The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin -Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski. And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your
host Ali. And I'm your co -host Eli. Welcome back everyone. Just a quick note here at the top. Thank you so much to everyone who's left us reviews, either on Apple Podcasts, in Spotify, like commenting on the episodes, or on our website, www .coldandmissing. We've seen so many come in this past few weeks, and it's been so helpful. So thank you so much for giving us those five stars. It helps others find these cases, and many times we're one of the few podcasts covering
the cases here. So thank you again for doing that. on behalf of all the cold and missing cases we do. Yeah, I will say while I don't go and read the comments and reviews, Ali does send some of the positive ones my way, especially when I'm at work or we've spent a few days apart because of work. And it's always such a joy to hear that the podcast is doing what we want it to do and that you all see that as well and that you're using your own platforms as amplification
for these cases. So thank you so much again. So if you have time today, leaving us a review can really help get these cases out there, but we will leave that alone for now and we will just get right into this week's case. That's right. We are in a missing person case this week and this is episode 145. Let's get into it. Let's do it. So just as a bit of a content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person and there are some brief mentions of sexual assault.
Today, We are talking about the missing person case of Danyel Sparpana, and this takes place in West Sacramento, California in November of 1985. But first, a little bit about Danyel. Danyel is three years old in 1985. She's living in West Sacramento, California with her mother, Cynthia. They have a cozy and clean home on the 1900 block of Manzanita Way. a quiet neighborhood where everyone knew everybody else. Danyel was born on June 23rd of 1982, so she was just
three years old before she disappeared. Danyel was small, about three foot tall and weighing around 40 pounds. She had curly blonde hair, a dimple on her chin, and a birthmark on her left knee. Her ears were pierced and she still sucked her thumb at this time. But what people remember most is how bright she was. Neighbors said Danyel could carry on a full conversation
with anyone who stopped by. If you passed their home, she might tell you about her swing or a new toy she was proud of, or she might ask you where you'd been and where you were going next. Even at three years old, she was described as curious, articulate, and full of life. Her mother is 27 -year -old Cynthia Sparpana. She was a stay -at -home mom. She was receiving social security due to back problems, but she was known in her neighborhood for keeping a tidy, cheerful
home. Inside of their house were signs of love and care. Cynthia had supplies laid out to make their own Christmas ornaments for the upcoming holiday season. And now, a timeline of events. Thursday, October 31st, 1985. That year, Halloween fell on a Thursday. It was also Cynthia's birthday, and she decided to celebrate with friends and neighbors a combined Halloween and birthday party at her home. People remembered laughter and music. For many of them, that evening would be the last
time they ever saw Cynthia alive. The following night, so this is Friday, November 1st, Cynthia spoke on the phone with her friend Sylvia around 9 p .m. The two chatted casually until Cynthia said she needed to go, but she promised to call Sylvia back later that night. However, Cynthia never calls. The next day, Saturday, November 2nd, Sylvia tried calling on Saturday morning and then later again that evening, but Cynthia
still didn't answer any of the calls. She tried several more times throughout the weekend, but the phone just rang and rang. Tim, reported seeing little Danyel playing in the front yard. He told police he had, quote, no doubt that it was her. Quote, she was playing with a ball and I waved at her. There's no doubt in my mind it was her. However, during this period, no one is able to get a hold of Cynthia. Her friends are calling, her family is calling, and still
the calls go unanswered. Again on Monday, November 4th, Another neighbor reported seeing Danyel. Neighbor Marie, who lived about 10 houses away, said, Danyel was standing in front of her house when I drove by about 3 p .m. on Monday. I believe it was her. So even though Cynthia wasn't answering her phone, several neighbors were certain they saw Danyel outside and alive over the weekend and into that Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, November 5th, Cynthia's father, Dennis Winger, Hadn't
heard from his daughter in several days. Concerned, he went to her house to check on her and his granddaughter. When he arrived, he saw that the front door was open. He called out for Cynthia and Danyel, but there was no answer. Dennis walked through each of the rooms calling for Cynthia and Danyel. The home was still clean. Nothing was really out of place. However, when Dennis enters the back bedroom, his daughter's bedroom, he finds Cynthia Sparpana. laying face
up in her bed, covered with a comforter. The bed was soaked with blood. She had been dead for at least two days. Dennis called police immediately. When investigators arrived, they confirmed that Cynthia had been deceased for some time, likely since the weekend. Because of her decomposition, they couldn't determine the cause of death at the scene. But one thing was immediately clear. Danyel was missing. Police began canvassing the neighborhood and talking with residents.
