Cold Case Podcast Summaries
Cold Case on Yedapo: 26 summarized podcast and YouTube episodes. Each includes key takeaways, core concepts and notable quotes with timestamps.
Suspicion in Silver City
Dateline NBC
Aug 11, 2026
When police botched the investigation into Cassie Farrington's death by dismissing it as a potential suicide, her parents took over. By gathering evidence the authorities ignored and pressuring the district attorney, they forced a new investigation that eventually linked her estranged husband, a former police officer, to the crime.
Key insight: After police released the crime scene within hours, the victim's family returned to find black scuff marks in the bathtub drain, which they identified as evidence of a struggle that investigators had completely overlooked.
MURDERED: Bill & Peggy Stephenson
Crime Junkie
Aug 10, 2026
A retired couple was found murdered in a staged, ritualistic crime scene that has baffled investigators for over a decade. Despite a breakthrough involving a partial fingerprint match, the case remains open as detectives struggle to reconcile conflicting forensic evidence and identify the true perpetrator.
Key insight: A lab technician out west kept a copy of the Stephenson crime scene fingerprint card at her desk for over a decade, manually re-running it against new entries until it finally yielded a match in 2023.
MISSING: Kerry O’Brien-Krueger
Crime Junkie
Aug 3, 2026
Kerry O'Brien-Krueger vanished in 1989, leaving behind a husband, Tracy, whose story shifted constantly. After failing to provide a consistent timeline, Tracy claimed a stroke caused him to lose a decade of memory, including his marriage. Investigators now suspect he murdered her and hid the body, but they need help deciphering old phone records and locating a mysterious basement.
Key insight: Tracy Krueger claimed he lost ten years of memory due to a stroke, yet medical records confirmed he never suffered a stroke, and his 'amnesia' conveniently erased only the time period surrounding his wife's disappearance.
MURDERED: Joyce LePage Part 2
Crime Junkie
Jul 27, 2026
Fifty-five years after WSU student Joyce LePage vanished, investigators are re-examining evidence surrounding her disappearance. By analyzing overlooked letters, polygraph results, and suspicious behavior from her inner circle, the case highlights the persistent mystery of a crime that remains unsolved despite decades of scrutiny.
Key insight: Joyce LePage's roommate, Bruce Beerbomb, wrote a letter to her father after she went missing, asking for money to cover rent and phone bills while casually mentioning he had already packed up her belongings.
MURDERED: Joyce LePage
Crime Junkie
Jul 20, 2026
In 1971, a 21-year-old student vanished from a university campus, leaving behind only a bizarre crime scene involving a missing carpet. Despite decades of investigation, the case remains unsolved, shifting focus between local acquaintances and potential serial predators.
Key insight: The perpetrator cut a five-by-five foot piece of carpet from a campus dormitory floor, potentially using it to transport the victim's body.
WARNING: Roger Hueber
Crime Junkie
Jul 13, 2026
A convicted sex offender utilized a cycle of grooming to manipulate vulnerable women, leading to the suspicious disappearance of a key witness. Despite institutional failures and systemic protection of the perpetrator, new evidence suggests a long-overdue investigation into a potential cold case murder may finally be gaining traction.
Key insight: When the perpetrator was denied parole, he attempted to blame his victim, Sheryl Rucci, for his crimes—even though she had been missing for over a year and was unavailable to defend herself.
MURDERED: Carmen Van Huss
Crime Junkie
Jul 6, 2026
After three decades of cold leads and institutional indifference, the murder of Carmen Van Huss was finally solved through persistent private investigation and advanced DNA testing. The case highlights the critical importance of genetic genealogy and the legislative changes needed to empower families in cold case resolutions.
Key insight: Lieutenant Bill Carter, initially a nuisance abatement officer with no homicide training, successfully solved the 33-year-old cold case by independently digitizing files and fighting for advanced DNA testing.
MURDERED: Carmen Van Huss
Crime Junkie
Jul 6, 2026
After 33 years, the brutal 1993 murder of 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss was solved through the persistence of a civilian-led investigation and advanced DNA testing. The case highlights the critical impact of citizen advocacy and genetic genealogy in overcoming institutional inertia and legal stagnation.
Key insight: A local sergeant without official cold case training used crowdsourced funds and genetic genealogy to identify the killer after the police department repeatedly stalled and blocked his efforts.
