Trace Evidence

In her early twenties, April Pitzer found herself on the wrong side of the law.  In order to wipe the slate clean, she agreed to become a confidential informant.  She had no idea the dangerous world she was entering, and ultimately had to flee Arkansas when her identity was compromised.  Years later, she was brought back to testify in a trial which sent over twenty members of a major drug ring to...

Jeramy Burt was last seen on February 11th, 2007.  Ninety six days later, the vehicle he had driven off in, his ex-wife's Mercury Cougar, was discovered abandoned and torched in the Bruneau desert in Southwest Idaho.  The discovery of the car caused the Boise Police Department to officially launch an investigation into his disappearance. During the course of the investigation they examined his ban...

Thirty-three year old Jeramy Burt was putting his life back together.  After an affair with his lawyer, his wife, Kim, filed for divorce and the two went their separate ways, though they were forever bonded through their young daughter.  Jeramy regretted his mistakes and worked hard to make amends and regain Kim's trust.  After his lawyer tried to coerce him into lying under oath in an attempt to...

Twenty-two year old Jamie Fraley was working hard to put her life on track.  After a life wrought with health issues as the result of complications are birth, she had gotten a slow start.  Unable to complete high school, or obtain a driver's license, she struggled to strike out on her own and put a future together. In 2006, everything changed when she moved out on her own, met the man of her dream...

On July 6th, 2001, ten year old Tionda Bradley was looking after her three year old sister, Diamond while their mother, Tracey went to work.  The children were reportedly last seen by their mother at 6:30am, and when she returned home at 12:30 they were nowhere to be found.  All that was discovered was a note, allegedly written by Tionda, saying that the girls were going to walk to the store and t...

Dorothy Kilgallen was one of the most well known and prominent reporters in American history.  Her tenacious personality and intense columns examines major stories of her time, including the murder trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard and the Cuban Missile Crisis.  While her readers loved her dynamic style, powerful figures in Hollywood and Intelligence Agencies were not fans of her work. After the assassina...

On February 7th, 1999, in Westminster, Colorado, thirty-nine year old Paul Skiba brought his nine year old daughter, Sarah, to work at his moving company while covering a shift for an employee.  They were met by Lorenzo Chivers, one of Paul's employees, to go out on a job.  The three drove off in a moving truck and were never seen again. Police initially believed the disappearance was related to a...

Twenty year old Irina "Ira" Yarmolenko was finishing up her sophomore semester at UNC Charlotte in May of 2008.  She planned to begin her junior year at UNC Chapel Hill where she would pursue a career in Public Health, an area near and dear to her kind and compassionate sensibility.  Tragically, Ira would never begin her junior year. On May 5th, 2008, just days after her twentieth birthday, Ira be...

Logan Schiendelman had just finished his first year of college as Washington State University.  He had spent a little too much time having fun, and not as much attending classes, and so he wasn’t able to return and instead planned to get a job, put some money in his pocket and see where the world would take him.  He was on a journey of self discovery, hoping to find his place in life, and within h...

Case Update:  Episode 10 - The Bizarre Murder of Arlis Perry has been SOLVED On June 26th, 2018, Deputies of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department moved to execute a search warrant on suspect Steve Blake Crawford, the security guard who originally found Arlis Perry's body.  During the execution of that warrant, Crawford committed suicide with a self inflicted gunshot wound. This is a short e...

Twenty-three year old Brandi Wells was beginning to put her life back on track.  After a failed marriage and traveling throughout Texas, she moved to Brownsboro, just twenty minutes away from her hometown of Tyler.  She re-enrolled in college, to pursue a degree in education, and had just gotten a new job.  Things were looking up.   On August 2nd, 2006, Brandi decided to go out for one last night...

Fifteen year old Kayla Berg was excited to move back to her hometown of Antigo, Wisconsin after spending the previous two months in Texas with her mother, Hope.  While Texas hadn't worked out for the pair, Kayla was looking forward to seeing her father and brother, as well as all the friends she had left behind. Kayla returned on August 2nd, 2009, and immediately took advantage of the dwindling we...

