DNA: ID

Episode 192 Alma Lake and Michelle Dawson-Pass Alma and Michelle were both from Columbus, Ohio. Both were young Black women.   Both had children. Both led troubled lives involving sex work and drugs.   And both were slain in the 1990s and dumped outdoors in remarkably similar circumstances.   But no one really connected their cases, five years apart and in different counties, until DNA in each cas...

Episode 191 Doe ID: 'Midtown Jane Doe' Patricia McGlone The 2003 discovery in a Hell's Kitchen basement of human remains set off a mystery spanning more than 20 years.   Who was the girl hogtied, wrapped in a carpet remnant, and encased in a cement slab?   The quest for the identity of Midtown Jane Doe consumed NYPD detectives for years.   When IGG finally identified their victim, though, the myst...

Episode 190 Bert Allen Mann Bert Allen Mann, who went by Allen, was found brutally bludgeoned and stabbed to death in his Austin, TX home in 1994. There were a limited number of viable suspects, ranging from known burglars to jealous love triangle participants.   Despite ample suspect blood found at the scene, the case went cold. Austin PD's cold case unit finally turned to IGG to learn the name o...

Episode 189 Doe ID Shirley Soosay and Maricela Rocha Parga  You are not going to want to miss this DOE: ID episode!   Jane Does found days apart in Kern and Ventura Counties were linked by DNA and their killer prosecuted – even though no one knew their names.   IGG analyses took years, scores of volunteers, and one of the largest family trees ever constructed by the DNA Doe Project.   The women we...

Episode 188 Melissa Lee Part 2 of 2 This is part 2; the conclusion of the Melissa Lee case. If you have not yet listened to part 1, please go back and listen to that part first.  To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply   visit our channel page  on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a ...

Episode 188 Melissa Lee Part 1 of 2 15 year old Melissa Lee was home alone in 1993 when someone kicked in the door and drugged her, abducted her, and killed her.   The prime suspect, her boyfriend, had threatened to kill her that very day, and police believed he made good on that threat. But they could not build a solid case, and Melissa's murder remained unsolved.   Three decades later, IGG point...

Episode 187 Doe ID: Joann Zamora In September, 1992, the remains of a woman were found in North Houston, TX. Although it was clear she was a murder victim, investigators had no clues to establish her identity. For years this Jane Doe went unidentified until modern technology and FGG were able to provide police with her name. She was Joann Zamora, a mother of six who vanished earlier that year. Now...

Episode 186 Tracy Whitney In 1988, Teenager Tracy Whitney was trying to figure out her complicated life.   She was living with one boyfriend, and seeing another guy on the side – there was drama. When she vanished after walking out of a Federal Way, WA Burger King in August, no one had any idea where she could have gone.   She was found miles away in the Puyallup River the next day – and remained...

Episode 185 Doe ID 'Blue Pacheco' Patricia 'Patsy' Skiple A murdered Jane Doe was found at a truck turnout in Santa Clara county, CA in 1993. Remaining unidentified, she became known as Blue Pacheco, after her clothing and dump site location.   She remained unidentified for decades, long after a famous serial killer was prosecuted for her murder.   Even though justice was served, investigators wer...

Episode 184 Brad Bellino The 1972 rape and murder of 12 year old Brad Bellino in Boardman Ohio shook residents of the safe, peaceful town.   The case of the little boy abducted and discarded in a dumpster was worked hard by police, but remained unsolved, even as another little boy was taken just three years later.   Investigators never forgot Brad Bellino and David Evans, and when modern DNA testi...

Episode 183 Doe ID: 'The Woman in the Well' Alice Spence The remains of a female were found in an abandoned well in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada in 2006.   Experts and historians placed her murder to the early years of the 20 th century – but they had no idea who she was.   Thousands of hours of work dedicated to identifying her were expended to no avail.   And then, IGG solved the riddle of Th...

Episode 182 Sandra Lison Part 2 of 2  This is part 2; the conclusion of the Sandra Lison case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, please stop now and go back and listen to that part first.  This episode is sponsored by Masterclass. DNA ID listeners can  save an additional 15% any annual membership when they visit our special show link here . To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and g...

