The Trail Went Cold

December 3, 2003. Baltimore, Maryland. While working on a plea agreement, 38-year old prosecutor Jonathan Luna leaves his office at the Federal District Court Building shortly before midnight. The following morning, Luna’s vehicle is discovered over 90 miles away in a rural creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and his body is lying in the water. He has been stabbed 36 times with his own penknife, but while the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office are certain Luna was murdered, the FBI believe his death might have been a suicide. An investigation into Luna’s movements only opens up more questions, as he inexplicably made a detour through Delaware before travelling to Pennsylvania. Was Jonathan Luna a victim of foul play? And what was the purpose of his lengthy road trip? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines one of the most baffling unexplained deaths we have ever encountered.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Luna
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-decade-later-prosecutor-lunas-death-still-a-mystery/2013/12/10/211e2ab8-f563-11e2-aa2e-4088616498b4_story.html?utm_term=.d5e0800ed279
https://lancasteronline.com/news/the-curious-case-of-jonathan-luna/article_4e09be61-673f-54a5-a19b-ef95f509e542.html
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10.pdf
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10-2.pdf
“The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna” by William Keisling
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 23, 1986. Dublin, Ireland. After going home for lunch, 13-year old Philip Cairns leaves in order to return to school. He never arrives and vanishes without a trace. Six days later, Philip’s school bag appears in a laneway which had previously been searched, leading to speculation that it was planted there by the person who abducted him. In 2016, a witness implicates a former radio host and convicted pedophile named Eamon Cooke in Philip’s disappearance. By this point, Cooke is on his deathbed and even though he is questioned by investigators, he is unable to provide any conclusive answers. Did Eamon Cooke abduct and murder Philip Cairns, or was someone else responsible? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we return to Ireland to examine of one of their most famous unsolved disappearances. Special thanks to listener Aine Noonan for narrating the intro to this episode!
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Philip_Cairns
http://www.thejournal.ie/philip-cairns-anniversary-3036664-Oct2016/
https://www.broadsheet.ie/2016/06/14/philip-cairns-and-a-trail-of-disinformation/
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/philip-cairns-missing-sorry-what-11551067
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
We would like to thank our sponsor, Winc, for supporting this week’s episode. To receive a $20 credit and free shipping on 4 bottles of wine on your first order, go to trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 25, 2001. Hood River, Oregon. During a date with a friend, 41-year old Eric Tamiyasu hears strange noises outside his home and discovers an unidentified shoeprint. After his friend leaves for the night, Eric is not heard from for five days. His decomposing body is eventually discovered in his bed and it turns out he has been shot three times in the head. The investigation would uncover a number of intriguing suspects: the local sheriff, who made the odd decision to destroy a crucial piece of evidence; a close friend and business partner who allegedly had a dispute with Eric over money; and the person who discovered Eric’s body and displayed some very strange behavior. Did any these of suspects murder Eric Tamiyasu, or was someone else responsible? We explore a true whodunit on this week’s edition of “The Trail Went Cold”.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/eric-tamiyasu/
https://www.koin.com/archives/somebody-came-for-sole-purpose-of-killing-eric_20171130085922738/870127444
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2002/feb/06/tamiyasu-case-rumors-swirl-around-murder/
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2002/mar/06/tamiyasu-murder-draws-national-attention/
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2002/jul/02/local-murder-draws-new-exposure/
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2003/sep/24/family-turns-up-heat-on-cold-case/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
We would like to thank our sponsor, Winc, for supporting this week’s episode. To receive a $20 credit and free shipping on 4 bottles of wine on your first order, go to trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

