard, understands dedication. When the Georgia Bureau of Investigation received a tip, he would search every square inch looking for clues about his sister’s disappearance. Now that Kristi’s remains have been found, he is dedicated to bringing her murderer to justice.  Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are yo...

When we first covered the disappearance of 14-year-old Laureen Rahn back in Episode 006, the case already felt unsettling: the dark apartment building, the unscrewed lightbulbs, the open doors, the strange phone calls, and the lingering question of whether Laureen left on her own or whether someone led her into the darkness. But years later, the story is not quite the same. In this collaboration e...

In the spring of 1946, Texarkana was trying to return to normal. The war was over. Families were settling back into familiar routines. Teenagers went to dances. Couples drove out to quiet roads. Many people still left their doors unlocked, because that was the kind of place they believed they lived in. Then, between February and May, that sense of safety shattered. Across the Texas-Arkansas border...

On January 24, 2006, 24-year-old Jennifer Joyce Kesse disappeared from Orlando, Florida, while leaving for work. Nearly two decades later, her family is still fighting to learn what happened to her. In Part 3, we examine the investigation itself. What crucial opportunities may have been lost during the earliest hours? Why did Jennifer’s family have to fight for access to her case files? What did t...

On January 24, 2006, 24-year-old Jennifer Kesse vanished from Orlando, Florida, after what should have been an ordinary Tuesday morning. Jennifer was responsible, cautious, ambitious, and deeply connected to the people who loved her. She had just returned from vacation, gone back to work, spoken with her family and boyfriend, and appeared to be settling right back into the life she had carefully b...

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When the county fair came to town. Jeremy Bright begged his mom to allow him to attend. When she agreed, she had no idea the lifelong heartache that would result. How could a 14-year-old boy just disappear from a crowd with not a single clue? Please consider supporting the pod by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content? Be a part of the C & C Fam by going...

On January 24, 2006, 24-year-old Jennifer Kesse vanished from Orlando, Florida, after what should have been an ordinary Tuesday morning. Jennifer was responsible, cautious, ambitious, and deeply connected to the people who loved her. She had just returned from vacation, gone back to work, spoken with her family and boyfriend, and appeared to be settling right back into the life she had carefully b...

After flying to San Francisco for the summer, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi told her sister that she was “learning about life.” Unfortunately, life has a dark side. Link to order form for the cookbook: ⁠http://www.kristenfoundation.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=hw&report=sp&ID=009⁠ Link to order form for the bracelet: ⁠http://www.kristenfoundation.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=hw&r...

One small change to a schedule-- Blake Dickus staying a bit longer with his dad and step-mom to have lunch-- changed the course of so many lives forever. After Blake’s dad returned to work from a lunch at home with his family, someone came into his home and brutally murdered his wife, Chynna, and his ten-year-old son. But who could have committed such a senseless act? Please also consider supporti...

On May 14, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson disappeared near Porter, Minnesota, after calling his parents for help in the middle of the night. What should have been a simple drive home after celebrating the end of the college semester became one of the most haunting missing persons cases in Minnesota history. Brandon was on the phone with his father when something happened. Then the call went sil...

June 1st, 1983 began as an exciting day for 12-year-old Ann Gotlib since it was the first day of summer vacation. She spent the day with various friends before making a short bike ride home. But it was a ride during which Ann disappeared. Sadly, law enforcement were not short on potential suspects— even though it is a case that remains open to this day. If you are interested in bonus content for o...

Over the past two episodes, we followed a story that almost refuses to be believed: a newborn taken from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, a toddler found abandoned outside a department store in Newark, and a man raised as Paul Fronczak who later learned through DNA that he was not the baby everyone believed had been returned. After decades of questions, genetic genealogy finally gave him the nam...

Everyone has a special place in their hearts for Bill and Peggy Stephenson, the 74-year-old couple who would bring cookies, fish with them, visit with them, or minister to them. So, when Bill and Peggy were found brutally murdered on May 29th, 2011, everyone was in shock. Who would be capable of committing such a heinous crime? And, what’s more, who could be callous enough to remain in the home fo...

What happens when the truth you spent your whole life chasing opens the door to an even deeper mystery? In Part 2 of our coverage of Jill Rosenthal, we continue the unbelievable story of Paul Fronczak—the man who grew up believing he was the baby kidnapped from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, only to learn decades later that the truth was far more complicated. This episode follows Paul through...

By all accounts, 41-year-old Dottie Caylor suffered from a near debilitating phobia of public places and spent most all of her time at home. So, when her soon-to-be ex-husband reported that she had asked him to drive her to a very public, crowded train station so she could travel to visit a friend, the story raised eyebrows. When Dottie failed to ever return, suspicions continued to grow. Please a...