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This episode tells the emotional life story of Leon Laureles—a beloved uncle, caregiver, and community member—who was murdered on May 10, 1996, outside Brownwood, Texas. Nearly three decades later, his case remains unsolved, and justice has never been served.

Host Arlene, Leon’s niece, shares heartfelt stories from his life and their unbreakable bond. She exposes the neglect by law enforcement and her ongoing fight to reopen his case under the Homicide Victims' Families’ Rights Act.

📅 Join us May 31, 2025, for a public celebration of Leon’s life:
📍 Common Grounds Coffee House, 809 Main Street, Brownwood, TX
🕚 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

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• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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• Donate to Project Cold Case

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This month, Box in the Basement returns to where it all began—the story of Leon Laureles, a beloved 30-year-old man who was murdered execution-style outside of Brownwood, Texas, on May 10, 1996. His case remains unsolved and is suspected to be a hate crime.

Host Arlene, Leon’s niece, shares her deeply personal account of Leon’s life, the night she learned he was killed, and the decades of grief, unanswered questions, and systemic failure that followed. Through raw emotion and courageous storytelling, Arlene sheds light on the injustice surrounding Leon’s case—and so many others like his.

In this special series, Arlene also details her fight for truth: hiring a private investigator, navigating corrupt law enforcement, filing FOIA requests, hosting vigils, and securing media coverage to keep Leon’s name alive. With the support of listeners and new legal tools like the Homicide Victims' Families’ Rights Act, Arlene is determined to reopen the case and push for accountability.

Join us this May as we honor Leon’s life, confront the past, and demand justice.

🕯️ Memorial Event:
📍 May 31, 2025, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Common Grounds Coffee House, 809 Main St, Brownwood, TX

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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• Donate to Project Cold Case

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In March 2014, 24-year-old D’Lisa Kelley—pregnant and full of life—left her Dallas home to attend a funeral. She never came back. Hours later, she was heard on a phone call screaming for help. Her family pleaded with police to track her phone, but delays and missteps followed. Days later, her body was found brutally murdered, discarded beneath a bridge.

Nearly a decade later, D’Lisa’s family is still searching for justice. Her case has become a symbol of systemic failure—of what happens when a woman's screams are heard… but not acted on.

What really happened to D’Lisa that day? Why did it take so long for authorities to respond? And has her killer been hiding in plain sight?

Join Arlene and Leah as they examine the victim, timeline, evidence, and suspects.

Show Notes: 

D’Lisa Kelley Murder: Family Says Police Failed Her

Who Killed Expectant Mother D’Lisa Kelley?

Dallas PD Releases Timeline of D’Lisa Kelley Case

2014 Cold Case Sparks Criticism of Dallas Police

Family Sues Dallas Police Over Mishandling of D’Lisa Kelley Case

Police Detail D’Lisa Kelley Investigation Timeline

Tapes Raise New Questions in Kelley’s Murder

Mothers Share Grief After Sergeant’s Indictment

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• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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• Donate to Project Cold Case

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In the early hours of July 4th, 2002, four-year-old Dannarriah Finley disappeared from her home in Orange, Texas. Days later, her body was discovered in a neighboring county, sparking one of Southeast Texas’s most heart-wrenching investigations.

For over two decades, the case has remained unsolved—despite national attention, renewed DNA testing, and continued pleas from her family and law enforcement. Investigators believe someone out there holds the missing piece that could finally bring justice.

Who was Dannarriah? What do we know about her final hours? And why has the truth remained just out of reach?

Join Arlene and Leah as they examine the victim, timeline, evidence, and suspects.

Show Notes:

Police Hope for Break in 4-Year-Old Dannarriah Finley’s Case

Unsolved July 4th Child Murder Haunts Southeast Texas

Reward Increased in 2002 Murder of Dannarriah Finley

Dannarriah Finley’s Death Still a Mystery 22 Years Later

Reward Boosted for Info in Texas Girl’s Murder

Remembering Dannarriah Finley

Hope Renewed in 22-Year Cold Case with Forensic Advances

Cold Case Spotlight: Dannarriah Finley in Orange, Texas

New DNA Results Could Help Solve Finley Case

Dannarriah Finley’s Mother Speaks Out

Investigators Hopeful in Solving Girl’s Murder

Texas Detectives to Retest Evidence in Finley Case

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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• Donate to Project Cold Case

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On Halloween night in 2006, 16-year-old Terressa Vanegas left her Dickinson, Texas, home and never returned. Her body was found the following day, dumped behind a school—brutally murdered, her shoes missing, her future stolen. Despite multiple suspects and public pleas, her case remains unsolved.

