Trace Evidence

Sneha Anne Philip was a thirty-one year old medical student in the final year of her residency. The year prior, she had married her med-school sweetheart and the two were now living in an apartment in Battery Park City. While on the surface, everything seemed to be moving along smoothly, a dark shadow of rumor and legal trouble was beginning to veil her life. Sneha was removed from her previous residency program under accusations of being late and alcohol related issues. She filed a police report alleged sexual assault by one of her co-workers, though the District Attorney would later charge Sneha with filing a false report. In the midst of the chaos, Sneha was alleged to have been engaging in extramarital affairs and her struggle with alcohol resulted in her suspension from her new residency. On the morning of September 10th, 2001, Sneha plead not guilty after refusing to recant her statement and have all charges dropped. That afternoon she spoke to her mother for several hours, and was last seen on surveill

Kanika Powell was a brilliant twenty-eight year old woman living in Prince George County, Maryland. After a tour of service in the Army, she came out and began work as a security contractor. Much to her delight, she found work at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. After two years working as a contractor, she was hired on as a full time employee. Her work required a top secret classification and she was involved in securing projects related to National Security and in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. The nature of her work has never been revealed for public consumption, and though the Lab did confirm that she worked there, they would not release even what her job title was. On Saturday, August 23rd, 2008, Kanika had a frightening experience where a man posing as an FBI agent had tried to gain access to her apartment. He knew her name, and approached her door, but Kanika was intelligent enough to not allow him inside. She later called the police to

Twenty-Three year old Leah Roberts had lived a difficult life and suffered multiple tragedies. By the time she was twenty-two she had lost both of her parents and been involved in a near fatal car accident. Desperate for a way to deal with her grief, and in order to find herself and her true dreams, she embarked on a secret trip. On March 9th, 2000, she left her home in North Carolina, heading for Desolation Peak in Washington state. She was on the trail of her favorite author, Jack Kerouac, and though she had two older siblings and a close knit group of friends, she chose to tell no one. Her sister, Kara, reported her missing on Monday, March 13th, and five days later received startling news. Leah's white jeep cherokee had been found in Whatcom County, WA. It was at the bottom of an embankment, smashed up and abandoned. Worse yet, there were no signs of Leah anywhere. A massive search was conducted, and an investigation launched but Leah was never found nor was any trace of her, outside of her jeep. Over the

Terri Bevers, better known as Missy, dedicated her life to helping others. She was a follower of God, a believer in charity and caring for those who couldn’t care for themselves. She met Brandon, the man who would become her husband. Renewed by this love, and driven to contribute as she always dreamed, Missy went back to school and received a teaching certificate, taking a job working as a special education instructor. Missy was popular, a beautiful woman in great shape with a far reaching social media presence. On the morning of April 18th, 2016, Missy was scheduled to conduct a fitness class at Creekside Church in Midloathian, Texas. The weather report called for rain, but Missy was determined and posted on Facebook that the workout was going forward, regardless of the weather. She went to bed early, her class was at 5am and she needed to arrive early to set up for it. She arrived at the church at 4:20am, but what she didn’t know is that someone was inside, waiting for her. At five am, when members of her c

Twenty-seven year old Brian Shaffer was a handsome, hard working man with a dream of living on a tropical island and being in a band. In the meantime, he was in his second year of med school, working hard toward a career that he didn't quite envision himself doing. He had a loving girlfriend, and a tight knit family that supported him. Sadly, his mother, Renee, passed away due to a rare form of cancer and while Brian was struggling to deal with the aftermath. He was drawn closer to his father, Randy and his brother, Derek, and as a family they supported one another through that difficult time. As spring break 2006 approached, Brian made plans with his girlfriend to take a vacation to Miami, had dinner with his father and asked his brother to come out bar hopping along with his best friend, Clint Florence. Derek wasn't able to make is, so Brian and Clint went to downtown Columbus and started their evening at the Ugly Tuna Saloona. Brian called his girlfriend at 10pm and told her that he loved her and couldn't