Talking Dateline: Secrets Unmasked
Dateline NBC
Jun 24, 2026
The murder of Regina Hicks was unsolved for two decades until a reluctant witness broke his silence. This investigation highlights how small-town dynamics and a complex arson scheme obscured justice for years.
Key insight: The witness, Steve Gates, confessed to being present at the scene but remained silent for 24 years out of fear of the perpetrator's local influence.
Secrets Unmasked
Dateline NBC
Jun 23, 2026
The murder of 25-year-old Regina Hicks remained unsolved for two decades until a secret witness finally came forward. This investigation reveals how a manipulative husband used elaborate schemes and intimidation to evade justice for his wife's death and later attempts to frame his new partner.
Key insight: The perpetrator, Paul Hicks, attempted to frame a new partner for arson by purchasing a custom wearable mask of her face and planting evidence, a complex scheme that ultimately led investigators to re-examine his past crimes.
MISSING: Brittany Wallace Shank
Crime Junkie
Jun 22, 2026
Brittany Shank vanished in 2018 after a suspicious car incident in rural Michigan. Her disappearance remains an unsolved puzzle, complicated by a web of drug culture, conflicting alibis, and individuals seemingly obstructing the investigation. Her family continues to seek answers five years later.
Key insight: A gas station receipt for Brittany's car was found in Ashley Hooley's vehicle two months after the disappearance, yet the receipt was photographed and discarded rather than turned over to police for forensic processing.
MURDERED: Alberta O. Jones
Crime Junkie
Jun 15, 2026
The murder of Alberta Jones, a trailblazing Louisville prosecutor and civil rights icon, remains a chilling example of systemic corruption. Despite overwhelming physical evidence and clear potential motives tied to her legal work, the investigation was consistently derailed by destroyed files and ignored leads.
Key insight: Alberta's family suspected she was targeted because she managed a trust for Muhammad Ali, and an 80s-era investigation into this financial link was abruptly dropped after a detective's wife was threatened with being 'put in the river.'
MURDERED: Alberta O. Jones
Crime Junkie
Jun 15, 2026
Alberta O. Jones was a trailblazing civil rights attorney brutally murdered in 1965, yet her case remains unsolved despite evidence of police incompetence and potential political cover-ups. Investigators today suspect her killing was not a random robbery, but a calculated hit aimed at stopping her influential work.
Key insight: Alberta Jones was the first Black female prosecutor in Louisville history and negotiated Muhammad Ali’s first professional contract, making her a target of powerful interests.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: The Jamison Family
Crime Junkie
May 25, 2026
The Jamison family vanished without a trace in Oklahoma's rugged mountains, leaving behind a locked truck, $32,000, and a haunting letter. Despite years of investigation, the cause of their deaths remains undetermined, sparking questions about whether this was a tragic misadventure, a calculated murder-suicide, or a covered-up crime.
Key insight: Four years after vanishing, the family's remains were found just 2.6 miles from their abandoned truck, an impossibly long hike for the physically ailing Bobby Jamison to have made with his daughter in that terrain.
MISSING: Christopher “Cole” Thomas
Crime Junkie
May 18, 2026
The vanishing of Christopher Cole Thomas exposes a dark cross-country drug scheme where witnesses and 'friends' systematically obstructed justice. Despite forensic phone data and surveillance evidence, the core mystery remains unsolved, leaving investigators and grieving parents searching for a body and the truth.
Key insight: Investigators proved that Cole did not walk off alone as his companions claimed; surveillance footage shows him being followed by a coworker, contradicting the initial 'paranoid runner' narrative.
MISSING: Christopher “Cole” Thomas
Crime Junkie
May 18, 2026
Christopher Cole Thomas vanished after a drug-related road trip from Minnesota to North Carolina. Despite multiple witnesses and digital trails, his companions have provided shifting stories, leading to unresolved questions about a potential double-cross and his final whereabouts.
Key insight: Investigators recovered surveillance footage that proved one of the companions, Jeremy Carpenter, was walking right behind Christopher Thomas after they supposedly 'separated' in the dark.
Talking Dateline: A Window of Time
Dateline NBC
May 6, 2026
After 25 years, the brutal murder of Tara Baker was finally solved using advanced DNA testing. The episode details the exhaustive investigation, the impact on the victim's family, and the challenges faced by her boyfriend, who lived under suspicion for decades.
Key insight: None of the murder weapons—a kitchen knife and a printer cord—were brought by the killer; they were all items already present in the victim's home.
