Box in the Basement

By Arlene, Leah, Bree

"Box in the Basement" is a compelling new podcast created by Arlene, a woman whose life was forever changed by a family tragedy. The unsolved murder of her Uncle Leon Laurales serves as the catalys

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· True Crime

4.5

3232 ratings

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FAQs about Box in the Basement:

How many episodes does Box in the Basement have?

The podcast currently has 92 episodes available.

Box in the Basement episodes:

October 09, 2025Gone Without a Trace: How a Mother’s Disappearance Exposed the Dark Side of Texas Justice
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In this episode of Box in the Basement, Arlene and Leah uncover the chilling case of Vicki Lynn Nisbett, a Texas mother who vanished in 1991—without a body ever found. Her husband was convicted, released, and reconvicted in a legal saga that still divides Williamson County. Was justice truly served, or is the real story still buried in the evidence?
🔗 Show Notes – The Disappearance of Vicki Lynn Nisbett
Missing Mother: The Disappearance of Vicki Nisbett in Williamson County

No Body, No Murder? Not Necessarily – Texas Case Study

The Charley Project: Case File for Vicki Lynn Nisbett

Appeal Filed After Reversal of Williamson County Murder Conviction

Court Overturns Flawed Murder Conviction in Williamson County

2014 Murder Conviction for Vicki Nisbett’s Husband Reinstated

Central Texas Man Convicted of Killing His Wife Will Go Free

Attorney Claims State Delayed Release After Murder Conviction Reversal

Free to Kill: A Texas Murder Case Without a Body
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31min
September 25, 2025Vanished Without a Trace: The Unsolved Mysteries of Margaret Chauncy & Lisa Chandler
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In 1987, 24-year-old Margaret Chauncy left her shift at St. Michael’s Hospital in Texarkana and asked a coworker to follow her home, fearing she was being stalked by a man in a black car. She pulled into her apartment complex in her red Pontiac Fiero—and vanished. Nearly 38 years later, Margaret’s case remains unsolved.
Two decades later, in 2007, 44-year-old Lisa Chandler spoke with her mother about her divorce and plans to see a doctor. The next day, her car sat in her driveway, her purse and ID were on the kitchen table, and her loyal dog guarded the yard—but Lisa was gone. Despite extensive searches, her trail ended five miles south of Wolfe City.
Join Arlene & Leah as they investigate.
Show Notes – Margaret Jane Chauncy
The Disappearance of Margaret Jane Chauncy
FBI ViCAP: Margaret Jane Chauncy – Texarkana, Texas
Search for Missing Woman Yields Car in Lake
Texas Police Reignite Search in Decades-Old Missing Person Case
Vanished: Margaret Jane Chauncy
Help Police Solve This Cold Case
Doe Network Case File: Margaret Jane Chauncy

Show Notes – Lisa Lee Chandler
The Disappearance of Lisa Lee Chandler
11 Years Later: Texas Mother Still Missing
Without a Trace: The Lisa Lee Chandler Case
Sheriff’s Office Reopens Cold Case of Lisa Chandler
Cold Case: Wolfe City Woman’s Disappearance Still a Mystery
Video Feature: Cold Case – Lisa Lee Chandler
Disappeared Blog: Lisa Chandler
Hunt County Missing Persons – Lisa Chandler
New Appeal on 15th Anniversary of Lisa Chandler’s Disappearance
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34min
September 11, 2025America’s First Serial Killer? The Austin Servant Girl Murders, 1885 Part 2
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Join us for part 2 exploring the perpetrator of the Austin Servant Girl Murders.
If you or someone you know is a victim of violence, please go to Domestic Violence Support or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline. 800-799-SAFE. The hotline is asnwered 24 hours a day by trained advocates prepared for crisis intervention support, safety planning, education, advocacy, and can refer you to local shelters and other resources.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
The LBGT National Hotline: 888-843-4564

