Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio.
We're going to start with a little peak behind the scenes of Criminalia. If you're a longtime listener, you may have noticed that there are some stories we keep off limits. For example, we don't typically talk about crimes against kids. We also try to talk about crimes that haven't been splashed all over modern media. I mean, you know those crime stories that you know all the details from. With that said, this episode doesn't make sense if you look
at it through those guidelines. This episode is about the legacy of Third Greater Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and killed near her home. Her long unresolved case is a very important one in United States history, even though it's only a few decades old. Also, there's an obvious warning with this one that it involves violence against a child, so please feel free to skip over it if that's not something you're comfortable hearing about. Now, welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarki.
And I'm Holly Frye. Amber had long brown hair and freckles. She liked playing with her Barbie dolls, and she was a devoted girl Scout. She was born on November twenty fifth, nineteen eighty six, to Donna Williams and Richard Hagerman in Arlington, Texas. But on the afternoon of January thirteenth, nineteen ninety six, everything changed. Amber age nine, was abducted while riding her pink bicycle in an abandoned wind Dixie parking lot on East Abram Street in Arlington, just two tenths of a
mile from her grandparents' house. The suspect, still unknown, is believed to have waited until Amber's five year old brother, Ricky, had left on his bike. The kids had been told to only ride their bikes around the block, but instead Amber wanted to try a bike ramp that she saw in the nearby parking lot, and so she went to try it out and Ricky went back home. It only took eight minutes for Amber to disappear.
Amber's bicycle was recovered from the parking lot, but Amber wasn't found until just around midnight, four days after her abduction, when an apartment security guard discovered her body face down in a creek bed behind the Forest Hill Apartments, only about four miles from the parking lot where she had been taken. The Terrant County Medical Examiner's office ruled her death a homicide and stated the cause was quote cut
wounds to the throat. But to add more complicit to this scene, there had been a fierce storm during Amber's disappearance, and the creek she was found in had risen rapidly. Authorities considered that her body had quote moved there during the rainstorm. They also worried the water washed away any potential evidence as to who her killer could be.
A seventy eight year old United States Navy veteran and former sheriff's deputy named Jimmy Kevel witnessed the abduction. As far as anyone knows, he was the only witness. He lived just down the street, and he was working on his car when he saw the kidnapping through the chain link fence that separated his backyard from the rear of the Strip Mall where the wind Dixie parking lot was located.
He recalled the experience to CBS Dallas Fort Worth in twenty sixteen, saying, quote, a man pulled up, jumped out and grabbed her when she screamed. I figured the police ought to know about it, so I called them. He told the police that as he hurried back into his house to call nine one one, he saw the kidnapper pull out of the parking lot and head west on
Abram Street. According to Arlington Police detective Grant Gilden quote, he described the suspect carrying Amber as she kicked and screamed to his truck, putting her inside the driver's side door.
Based on Jimmy's eyewitness account and evidence they were able to collect, police believe the suspect was or is a white or Hispanic male in their twenties to thirties, shorter than six feet tall, with a medium build, and with brown or black hair. Now it's important to consider those ages are from nineteen ninety six. Kevil described the vehicle as well. He saw a nineteen eighties or nineteen nineties solid black, full size pickup truck with no chrome or striping.
It was a single cab and had a short wheelbase. Its rear window was clear and did not not slide, and in general he was pretty confident that the truck was in good condition and had no visible damage, but he wasn't sure of the model or the license plate.
Okay, if you are thinking that eyewitness accounts are unreliable, You're not alone. Human memory is faulty, and it is easy to misremember things or to only remember small pieces of an event that you've witnessed. The science of memory is something that researchers are still constantly examining and learning more about, and there are a lot of instances where convictions based solely on eyewitness testimony have been overturned after being found to have been erroneous. But that doesn't mean
all eyewitness testimony is useless. In the twenty eighteen book Psychology of Learning and Motivation, researchers Scott D. Gronlind and Aaron S. Benjamin note that dismissing the use of eyewitness evidence isn't really the best way to look at it, and that a reframing of how eyewitness accounts are used
might offer a better result. They state that quote, A broader view of eyewitness cognition includes both memory judgments, for example, the selection of an individual from a lineup, and an accompanying metacognitive context, for example, the level of confidence that an eyewitness places in that selection. When these components are considered jointly, eyewitness evidence is highly reliable and can be treated like any other source of evidence in the courtroom,
valuable when appropriately a sayed, but prone to contamination. So all of this is to say, if you eyewitness an event, even if you have just a tiny detail that might help, that's the kind of thing that should absolutely be shared with authorities. They then vet that information.
