Trace Evidence
by Steven Pacheco
Trace Evidence is a weekly true crime podcast that focuses on unsolved cases, from chilling murders to missing persons. Join host Steven Pacheco as he examines each case, diving deep into the evidence and exploring the theories which revolve around them. For each unsolved case, there are the victims and their families, who want answers and the abductors and murders who hide the truth.
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Copyright: Copyright Steven Pacheco
Episodes
213 - The Disappearance of Dori Ann Myers
1h 38m · PublishedListen to Donajean's interview on Unfound
On a cool Tuesday night in January of 2006, forty-three year old Dori Ann Myers left her Fort Pierce, FL home to play poker in a local tournament. Arriving late, she missed her chance to get a seat at the table and went off to spend the night elsewhere.
Dori then stopped in at the St. Lucie Inn where she was seen speaking with two unidentified men, allegedly US Marines who were injured while serving in Iraq. Known to have a soft spot for members of the military, Dori offered the men a place to stay for the night.
Six hours later, at 3am, neighbors on Dori’s street called 911 to report a house fire. They watched Dori’s car pulling out of her driveways moments before the blaze broke out. In the aftermath, investigators found Dori’s purse and phone left behind. They began theorizing that she had been forcibly abducted from the home.
Less than an hour later, they receive word of another fire. Dori’s car was found burning eighty miles away, left at a rural boat launch. While investigators began searching for the two Marines, others wondered if perhaps the entire story might just be a cover up designed to point detectives away from the real assailant.
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
212 - Who is Victim Number 5?
1h 27m · PublishedBetween 1990 and 1991, four unsolved homicides occurred in and around the city of St. Louis. Robyn Mihan, Brenda Pruitt, Sandy Little and Donna Reitmeyer had been murdered, kept for some period of time and then disposed of by an unknown predator referred to as the "Package Killer."
More than thirty years later, in the winter of 2022, DNA analysis of evidence found at one of the scene finally returned a hit. This led investigators to a 73 year old prison inmate serving life for a murder in 1993. After confronting the man with this evidence, Gary R. Muehlberg confessed to the four murders and gave investigators details about the crimes.
However, just when they thought they'd gotten all they needed from Muehlberg he dropped a surprise on them. He admitted to a fifth murder, one which he claimed occurred during the same time as the other. Muehlberg claimed to have murdered this woman and later to have left her body in a metal barrel at a local car wash.
Investigators were baffled, not because of the admission, but because they were not aware of any crime which fit the description. This has left many to wonder if Victim Number 5 truly exists or if the entire story is just a sick and twisted game being played by a serial killer who doesn't have much time left.
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
211 - The Disappearance of Diana Braungardt
1h 38m · PublishedEighteen year old Diana Braungardt was smart, funny, caring and popular. She performed well in school, worked a part time job and had just enrolled in modeling classes as high school graduation approached. Then, she vanished.
After finishing a shift at a local discount department store, Diana clocked out and stepped out into the parking lot. She never made it home and her parents found her car, still sitting in the lot. It appeared to investigators that the high school senior had been abducted before she'd made it to her car.
Over the years, a lot of different possibilities have been suggested.
From a personal assault from someone who knew Diana to a slew of serial killers who have been name dropped but never connected to the case. This year will mark thirty-six years since Diana vanished, far too long to go without answers.
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
2022 Wrap Up Q&A
1h 20m · PublishedIn this week's episode, we kick of a new year of Trace Evidence by taking a look back at 2022 and answering listener questions about the show, the cases, the host and everything in between! Let's kick off 2023 with a bang and keep the ball rolling. Thank you so much to everyone who submitted questions and continues to support the show. Trace Evidence could not exist without you!
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
210 - The Disappearance of Robert Baron
1h 14m · PublishedOn a cold winter morning in January of 2017, fifty-eight year old Robert Baron was reported missing from Old Forge, Pennsylvania. A lifelong resident and pillar of the community, Robert owned the highly popular pizza restaurant Ghigiarelli's which has been a borough fixture since the 1920's.
On the morning of Thursday, January 26th, Robert's son Bobby arrived at the restaurant to find the doors locked, llights off and his father gone. Bobby noted several items out of place and traces of blood inside. When police arrived on the scene they found substantial evidence that a violent crime had occurred inside the restaurant and that the assailant had tried to clean up afterwards.
Three days later, Robert's missing car was found abandoned in an area which had been previously searched. The vehicle was caked with mud and blood was found inside and out. What had initially appeared to investigators as a robbery gone wrong was slowly changing shape into something far more sinister.
Was Robert Baron the victim of a random crime or was he specifically targeted by someone he knew and may have trusted?