Nineteen year old Faith Hedgepeth was a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in September of 2012. Born in Warren County North Carolina, she was a member of the Haliwa-Saponi Native American Tribe and dreamed of becoming a doctor and one day returning home to contribute to her community. On September 6th, she had a busy day of classes followed by rushing for a sorority and going to the library with her best friend and roommate, Karena Rosario. After working on a project, she and Rosario went back to their apartment to change and then went out to a local bar, called the Thrill. In the early morning hours of September 7th, Faith and Rosario left the bar and went back to their apartment. A strange series of texts and phone calls began, and around 4am, Karena left in the company of another Chapel Hill student, leaving Faith home, allegedly asleep, with the apartment door unlocked. When Karena returned the next morning, she found a grisly scene. Faith had been brutally beaten to death, the roo

George Reeves exploded into the American mainstream when he donned the red cape and blue tights playing Superman on the 1950's television series The Adventures of Superman. Almost instantly he became synonymous with the superhero as well as his alter ego, mild mannered Clark Kent. Off the screen, Reeve's life was much more complicated and hardly mild mannered. George had been engaged in a nearly ten year romance with Toni Mannix, wife of MGM executive Eddie Mannix known all around Hollywood was the kind of man whose bad side you didn't want to be on. By all accounts, it was an open secret, with Eddie being well aware and even approving of his wife's extra curricular activities. All of that changed in 1958, when Reeves left his older lover for the younger Leonore Lemmon, a New York socialite known for her fiery temper and enchanting looks. Their relationship was a tumultuous one, with Lemmon described as a heavy drinker with a mean temper and a controlling personality. She was known for seducing rich and power

Fifteen year old Pearl Pinson was a sweet, funny girl who loved skateboarding with her brother. On the morning of May 25th, 2016, she packed her black and turquoise backpack and headed off for her routine walk to school. Shortly after she left her home, around 7am, Police received multiple 911 calls reporting an incident involving an armed man and a young woman taking place on the pedestrian overpass at Interstate 780. Witnesses reported seeing a latino man in a black hoodie and brandishing a firearm. The woman had dyed green hair, was bleeding from her mouth and was seen being shoved into the trunk of a gold, four door 1997 Saturn. When police arrived on the scene they found blood on the concrete and a cell phone which they were able to match to Pearl Pinson. Due to conflicts in eyewitness statements, an Amber Alert couldn’t be issued for nearly 32 hours, by which time Pearl had completely vanished into thin air. When authorities caught up to her abductor, nineteen year old Fernando Castro, there was no trac

Six year old Isabel Celis was tucked into bed shortly after her mother, Becky, braided her hair for her little league game the next day. By 11pm, the light was out and Becky made her way to bed. Isabel's father, Sergio, fell asleep on the couch watching a baseball game, just a few feet from his daughter's bedroom door. When he went to wake her at 8am the next morning, she was nowhere to be found. After a frantic search of the home, Isabel's brother found that her bedroom window was open and the screen was laying in the backyard. Sergio placed a call to 911 to report his daughter missing, though this call, and Sergio himself, would become targets of great speculation later on. Becky raced home from work to meet the police and a massive search was launched. Forensic examination of the house discovered strange clues, including blood stains. Searches of the neighborhood and surrounding areas came up empty. Police immediately determined it to be a case of child abduction, though they wouldn't specify if they belie

Brianna Maitland was a smart, independent seventeen year old woman working two jobs and sharing an apartment with a childhood friend. She had dreams of moving out of rural Vermont and experiencing the exciting life of a big city while pursuing a beautiful future. She had some struggles, but had gotten her life together, acquired her GED and was ready for whatever the world had to throw her way. Five weeks after the infamous disappearance of Maura Murray, on March 19th, 2004, Brianna would leave her night shift at the Black Lantern Inn and drive off into oblivion, never to be seen nor heard from again. Over the night, several witnesses spot her abandoned car, its headlights shining into the road while its rear bumper was smashed into a vacant farmhouse. There was no sign of Brianna and no one would know she was missing for days. During the investigation, more questions were raised than answered and even the police themselves come under fire for mistakes made early on in the case. Despite hundreds of volunteers