A decade earlier, in 1996, 29-year-old Kristen Lea Wilson was found dead on Thanksgiving Day in her Houston apartment. She’d been strangled with her belt. The scene suggested she knew her killer—but nearly 30 years later, the evidence still hasn’t led to justice.

Both women were taken on days meant for celebration. Both failed because of a system that couldn’t bring answers. Both left behind families still waiting for the call that never comes.

This episode examines the chilling parallels, the overlooked leads, and the heavy silence surrounding these holiday horrors: Two women, two holidays, zero justice. Is someone still out there walking free?

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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• Donate to Project Cold Case

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Two Texans. Two timelines. Two lives vanished without a trace.

In 2017, Chris Sanders walked away from his RV in Monahans, Texas, into thin air. With no ID, phone, or confirmed sightings, the 40-year-old father disappeared. Despite public appeals and tireless efforts from his family, Chris remains missing, his case as dry and vast as the West Texas land he left behind.

Now rewind to 1998—Catherine Hammel, just 25 years old, was last seen at a Houston apartment complex. A mother, a daughter, a young woman full of life—gone. Her car was later found abandoned. No witnesses. No clues. And, like Chris, no trace.

What happened to Chris and Catherine? Did they leave on their own? Were they silenced by someone they trusted—or a stranger passing through?

Join Leah and Arlene as they examine timelines, clues, and suspects, and seek your help finding these two missing Texans. 

Show Notes: 

Missing Pieces: What Happened to Catherine Hammel?

Catherine Hammel – The Charley Project

Vernon Mom Haunted by Daughter's Disappearance

Mom Prays for Daughter Who Vanished in Houston

 10 Women Still Unaccounted for from the '90s

Mother Keeps Case of Missing Daughter Alive

Disappearance of Catherine Hammel

Catherine Hammel – The Doe Network

Christopher Lynn Sanders – The Charley Project

Finding Chris Sanders

Wife of Missing Monahans Man Still Searching for Answers

Texas Man Chris Sanders Vanishes During Walk Near Home

Chris Sanders: Missing in Monahans for 7 Years

Family of Missing Daingerfield Man Clings to Hope After 4 Years

Missing Persons in Texas – A Growing Crisis

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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• Donate to Project Cold Case

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On Super Bowl Sunday, 1993, Amarillo attorney David Glenn Lewis vanished without a trace. His family returned home to find his glasses and keys still inside, the TV on, and food half-eaten. Days later, a man matching David’s description was found dead—struck by a car on a dark highway in Moxee, Washington—1,600 miles from Texas.

With no ID, the man was buried as a John Doe, his death ruled accidental. It took nearly 11 years and the power of Google for the mystery man to be identified as David. But how did a respected lawyer from Texas end up in Washington, wearing clothes his family didn’t recognize, with a mysterious plane ticket purchase and strange sightings along the way?

Was David running from something? Or was he running toward someone? Why was his car found parked at the Amarillo airport, even though records showed he never boarded a flight?

This case is a web of eerie clues, unanswered questions, and chilling possibilities. Join us as we unravel one of the most baffling disappearances—and reappearances—in true crime history.

Show Notes: 

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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In January 2019, Nichol Olsen and her two young daughters were found shot to death inside a luxury home in the Anaqua Springs Ranch community near San Antonio, Texas. Authorities quickly ruled it a murder-suicide, claiming Nichol shot her daughters before turning the gun on herself. But her family and many in the community have never believed it.

Nichol was a devoted mother, described as vibrant and full of life, with no history of violence. Strange details, unanswered questions, and conflicting reports have fueled suspicions that someone else may have been responsible. Was this truly a case of a mother snapping—or is a killer still out there?