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Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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31min
August 28, 2025America’s First Serial Killer? The Austin Servant Girl Murders, 1885
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Between 1884 and 1885, a shadowy figure terrorized the city, breaking into homes, dragging women from their beds, and leaving behind scenes so brutal that even hardened reporters became physically ill. The press dubbed him the Servant Girl Annihilator—some later called him the Midnight Assassin or even speculated he was Jack the Ripper before London.
In this two-part special, we peel back the layers of history: the booming city of Austin in the 1880s, the gruesome series of axe murders that left eight dead and eight injured, the suspects who stood trial, and the theories that still linger nearly 140 years later. Was the killer a local cook with a violent streak? A transient who slipped away to Europe? Or a murderer whose crimes connect Texas to one of the most infamous cases in history?
Join Arlene and Leah as we explore one of America’s earliest and most chilling serial murder cases—a story of terror, hysteria, and mystery that remains unsolved to this day.
Capital Murder: The Servant Girl Annihilator’s Reign of Terror
Revisiting the Austin Axe Murders
Autopsy Report for Susan Hancock (1885)
New Documents Reveal Details in Servant Girl Murders
Austin’s Servant Girl Annihilator: A Chilling Tale of Horror
The Axe Murderer Who Killed Servants—and Was Never Caught
Hell Broke Loose
The Midnight Assassin
Servant Girl Annihilator Terrorized Austin in the 1880s
The Servant Girl Annihilator
The Servant Girl Murders
The Axeman of Austin
1885 Newspaper Archives on the Austin Axe Murders
Servant Girl Murders Virtual Ce
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50min
August 14, 2025The Driveway Execution Caught on Camera: Who Pulled the Trigger on Elizabeth Barraza?
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She was setting up for a garage sale at sunrise. Minutes later, she was dead.
On January 25, 2019, 29-year-old Elizabeth Barraza stepped into her driveway in Tomball, Texas, ready for a weekend of fundraising and fun. What happened next was caught on camera—but the killer remains a mystery. Wearing a disguise, the shooter approached Liz, fired four rounds at point-blank range, and vanished without a trace. No arrest. No clear motive. And no answers for the family and friends left behind.
In this episode, Arlene and Leah unravel the haunting timeline, dissect the chilling surveillance footage, and explore theories that range from personal vendettas to the perfect stranger murder. This is a case that feels solvable, but isn’t.
If you think you know what happened to Elizabeth Barraza, you might want to listen twice.
Show Notes:
Who Killed Elizabeth Barraza? Tomball Woman Fatally Shot
Tomball Woman Killed While Setting Up Garage Sale
Memorial Planned for Tomball Woman Killed
Elizabeth Barraza Coverage & Updates
Houston’s Shocking Unsolved Murder Nears 5-Year Anniversary
Elizabeth “Liz” Barraza Murder
Sergio Barraza Speaks on Wife’s Murder
Tomball Woman Shot to Death
Police Still Seeking Clues
Five Years Later: Murder of Tomball Woman Remains Unsolved
Unresolved: The Murder of Elizabeth Barraza
Case File: Elizabeth Nuelle Barraza – SolveTheCase.org
Who Killed Liz Barraza?
The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Barraza
Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes
Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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Donate to Seasons of Justice
Listen to Darkcast Network Shows
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Donate to Project Cold Case
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43min
July 31, 2025Attacked on Camera, Missing Without a Trace - Her Body Discovered 70 Miles Away: The Case of Tiera Strand
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Tiera Strand, a 25-year-old mother from Austin, Texas, vanished on April 16, 2023, after a night out on Sixth Street with friends. As she worked to complete her GED, Tiera dreamed of joining the Navy to forge a better future for herself and her daughter, despite her family's expectation that she would follow a path in cosmetology.
That evening, Tiera and her friends stopped by the Mooseknuckle Pub in the "Dirty Sixth" district. Surveillance footage captures her involvement in a heated fight, first inside the bar and then outside, where a group of women attacked her. Witnesses last saw her running away barefoot, leaving behind her purse, shoes, and phone. One friend caught a glimpse of her heading toward Trinity Street but quickly lost track of her.
Five days later, authorities discovered her body 70 miles away near Temple, Texas. The autopsy raised more questions than answers—no visible signs of trauma, no drugs in her system, only alcohol present. Decomposition likely concealed any evidence of injury. With an official cause of death still undetermined, investigators now treat the case as a homicide, deepening the mystery surrounding Tiera's disappearance.
Join Arlene and Leah as they posit the theories of what happened to Tiera Strand.
Woman Seen in Footage Attacked Outside Austin Bar Found Dead
Unsolved: The Death of Tiera Strand
Autopsy Report Released for Tiera Strand, Cause of Death Undetermined
Tiera Strand's Cause of Death Remains Undetermined
Texas Cold Case: What Happened to Tiera Strand?
Family of Tiera Strand Seeks Justice
Missing 25-Year-Old Found Dead
Family of Austin Woman Found Dead in Bell County Wants Answers
Video Report: Family Seeks Justice
Missing Austin Woman Found Dead in Bell County
Woman Reported Missing in Austin Found Dead
Missing Wo
Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes
Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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25min
July 17, 2025Texas’s Oldest Unsolved Family Massacre: What Really Happened to the Arellanos?
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In 1968, five members of the Arellano family were slaughtered outside a remote Texas farmhouse, after two blown out tires in the middle of nowhere. Like out of a horror movie, the whole family was found shot, stabbed and beaten to death, with one sole survivor, 5-year old Manuel Jr. He claims a cowboy good Samaritan who helped with their flat tire was the perpetrator, a man police never found.