That's when they hear the stories of Danyel being seen outside of her house, the one from Marie and Tim. Others said that the last time they had seen little Danyel was on Halloween night when she was trick -or -treating. As search efforts ramped up, one possibility emerged. Based on what neighbors reported, police believe that it could be possible that Danyel could have been alive in the home for two, maybe even three
days after her mother's death. A sheriff's spokesperson says, quote, It's bizarre, but the possibility exists that the little girl lived in the house while her mother was dead. She was a bright little girl, able to feed herself. You can speculate a million ways. Maybe she went into shock and didn't realize her mother was dead. Or maybe she got tired of waiting and walked away. Police were hopeful due to these sightings of Danyel.
If neighbors had really seen her on Sunday and Monday, there was a chance she was still alive. They searched the home for fingerprints looking for any sign of who might have been there. And then they began an intensive ground search for Danyel. Scent dogs are brought in and helicopters are launched. The search continues throughout that night, ending around 1 a .m. on Wednesday. During their canvassing, they talk to more neighbors.
Another neighbor reported hearing strange noises in the days before Cynthia's body was found. They heard barking dogs, gunshots, and the sound of a diesel truck idling outside of Cynthia's home. One woman said she saw a white man resembling Cynthia's ex -husband taking Danyel out of the home on Friday night. Cynthia's ex -husband, Ted, was a truck driver, and he also had a twin brother. But when police tracked down her ex -husband in Michigan, they ruled him out as a
suspect. Police say that he had been staying with his parents at the time of Cynthia's death and his parents confirmed his alibi. Cynthia's body is also sent for autopsy. The autopsy revealed that Cynthia had been beaten with a blunt object, strangled, and shot in the back of the head with a small caliber weapon. Investigators estimated she'd been dead for two to three days before
she was found. During the search of the home, police discovered that Cynthia's .22 caliber gun, which she had recently purchased for protection, was missing. Cynthia had been sexually assaulted in the past, and she bought a gun for protection in her home. In the days after Danyel was discovered missing, November 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and on, Police searched through gullies, the entire neighborhood, and open land. Volunteers also joined in the search effort, but no trace of Danyel was found
during that time. Police also discovered that her light blue nylon coat with white fur trim was missing from the home, along with the mother's gun. By late November, weeks after Danyel’s disappearance, police begin to question whether neighbors might have been mistaken about seeing Danyel after the murder. But officially, they continued to treat her as a missing child, hopeful she might still be alive. In December of 1985, a man named Lionel Ernest Tholmer emerged as
a possible person of interest. Police believe that Tholmer and Cynthia were acquaintances, but stressed that Tholmer was, quote, just another person we want to talk to. On December 12th, tholmer was arrested in connection to another murder. the killing of his ex -father -in -law, John Meadows. The Meadows murder happened two
days after Cynthia's body was found. While in custody, Thulmer initially refused to speak with investigators about Cynthia and Danyel, but just a week later, he allegedly confessed to a detective. He told detectives that John Meadows had been a child molester and that he had killed Cynthia and kidnapped Danyel. He claimed to have traded the little girl to meth dealers. Police said that Thalmar later recanted this confession, claiming that he had been coerced.
When questioned again, Thalmar said Meadows had lured him to a remote area to kill him, and then he shot Meadows in self -defense. After these initial interviews with police, Thalmar kind of falls out of media in regards to Cynthia and Danyel’s case, but he will come back around again, so I needed to mention him here. Police continued to search all over for Danyel, but found no trace of her. Over time, reports and
timelines shifted in the media. Some newspapers began listing Danyel’s disappearance date as November 2nd, putting her disappearance when her mother was murdered, while others still listed as November 5th, the day that her mother was discovered. In 1986, so this is about a year after the murders, Danyel’s photo appears in national missing children campaigns, even on
milk cartons. The FBI also joined in the search, and there were reported sightings of Danyel across the country, but none of these ended up panning out. Months began to turn into years. In 1988, investigators determined that Cynthia's killer had been left -handed, based on blood wound patterns at the crime scene. But this is really the only new clue they have in the case.