March 11, 1985. Waverly, Georgia. While holding a Bible class at the Rising Daughters Baptist Church, 66-year old deacon Harold Swain is summoned to the vestibule by an unidentified man. Harold is soon shot to death and when his 63-year old wife, Thelma Swain, goes to check on him, she is fatally shot as well. Eighteen years later, a suspect named Dennis Perry is convicted of the murders and receives two life sentences. However, controversy surrounds the conviction, as a lot of crucial evidence went missing, Perry seemed to have a solid alibi, and another suspect allegedly bragged about the murders. Did Dennis Perry actually commit this crime, or has the real killer escaped justice? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines an “Unsolved Mysteries” case which may not be as “solved” as everyone thinks.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Harold_and_Thelma_Swain
https://www.news4jax.com/news/man-found-guilty-of-1985-church-murders
https://www.denverpost.com/2007/07/24/key-evidence-goes-missing-in-georgia-church-murders/
https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/active-cases-2/case-page-perry/
https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2015-3-19-PERRY-combined.pdf
http://matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/2777/assets/A93D_Motion__exhibits_combined_SMALLER.pdf
http://freedennisperry.blogspot.com/2007/11/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

February 3, 1964. Manchester, New Hampshire. The burned body of 54-year old Rena Paquette is discovered inside a pigsty on her family’s farm. Even though there are no containers for flammable substances at the scene, investigators believe that Rena set herself on fire and rule her death to be a suicide. However, many people suspect that Rena’s death was connected to the recent murder of a local teenage girl named Pamela Mason, as Rena believed she knew the killer’s identity and shared it with the police. While Pamela’s killer is soon caught, Rena’s death remains unsolved. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a story with a number of twists and turns, including the involvement of the United States Supreme Court and the unexpected murder of Rena Paquette’s son.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Rena_Paquette
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Danny_Paquette
“Our Little Secret: The True Story of a Teenage Killer and the Silence of a Small New England Town” by Kevin Flynn & Rebecca Lavoie
https://www.sunjournal.com/2005/12/19/mysterious-deaths-shake-family/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit  www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

March 22, 2010. Huixquilucan, Mexico. Paulette Gebara Farah, a four-year girl with developmental disabilities, vanishes from her bedroom and a massive search campaign fails to turn up any trace of her. Nine days later, Paulette’s decomposing body is discovered wedged between her mattress and the footboard of her bed, and a police inquiry rules that she got stuck there accidentally and died of asphyxiation. However, many people find it unlikely that Paulette’s body could have remained there undiscovered the entire time she was missing, and her parents display enough suspicious behavior to face accusations that they were responsible for her death and orchestrated a cover-up. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” travels down to Mexico to tackle a story which became a media circus and remains one of the most controversial cases in the history of the country.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulette_Gebara_Farah
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/04/01/mexico.dead.girl/
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/11/world/la-fg-mexico-paulette11-2010apr11
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-shocked-by-discovery-of-girls-body/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/62rvs3/who_murdered_4_year_old_paulette_gebara_found/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be in attendance at PodernLove, a podcasting convention being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans from August 10-12. In order to receive a 10 % discount on tickets to the event, please visit their website and use our personalized promo code, “Robert Stack”.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 27, 1994. Tacoma, Washington. 25-year old Michael Johnston and 19-year old Rochelle Robinson leave a get-together at a friend’s house. Later that morning, Michael is found shot to death outside Rochelle’s vehicle with his throat slashed. Rochelle is soon found stabbed to death on a remote road with her own throat slashed. Even though Michael was married, it turned out the two victims had been carrying on a secret affair. While police are inclined to think the killer was an unidentified stalker who was targeting Rochelle, a psychic expresses her belief that the murders are connected to Michael’s alleged involvement with black magic and the occult.
September 8, 1984. San Francisco, California. 17-year old Kurt McFall leaves his home to spend the night with Gabriel “Caradoc” Carrillo, a friend who runs a group which teaches Paganism. Kurt never returns home and two days later, his body is discovered on a remote beach beneath a cliff. According to Caradoc, Kurt had left his apartment in the middle of the night to go swimming and the police believe that Kurt’s death was the result of an accidental fall off the cliff. However, when Kurt’s father hears allegations that Caradoc’s group functioned like a Satanic cult and Kurt was trying to escape from them, he starts to believe his son was the victim of foul play.
This week, we will be presenting a special double feature episode of “The Trail Went Cold” about two “Unsolved Mysteries” cases which contained moral panics about Satanism and the occult. Special thanks to listener Austina Cronk for providing the opening narration on today’s episode.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/michael-johnston-rochelle-robinson/
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940628&slug=1917909
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19951208&slug=2156699
https://unsolved.com/gallery/kurt-mcfall/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Kurt_McFall
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be in attendance at PodernLove, a podcasting convention being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans from August 10-12. In order to receive a 10 % discount on tickets to the event, please visit their website and use our personalized promo code, “Robert Stack”.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 13, 1997. Gillette, Wyoming. 14-year old Amanda Gallion leaves her home for school, but never arrives and is reported missing. Suspicion turns towards Amanda’s 20-year old boyfriend, Patrick Ghering, who denies any knowledge of her disappearance. Six days later, Patrick goes missing himself after his abandoned vehicle is discovered by the side of the road. Over the next several years, Amanda would be looked at as a potential victim of notorious child predator, Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, and spark controversy when a jailhouse snitch attempts to pin her disappearance on another convicted murder. However, the leads never pan out, and no trace of Amanda or Patrick is ever found. Are their disappearances connected, or did they both go missing under entirely different circumstances? We explore all the different angles of this baffling story on this week’s edition of “The Trail Went Cold”.
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/amanda-dawn-gallion
http://charleyproject.org/case/patrick-lee-ghering
http://www.ktiv.com/story/12184850/strahl-pleads-guilty-to-lesser-charge-in-1998-beating-death
“Eat the Evidence: A Journey Through the Dark Boroughs of a Pedophilic Cannibal’s Mind” by John C. Espy
“The Trail Went Cold” is now on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be in attendance at PodernLove, a podcasting convention being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans from August 10-12. In order to receive a 10 % discount on tickets to the event, please visit their website and use our personalized promo code, “Robert Stack”.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

