For years, some law enforcement agencies have replaced the faces of traditional playing card decks with images of missing and murdered people and distributed those cards in prisons hoping inmates would come forward with information needed to crack these cold cases wide open.
Now, audiochuck is dealing you in.
Each week, we will be working with investigators and family members to bring you the details of some of the coldest cases from around the country in hopes that someone listening can finally bring these victims the justice they deserve.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Our card this week is Shelby Wright, the 2 of Clubs from Washington. In the Summer of 2004, Shelby Wright, along with his computer, disappeared, never to be seen again. Over two decades later, Shelby’s grandparents and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office are still looking for answers. If you have any information about the disappearance of Shelby Wright in Snohomish County, Washington, please call (425) 388-3845 or submit an anonymous tip by visiting this link. View source material and photos f...
Our card this week is Susie Timmons, the 9 of Diamonds from New York. In the summer of 1982, Susie Timmons was discovered stabbed and beaten in a vacant lot north of downtown Rochester, NY. Investigators have spent nearly four decades trying to solve her murder. If you have information about the murder of Susie Timmons on July 29th, 1982, in Rochester, NY, please call the Rochester Police Department’s major crimes unit at 585-428-7157 or email them at MajorCrimes@CityOfRochester.gov . You can al...
This episode delves into the 2008 unsolved murder of Darnell Smith, a promising young man whose life ended violently despite no criminal ties. Investigators faced challenges due to the prevalence of gang violence and a "stop snitching" culture in the community, hindering witness cooperation. Over a decade later, new leads, including the discovery of a dark SUV matching witness descriptions and Detective Barr's dedicated re-investigation, offer renewed hope for justice for Darnell's grieving family.
Our card this week is Robert Mitchell Jr., the 8 of Clubs from New York. When the body of Robert Mitchell Jr., a “gentle giant” and towering presence in Rochester’s bar scene, is discovered burning in a public park, detectives don’t know what to think. As rumors swirl and leads dry up, the case grows cold… until a witness comes forward with details so specific, only someone close to the crime could know them. Now, nearly a decade later, investigators believe they know who killed Robert… But prov...
Our card this week is Jerene Matta, the Queen of Spades from Washington. During the Yakima Police Department’s annual Christmas party, the news of 62-year-old Jerene’s murder shocked every officer and their plus ones. Jerene’s house was known for its security cameras – there were so many that you basically couldn’t enter the property without being filmed. Why was Jerene targeted? And who was she watching on her cameras? Or maybe the better question is, was someone watching Jerene? If you have in...
This episode delves into the 2006 unsolved murder of Ron Harnish, a Navy sailor shot in San Diego's Golden Hill neighborhood. Initial investigations pointed to the Lomas gang, with a key person of interest, Rich, identified through witness accounts and graffiti. Despite Ron's mother's relentless efforts, including securing a Governor's reward, and a cold case review, the case has faced significant challenges due to a lack of physical evidence and witness cooperation. Detective Barr is now re-examining evidence with new forensic technology and re-interviewing witnesses, maintaining hope for justice.
Our card this week is Jaklyn Baccoli, the 5 of Clubs from New York. When demolition workers entered a vacant home in Rochester, New York, they expected asbestos—not a crime scene. But hidden inside was the body of 44-year-old Jaklyn Baccoli, a woman whose final moments were marked by unimaginable violence. As detectives dug into her life and the days leading up to her death, they uncovered a tangled web of addiction, survival, and street rumors—and a potential suspect with a story full of holes....
Our card this week is Valaine Briggs, the Ace of Spades from Utah. When 19-year-old Valaine left her Salt Lake City apartment and walked to class one spring morning in 1977, her carefully planned future was full of promise. And though she was in a time of transition and had recently ended an engagement, Valaine knew even this temporary disappointment just brought her closer to the life she dreamed of…a life full of family and rooted in faith…a life her ex-fiancé couldn’t give her. What Valaine d...
Our card this week is Andrew Moore, the 6 of Clubs from California. This week marks the 25th anniversary of Andrew “Andy” Moore's murder. 26-year-old Andy was killed in September 2000 while sleeping in his San Diego, California, apartment. The scene left behind was confounding to detectives; the weapons are missing, odd items displaced but not taken, and the one thing "stolen" from Andy shows up not too far away from the crime scene a month later. So what was the motive? Who would want to kill t...
