Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast

She was a model, an influencer, and a hard worker with big dreams. Then she vanished. Like many women we talk about on Sins & Survivors, Esmerelda Gonzalez was on the rise in 2019. She was successful and getting more popular all the time. She was a model, an Instagram influencer, a college graduate, and just a savvy woman whose friends and even her ex-boyfriend agreed - was destined for greatn...

On March 5, 2024, Justin Smith (his loved ones called him “Jay”) was shot multiple times and crashed his car. He was taken to the University Medical Center and after several days, sadly, he did not make it, leaving behind so many people who loved and depended on him. We speak to three of those many loved ones, Jojo, his son’s mom, his brother Xavier, and his partner Sam. They knew him best so we’r...

In 2004, a victim encased in concrete was found in the desert and unidentified until an internet sleuth made the connection. Her name was Jamie Sheldon, an honor student who had vanished two years earlier. But who killed her? And why? We’ve covered quite a few missing and unsolved cases this first season on Sins & Survivors, and so many times we end up mentioning the same thing, that the news...

Camille Dardanes Dotson vanished from Las Vegas in September of 1994. Her friends and loved ones chased down lead after lead, hoping to find any clue of what had happened to her. 30 years later, they are still searching.  “Someone knows something” is a phrase you’ve heard us say many times on Sins & Survivors. When all the leads have dried up and all you’re left with are unanswered questions a...

July of 2024 was the hottest July on record. The sun was setting on July 25 when 2 people cut through the parking lot behind a grocery store in the middle of Las Vegas. When they walked past the dumpster, they heard the sound of whimpering, coming from inside a large plastic storage tub.  The plastic storage bin had been sealed shut with tape and left next to the dumpster. They pulled off the tape...

It was after 9 pm on Sunday, October 5, 1980, when homicide detective John Trouble Williams was called out to the desert on the far outskirts of Henderson. Two brothers had discovered the remains of a teenage girl along the side of Arroyo Grande Boulevard. The girl would be known only as Jane Arroyo Grande Doe for more than 40 years until she was finally identified and given back her name. https:/...

A murder, a mystery, and a 44-year wait for answers. In 1979, a young woman was found stabbed to death in a dirt lot on the Las Vegas Strip. With no ID and few leads, she became known as Sahara Sue Doe. For decades, her identity remained a mystery until forensic genealogy finally revealed her name.  The murder rate in Las Vegas from the early 1970s to the late 1980s was 3 to 5 times as high as it...

A brutal murder, a 20-year cold case, and a shocking suspect. In 1997, 20-year-old Nadia Iverson was found murdered in a Las Vegas housing complex. Despite crucial DNA evidence, her case went cold—until Nevada cleared its massive backlog of untested rape kits. It's easy to think that DNA is the panacea that will solve every cold case. The technology has come mind-blowingly far and has been used to...

This week, because Erick Rangel Ibrarra, Lesly Palacio's murderer has finally been apprehended in Mexico after 4 long years, we're presenting this Flashback episode from March in which we cover the tragic case of Lesly Palacio an amazing woman loved by her friends and family whose life was tragically cut short We intend to follow every step of Ibarra's prosecution hoping along with friends and fam...

We recently attended the True Crime and Paranormal Festival in Denver held at the Westminster Marriott, and we wanted to recap and talk about all the fun times we had, the new people we met, and the people we REconnected with.  It's such a great event filled with advocacy, education, true crime, and some education, and we recommend you buy tickets for TCPF 2025 being held in Boston! We'll be there...

With the release of the 3 part documentary on Thomas Randolph, the Black Widower, we decided to drop a bonus episode where we tall you what we think of it after watching it, and after creating a 4 part series on his story recently. We. Have. Opinions. Let us know what YOU thought of the ID series after listening to ours! Tom Randolph the Black Widower - Part 1 - The Murder of Sharon Randolph : htt...

A teen’s plea for help went unanswered—until it was too late. In the early morning of Saturday, October 4th, 1997, a resident of east Las Vegas was woken up at 6:30 am by his dog barking incessantly.  He walked into his backyard,  where he could see the narrow strip of desert between the highway and his yard just beyond his fence. Under some bushes, he saw the body of a young woman.  The police we...

After securing full custody of her children, Marillorky was brutally murdered by her ex-husband, just hours after winning in court & a contentious custody battle turned deadly for Ashley and Dennis when a deposition ended in a shocking murder-suicide. Sins & Survivors explores the fatal consequences of domestic violence and high-conflict divorces in these heartbreaking cases. Marillorky Ta...