Then in November of 1989, so this is four years after the murder and when Danyel went missing, rumors surfaced that prosecutors were preparing to charge Lionel Tholmer with the murder of Cynthia Sparpana and the kidnapping and murder of Danyel. Eventually, THolmer is charged with both of their murders, and three years later, in 1992, he was convicted by a jury on both counts and sentenced to death. But there were some serious issues
with the case. There was no physical evidence linking Tholmer to Cynthia's murder or Danyel’s disappearance. Fingerprints and hair found near her body did not match Tholmer. Witnesses placed Tholmer elsewhere. And Tholmer is right -handed, and it was determined that the killer was left -handed. Still, the jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to death. Judge James Stevens overturned the death penalty, telling the court that there
were lingering doubts about the evidence. He noted that there was no clear motive and no testimony placing Tholmer at the scene. Kind of adding to this uncertainty was Lieutenant John Kane. He was a Sacramento police lieutenant who had inserted himself into both Cynthia and John Meadows' case despite not being officially assigned to either. Reports written by Kane were later found to contain inconsistencies and even fabrications.
He had been demoted in December 1985 for manufacturing evidence and writing false reports, the same month he claimed to have obtained Tholmer’s confession in John Meadows' murder. Despite those known credibility issues, Kane's testimony was central to Tholmer’s conviction. As of today, 2025, Lionel Tholmer remains in prison and continues to maintain his innocence in Cynthia and Danyel’s case. He has long maintained that he was pressured into confessing by Lieutenant Kane and other
officers. And through all of this, every appeal, every year that has passed, little Danyel Sparpana has never been found. And that is the real tragedy in all of this case, and that is truly all we know about her disappearance. So if you know anything about the disappearance of Danyel Sparpana in November of 1985 or her whereabouts today, please call the West Sacramento Police Department at 916 -375 -6474. So that is the
missing person case of Daneyl Sparpana. Before we get into it, I just wanted to comment that this case was kind of... Different from ones that we have covered prior because essentially here we have a murder and we have a suspect who is serving time for that murder. But with him continuing to say that he is innocent and with all of the details that came out at the end of this timeline, I'm curious as to why you've covered this. Yeah, typically, you know. This is always
unsolved crime. That's a big part of our mission. But with this case, with Danyel’s case specifically, we have never found her. We have never found a trace of her. So I do think that having answers with what happened to Danyel is really important because truly we've never really gotten them. And while I am not, you know, my passion is for... cold cases and missing people. It's not in wrongful convictions. There's a lot of experts out there doing amazing work in this field. So I am by
no means an expert. But a lot of things just seemed fishy to me around Tholmer’s confession and the fact that we just still do not really have any answers in what happened to Danyel. And what happened to her mother. I just thought that this would be an important case to bring to cold and missing and at least get people talking about Danyel and looking for her because she is still missing. Even though there is a conviction for her murder, we do not know what happened
to her. So she should she should come home. I couldn't agree more. And I'm so glad that you brought this case to cold and missing. The mother and daughter duo sounded like two peas in a pod. Like a small team of a family brimming with love and life and it's shocking to me that I didn't know this story. Cynthia sounded like a devoted and loving mother and Danyel sounded like just a warm little star that was just beginning to
glimmer to life. Completely. The mother and daughter duo in this, like their bond did seem so strong. And Cynthia seems like such an incredible mother. And Danyel seems like an incredible, intelligent child. That was one thing commented over and over again is how intelligent she seems. So yeah, the fact that these two were snatched from us is really unfair. Before we get into the timeline, I wanted to ask some questions about the eve
of the timeline. Do you think that there was someone possibly watching Cynthia and Danyel on the night of October 31st during Danyel’s birthday party? Judging by the way that she was murdered, it seemed personal and brutal to me. Someone that we just that we just don't know. Yeah. So this was actually Cynthia's birthday, not Danyel’s. And I do think that, you know,
a stalker is a possibility. I would be curious if police investigated that went down that road or if there was any evidence of that, because like an open house party is kind of. I don't want to say easy time to do it, but, you know, the lights are on. People are coming and going, having a good time, not paying attention, loud noises, loud people. So it'd be easy to just
kind of watch the coming and goings. But we do know that Cynthia is on the phone at least the next day to her friend Sylvia in the evening hours. So if they were watching on Halloween night, they didn't make a move that evening. So as we move into the following days after Cynthia is no longer picking up the phone, what do you make of the sightings of Danyel? Because it sounds like to me the neighbors were very sure
of seeing her. And this wasn't the time of, you know, you didn't have a cell phone where you could text like, oh, where they could confirm that they had seen her to someone else. But I'm
curious to you as I'm wondering if you. thought that those sightings were legitimate because i really did yeah you know the people seem so sure that they saw Danyel both of them spoke in several newspapers about how they were sure they saw the little girl outside playing um that they waved to her you know they interacted they waved to her so it's i would i would love to know the true answer to this Because I see it
