2017-01

September 17, 1990. Davenport, Iowa. Jennifer Lewis, a nine-year old girl from nearby Rock Island, Illinois, is found murdered on a school playground and her body has been set on fire. A man named Stanley Liggins is soon convicted of the crime, but this would only be the beginning of a very controversial case in which Liggins’ conviction has overturned on two separate occasions. This story is chronicled on a brand new true crime podcast called “Suspect Convictions”, which examines the case from all angles and follows it in real time as Liggins prepares to go on trial for the third time this spring. In this episode, “The Trail Went Cold” is joined for an interview by veteran journalist Scott Reeder, who has covered this case since day one and thought it deserved to be turned into its own podcast.
Click here to visit the official “Suspect Convictions” website and download the podcast.
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The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 20, 1984. Greeley, Colorado. After singing in a choir at a Christmas performance, 12-year old Jonelle Matthews is dropped off at her family’s house by a friend. When Jonelle’s father returns home later that evening, he is horrified to discover that Jonelle is missing and the evidence suggests she was abducted by an intruder. In spite of an extensive search, Jonelle is never found and investigators fail to uncover any potential suspects in her disappearance. Our newest minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines a baffling missing children’s case, as well as its possible connection to an unidentified Jane Doe who was killed in Huntington Beach, California in 1990.
Click here to see Jonelle Matthews’ profile page at the Charley Project, and here to see the profile page for the Huntington Beach Jane Doe at the Doe Network.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2012/11/02/greeley-kidnapped-vanished-declared-dead/5758/
http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/local/three-decades-after-she-disappeared-from-her-greeley-home-memories-of-jonelle-matthews-remain/
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 2, 2007. San Francisco, California. Hugues de la Plaza, a 36-year old sound engineer with dual French and American citizenship, returns to his apartment after spending the evening at a club. When morning hits, Hugues is found stabbed to death. Since a security camera shows no one else heading in the direction of Hugues’ apartment that night, police explore the possibility that Hugues committed suicide and his death is classified as “undetermined”. However, Hugues’ family discover disturbing discrepancies which point to murder, so they are forced to bring in the National Police from France to seek justice for his death. In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine a very controversial case which prompted an international police force to take over an American investigation.
Additional Reading:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-mystery-a-case-for-murder/
http://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/no-exit-san-francisco-police-have-ensured-that-hugues-de-la-plaza-will-dwell-eternally-in-bureaucratic-limbo/Content?oid=2826340
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Homicide-or-suicide-Man-s-death-a-mystery-3219748.php
http://hoodline.com/2013/06/in-pursuit-of-justice-the-story-of-hugues-de-la-plaza
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

February 12, 2009. Washington, D.C.. 47-year old Pamela Butler phones her mother to say that she is planning to take her out on Valentine’s Day. Pam never shows up and after not hearing from her for several days, her family checks her house and discovers that she has vanished without explanation. Curiously, even though her home was covered with surveillance cameras, none of the footage shows Pam leaving during the time period she went missing, but her boyfriend can be seen entering and exiting the house on multiple occasions. In spite of this, there is no evidence of foul play or any trace of Pamela Butler. This week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a bizarre mystery about a woman who somehow managed to disappear from a locked home which had 24-hour surveillance.
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/pamela-j-butler
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/24/AR2009112404264.html
https://crimewatchdaily.com/2016/04/15/cold-case-d-c-government-computer-specialist-still-missing/
Be sure to take part in our Facebook poll to help decide which case we will cover on our one-year anniversary show!
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 23, 1987. Arlington, Texas. 43-year old Patsy Wright phones up her sister in the middle of the night to complain that she has become nauseous after taking some NyQuil, but collapses during the call and soon passes away. An autopsy eventually reveals that Patsy was poisoned after strychnine was put in her NyQuil. The investigation would uncover multiple suspects with a motive to murder Patsy, but no evidence to implicate anyone. Our first “Trail Went Cold” episode of 2017 analyzes a real-life whodunit which resembles an Agatha Christie murder mystery.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolved.com/archives/patsy-wright
http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1989/august/t-h-e-wax-museum-murder-mystery/
http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1990/february/the-name-is-dear-bill-dear/
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.