Steven Koecher was last seen in grainy black and white camera footage 100+ miles from his home. He walked out of the camera's view and was never seen again.  Around noon on Sunday, December 13, 2009, 30-year-old Steven Koecher parked his Chevy Cavalier on a cul du sac in Henderson, Nevada. Security footage showed an adult figure, presumably Steven, walking down the sidewalk, alone, with an unknown...

A twisted legal battle that lasted 15 years. Thomas Randolph, the so-called Black Widower, finally faced trial for the brutal murders of Sharon Randolph and Mike Miller. But in true Randolph fashion, he used every legal trick to delay justice. From manipulating the court system to shocking witness testimony, this case exposes his decades of deception. What finally led to his conviction, and why di...

Tom Randolph’s marriage to his second wife, Beckie Gault, was filled with manipulation, addiction, and escalating danger. Beckie’s fate followed a disturbing pattern seen in Randolph’s other relationships. As detectives connected the dots, they unraveled a shocking murder-for-hire scheme, an eerily staged crime scene, and a failed attempt to silence a key witness. Was justice served, or did Randol...

When the details of Tom’s story didn’t add up, detectives started digging deeper into his background and were stunned to find that he had been married 5 times before he met Sharon – and 3 of those wives were dead.  In part 2 we’ll talk about 4 of those previous 5 wives, and we think you'll start to notice some parallels. Tom Randolph was nothing if not consistent. https://sinspod.co/blackwidowerso...

On May 8th, 2008, Las Vegas Metro PD received a panicked 911 call from Thomas Randolph. He was distraught and stammering, “My wife’s been shot, and there’s a guy in my house, and I shot him.”  At first glance, this case appeared to investigators to be a botched burglary… case of a couple walking in on a burglar, that burglar killing Sharon Randolph with a single gunshot, and the homeowner killing...

A Las Vegas mother and daughter set out on a road trip to Arizona with Suellen’s new boyfriend, but they never returned. Weeks later, hunters in rural Louisiana stumbled upon a horrifying discovery, unraveling a case that spanned multiple states and led to an unexpected suspect. What really happened to Suellen and Lexis Roberts? Suellen Roberts moved to Las Vegas with her 4-year-old daughter Lexis...

Robin Jenkins and David Frostick had a troubled relationship even before they were in Las Vegas, where they moved in 2009 for a fresh start and to help Robin continue and expand her music career. It didn't end up helping, and shortly after moving here, Robin took out a restraining order against Frostick.  The judge and her family were both shocked and confused when just a month later, she went bac...

Michele’s trip to Las Vegas was supposed to be a fun getaway with friends, but days later, her burned body was found in the desert. As investigators uncovered the truth, all signs pointed to her ex-boyfriend, Justin Burns.  “We had no idea, absolutely zero idea, until it was too late,” John Carson, Michele’s father told the press after his daughter was found dead in the desert south of Las Vegas....

Karla was just seven years old when she vanished from her Las Vegas neighborhood on October 20, 1999. Despite exhaustive searches, potential suspects, and age-progressed images, her whereabouts remain unknown, leaving her family searching for answers.  Karla Rodriguez, whom her family called “Karlita”, was like any other 7-year-old little girl living here in the Las Vegas Valley in the late 1990s....

In this heartfelt episode, host Arlene delves into the tragic story of her uncle, Leon Laureles, whose life was cruelly taken in an execution-style murder outside Brownwood, Texas, in 1996. This poignant tale is not just about an unsolved crime; it's a journey through grief, injustice, and the relentless pursuit of closure. Arlene's narrative explores the complexities of Leon's case, a potential h...

On a Friday night in June 2023, Rizza Abrera was sitting in the nail salon she owned, getting her nails done. Her ex-boyfriend, a man who had raised many red flags for her family, burst in, grabbed Rizza by the forearm, and dragged her outside. Several witnesses tried to stop him, but he pulled out a gun, threw Rizza into his SUV, and sped away, barricading himself in his Southwest Valley home wit...

Se’Mauri Norris-Johnson, a talented high school athlete with dreams of playing college football, was tragically shot and killed on Halloween night 2023 in North Las Vegas. His family has been left with unanswered questions, frustrated by a lack of transparency from law enforcement, and fighting for justice in a system that has failed to uphold their rights. His mother Maureisha is asking for nothi...