Forensic Files Unsealed

Michigan State Police recently announced the resolution of a four-decade-old cold case involving the 1983 abduction and murder of Sheri Jo Elliott. The sixteen-year-old victim disappeared from a bus stop in Flint, Michigan, and her body was discovered days later in a neighboring county. Although the crime remained a mystery for years due to technological limitations, investigators reopened the fil...

The episode details how modern forensic breakthroughs have finally resolved the 2008 cold-case homicide of Frederick Wilson in Tulsa County. Authorities have officially charged Alonzo Cortez Johnson with the murder after advanced DNA testing successfully linked him to biological evidence found on zip-ties at the original crime scene. Johnson was already serving a life sentence for a separate contr...

New Hampshire authorities have officially resolved the 1975 cold case murder of Judy Lord, a young mother found killed in her Concord apartment. Although Ernest Gable, a neighbor, was originally considered a suspect, a flawed FBI hair analysis initially exonerated him. Modern investigators have now definitively identified Gable as the perpetrator through a re-examination of physical evidence, thou...

The episode details the successful resolution of a 1983 cold case involving the murder of Dorothy "Toby" Tate in San Luis Obispo County. Law enforcement utilized modern forensic genealogy and DNA sequencing to identify the culprits as Steven Richard Hardy and Charley Sneed, two men from Texas who are now deceased. Investigators linked the suspects to the crime through blood evidence and fingerprin...

This episode highlights how revolutionary advancements in DNA technology and genetic genealogy have successfully cracked decades-old cold cases across the globe. By utilizing modern techniques like familial DNA searching and reverse genealogy, investigators have identified notorious serial killers and finally named previously anonymous victims. The episode details specific breakthroughs, such as t...

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office successfully utilized modern DNA technology and forensic genealogy to identify the remains of Lonny Reeves, nearly five decades after his discovery. His skeletal remains were originally found near Interstate 75 in 1978, but the case remained cold for years due to a lack of matching evidence. A breakthrough occurred when a private laboratory identified genetic r...

This episode details two separate investigations into the mysterious deaths of Pravin Varughese and Lorianne Smith. The first segment focuses on the controversial death of an Illinois college student, exploring the conflict between an official ruling of hypothermia and his family's belief that he was murdered. New evidence and conflicting autopsies eventually led to a murder indictment against the...

This episode highlights three harrowing cases of long-term searches for justice. The primary segment details the decades-long pursuit of a burger executive’s killers, involving a stripper, her clown boyfriend, and a brother’s relentless investigation that eventually led to a DNA-backed conviction. A second story features a man who walked into a news station to confess to a twenty-five-year-old mur...

The episode recount the long-unresolved 1991 homicide of Cynthia Renee Gonzalez, a young mother and dancer from Arlington, Texas, whose body was discovered in a rural creek bed. For over thirty years, the case remained a cold case until a group of University of Texas at Arlington undergraduates reviewed the original police files and identified a primary suspect who had previously been overlooked....

Law enforcement in New Hampshire recently announced the resolution of the 1975 murder of Judith Lord, a 22-year-old mother found dead in her home. Although investigators originally suspected her neighbor, Ernest Theodore Gable, the case went cold for fifty years due to flawed forensic hair analysis provided by the FBI at the time. Modern DNA technology eventually linked Gable to the crime by re-ex...

This episode explores how breakthroughs in DNA technology and genetic genealogy have revolutionized the resolution of long-standing cold cases. It details how investigators now use specialized databases and familial matching to identify both elusive victims and unidentified perpetrators from decades past. High-profile examples include the capture of the Golden State Killer and the identification o...

The episode details the investigation and conviction of Daren Christopher Abbey for the 2024 slaying of Dustin Kjersem at a remote Montana campsite. Although the perpetrator attempted to disguise the homicide as a vicious bear attack and removed most physical evidence, investigators discovered a discarded beer can containing his DNA. This critical forensic link debunked his claims of self-defense...