Our card this week is Patricia Allen, the Queen of Hearts from Washington. On October 3, 1995, Patricia Allen was asleep on her couch when she was stabbed once so precisely that it nearly cut her heart in half. So begins one of the most mysterious homicide cases out of Yakima, Washington. With no shortage of suspects – including a woman who some believe wanted to become Patty – this case is truly stranger than fiction. Or, if you have any information at all about the October 3, 1995, murder of P...
Our card this week is Jodine Serrin, the 7 of Diamonds from California. In 1995, Marisa Patti met David Mabrito on the beach in Oceanside, California – it was love at first sight. Twenty-three years later, he would be found responsible for the brutal murder and desecration of 39-year-old Jodine Serrin in her own bedroom. In the wake of the solve, Marisa and her son were left on their own to figure out how this man they loved, trusted, and built a life with could have committed such an unthinkabl...
Our card this week is Maria “Mary Faye” Mendez, the Wild Card from Texas. Maria “Mary Faye” Mendez walked out of the duplex she shared with her family in Odessa, Texas, on Aug. 2, 1985, and seemingly vanished without a trace. Her sister-in-law watched Mary head in the direction of a local bar after fighting with her husband, who they knew as Arnuldo Mendez. Mary had asked her sister-in-law to watch her 5-year-old daughter, Virginia, while she went out, but she never came home. For nearly 40 year...
Our card this week is Lawrence Riegel, the 5 of Spades from Washington. When Lawrence was reported missing on January 10th, 2010, he didn’t exactly vanish without a trace. Between mysterious phone records and strange theories from a recluse who lived in an isolated trailer park , police had a good idea what his last movements were and with whom he interreacted – and specifically, they honed in on two people who seemed very suspicious in the wake of his disappearance. But they need more than susp...
Our card this week is Gregory Fickess, the Jack of Diamonds from New York. On a summer night in 1993, 19-year-old Gregory Fickess had just gotten out of his car in downtown Rochester when he was jumped in a seemingly unprovoked, fatal act of violence. A case with no motive and few cooperating witnesses is tough to get very far. But when detectives find out that one of the few cooperating witnesses they did have dies… suddenly… and under strange circumstances… it seems like one more sign that the...
Our card this week is Jonathan Garcia-Valladares, the 7 of Diamonds from Arizona. Being a 13-year-old kid can be tough, to say the least. But it seemed as if Jonathan Garcia-Valladares had it figured out. He was an overachieving student. He was a chess player. And on a crisp fall day in 2010, Jonathan was trying to get in shape for the football team, a sport he’d just joined. But on that day, his short life would come to an end. In the 15 years since, law enforcement is still trying to uncover w...
Our card this week is Robert Gene Jones, the 10 of Diamonds from Louisiana. Robert was known as a quiet man who stayed out of trouble, so when he was found shot to death in his home one morning in the winter of 2002, police were initially stumped when it came to both motive and culprit. That might’ve been because Robert was never the intended target in what’s now become a mystery that investigators hope one of you may hold the key to solving. If you or anyone you know has information that can he...
Maurice – or Melissa, as they sometimes introduced themselves – was 22 when they were shot and killed in Phoenix, Arizona. They were just starting to build a name for themselves as a performer, making it to the regional final for American Idol and acting in dozens of local productions, including The Wiz, Westside Story, and Alice in Wonderland. But the curtain fell too soon… According to friends and family, gender identity was fluid for Maurice. They sometimes presented as femme and went by Meli...
Our card this week is Roger "Unkle Rog" McCall, the 2 of Spades from New York. If you lived in the Rochester area back in the day, you might recognize the smooth voice of “Unkle Rog.” As a late-night radio host and DJ at WCMF for almost 30 years, perhaps he kept you company past midnight, maybe helped you stay awake during a third shift. By 52, Roger had already survived a terminal cancer diagnosis, only to be gunned down on December 12th, 2003, in what, at first, seemed to be a random act of vi...
Our card this week is Blanca Acevedo, the 7 of Clubs from Arizona. In June 2010, 50-year-old Blanca Acevedo was navigating a life of quiet chaos when she was found murdered in a building set aflame. The brutal case of overkill quickly went cold for the detectives on the case… But could a letter found on Blanca’s bedside table have held the key to finding her killer all along? It’s one of several clues new investigators are chasing down to solve this 15-year-old murder. If you have any informatio...
Our card this week is Luther Meshell, the 9 of Hearts from Louisiana. On a mild spring night in 1991, Luther’s teenage son found him lying dead on his bedroom floor next to his overturned wheelchair and a knife. With a locked door and no signs of forced entry, police believe his killer could have been someone he knew and trusted… but when they zoom out, investigators notice a series of other crimes with eerie similarities… and they begin to consider whether a serial killer could be to blame. Any...