Episode 182 Sandra Lison Part 1 of 2  Sandra Lison, a single mom of two, was abducted from a Green Bay, WI bar around 2:00 a.m. on a summer night in 1987.   She was found raped and murdered many miles away just days later.   A very complex investigation revealed some early suspects who placed themselves in police crosshairs – and they were eventually tried and convicted.   But that is not the end...

Episode 181 Doe ID: Donna Lass In 1986, a human skull was found along Highway 20 and Interstate 80, 45 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe, CA. At the time, investigators couldn't come to many conclusions other than the fact the skull belonged to a young woman, likely in her 20s, and she had been murdered. Years later DNA & genealogy would finally reveal the truth; the skull belonged to Donna Ann...

Episode 180 Audrey Hoellein Part 2 of 2 This is part 2,; the conclusion of the Audrey Hoellein case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, please stop now and go back and listen to that part first. To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply  visit our channel page  on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also supp...

Episode 180 Audrey Hoellein Part 1 of 2   The 1994 murder of Audrey Hoellein on her bed in her Vancouver, WA apartment led to a very complex investigation with a large number of suspects.   The case relied heavily on forensic testing, which found the DNA of two men on Audrey's comforter. Investigators could identify only one of them, and he was, for a time, the prime suspect.   But it was the unid...

Episode 179 Doe ID: 'Davie Canal Jane Doe' Lori Kearsey  As in Marilyn Decker's case last week, Lori Kearsey was found murdered and floating in a Davie, FL canal in the 1980s.   She remained a Jane Doe for decades, because she had no ties to the area.   And when she was identified by IGG, it turned out that she was very much missed.   Her killer remains at large, but detectives have a strong perso...

Episode 178 Marilyn Decker   Marilyn Decker's mutilated body, wrapped in a pink plastic bag, was found floating in a Davie, FL canal in 1987. Her case was complex and featured many shady and transient suspects, but detectives could not pin the crime on any of them.   It seemed the case would forever remain unsolved, until one determined detective took a chance on rootless hair evidence, and IGG. A...

Episode 177  Doe ID: 'Lime Lady' Tammy Tigard   Today's case is that of the infamous "Lime Lady," the young white Jane Doe found covered in quicklime in Oklahoma in 1980.   Investigators had very little to go on in her case, even though her features and physical attributes were very well preserved.   She remained unidentified for nearly a half century.   And when the DNA Doe Project gave her her n...

Episode 176 Phyllis Bailer   In 1972, Phyllis Bailer and her toddler daughter set out to make an evening drive to her parents' house for a weekend visit. The drive from their home in Indianapolis to Bluffton, IN should have taken less than two hours.   But Phyllis and her child never made it.   The next day came awful news for Phyllis's family when she was found dead in a ditch. Her young daughter...

Episode 175 Doe ID: 'Charlotte Walmart John Doe' Kenneth McCarthy    In 2016, a John Doe was found behind a WalMart in Charlotte, NC. With no identification and very few personal possessions, he remained unidentified, known only as Charlotte WalMart John Doe.   When a cold case detective took a class on IGG analysis, he applied the new technique to Charlotte WalMart John Doe's case, and found rela...

Episode 174 Barbara Villarreal Part 2 of 2 This is part 2; the conclusion of the Barbara Villarreal case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, please stop now and listen to part 1 first.    To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply   visit our channel page  on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DN...

Episode 174 Barbara Villarreal Part 1 of 2   In this Season 6 opener, you'll hear the jaw-dropping, twisty case of Barbara Carr Villarreal.   Barbara was stabbed to death in her Garland, TX home in 1986. Her husband was also attacked in the home invasion.   But stories and evidence did not match up, and police were left chasing their tails, and chasing their prime suspect who was in the wind. Noth...

Episode 173 DNA ID Replay Kim Bryant and Diana Hanson While Jess is on winter break preparing new episodes of DNA ID for 2026, we are airing some of our favorite one part episodes weekly in  what we call 'DNA ID Replay' episodes. These Replay episodes will air every week while on break with the exception of Christmas week. In this episode, we explore the case of Kim Bryant and Diana Hanson which o...

Ep172 DNA ID Replay Susan Negersmith  While Jess is on winter break preparing new episodes of DNA ID for 2026, we are airing some of our favorite one part episodes weekly in  what we call 'DNA ID Replay' episodes. These Replay episodes will air every week while on break with the exception of Christmas week. In this episode, we explore the case of Susan Negersmith which originally aired in episode...