The episode recounts the historical 1892 double homicide of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts. It details how their daughter, Lizzie Borden, became the primary suspect due to her conflicting alibis, recent family arguments regarding inheritance, and her attempt to purchase poison. Despite significant circumstantial evidence and family tensions, a jury ultimately acquitted her bec...

This episode details the recent arrest of a Hamilton man for a homicide that occurred in Scarborough nearly twenty years ago. Investigators successfully identified Pierre O’Connor as the suspect in the 2006 death of Patrick Santos by utilizing advanced genetic genealogy. Though DNA was found at the crime scene decades ago, it did not produce a match until police applied modern forensic technology...

This episode details various notorious cold cases that remained a mystery for decades before being solved through modern forensic technology and unexpected tips. The text highlights how DNA evidence and genetic genealogy played a pivotal role in identifying killers who had evaded justice for a lifetime. It also covers instances where voluntary confessions or the discovery of metadata on digital fi...

This episode details the harrowing investigation into the murder of tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh, who was discovered dismembered in his Manhattan residence. Police utilized advanced forensic techniques, such as photogrammetry and the tracking of taser serial numbers, to identify his personal assistant, Tyrese Haspel, as the primary suspect. The narrative reveals that Haspel orchestrated the assas...

This episode details the investigation and conviction of Seth Perrault, a police officer who murdered his wife, Amanda Perrault, and attempted to disguise the crime as a suicide. Despite an initial autopsy ruling of self-inflicted death, Sheriff Howard Sills and other investigators uncovered a history of domestic violence and found the physical evidence at the scene to be suspiciously staged. Key...

This episode details several notorious cold cases that were eventually solved through the use of DNA evidence and modern forensic technology. High-profile investigations, such as those involving the Golden State Killer and the BTK Strangler, illustrate how genetic material can identify suspects decades after their crimes. The text highlights various collection methods, including familial DNA searc...

In 1980, the body of Helene Pruszynski was discovered in a snowy Colorado field after she disappeared while traveling home from her internship. Although investigators preserved biological evidence from the scene, the case remained cold for decades due to the limitations of forensic technology. The investigation eventually gained momentum through the use of modern genetic genealogy, which allowed d...

This episode details the lengthy investigation into the 1996 murder of Heidi Bernesakowski, whose throat was slit in her Maryland home. Though her boyfriend, Steven Cook, initially provided a solid alibi and claimed the couple was happily planning a wedding, detectives eventually uncovered a sinister murder-for-hire plot fueled by life insurance policies. The case remained cold for eleven years un...

This official press release from the Portland Police Bureau provides an update on a cold case involving a double homicide that occurred in the summer of 2024. Two men, J'Meire Asher and Deangelo Augustus, were fatally shot at the M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp, yet the perpetrators managed to escape before authorities arrived. Even two years after the incident, investigators are actively sear...

The episode details the successful resolution of a 27-year-old cold case involving the 1998 murder of Linda Marie Rutledge in Lexington, Kentucky. Law enforcement identified Robert Eugene Brashers as the primary suspect after linking him to the crime through advanced ballistic and DNA testing. Investigators discovered that a shell casing from the Kentucky scene matched evidence from a notorious un...

The episode details the tragic 1991 abduction and murder of Lisa Ziegert, a young teacher’s assistant who disappeared from her evening shift at a Massachusetts gift shop. Though her remains were discovered days later, the case remained unsolved for over two decades despite an early tip regarding a local man named Gary Shara. The investigation finally gained momentum in 2016 through the use of DNA...

This episode review on the news program Missing highlights several high-profile disappearance cases, primarily focusing on the 1976 cold case of JoAnn Benner. Host Marne Hughes interviews podcaster Jeff Morgan, who presents evidence suggesting Benner’s husband was involved in her suspicious vanishing from the Florida panhandle. The program also provides updates on the search for Leila Santanelo in...

This episode explores the field of forensic botany, highlighting how vegetation like moss and pollen serves as a vital tool for solving crimes. Because these organisms are highly durable and geographically specific, they can link suspects to particular locations or help investigators discover hidden remains. Historical and modern examples illustrate their impact, ranging from the Lindbergh kidnapp...