MURDERED: Brittany McGlone
Crime Junkie
May 4, 2026
Brittany McGlone was found brutally murdered in her boyfriend's home in a tight-knit Texas town. Despite multiple suspects, failed polygraphs, and a history of violence by a prime suspect, systemic failures and a grand jury 'no-bill' have kept the case unsolved for over 15 years.
Key insight: Investigators identified DNA in the shower at the crime scene that does not belong to anyone who lived in the house, a crucial piece of forensic evidence that remains a focal point for the cold case.
MURDERED: Brittany McGlone
Crime Junkie
May 4, 2026
The brutal murder of 19-year-old Brittany McGlone in 2007 remains unsolved, despite a primary suspect with a history of violence. The investigation highlights how deep-seated local silences can obstruct justice even when circumstantial evidence points toward a clear perpetrator.
Key insight: The primary suspect, Chad Carr, had previously assaulted another woman in the same town using a nearly identical weapon to the one likely used in Brittany's murder.
MISSING: Melissa Casias
Crime Junkie
Apr 27, 2026
Melissa Casias vanished without a trace, leaving behind her car, keys, and phone. The case has fractured her family, with her husband claiming she walked away from mounting debt, while her parents suspect foul play. With no body and no definitive evidence, the mystery hinges on whether she chose a new life or met a sinister end.
Key insight: Forensic data shows that Melissa's two phones were factory-reset at different times—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—on the exact day she disappeared, suggesting a deliberate, staged departure.
MURDERED: Melanie Howell
Crime Junkie
Apr 23, 2026
The case of two women murdered 400 miles apart remained cold for decades because police failed to share findings. Through investigative digging, it was revealed that Paul Bustamante, a military veteran with a history of petty crime, was the common perpetrator behind these tragic, seemingly unrelated deaths.
Key insight: Despite police solving the case in 2014, the LAPD detective withheld the killer's identity from the original case investigator, leaving families in the dark for over a decade.
MURDERED: Melanie Howell
Crime Junkie
Apr 23, 2026
A decades-old murder mystery remains unsolved due to bureaucratic siloing and lack of cross-departmental communication. Investigators reveal that a single serial predator, Paul Bustamante, committed multiple murders of women in transition, yet his identity was withheld from the public and even other law enforcement for years.
Key insight: Even after solving a cold case through fingerprint matching, LAPD detectives were not required to share the killer's name with other departments or even former case investigators, potentially allowing a serial killer to remain unidentified in other jurisdictions for decades.
MURDERED: Stephanie Casberg
Crime Junkie
Apr 20, 2026
Stephanie Casberg’s 1969 murder remains a harrowing mystery involving precise dismemberment, suspected serial offenders, and decades of misdirection. Despite multiple family accusations and evolving DNA technology, investigators are now pursuing a new, chilling lead sparked by a recent podcast episode.
Key insight: The lead detective on the case was listening to a previous Crime Junkie episode while gardening when he realized the MO of the killer described in a totally different state matched Stephanie Casberg's murder perfectly.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: Laura Sweetman
Crime Junkie
Apr 13, 2026
The unexplained death of Dr. Laura Sweetman in 2013 was quickly dismissed by police as a heart attack despite conflicting evidence. Host Ashley Flowers reveals that the medical examiner and toxicologist on her case were both individuals with deeply compromised professional records, casting doubt on the entire investigation.
Key insight: The medical examiner who performed Laura Sweetman's autopsy was previously reprimanded for taking a deceased person's brain home and letting his children handle it while his wife took photos.
MURDERED: Nick Cordova
Crime Junkie
Apr 6, 2026
Nick Cordova was gunned down in his own office while on a FaceTime call with his family, yet years later, his business partner remains free. Despite suspicious circumstances and life insurance motives, investigators have failed to secure a charge, leaving Nick's widow to demand answers from a protective police department.
Key insight: Days after the murder, the victim's business partner, Dave, reached out to the widow regarding an $8 million life insurance policy payout, a detail unknown to the victim's family at the time.
ARREST MADE: Lovers' Lane Murders
Crime Junkie
Mar 27, 2026
The 1990 double homicide of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson in Houston has finally yielded an arrest. New forensic processing of cold case evidence linked the crimes to serial offender Floyd William Parrott, a man with a long history of impersonating police officers.
Key insight: The breakthrough came after the perpetrator's profile, linked to a 1996 cold sexual assault case, finally matched the unidentified DNA profile recovered from the 1990 Lovers Lane crime scene.