on both ends. I see it on one. It's like you rack your brain and you're like, when did I last see this little girl that's missing so I could be helpful to the police? And maybe you pull a memory that happened that week, but it just happened maybe a little bit later than what they remembered. Or maybe they remember seeing her trick -or -treating, you know. It's really both ways, but it is very curious that two different people were very sure that they saw her on two
different days. I think that is of note and is kind of harder to explain away as maybe not real. Yeah, I think, and this isn't a great way to say it, but it's a double -edged sword situation. If Danyel was there, that means she was there while her mother... was dead. And if she wasn't actually there, it means she was disappeared and or kidnapped. So either way, it does not
look good. And I do have to say that Dennis, Cynthia's father, searching the home and finding his own daughter in this state is horrifying
and heartbreaking. And again, the thought that maybe Danyel was in there with her mother is it's just unimaginable and I think that's why I'm trying to edit out that she was seen because I think personally it makes me very uncomfortable to think about that reality yeah it's it's devastating to think about Danyel especially because she was so smart you think she'd have like some awareness of what was happening even if it was a limited
She would understand it was bad. It's heartbreaking to think about her feeding herself and taking care of herself while her mother is in a back room dead. However, that does make me wonder, since Danyel was so articulate and, you know, outgoing, talkative, I wonder if she had seen somebody, you know, I know one neighbor was in a car, so maybe she wouldn't have talked to her,
but like if she had seen a neighbor. Would she have mentioned something like, oh, my mom's been laying down for days, or, you know, there's a lot of blood, or would she have mentioned something? I do wonder about that, if she had an opportunity to. But yeah, I mean, I can't imagine Cynthia's father's, the way he felt, the panic of finding his own daughter, and then the sheer panic of
where's the granddaughter? You know, I would assume you think you're going to find another horrifying discovery, and then she's just not there, and that brings on its own. Horrifying discovery. So I really feel for the family in this case, a massive loss in this family immediately. I do want to circle back to some of the smaller details of what neighbors and canvassing brought about, which is. During the days or maybe on the eve of after finding Cynthia, there were
gunshots heard. There was the idling truck. There was the possibility of seeing Ted, who also has a twin brother. There's so many questions around those little details, and I just wanted to discuss them with you. Yeah, I would be really curious about the neighbor who says that she saw, you know, the ex -husband taking Danyel one evening. I think it was the Friday evening. So this would have been like the night that Cynthia was talking on the phone, but then she never called her friend
back. That was that Friday night. So that is also the night someone claims they saw the ex -husband taking Danyel out. I would be curious to know, like, if that neighbor had lived there a long time and, like, how long had Cynthia and Danyel lived there? Like, would she have been very familiar with what the ex -husband looked like? You know, would she have recognized him right away? That's just something I would be curious to know about that witness. But, you
know, we know her ex -husband is ruled out. Police rule him out. I assume that they had to have ruled out the twin brother as well. Since you see somebody who looks like him, you have to look at the other person who looks like him. However, no reports about, you know, if they ruled him out, how they ruled him out or anything like that on the twin brother. So that's a question I have, but I have to assume that was done. It just feels so obvious if it wasn't. The other
question that I have and. While it was only briefly mentioned, Cynthia was someone who in her recent past had experienced sexual assault. Now, I'm curious to know who that man was, who that man is, if anyone in her life knew who he was, if she even knew who he was. Because to me, it just came up as a red flag to me. While I know you might not be able to directly answer, I wondered if you also thought something about this person
as if maybe he was a possibility. Yeah. You know, Cynthia being sexually assaulted, it did seem to scare her. And, you know, she told friends that she was scared of this man. But I don't know who he is. It's not reported on. And I don't know if Cynthia knew him or it was just, you know, him. In general, that she was scared of. But I don't have answers there. But it is something that I wonder how far police got down that road. And were they able to rule it out? When, where,
why? And if not, that is definitely an avenue that if I was investigating, I would have gone down because she was scared. She was scared enough to buy a gun. So I think that's pretty telling. Yeah, I mean. Of course she was scared, and the purchase of a firearm to protect oneself after experiencing something like that is completely understandable to me. And the description of her gun, a .22 caliber, is a relatively small handgun, but it also matches the caliber bullet
wound that she had. Not identically, but it did say that it was... made from a small caliber weapon so I'm wondering if that gun was present and was used on her. I think that is the working theory that her own gun was used in her murder due to the small caliber but since they have not been able to find the murder weapon that has not been 100 % confirmed but I think that
is the working theory. I am grateful to know that law enforcement continued to treat Danyel’s case with the utmost respect and continued to treat her as a missing child because she was, she is. And a lot of the times, especially in cases we've covered, law enforcement has dropped the ball. And I don't think that that was the case here. Again, I'm very grateful to hear that they continued to search for her because more answers did come. Which brings us to Thulmer.