We're going to take a break for a word from our spot. When we're back, we'll talk about how after more than twenty five years, investigators are still asking the public for information.
Welcome back to crimin Ilia. Let's talk about the task force still investigating this case and they're renewed hope for closure that modern DNA technology may offer.
More than fifty police officers and FBI agents made up the original task force created to investigate Amber's kidnapping and murder. Sergeant Ben Lopez, a rookie back then, was on that team. According to Lopez, the still unsolved case has generated more than seven thousand leads over the years. All were investigated with the help of the Terrant County Sheriff's office and
the FBI, but there is still no suspect. Authorities held a press conference on the twenty fifth anniversary of Amber's death in twenty twenty one to put the case back in the public consciousness. During that news conference, Lopez stated, quote, all this time, we've only had one witness. He continued, that's why we're pleading if there's anyone out there that has information, even if they think it's just a small bit of information, it may be the lead we need
to break this of the crime. He has since stated that it has quote stayed with me ever since end quote is personal to me.
Police believe there may be more witnesses to the abduction, such as someone from the laundromat that was next to the wind Dixie, but that perhaps they were or even still are too afraid to come forward. Additionally, investigators believe Amber was alive for at least two of the four days she was missing, and they believe someone must have seen something during those two days. During the twenty fifth anniversary press conference, Arlington Detective Guilden stated, quote, our hope
is that someone in the community saw something. Maybe they didn't come forward then out of fear or not wanting to get involved, whatever reason. We need folks to search their minds and bring forward anything that may add value to our investigation.
Coinciding with the twenty fifth anniversary of this tragedy, police ask for the public's help in the case and have offered a ten thousand dollars reward for information leading to an arrest. They also established a special tip line. For the first time, they released photos taken after Amber's body was found, hoping someone may remember something and come forward.
In twenty twenty one, investigators also disclosed that analysis by FBI laboratories has yet to lead to a full DNA profile, but there's hope that advances in DNA technology, including genetic geniusology, can increase their odds of finding the long unidentified suspect. Detective Grant Gilden though consistently declined to say what physical evidence the department has in the case, stating just that it was information only Amber's killer would be aware of.
Also on the twenty fifth anniversary of Amber's death, her mother stated to the press, quote, I implore the media and public to ensure the focus remains on finding the killer and bringing him to justice. I miss her every day. I want to know why her. She was just a little girl. And then, directly addressing her daughter's killer, she said, quote, please turn yourself in.
We are going to take a break for a word from our sponsors. When we return, we'll talk about the public emergency alert system inspired by Amber's kidnapping and murder.
Welcome back to Criminalia in nineteen ninety six, There was really no way to get this type of emergency information out to the mass public in any timely fashion. What you might not know about Amber's story, and this was a primary reason that we chose this story for this episode, is that her tragedy inspired the creation of a nationwide emergency alert system for law enforcement to quickly notify the public about missing and abducted children. These are Amber Alerts,
officially called America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response. An Amber alert includes the basics, the name and description of the abductee, a description of the suspected abductor if they have it, and a description and license plate number of the doctor's vehicle, if available.
Amber's story changed the way the country handles child abductions. The Amber Alert system is her namesake, and it's her legacy, and it happened because Amber's kidnapping and killing inspired her own Arlington community to take action. It all began when a local resident named Diane Simone, who heard about Amber's abduction on the evening news. Wanted to help in the search for the killer, but wasn't sure how or what
to do. Like other Arlington locals, she wanted to help keep the case alive and moving forward, but felt frustrated, so she called a local radio station. The self described quote ordinary woman and mother phoned a Dallas Fort Worth radio station with an idea to pitch to them. There are weather alerts and civil defense alerts, but why not alerts to help find abducted children?