Twelve year old Garrett Phillips walked the five blocks home from school during the early evening hours of October 24th, 2011. Shortly after arriving at the second floor apartment where he lived with his mother and half-brother, an unknown assailant attacked and strangled him. Though Garrett survived the initial attack, he would pass away two hours later at Canton-Potsdam Hospital. Almost immediately, police zeroed in on a single suspect: Oral “Nick” Hillary, Garrett’s mother, Tandy Cyrus’ ex-boyfriend. Despite the possibility of other suspects, and no physical evidence tying Hillary to the crime, he would remain the prime suspect for several years until a new, upstart candidate won the position of St. Lawrence County District Attorney and indicted him on charges of second degree murder. The town became split, with many believing Hillary was guilty, and others standing by his side and arguing that one of Tandy’s other ex-boyfriends may have been responsible: Sheriff’s Deputy John Jones. Fingerprints and DNA e

On August 8th, 2013, twenty-six year old Brandon Lawson got into an argument with his longtime girlfriend, Ladessa Lofton. Frustrated and wanting some time to cool off, he placed a call to his father over three hours away in Crowley, Texas and asked to spend the night. His father tried to talk him out of it, but at 11:54pm, Brandon began his drive. Forty miles later, he ran out of gas and called his brother Kyle for help. What transpired in the next thirty minutes is unknown, but when his brother arrived, Brandon was nowhere to be found. After searching for hours, there were no traces of Brandon. The family would later learn that shortly after calling his brother, Brandon made a call to 911. In the call, Brandon is clearly frantic and talking fast. The interpretation of what he said would become hotly debated amongst the family, police and online investigators. The Coke County Sheriff’s Department was hesitant to treat it as a missing person’s case, and instead approached it from the perspective that Brandon

Candace Hiltz was a seventeen year old single mother, a junior at Brigham Young University and a newly accepted student to be at Stanford Law School. She dreamed of becoming a Supreme Court Justice. She had a brilliant level of intelligence, a ferociously protective personality and a great affinity for the law. All of that was destroyed when she was brutally murdered. Her family sought answers, but ultimately discovered that the men charged with solving her murder may have in fact been involved in it. On August 10th, 2006, a Deputy from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department in Colorado arrived at the Hiltz family home. He questioned Dolores Hiltz in regard to the whereabouts of her son, James. Sometime during the questioning, Dolores’ daughter Candace became angry by his demeanor and told him to leave. The Deputy threatened to arrest Candace, who then threatened to expose him for taking bribes from local drug dealers. Three days later, the Hiltz family dog went missing. It was later found tied to a tree and

Twenty year old Andrew Sadek mysteriously vanished six months after becoming a confidential informant for the Richland County Sheriff's Department, in North Dakota. He was last seen on surveillance cameras leaving his dorm room at 2am on May 1st, 2014. While his family approached it as a case of possible abduction and foul play, authorities treated it more as a man fleeing from legal ramifications. A bitter debate would erupt between Andrew's family and the Sheriff's Department coming to a head when nearly two months later, on June 27th, Andrew's body was recovered from the Red River just across the state line in Minnesota. He had been killed by a small caliber gunshot wound to the head and while Andrew's family believed he was murdered, others have suggested that Andrew may have committed suicide. Strangely, Andrew was not wearing the same clothing he was last seen in and his backpack was filled with rocks and tied to his body. Was this an attempt by a killer to weigh him down, or did Andrew not want his bod

Nine year old Jane Beaumont was tasked with looking after her siblings, seven year old Arnna and four year old Grant on a day trip to the beach. The children were in the middle of their summer break, and on January 26th, 1966, while much of the country was celebrating Australia Day, Jim Beaumont had a business meeting so his wife Nancy allowed the children to take the five minute bus ride down to Glenegl beach. They had gone many times before, and had even visited the previous day. On this day, though, while the rest of the country was enjoying the holiday, it would become a nightmare for the Beaumont family. The children failed to return home on the 12pm bus as their mother had told them, and when they weren’t on the 2pm or 3pm buses, Nancy Beaumont was frantic. When Jim arrived home from work, the two began searching, but when they failed to find any trace of their children, they contacted the police who would launch the largest search effort in Australian history to that time. Witnesses would come forward

