Cold Case Files: The Podcast

After a pair of attacks on older and middle-aged women, police believe they are on the trail of a sexual predator turned murderer. But when a third victim shows up who doesn't fit the profile, the investigation is forced to take a hard turn.

Bind. Torture. Kill. That was the mantra of one of America's most notorious serial killers. After killing at least seven people in the Wichita, Kansas area during the 1970s, BTK disappeared for nearly three decades. Then in 2004 he re-surfaced, and used the local new to make sure everybody knew it.

A California Highway Patrol officer spots a fire in an olive orchard and pulls off to investigate. He finds a woman's body, shot and set ablaze. It doesn't take police long to develop a theory on who did it, but why, where, how, and who else all remain a mystery.

John Robinson is a con artist. He has a history of scamming vulnerable women, convincing them that he has the best of intentions, and then taking their money. But over the course of nearly three decades, it isn't just the money going missing, it's also the women themselves. And despite a lack of evidence, or bodies, police begin to suspect that John Robinson might be far more than a con artist. He might be a serial killer.

Indiana police are baffled by the murder of an 86-year-old woman, found dead in her bedroom with a pillow and a footstool on top of her head. With few leads and no conceivable motive the case remains unsolved for years, until a single piece of evidence uncovers Julia Gurty's killer.

A murdered man in his 70's, a tube of hydrocortisone cream, a stolen identity, and a plea deal involving the Super Bowl. What do all of these things have in common? They're connected by a tattoo of a bouquet of roses, inscribed with the name, "Phyllis."

A man on Long Island is preparing to sell his house when he discovers a 55-gallon barrel hidden in his crawlspace. It has seemingly been there for decades, at least for as long as he's owned the home. But when he pries off the lid, he quickly realizes that it isn't just a barrel, it's a tomb.

From 1999 to 2002, eleven young girls and women were sexually assaulted in a similar way. Despite these cases spanning across five states, in all of them, the same man kept popping up as a suspect. The problem wasn't figuring out who had committed these crimes. The problem was figuring out how to catch him.

When the burned body of an infant is found in the Arizona desert, investigators search for the child's identity and come up empty-handed. Four years later, officers in another county respond to a tip about a couple who sold their baby daughter in an extortion scheme and ultimately killed her. It doesn't take long for investigators to connect the dots and finally discover the name of their Baby Jane Doe.

While police in Michigan and Texas search for what they believe to be two separate killers, women are being strangled, stabbed, and sometimes left alive. When one man is found guilty in Texas, a legal loophole forces Michigan investigators to race to find the link before the killer is released from prison.

In the fall of 1987, Fred Wilkerson disappeared. He didn't leave a note. There was no sign of foul play. And yet his son, Tim, knew in his heart what the whole town came to suspect - that Fred had been murdered. Sixteen years later, investigators take up the case, and look to get to the bottom of the town's biggest mystery. Join us for this classic Cold Case Files story, featuring the voice of Bill Kurtis.

In the 1980s the police discovered no fewer than 44 bodies along the Green River near Seattle, making the Green River Killer the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. The investigation would become the largest ever performed in King County and span nearly 20 years before finally bringing the killer to justice. Still, with bodies continuing to surface, the true number of Green River Killer victims may never be known.

Everyone in the family knew that Zilpha was the cool aunt, but to Jeremiah she was more. They had a special bond, almost like brother and sister. So in the Fall of 1992 when Jeremiah disappeared, Zilpha knew something was very wrong. Then just eight months later, Zilpha disappeared, too. Was it just a strange coincidence that two people from the same family disappeared within the same year? Or did these two cases have a terrible connection?

Lily and Alonzo knock on Anna Mae's door. They've come to take their elderly sister shopping. Instead, her door flies open and a young woman runs past them - covered in blood. Alonzo tries to grab her but she literally slips through his fingers. Inside, they find Anna Mae dead on the floor. Who was this mysterious young woman? Why did she kill an innocent senior? And what does it all have to do with a jar of mayonnaise?

A Kentucky teenager goes missing before school. Her bed is unmade, her car is in the driveway, and in the front seat is her purse, one shoe, and her cell phone with the numbers "9" and "1" entered on the screen. Her disappearance ignites a manhunt, a feud with a neighbor, and a family torn apart. Even with the help of the FBI, it will still take fourteen years to figure out what happened to Jessica Dishon.

When a teenager goes missing in a small town investigators are desperate to identity a culprit, but few are willing to talk. Following a series of several dead ends and false leads, officers struggle to uncover who killed Shannon Siders.

A police lieutenant goes into his kitchen to get a snack, then his wife hears shattering glass and finds her husband has been killed. He was shot in the back of the head. Lt. Joe Clark was a beloved member and protector of the community. So who would want him dead? Was it related to the drug rings he relentlessly pursued? What could police learn from the shotgun shell recovered at the scene? And what does it all have to do with a blue Ford Pinto?

A college student in Utah is brutally murdered while working the graveyard shift at a local gas station. His death shakes this small Mormon community to its core, but all police have to go on are some bloody dollar bills, and two eye-witnesses who sketch out a figure, with dark, piercing eyes. Who could have committed this horrific crime? Was it a disgruntled employee? Is there a connection to an illegal drug ring? And will advances in forensic technology decades later help to bring Brad Perry's killer to justice?

When an elderly couple is robbed and brutally murdered in a quiet logging community, accusations fly. No stone is left unturned, but the killer never surfaces, leaving the family of Ed and Minnie Maurin with nothing but unanswered questions and crippling grief. The investigation goes cold for two decades, before a courageous eye witness comes forward with information that cracks the case wide open.

In 1992, Halloween was cancelled in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Just days before, an 11-year-old was kidnapped and brutally murdered. The small town is rocked when Shauna Howe's body is discovered under a bridge, and investigators scramble to figure out what kind of person could have committed such a horrific crime. For two decades, the case goes unsolved despite the killer's taunts, solid DNA evidence, and a haunting copy-cat murder. When one investigator finds a single overlooked detail 20 years later, he discovers who killed Shauna Howe.