Cold Case Unsealed

This true crime episode documents the 1983 cold case murder of Susan Eads in Seabrook, Texas. After the twenty-year-old was found strangled following a night out, the investigation stalled for decades due to false confessions and a lack of forensic technology. Initially, investigators wrongly suspected a serial killer known as the Tourniquet Killer, but DNA testing eventually cleared him. The case...

This episode recounts the tragic disappearance and eventual justice for Amanda Dean, a mother of four who vanished from Collins, Ohio, in 2017. For years, local law enforcement neglected the case, falsely assuring her family that she was safe in a shelter and refusing to investigate further. It was only after the advocacy group Cleveland Missing and state investigators intervened five years later...

This episode details the resolution of the 1987 cold case murder of Melissa “Missy” Taylor Ellison, a young mother killed in her Jacksonville home. After nearly four decades of silence, the perpetrator, Gary Edward Glowacz, contacted authorities in 2026 to confess after seeing a news article about the crime. The sources describe how Glowacz broke into the residence for drug money, killed Ellison,...

After four decades, authorities in Salt Lake City successfully utilized advanced genetic genealogy to identify the man who murdered eighteen-year-old Christine Gallegos in 1985. The perpetrator was revealed to be Ricky Lee Stallworth, a former Air Force airman who died of natural causes shortly before investigators linked him to the crime through DNA evidence. Although the suspect's death prevente...

The episode details the investigation into the 1982 disappearance of Tony Jones, a young backpacker who vanished while hitchhiking along Australia's notorious Flinders Highway. Although a convicted serial killer initially confessed to the crime, authorities eventually dismissed his claims as delusions. The focus of the search later shifted to the small town of Hughenden, where multiple witnesses e...

This source details the tragic 1976 cold case of Evelyn Colon, a pregnant teenager whose dismembered remains were found in suitcases in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. For over four decades, she was known only as "Beth Doe" until forensic genealogy and a nephew’s DNA submission finally restored her identity in 2021. The investigation revealed that her boyfriend, Luis Sierra, allegedly used a fraudule...

This source details the disappearance and murder of Denise Huber, a young woman who vanished after her car broke down on a California highway in 1991. For three years, the case remained cold until police in Arizona discovered her frozen remains inside a stolen truck belonging to John Famalaro. Investigators utilized advanced forensic techniques, such as skull reconstruction and DNA analysis, to li...

This true crime episode documents the decades-long investigation into the 1980 murder of Katherine Foster, an 18-year-old student at the University of South Alabama. Initially baffled by an execution-style killing with no clear motive, detectives and medical examiners spent years pursuing false leads, including a suspicious maintenance man and a security guard who eventually committed suicide. The...

This source details the harrowing legal battle and ultimate conviction of former priest John Fight for the 1960 murder of Irene Garza. Though the young teacher was killed after attending confession, the Catholic Church and local authorities allegedly conspired to suppress evidence and shield the perpetrator for over five decades. The narrative traces how the case transformed from a cold case legen...

This episode examines the 2008 unsolved murder of Kanika Powell, a Maryland laboratory employee with top-secret security clearance. Before her death, Powell was stalked by several men impersonating federal agents and delivery drivers, eventually leading to a fatal ambush outside her apartment. The source explores various investigative theories, including a potential government connection or a link...

This episode recounts the resolution of the 2001 murder of Leslie Prier, a woman brutally killed in her upscale Maryland home. For over two decades, the case remained unsolved, leaving Prier’s husband under a cloud of suspicion until his death. The investigation reached a breakthrough in 2022 through forensic genealogy, which linked unidentified crime scene DNA to Eugene Glegor, a former boyfriend...

The episode explores the decades-long investigation into the 1979 homicide of Janet Walsh, a 23-year-old woman found murdered in her Pennsylvania apartment. For over thirty years, the case remained a unsolved mystery involving several suspects, including her estranged husband, a local drifter, and her boss. The narrative highlights how modern DNA technology eventually revitalized the cold case, le...

The episode details the ongoing investigation into the 2002 unsolved murder of Jennifer Harris, a young woman from Fannin County, Texas, whose body was discovered in the Red River. Despite efforts by local law enforcement, private investigators, and her family, the case remains hindered by a lack of physical evidence and the accidental destruction of original files. Various theories and suspects a...