January 4, 1991. Lake Havasu City, Arizona. 42-year old audio designer John Iverson disappears from his home after a meeting with a machinist named Jack Weber. According to Iverson’s spouse, Kathy Munro, Weber had robbed her at gunpoint before kidnapping Iverson. After being a wanted fugitive for three months, Weber turns himself in, but there is no sign of Iverson. Weber claims Munro’s story isn’t true and that Iverson left with him voluntarily before staging his own disappearance and framing him for kidnapping. Since there is no evidence of foul play, the charges against Weber are dropped, but Iverson is never found. Did Jack Weber kidnap and murder John Iverson? Or was his disappearance actually an elaborate set-up? We explore both scenarios on this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, which chronicles what might be the oddest missing persons case we’ve ever covered.
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/john-gordon-iverson
“The Strange Life and the Bizarre Disappearance of John Iverson” (The Absolute Sound – The High End Journal, June-July 1994)
“The Trail Went Cold” is now on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be in attendance at PodernLove, a podcasting convention being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans from August 10-12. In order to receive a 10 % discount on tickets to the event, please visit their website and use our personalized promo code, “Robert Stack”.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

November 19, 1985. Dawson County, Montana. After leaving his son’s farm in Oregon the previous day to take a lengthy road trip back to his home in Wisconsin, 67-year old Dexter Stefonek disappears and his burning car is discovered at an isolated rest area. Only a half hour earlier, a witness had seen an unidentified man driving Dexter’s car into the rest area and he appeared to be carrying two containers of gasoline. Three-and-a-half months later, Dexter’s body is discovered at a remote dumpsite and it turns out he has been beaten and shot twice in the head. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine the baffling, senseless unsolved murder of Dexter Stefonek, whose killer remains unidentified.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/dexter-stefonek/
http://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/long-ago-bad-route-rest-stop-murder-still-puzzles-dawson/article_a8136b42-7109-5695-be17-0181840a0e53.html
http://billingsgazette.com/dexter-stefonek/article_39f130e6-2d24-58bb-9ccb-26980c2b64f2.html
“The Trail Went Cold” is now on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be in attendance at PodernLove, a podcasting convention being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans from August 10-12. In order to receive a 10 % discount on tickets to the event, please visit their website and use our personalized promo code, “Robert Stack”.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.