Four years later, the case remains shrouded in mystery. Join Arlene and Leah as they explore the chilling details, the investigative missteps, and the lingering questions that haunt the Anaqua Springs tragedy. Will the truth ever come out?

Show Notes:

Anaqua Springs Killings Remain Unresolved

Did a Texas Mom Kill Her 2 Daughters?

What Happened to Nichol Olsen and Her 2 Daughters? 

Three Found Shot Dead in Luxury Home Near Boerne

Anaqua Springs Case Remains Unsolved Years Later

New Details on  Shooting

Four Years Later,  Deaths Still Unsolved

Unanswered Questions Remain in Anaqua Springs Deaths

Shooting Deaths of Texas Mother and Two Daughters Ruled Murder-Suicide

Anaqua Springs Tragedy: Timeline of an Unsolved Case

Crime Junkies Podcast

New Details Surface in Anaqua Springs Case

Anaqua Springs Murder Mystery: What Really Happened?

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On a quiet evening in 1981, Karen Lynn Douglas—a devoted mother from Harris County, Texas—was brutally stabbed to death in her own home. With no signs of forced entry, investigators believed she may have known her killer. But despite an extensive investigation, the case quickly turned cold, leaving more questions than answers behind.

Who wanted Karen dead? Was she the victim of a targeted attack, or was it a crime of opportunity? Over four decades later, Texas Rangers and the Department of Public Safety continue searching for leads, but the identity of her murderer remains a mystery.

Karen’s family has never stopped seeking justice. Her husband still hopes that new forensic techniques or a long-buried secret will finally bring closure. But with time working against the case, will the truth ever come to light?

Join Arlene and Leah as they unravel the chilling details of this forgotten Texas cold case. Who killed Karen Lynn Douglas, and why has justice been denied for over 40 years?

Show Notes: 

Heartbreaking: Karen Douglas’ Husband Still Hopeful Killer Is Caught

DPS Seeks Information on 1981 Cold Case Murder of Harris County Mom

Texas DPS Seeks Leads in the 1981 Murder of Karen Lynn Douglas

Texas Rangers Still Investigating Karen Lynn Douglas Cold Case

The Murder of Karen Lynn Douglas: A Chilling Cold Case

Karen Lynn Douglas Cold Case - YouTube

Houston Mom Karen Lynn Douglas Stabbed to Death: Cold Case Update

Harris County Cold Case: The Unsolved Murder of Karen Lynn Douglas

Gone Cold Podcast: The Murder of Karen Lynn Douglas

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

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On May 13, 2016, prominent Dallas attorney Ira Tobolowsky was found burned to death inside his home. What first appeared to be a tragic accident quickly unraveled into something far more sinister. Investigators determined the fire had been deliberately set, and Ira had been attacked before the blaze. But who would want a respected lawyer dead?

Soon police arrested a suspect, a man entangled in a bitter legal feud with Tobolowsky. As evidence mounted, Aubrey was arrested and charged with murder. But in a shocking twist, the case against him was dismissed, leaving Ira’s family and the legal community stunned.

Was this a calculated act of revenge? A case of a legal dispute turned deadly? Or is the real killer still out there? With legal twists, defamation lawsuits, and a suspect still walking free, this case is as fiery as the crime itself.

Join Arlene and Leah as they unravel the tangled web of betrayal, violence, and courtroom drama behind one of Dallas’ most chilling unsolved murders. 

Show Notes:

• Judge Awards $5.5 Million in Ira Tobolowsky Defamation Suit
• Suspect in Attorney’s Burning Death Faces Capital Murder Charge
• Legal Opponent Arrested in Slaying
• Arrest Made in Dallas Attorney’s Murder
• Steven Aubrey Charged After Attorney Found Burned
• Who Was Ira Tobolowsky?
• Prosecutors Dismiss 2016 Murder Case
• Florida Man Arrested in Attorney’s Death
• Suspect Alleges Dallas Cop Lied in Arrest Warrant
• Murder Charges Dropped 
• New Details in Ira Tobolowsky’s Murder
• Something Evil Happened: The Murder of Ira Tobolowsky
• Was Ira Tobolowsky Killed in Revenge?

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
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