The episode details the disturbing confession and legal aftermath of Shawn Lannon, a convicted serial killer who admitted to murdering at least 16 people. The narrative focuses on a 2021 killing spree where Lannon dismembered three victims in New Mexico and left their remains in a truck at an international airport before fleeing to New Jersey to commit another murder. During intense police interro...

This episode provides a detailed account of the 1957 kidnapping and murder of Maria Rudolph, a seven-year-old girl from Sycamore, Illinois. The narrative tracks the case from her disappearance during a snowstorm to the 2011 arrest of Jack Daniel McCulla, formerly known as John Tessier. Although McCulla was initially convicted 55 years after the crime based on eyewitness identification and family t...

This episode recounts the harrowing investigation into William Reese, a serial predator responsible for the disappearances and murders of several young women in the late 1990s. The narrative focuses on the tragic cases of Laura Smither, Kelly Cox, Tiffany Johnston, and Jessica Cain, detailing how their families endured decades of uncertainty while the killer remained imprisoned for a separate kidn...

Law enforcement officials recently arrested Myra Velasquez for the 2012 cold case murder of her friend, Iraima Chavez, who was stabbed over 100 times. Investigators linked Velasquez to the crime using genetic genealogy to match a decade-old blood droplet to a DNA sample recovered from a discarded fork. Although charged with capital murder, Velasquez was released on a $450,000 bond, a move legal ex...

This episode highlights several high-profile legal cases, beginning with a twenty-five-year-old cold case in Alabama that was solved after the suspect provided a deathbed confession. The broadcast also previews the third season of Court Cam, a program that examines intense and often violent interactions within American courtrooms. Further segments discuss the legal complexities surrounding officer...

A recent breakthrough in a fourteen-year-old cold case has led to the arrest of Kristen Ramsay for the 2011 murder of real estate agent Ashley Oakland. Prosecutors allege that Ramsay, a former colleague of the victim, was seen acting erratically near the crime scene shortly after witnesses reported hearing gunshots. While the defendant maintained a seemingly normal life as a suburban mother for ov...

This episode chronicles the fifty-two-year investigation into the murder of Anita Piteau, a young woman found dead in a California field in 1968. For decades, the victim remained an unidentified Jane Doe while her family in Maine searched for her without success. The case finally reached a breakthrough through the use of modern genetic genealogy, which allowed detectives to link DNA from the crime...

This episode examines several high-profile criminal cases involving abductions, murders, and long-term quests for justice. The narrative highlights the disappearance of Sarah Wood and the eventual confession of serial predator Lewis Lent, while also exploring the suspicious vanishing of Maya Millette and the role of domestic abuse. Another segment details the wrongful conviction of Vincent Simmons...

Texas authorities recently arrested Eric Johnson for the 2012 cold case murder of 16-month-old Shawn McCloskey in La Porte. Although Johnson was the initial primary suspect, prosecutors originally lacked the necessary evidence to file charges after the toddler died from severe blunt force injuries. The breakthrough resulted from the "Texas Solves" initiative, a collaborative workshop that unites l...

This episode review on a 48 Hours special examines the suspicious death of Bethany Deon, a young woman found dead in her vehicle shortly after joining a high-control religious community. The group was led by her husband, Tyler Deon, a charismatic figure who allegedly manipulated members' lives and concealed his own secret sexual relationships with men. While a friend named Micah Moore initially co...

This episode chronicles the wrongful conviction of Michael Politte, who was arrested at age fourteen for the vicious murder of his mother, Rita. Although he was sentenced to life in prison based on flawed forensic science and a questionable confession, his sisters and a legal team from the Innocence Project eventually uncovered evidence that challenged the original verdict. New analysis proved tha...

This episode details three cold cases that were eventually solved through the use of genetic genealogy and DNA analysis. The first case involves a Syrian immigrant whose murderer was revealed to be a veteran police detective who had been surveilling the victim. The second account describes the tragic deaths of two teenage girls and the subsequent identification of a pastor as their killer twenty y...