 Chuck Morgan worked as an escrow agent in Tucson, Arizona in 1977.  Far from an exciting life, Chuck enjoyed the quiet calm and exactness of his work, and in his free time, delighted in joy and excitement of raising four daughters with his wife, Ruth.  Suddenly, Chuck's life would be thrust into danger and mystery when he vanished on March 22nd.  Chuck resurfaced three days later and told his wif...

On June 27th, 1995, Jodi was meant to arrive at the studio at 3am. When 4am came, and she hadn't showed up, her assistant called her apartment and awoke a sleeping Jodi. She said she'd be there in twenty minutes, but Jodi was never seen again. Over the course of the next twenty-three years, the case has spiraled through moments of brilliant attention, and complete disregard. Throughout this time,...

Twenty-seven year old Jodi Huisentruit was living out her dream, being a television news anchor for KIMT in Mason City, Iowa. She'd always wanted to be on television, and her interest in broadcast journalism had brought her to her first role as the main anchor of a news network. Everything seemed to be coming together. On June 27th, 1995, Jodi was meant to arrive at the studio at 3am. When 4am cam...

For the One Year Anniversary Episode of Trace Evidence: On September 10th, 2000, Leah Hackett put her eight year old son, Zachary Bernhardt, to sleep in her bed at 11pm. Over the course of the next five hours, she watched television, chatted online and went for a walk and swim. After taking a shower, she discovered that Zachary was no longer in her bed, and he was missing. A frantic 911 call led t...

August 11th, 2009 was a hot and humid day in the North Georgia town of Blairsville. Thirty-eight year old Kristi Cornwell was visiting with her parents that summer as she had recently embarked on major changes in her life. She’d left her career as a probation officer, and was pursuing a new journey into the medical field. She had gotten divorced a few months earlier, but in recent times, had begun...

Bryce Laspisa was the average American college student. He was bright, charming and liked to have fun at every possible time. During the Summer of 2013, he stayed at home with his parents, eagerly anticipating his return to Sierra College, in Rocklin, California. Within two weeks of his return, in August of 2013, Bryce's friends and girlfriend were growing concerned about his drinking and odd beha...

Twenty-Five year old Tiffany Daniels was a talented artist living in Pensacola, Florida in August of 2013. Saddened by her boyfriend moving out of state, and overwhelmed with financial difficulties, Tiffany was struggling to find her way. Her worries seemed as though they might be ending as a friend's father rented a room from her home, making her more financially secure and while her boyfriends e...

Twenty-three year old Lily Aramburo was on top of the world. She'd overcome her addictions, transformed her life and given birth to a son who she loved beyond compare. She'd recently moved in with an old friend, Christen, after each shared their true feelings and they were building a life together, but in early 2007, it would all begin to fall apart. Christen was still using, and before long, Lily...

On October 23rd, 1981, seventeen year old Kurt Sova had plans to go to a local carnival. Plans changed when he ran into a close friend who invited him to a party at a duplex nearby. The party was filled with locals and people who had driven in from Detroit, and Kurt began drinking heavily. When he began feeling ill, his friend took him outside for some fresh air. The night had gotten cold, and Kur...

I recently conducted a series of Q&A videos in which I answered listener questions. This is the audio from these sessions. If you want to see the videos, visit the Trace Evidence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPFbLcFipff2OVJC2KdARbw https://www.trace-evidence.com https://www.patreon.com/traceevidence Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/trace-evi...

Twenty-one year old Elisa Lam decided to take a break from college. She wanted to take a trip, out of Canada and down into the United States to see California. Her trip involved stops in San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. Embarking on her trip in January of 2013, Elisa visited San Diego and then went to Los Angeles where she had booked a three day stay in the notorious Cecil Hotel, at that tim...

Forty-two year old Sonia Varaschin was a pediatric nurse living in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. A hard working woman with a zest for life and a love of adventure, she had a lovely personality and was often found dancing whenever she had the time. In August of 2010, Sonia vanished from her home and her blood stained car was found abandoned not far away. Investigators found a grisly scene inside he...

On December 2nd, 2016, twenty-eight year old Danielle Stislicki made dinner plans with her best friend. She left her office building, located in Southfield, Michigan, at 5pm, and sent a text saying that she was going to be stopping at her apartment, and would meet for dinner around 6pm. Danielle never arrived. Within 24 hours, friends, family and police were conducting exhaustive searches for Dani...