Our card this week is Carmen "CJ" DeLuca, the Wild Card from Connecticut. When a man stopped to get gas in the middle of the night in 1985, he had no idea he was walking into the scene of a murder. The 23-year-old gas station attendant, Carmen “CJ” DeLuca, had been shot to death for seemingly no reason. But with no witnesses and no clear motive, police had no idea who killed him. He was a good guy with no known enemies, engaged to the love of his life, and planning a wedding that would never hap...
Our cards this week are Michael Adams, Lachelle Powell, Michael Royal, and Jennifer Leasure, the 9, 10, Jack, and Queen of Hearts from New York. In the dead of winter, a fire consumed a home in Rochester, New York — but what firefighters discovered inside wasn’t an accident. Four bodies, bound, shot, and left in a scene so brutal it stunned even experienced detectives. Nearly a decade later, with no arrests and few answers, the question still haunts everyone left behind: Who could commit such a ...
Our card this week is Sharon Glover, the 6 of Spades from Louisiana. Early on November 14, 1993, just two weeks before Thanksgiving, Sharon Glover was found viciously stabbed to death on a rural backroad in northwest Louisiana. Rumors led Sharon’s family to believe the killer was someone close to them. But detectives are now releasing new information in this case for the first time, and they believe there’s been a different prime suspect lurking in the background of this investigation for decade...
Our card this week is George Jares, the 6 of Clubs from Wisconsin. From the outside, 43-year-old George was a family man: a former greeting card salesman turned restaurant owner who loved his kids, the outdoors, and working hard. But after George was shot three times and left for dead in his restaurant’s parking lot, details of his life began to emerge that painted a rather different picture... And the surprising twists that detectives uncovered led them to suspect that George had been targeted ...
Our card this week is Owachige Osceola, the 8 of Diamonds from Oklahoma. Recently divorced and living on her own in a new city, 27-year-old Owachige Osceola’s life was in a season of transition before she was killed in the bedroom of her Norman, Oklahoma apartment in September 2013. While the medical examiner who performed her autopsy concluded her cause and manner of death were “undetermined,” a detective who remains on the case today insists a killer has been allowed to walk free for nearly a ...
Our card this week is Sandra Ann Burris, the 5 of Spades from Louisiana. On a hot summer night in 2005, Sandra Burris and her best friend went clubbing in their small Louisiana town. The night started out like any other, but the friends went separate ways later in the evening, and sometime after that, Sandra vanished—and there’s been no trace of her since. As the 20th anniversary of Sandra’s disappearance approaches, her oldest daughter, Kelly Melancon, is still looking for answers. But it turns...
Our card this week is Marjorie "Christy" Luna, the 4 of Spades from Florida. From the outside, Greenacres seemed like a picture-perfect place to grow up, with a park, school, and corner store stocked with sugary sweets and arcade games all within walking distance. For Christy Luna and her friends, weekends were spent roaming the neighborhood and playing outside barefoot. But this storybook community had darkness lurking just under the surface, and it reared its ugly head one May night in 1984. M...
Our card this week is Lisa Staes, the Jack of Diamonds from Wisconsin. In the winter of 1976, Lisa Staes was trying to figure out what exactly she wanted to do with her life. Like so many 20-year-olds, she’d just moved out of her parents’ house and started classes at a community college. She was embracing her independence as a young adult. But no one ever got to see how Lisa’s life would unfold. Because that same year she disappeared. It took nearly two years for investigators to figure out that...
Our card this week is Donna Martin, the 8 of Hearts from Florida. Donna Martin was stabbed and killed in her own home in south Florida back in 1999. And police believed that the man who may have killed her was the very same man who had turned Boca Raton into a hunting ground. But police have been unable to pin Donna’s murder on him. That suspect even went to prison for other crimes, but now he’s a free man. And police believe solving Donna’s murder could help save other women in Florida. If you ...
Our card this week is Robert "Bob" Christian, the 4 of Spades from Wisconsin. In the Fall of 1977, Bob was just weeks into his freshman year at UW-Madison. He was a math whiz with a knack for computers and a big heart. At 18-years-old, there was no telling how far he’d go. But no one ever expected to be asking the question… Where did he go? Yet here we are almost half a century later, with that burning question and just a string of bizarre clues that leads many to believe an infamous serial kill...