I think that Thulmer's confession sounded like he was scrambling for something, scrambling to make something up. It sounded like coercion to me. Lieutenant John Kane, the lieutenant that inserted himself into this case, sounded like an officer who did not do his job well, and he sounded like a liar to me. So I think it's very possible that this confession is made up and that the wrong person is serving time for this
crime. I think that's really what's so scary about this case is that, you know, in a murder trial, It's beyond a reasonable doubt, especially in a death sentence case. It should be beyond a reasonable doubt. And again, I am no legal expert. I am not an expert on false confessions or false convictions. But I think it speaks volumes that a judge in this case overturned the death
penalty. commuted it to life in prison without the possibility of parole he was already serving life in prison for the murder of john meadows but he has maintained his innocence with cynthia and Danyel’s case and ultimately we just like still don't have answers around what happened to Danyel throughout the entire court case there were no answers about what happened to her where her body is um nothing so i think getting answers with what happened to Danyel is a The
utmost importance. I've said it before on this podcast, but I'll say it again, that there is no excuse to not know what happened to a child. I think those are the most important cases that should be worked by police. Missing children should always have an answer. I think it's a shame that we don't have answers in Danyel’s case. Yeah, again, I think it. is worth mentioning that it's really important that you brought this case to us because it did involve a murder, Danyel’s
mother's murder. This case can become very gray because there's so much information. There is a full murder and a confession that can... That can allow this case to go in multiple directions. And again, like you said, it needs to keep being brought back to Danyel. What happened to Danyel? Where is she? If someone took her, who did it? And where are they? There are so many questions in this case that need to be answered. And I believe that it is absolutely possible that those
questions can be answered here. I agree. I think if we go back, you know, we don't. just have blinders on and, you know, try to find all the evidence that leads to Tholmer , if we just go back and really comb through this, yes, maybe it does lead back to Tholmer and he's been lying this whole time, right? Like, then at least we know beyond a reasonable doubt. So that's what I need, beyond a reasonable doubt. And I don't have it. And we don't know where Danyel is.
She is not resting in her final resting spot. So that is ultimately why this came to cold and missing, like I mentioned before. We need answers in Danyel’s case. So if you know anything about the disappearance of Danyel Sparpana in November of 1985 or her whereabouts today, please call the West Sacramento Police Department at 916 -375 -6474. We will have pictures of Danyel
on our Instagram again. With this case, we are focusing on Danyel, so we'll have a picture of Danyel and we'll also have an age progression to what she might look like in her late 20s, but she would be in her 40s today. So please keep that in mind. Please share it. Let's get Danyel’s face out there. Let's get her case out there. Let's get some energy behind it and try to get some answers on where she is because we don't know and we should know. So where is
Danyel? Let's find out. You or someone you love is hard of hearing. We do have transcripts of all of our episodes on www .coldandmissing .com. You can find them all there. Those are the correct spellings for everything. You'll notice Danyel’s name is spelled differently than the typical way you spell Danyel. So if you want to get that kind of spelling and correctness, then go over to the official transcripts as the automatic ones in most podcasts. Most podcast
players I do not have control over. And finally, like we mentioned at the top, if you could rate and review us, that would be amazing. It gets this case out there. It gets these other cases out there. It gives people some confidence in us and lets them give us a chance. So thank you if you've already done it. Thank you if you're going to do it. And thank you if you're thinking about it, because maybe one day you will. But that's all I have for you today. Thank you so
much for listening to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali . And I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.