What Happened to Talina Zar unravels the chilling mystery of a woman who vanished during the COVID-19 lockdown, the internet sleuths who followed her trail , and the dark subcultures and interpersonal betrayals they unearthed.
In our season finale, five years have passed since Talina disappeared, but Jess continues to obsess over the details. Meanwhile, Talina’s family searches to define closure as a murder trial remains elusive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Uncovering an incident in Wisconsin from 2014 sends Jess chasing a new set of questions. But as COVID stretches into the fall of 2020, the official investigation slows to a standstill…until a momentous discovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New evidence is popping up all over town - all over Oklahoma, in fact. The police seem closer than ever to solving the case when a sudden death throws Jess - and the investigation - for a loop. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Talina’s family gets involved in the search from afar. Meanwhile, the non-stop investigation starts to take a toll on Jess. And the police turn up evidence that upends the whole timeline of events. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Weeks pass with no sign of Talina. Her friends, as well as the online sleuths and the local sheriff start to uncover strange clues—a burned mattress, a missing persons poster—all casting suspicion on Talina’s roommate, Kore. As the pressure builds, Kore shares her side of the story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jess discovers Talina Zar isn’t the missing Oklahoma woman’s real name, and the meaning of the moniker unlocks a door to a fantasy world ripped from the pages of 1970s pulp fiction — a fictional world where men reign and women serve and a real-life subculture where people try to live according to the principles in the books. Talina may have found her people in this fringe BDSM community, but was there something more sinister hiding among the kink? And did it have something to do with her disappe...
Jess and the sleuths connect with people who knew Talina Zar in real life. As the sleuths begin to formulate a picture of who Talina is, and what might have happened to her, they get the sense that not everyone is telling the truth. At the same time, local police begin their own parallel investigation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jess Trevino lived a quiet life of true crime fandom - until she stumbled upon Talina Zar’s cryptic Facebook post. Isolated because of COVID, Jess assembles an online team of amateur sleuths determined to find out where Talina went. As they get wrapped up in the lives of total strangers, the sleuths discover that the question of What Happened to Talina Zar ? has no easy answers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s April 2020 and the world is locked down. In Oklahoma, a woman named Talina Zar posts a chilling message on Facebook: she’s sick with COVID and heading to a remote lake, alone — to recover, or to die. Then, she vanishes. As days turn into weeks, strangers online — true crime obsessives with time to kill and nowhere to go — begin digging into her disappearance. What they uncover is something far stranger, and far more disturbing, than they could’ve ever imagined.. In Season Three of What Happ...
Libby Caswell is unable to share her experience of domestic violence in her own words. In this bonus episode, four anonymous women tell their stories of domestic abuse- the details they remember, the ones they wish they could forget, and how they eventually got out. If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call the National Domestic Abuse Hotline for help at 1-800-799-7233. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
The nuisance law in Independence, Missouri played a pivotal role in Libby's story. In this bonus episode, hear Melissa's extended conversation with Sandra Park, former ACLU lawyer and current head of the Civil Rights Bureau of the NY State Attorney General’s Office, as they discuss what nuisance laws are, how they're often misused and what's being done about them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Go behind the scenes on the making of What Happened to Libby Caswell. Host Melissa Jeltsen talks to fellow journalist and podcaster Emma Gray (MSNBC columnist, host of the Love To See It podcast, and co-author of the Rich Text Substack) about what drew Melissa to Libby's case, what she looks for when considering a new investigative project, why she focuses on stories about violence against women, and what she hopes both seasons of What Happened To tell us about how we, as a culture, view women's...
In the final episode, a new witness comes forward with details that raise tantalizing questions. Cindy becomes a national advocate for changes in how domestic violence is handled. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Family members defend Libby’s boyfriend and help shed light on his actions over the years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A forensic expert discovers evidence that upends the official narrative about Libby’s death and points to a coverup. Local police defend their work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Libby’s mom Cindy hires a private investigator to uncover new clues. Investigative journalist Melissa Jeltsen visits the motel for herself. And Libby’s friends open up about the last week of her life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We learn more about the secrets in Libby’s life that threatened to endanger it, and the tumultuous cycle that led Cindy to a difficult decision. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Investigative journalist Melissa Jeltsen explores Libby’s complicated relationship with her boyfriend and their interactions with police. And, a witness comes forward with a harrowing story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Libby’s boyfriend is interviewed by police. The medical examiner isn’t sure exactly how Libby died — but the police close the case as a suicide anyway. Libby’s mom, Cindy, questions the official report. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 2017, Libby Caswell was found dead in a motel room in Independence, Missouri with her boyfriend’s belt around her neck. Her grieving mom Cindy is left with more questions than answers. Award-winning investigative journalist Melissa Jeltsen digs into the circumstances surrounding Libby’s death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 2017, Libby Caswell was found dead in a motel room in Independence, Missouri. In Season Two of "What Happened To...", investigative journalist Melissa Jeltsen exposes the web of failures that left Libby vulnerable, and explores how her story fits into one of America’s most deadly epidemics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this bonus episode, Melissa talks with Laura Crimaldi — a reporter for The Boston Globe — who is covering a contemporary case with eerie similarities to Sandy Beal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Beal family is faced with a daunting task that threatens to divide them. Sandy’s final words are cast in a new light. If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text "STRENGTH" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sandy’s cousin Kim meets with a cold case detective who offers her something unexpected - and transformative. If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text "STRENGTH" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Beals' distrust of police leaves even the most basic facts about Sandy's case up for interpretation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sandy’s newly released police file reveals that she sought help from law enforcement months before her death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The exact nature of Sandy's relationships with local police officers comes under new scrutiny. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A journal entry sheds light on Sandy’s desires to be a police officer. When she suddenly dies, the homicide detective tasked with her case is inundated with strange phone calls. If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text "STRENGTH" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Unbeknownst to her parents, Sandy Beal was secretly dating a married state trooper at the time of her death. The letter she left him in her car leaves her family with more questions than answers. If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text "STRENGTH" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
For more than forty years, Kim Parmer has been haunted by the prospect that someone murdered her cousin, Sandy Beal, in 1977. Award-winning reporter Melissa Jeltsen investigates the mysterious death of a teenage girl in Prince George's County, Maryland. If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text "STRENGTH" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. The story that brought Kim to Melissa See omnystudio.com/listener f...