And this idea, of course, took off. In fact, today you get these alerts even readily available on your smartphones. At first, in response to community concern, the Dallas Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law enforcement agencies in northern Texas to create this kind of system, and initially it was just radio stations that participated. Then in nineteen ninety nine, eight area television stations began issuing
the alerts in urgent bulletins. Next, at the direction of law enforcement, these alerts were sent to radio and television stations, the lottery, the Department of Transportation, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. An organization designed to send this type of information to a much wider audience, and that list of people who get the alerts is
even bigger now. According to the Department of Justice, the Amber Alert system is used in all fifty States, the District of Columbia, tribal communities, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, and similar child abduction emergency alert systems have also been created and adopted internationally in more than thirty countries.
In the United States, in nineteen ninety six, broadcasters and law enforcement first partnered to help find abducted children with these alerts. Two years later, an infant abducted by her babysitter became the first child to be safely returned home
because of an Amber alert. As of December sixth, twenty twenty four, one thousand, two hundred and twenty one children have been successfully recovered and one hundred and ninety five children have been rescued because of these alerts, alerts that were first thought of by that quote ordinary woman and mother.
Carly Tapp, Amber Alert's program specialist at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has stated it's likely that the number of recovered children is higher and that while most children in which an Amber alert has been issued are found, it's not always possible to determine if it was actually because.
Of the alert. Amber's case has remained unsolved for nearly thirty years, but investigators are trying to keep it alive. Detective Guilden, recall he was the lead investigator on the case, stated that quote, this is still an open, ongoing murder investigation. We want to solve it. We want to get answers for the family. He continued in that statement, quote, we
continue to have leads. A lot of people will refer to Amber's case as what's commonly referred to as a cold case, but for the Arlington Police Department, it has never been listed as a cold case because we've never gone one hundred and eighty days without having some lead come in. What investigators want people to know is that it's not too late. It's not too late to share information, and it's not too late to hope for this case to be solved.
The Arlington Police Department as recently as twenty twenty four stated to CBS News Texas that they quote remained dedicated to finding her murderer and providing her family with the justice. They deserve. The phone number to that special tip line dedicated to Ember's case remains active today. Tipsters can call eight one seven five seven five eight eight two three.
Oh, this is the heavy one.
There are reasons why there are certain things we don't talk about, right, this is a big one to get through.
But would you like to step inside the cooler?
Yes?
Please? Okay, this one's tricky. They're all tricky talking about unsolved cases, but this one's extra tricky because it does involve a child. For that reason, one of the things they were doing is a reversal we've done before. We're doing the mocktail first as something that a kid could drink.
Totally makes sense.
And I also just want to be very careful about it because the first thought I had to reference this drink is her bicycle. But that doesn't feel like a thing I want to use for the name of the drink, because that just feels a little bit ghoulish. The colors, though, are going to reference it in a subtle way, but the drink itself is going to be called nineteen ninety six. And the reason why is that I like probably you in research and probably our listeners. The whole time I
was looking at this story. I was like, really, was it just nineteen ninety six? Did I hear? How did I? How do I vaguely feel like I have memories of having heard this before. I didn't, but it's been so pervasive that it feels more long term.
I would have guessed, honestly, I would have guessed eighties.
Yeah. So it's it's called a nineteen ninety six and it's a very simple drink. You can make it in the glass. Like I said, we're going to do the mocktail first. It's a very yummy sip As a mocktail, it is a little on the sweeter side because it's
made for kids. And the idea is, you know, as we've done with a number of drinks during this season, we want to think of the alternate world where this didn't happen, and where Amber got to have a wonderful visit with your grandparents and maybe drink something a little extra sweet and delicious that she probably wouldn't normally get. So this is one where you're gonna put before you put any ice in your glass. And I would recommend a highball glass or something similar basically, or like a
Collin's glass. You want something that is like a tall, narrow cylinder more than like a rocks glass or a short, wide cup. And that's just because we're making stripes and you want to be able to see him a little bit. So first you're gonna put in an ounce of raspberry syrup and you're just gonna pour that directly in your glass. Then put your ice in, because we're doing ripeing. Remember it goes from heaviest ingredient to lightest because that's how they will sit on top of each other and not
just blend altogether. So the syrup goes in, the ice goes in. Then you are going to carefully pour in two ounces of cream soda. I did these one ounce at a time from my jigger, just to try to see how it was going to go. They will mix a little bit the syrup in this, but you're still going to get a base of that brighter red or like a deeper, you know, kind of Maroni red. And then on top of that, you're gonna put two ounces of hibiscus tea and you're just gonna float it on top.