With renewed attention from journalists, podcasters, and even the Texas Rangers, pressure is building to uncover the truth. New evidence and theories, was it a sole man, or multiple perpetrators?
Join Arlene and Leah as they examine the victims, the timeline, the eerie silence of the investigation, and the lingering shadows cast by one of Texas’s most baffling mass murders.
Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes
Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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35min
July 10, 20257-Year-Old Cortney Clayton Disappeared in Broad Daylight… Then Her Body Was Found 15 Miles Away
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Seven-year-old Cortney Clayton vanished while walking home from a corner store in tiny Stamford, Texas. It was 1988—a time when kids still rode bikes until dark, and trust lingered in small towns. But what followed shattered that trust: Cortney's body was found miles away, and despite witness sketches, leads, and decades of investigation, her murder remains unsolved.
This case has haunted the community for over 36 years. New composite sketches, evolving theories, and a heartbroken family’s relentless push for answers have kept Cortney’s name alive. But has law enforcement missed something crucial? Why was she targeted? Who could’ve been watching?
Join Arlene and Leah as they walk through the timeline, explore the evidence, revisit the original suspect sketches, and ask the questions that still demand answers.
Show Notes
36 Years Later: Murder of 7-Year-Old Stamford Girl Remains Unsolved
Yahoo News Recap: Cold Case of 7-Year-Old Cortney Clayton Still Haunts Texas Town
Solve the Case: Cortney Clayton
New Composite Sketch Released in 28-Year-Old Cortney Clayton Case
Parents Remember Cortney Clayton 30 Years Later
Texas Cold Case: Who Killed Cortney Clayton?
Cortney Clayton – True Crime Diva
The Austin Chronicle: Still Searching for Justice in Jones County
Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes
Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
Donate to Seasons of Justice
Listen to Darkcast Network Shows
Join Uncovered.com
Donate to Project Cold Case
...more
31min
June 26, 2025He Vanished After a Party—Three Years Later, His Bones Were Found on a Hillside: The Case of
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On a cold February night in 1999, 25-year-old Wil Hendrick vanished after leaving a party near Moscow, Idaho. His friends thought he had walked home. He never made it. Months later, his abandoned car was found—muddied, keys gone, and ominously silent. Three years after that, Wil’s remains were discovered on a remote hillside, miles from town.
Wil was openly gay in a small town, a proud artist with a vibrant spirit—and possibly, a target. Despite the passage of more than two decades, no one has been charged with his murder. The case has bounced between local police, the FBI, and cold case teams—but crucial evidence remains missing, and key suspects have slipped through the cracks.
Was Wil the victim of a hate crime? A personal vendetta? Or something even darker?
Join Arlene and Leah as they examine the victim, timeline, evidence, and suspects in this haunting cold case.
Remembering Wil Hendrick: A Cold Case That Still Haunts Idaho
A Party Leads to Murder: The Unsolved Death of Wil Hendrick
Wil Hendrick’s Father Still Seeks Justice After Son’s Mysterious Death
The Unsolved Murder of Wil Hendrick
Justice for Wil Hendrick: A Cold Case Involving a Native Victim
A Look at Idaho Cold Cases: Wil Hendrick Still Unsolved
FBI Joins Investigation Into Wil Hendrick Case
The Trail Went Cold: Episode on Wil Hendrick
Wil Hendrick’s Story Featured on Luminol True Crime Blog
Unsolved Mysteries Gallery: William "Wil" Hendrick
Newspaper Coverage of Hendrick Case – Part 1
Newspaper Coverage of Hendrick Case – Part 2
True Crime Diva: The Murder of Wil Hendrick
Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes
Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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25min
June 19, 2025They Were in Love. He Was Watching. Then He Opened Fire.
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In the spring of 1988, two women set out for peace, adventure, and freedom on the Appalachian Trail. But only one would make it home. Rebecca Wight and Claudia Brenner were hiking through Pennsylvania’s Michaux State Forest when their journey turned into a nightmare. After being stalked by a stranger in the woods, the couple was ambushed in a shocking act of violence fueled by hate. Rebecca was shot and killed. Claudia, injured and alone, had to survive—and fight to tell their story.
In this episode, Arlene and Leah revisit one of the most devastating and pivotal hate crimes in LGBTQ+ history. They explore the timeline of events, the harrowing survival of Claudia Brenner, the manhunt for shooter Stephen Roy Carr, and the courtroom drama that followed. Was this a random act of madness or a calculated hate crime ignored by too many for too long? How did this brutal murder shape the conversation around LGBTQ+ safety and justice in the wilderness and beyond?
Join Arlene and Leah as they examine the victim, the evidence, and the ripple effects of a case that left a permanent scar on the Appalachian Trail.
Show Notes:
Rebecca Wight Murder Case – Roanoke Times Archive
Stephen Roy Carr Kills Hiker on Appalachian Trail
LGBTQ Hate Crime on the Appalachian Trail
Killed for Being Gay: The Murder of Rebecca Wight
Criminal Discourse Podcast: Rebecca Wight
BBC Podcast on Rebecca Wight's Story
1995 Testimony on LGBTQ Hate Crimes in PA Legislature
Washington Post: The Target That Shot Back
YouTube: Appalachian Trail Hate Crime Coverage
UPI Archives: Murder on the Appalachian Trail
Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes
Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
Donate to Seasons of Justice
Listen to Darkcast Network Shows
Join Uncovered.com
Donate to Project Cold Case
...more
30min

FAQs about Box in the Basement:

How many episodes does Box in the Basement have?

The podcast currently has 92 episodes available.

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