Twenty-Four year old Kyle Fleischmann took his mother, sister and best friend to a Dane Cook comedy show in Charlotte, NC. In the early morning hours of November 9th, 2007, he vanished into the darkness of the city. Several witnesses see Kyle that night, and Kyle himself places several short phone calls to his father, sister, best friend and roommate but leaves no messages. A surveillance camera captures him walking down the street, away from the Buckhead Saloon where he had spent the past few hours. An hour later, a cab driver claims to see Kyle wandering down North Davidson Street, toward Cordelia Park, in a bad part of Charlotte known to be inhabited by drug dealers and members of the violent MS-13 gang. The next morning, Kyle is reported missing and over the past ten years, no answers nor signs of Kyle have been found. Tracking dogs follow his scent to a then undeveloped construction site, leading many to believe that Kyle was murdered and buried where apartment complexes now stand. Did Kyle simply choose

On August 2nd, 2006, thirty-two year old Robert Wone kissed his wife goodbye for the last time, and went to work for the day. He would spent his evening at a Continuing Law Education course, and then wanted to meet his overnight staff at Radio Free Asia where he’d recently begun working.Rather than taking the train home that night with his wife, as was his normal routine, he had made arrangements to stay with his friend, Joseph Price, in his Townhouse in Washington DC. Shortly after his arrival at Price’s home, everything becomes a puzzling tale of confusion and contradictions. Robert Wone is stabbed to death sometime between his 10:32 arrival and the 11:49 call to 911. Emergency Medical Technicians are disturbed by the scene they find, and the behavior of Joseph Price, his domestic partner Victor Zeborsky and their sometimes lover and roommate Dylan Ward. The bloody knife found in the room doesn’t match the stab wounds, drafted emails on Wone’s blackberry don’t make sense and the story of a home invader isn’

On the morning of February 14th, 2000, Asha Degree's parents awoke to find their nine year old daughter missing. Extensive investigation showed that Asha had packed her backpack, and left the home between the hours of 2:30am and 4:00am.Several passing motorists spotted Asha on the side of rural Highway 18, just a mile from her house, shortly after 4am. In the days of searching following her disappearance, Police discovered several personal items and candy wrappers, but no sign of Asha. Eighteen months later, Asha's backpack was found buried and double wrapped in garbage bags some 26 miles north of the last place she was seen. For seventeen years, the mystery of Asha Degree has haunted her family, and the suburb of Shelby, North Carolina. Did Asha choose to run away, never to return? Did she fall victim to foul play during her travels? Was she lured out of her home by a friend who later betrayed her? Did a passing driver hit Asha and choose to dispose of her body? Join host Steven Pacheco as he explores this b

Nineteen year old newlywed Arlis Perry got into a spat with her husband while on a walk. She decided to go on alone to Stanford Memorial Church to calm down and pray. She would never come back. At 5:45am a security guard would find her body inside the church, murdered with an ice pick and posed in a lewd and sacrilegious position. Her murder would become the subject of theories about the occult and satanism. Some would link her death to the Son of Sam, the Zodiac Killer and a satanic organization known as the Process Church of the Final Judgment. Despite these theories, the true identity of the man who murdered Arlis was unknown. Witnesses would come forward to describe a man with sandy hair seen entering the church that night, a man whose description matches that of a man seen arguing with Arlis at her job the day before she was murdered. Join host Steven Pacheco as he explores this case, and studies the unanswerable question: Who murdered and posed Arlis Perry?UPDATE:As of June 26th, 2018, the Murder of Arl

Seventeen year old Rachel Trlica of Fort Worth, Texas, wanted to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Her best friend, fourteen year old Renee Wilson went with her, and nine year old Julie Ann Moseley, a friend of Renee's, tagged along. On December 23rd, 1974, the three girls made their trip to the mall and never returned, disappearing into thin air. The girls would famously become known as The Fort Worth Three. The next day, a letter would arrive allegedly written by Rachel, claiming that the girls has taken a week long trip to Houston. Strangely, the letter doesn't match Rachel's handwriting, and no one believes she is the one who wrote it. Over the next forty years, multiple theories and suspects would be considering, including Rachel's own sister, Debra. Rachel's brother, Rusty, would devote his life to finding his sister and through a series of twists and turns, would turn against Debra. Several serial killers and rapists were in Texas at the time, and many believe one of them was responsible. Rumors