I would not add any sweetener to that for two reasons. One, this is already a sweet drink to have syrup on the base and then a sweet soda in the middle, and then the hibiscus tea can just sit on its own. But also if you add sugar to it, if you add a sweetener of any kind, you're going to change the weight of it and it won't float as easily. The way it works now, it floats really easy because it's like sugar sugar water essentially, right, like a tea does not have all of the stuff, and that is
literally it. You're gonna serve it like that with a beautiful straw in it, make it a red and white stripe. If you want to drink it, you'll swizzle it first and mix it all together, but for presentation it starts out with stripes. The cocktail version is also super easy. It's the same exact method, but you're gonna start with an ounce of a raspberry liqueur in your base, put in your ice. You'll still do your cream soda, and then instead of hibiscus tea, you're gonna do high biscus
infused vodka in this one. And that's just easy. It's your same two ounces. So it is a little bit of a heavy hitter in terms of alcohol content. But I do want to say this one works a little differently than some others we've done. You're not gonna make a full cup of tea. You are litter a full cup of vodka. Like normally I would say, get your four to six ounces of vodka put in your tea bag, blah blah. You're going to put your tea bag in a small receptacle and only put two ounces of vodka
in with it and let it sit. I mean, mine infused for ten minutes maybe less, and it got very bright red and was very beautiful and a lot of hibiscus flavor. So it's a very concentrated one, but it just makes those gradations of color a little more prominent
and a little prettier. That's all same deal. You're going to want to mix it all together before you drink it, but for presentation, it has a beautiful striated striping of a deep reddish brown most raspberry liqueurs, the very pale gold of the cream soda, and then the bright red
of the hibiscus, and it's quite pretty. And hopefully as you drink this you will consider just how recent some things that we think of as having been around forever are I mean I was alive then, I had already met my husband then.
But I also like in the story that there's this thing now after her terrible tragedy that can help us with cold cases.
Yes, I mean, we're it's a very hopeful thing right.
Yes.
In addition to just it it establishing a hopeful methodology for sharing information and getting kids back to where they need to be and back to safety, which is wonderful. It's also really nice to know that new technologies are being not only developed but also applied to some of these cases where absolutely, again, this isn't that old of a case, as her mom said, like that family still needs closure and they still want to feel like everything possible was done to solve the crime, to bring the
person who did it to justice. Like I'm sure they know nothing is going to bring their child back, but the closure still feels. Yeah, but you still need closure for something like that. So that is the nineteen ninety six. I hope that you have enjoyed as much as one can enjoy such a sad story, spending this time with us. I hope you enjoy this drink if you make it, whether you make it for littles. You're making it for kids, don't tell them what the inspiration is. Call it anything else.
Call it pink bubble juice. I don't care. Don't ruin a child's sense of safety and security. If you don't have to with.
A cotton candy on top, that's a very kid there.
If you want to just call it pink bubble juice for yourself, or whatever else you want to call it. We're in a time when we need to protect our joy and our mental health as much as possible, where we can still know in our hearts that we're honoring the story of someone who has ultimately led to you a lot of good in their unfortunate tragedy. But we will be right back here next week where we're going to wrap up this season on Cold Cases. That means you're gonna get our top three stories and our top
three cocktails of the season. Top three stories with honorable mentions. It's a fuzzy it's a fuzzy one and Top three stories is going to be hard for this one because we don't really love any of these, but we'll do our best. We'll see what happens, so there will be a lot of fun talk next week and we hope you will join us here on Criminalia. Criminalia is a
production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.