Special Q&A Episode Next Week -- Submit your questions to [email protected]
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
209 - The Vanishing of Syble Brumley
1h 5m · PublishedSeventy-six year old Syble Brumley was a kind, caring and beloved member of her community. A widow for more than twenty-years, she continued living in the home she'd shared with her late husband while attending to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Until one April night in 1997 when she mysteriously vanished.
Investigators found obvious signs of foul play; the door to Syble's home had been smashed in and items were in disarray inside. It appeared that the assailant had forced his way in and then, rather than ransacking the house, had searched in specific locations as if there was something in particular he was seeking.
While many wondered if perhaps Syble's disappearance could be chalked up as another unsolved crime happening in the stretch of land between Louisiana and Texas, known as the Dead Zone, or if perhaps she had been targeted by someone she knew and trusted.
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
208 - The Disappearance of Leichia Reilly
1h 16m · PublishedOn a bitterly cold winter night in January of 1985, twenty-one year old Leichia M. Reilly left her family home to visit a popular, local nightspot. She never made it home and early the next morning, her parents reported her missing.
Investigators tracked down everyone who had been at the bar that night and found several witnesses who stated that they saw Leichia leaving at approximately 3am in the company of another man, off-duty NY State Trooper Daniel D. Rose. Rose did not report being at the bar that night, nor did he tell investigators he had seen the missing woman.
Rose quickly hired a lawyer, denied leaving with Leichia, denied knowing her and denied being involved in whatever happened to her. Severely lacking evidence, and having never found a body, detectives had nothing to work with and cannot even technically classify it as a homicide, rather than a missing persons case.
Leichia's father, Patrick Reilly, was devoted to finding his daughter and seeing her killer put behind bars. He made a vow that both of these things would happen, but tragically, passed away after thirty years of wondering, searching and hoping. What happened to Leichia that cold January night and what secrets might the former police officer hold about her fate?
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
207 - New Hope Jane Doe
1h 21m · PublishedWho is New Hope Jane Doe Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WhoIs1990OrangeCountyNCJaneDoe/
On a cool Wednesday morning in September of 1990, three roadside workers discovered the badly decomposed remains of an unidentified female. Murdered via strangulation, her body was dumped just over a guardrail along I-40 in Hillsborough, North Carolina at the New Hope Road Church exit.
The victim was partially dressed, nude from the waist down other than a pair of white, anklet socks with clean bottoms. A pink sweater displaying an image of three cartoon bunnies was partially wrapped around her neck. She wore several pieces of costume jewelry, including a ring which may have been home made.
For more than thirty years the identity of the woman known as New Hope Jane Doe has remained a mystery, as has that of her killer. Perhaps someone out there might recognize her, perhaps you.
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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
206 - The Vanishing of Richard Bendele
1h 13m · PublishedOn a cold, November afternoon in 1996, twenty-nine year old Richard Bendele left his mother's home to do a little hunting where his recently deceased father used to take him. Hours later, Richard called his mother in a panic. He couldn't get his truck started and due to the darkness, he couldn't give specific directions to where he was. Planning to mark the road, to make finding him easier, Richard said he would call back, but he never did.
The next morning, investigators discovered his truck abandoned miles north of where they'd thought he had been. The scene itself was bizarre; a window was smashed out, the battery was broken and tilted upside down and Richard had left everything behind: his phone, his gun and his coat.
As massive searches were launched over the course of the next week, the discovery of several items belonging to Richard began making investigators wonder if, perhaps, Richard wasn't lost at all but actually the victim of a sinister trap.
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205 - The Disappearance of Kelly Wright Sims
1h 39m · PublishedUnfound: https://theunfoundpodcast.com/2019/05/10/kelly-sims-conjecture-coincidences-and-crimes/
Twenty-seven year old mother of three, Kelly Wright Sims was heading out for a night on the town. Alongside her boyfriend, Sims planned to participate in a darts tournament at a local bar. Sometime after arriving, however, the couple argued and split up, going their separate ways.
Kelly ended up meeting with different friends, had a few drinks and took a trip. When pulling back into town, she requested to be dropped off so she could walk over to the Rendezvous Tavern to shoot a few games of pool. She has never been seen again.
While investigators believed her disappearance to be an isolated crime, another young woman would go missing less than two weeks later. With both cases growing cold, fears of a serial killer were stirred up when a third woman missing and was later found murdered. Was Kelly another victim of this killer, or was it possible that she may have been targeted by someone much closer to home?
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Trace Evidence has 263 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 309:39:06. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on November 28th 2022. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on May 11th, 2024 12:11.