When 18-year-old Mandy Stavik returned to her small hometown, Acme, Washington, for Thanksgiving, she never thought it would be the last time she ever did. An avid runner, she went on a post-Thanksgiving day run down her regular route of Strand Rd with the family dog. When the dog made it back to the home alone, and without Mandy, it caused immediate concern. Tragically, Mandy's body was found three days later in the nearby Nooksack River, and her death was ruled a homicide. Her case soon turned cold, and it would take almost 30 years to catch her killer. Join us for today's episode to learn what happened to Mandy. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started.


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When three similar missing persons reports were made in the area of Bradford within months of each other, police suspected they might all be connected but weren’t sure.  While searching for the third missing woman, Suzanne, the police received evidence that would break open all three cases. What they didn’t expect was to find how gruesomely all three women had been killed by the self-proclaimed Crossbow Cannibal. Join us for today’s case to learn more about the three missing women. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started.

The book used for research:
Stephen Griffiths: The Crossbow Cannibal (True Crimes Book 38) 
By: Andrew Alexander

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In 2023, a wellness check for Lois and John McCullough was called in by the couple's doctor's office since they had been canceling their doctor's appointments throughout the years. Not only that, but no one had seen them around since the pandemic. When police finally get to speak to their daughter, Virginia McCullough, she reveals things to the police that would leave them in shock as to the whereabouts of Lois and John. Join us for today's episode to learn about what happened to the couple, and how their daughter was involved. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started.  


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When 29-year-old business owner Andreen McDonald didn’t show up to work on March 1, 2019, friends and family knew that something was wrong.  As it happens in many cases, her husband, Andre, soon became a person of interest in her disappearance. When he stopped cooperating with investigators and lawyered up, the race was on to prove that he did have something to do with Andreen's disappearance and suspected murder. Join us for today's episode to find out what truly happened to Andreen. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started. 


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On October 22, 2013, beloved 9th-grade math teacher Colleen Ritzer went to work just as she loved to do every day. On this day, toward the end of the school day, she stayed with a student, Phillip Chism, who was also new to the school, in her classroom in case he needed help with schoolwork. Later in the day, a search ensued for both Colleen and Phillip after neither showed up at their homes. Phillip was found wandering down a highway, and Colleen was tragically found brutally assaulted and murdered. Join us for today’s episode to find out what happened between Colleen and Phillip. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

You can donate at the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Fund, Inc. 
https://colleenritzer.org/

You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

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High school senior Brooke Skylar Richardson seemed to have everything going for her. She was a cheerleader, she was a good student, she had a good boyfriend, and was on her way to the University of Cincinnati. But Skylar was keeping a big secret: she was pregnant. Skylar would end up giving birth to a baby alone in the middle of the night at home, and it is what she did next that would unravel her life. Join us for today’s episode to learn what happened next. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

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When Nadia Ford called her mother, Alla, multiple times on October 5, 2014, and didn't answer, she knew something was wrong. She soon suspected that her mother’s neighbor, Viktoria, knew something about her mother’s whereabouts. Sadly, Alla’s remains would be found, and Viktoria would soon be on the run from the Russian police for Alla’s disappearance and murder. Viktoria would continue her string of crimes in a different country, but Nadia was not going to give up and let her get away with what she had done. Join us for today’s episode to find out how Viktoria was finally brought to justice. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started.


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On a stormy night on June 3, 2007, police arrived at Etta Jean Westbrook's home to find her dead in her living room in a pool of blood. As the investigation of her death begins, investigators catch a big break early in the case that leads to an arrest. What investigators weren't expecting was that, while looking for more evidence in that case, they'd find that someone else had been killed across the street and no one had seemed to notice, until now. Join us for today's episode to learn about what happened to Etta Jean and the second murder. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started.  

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When Matthew Trussler met Melissa Turner in 2017, he thought he had finally met someone who he genuinely connected with. The couple went on to get engaged and purchase a home in Tampa, FL. Everything seemed to be going well, until October 2019 when Melissa called 911 stating that she found her fiance Matthew in a pool of blood. As the investigation begins, police soon realize that Melissa was not telling them the whole truth about what truly happened in the home between her and Matthew and that she might have had something to do with his death. Join us for today’s episode to learn about what happened to Matthew. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 


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On Saturday in the fall of 1998, Sara Raras thought she was going to spend the night alone since her son was spending the weekend with his father, Sara's estranged husband. Tragically, what Sara thought was going to be a quiet night, would actually turn deadly and she would never see her son again. As investigators tried to solve Sara's murder, her estranged husband became suspect number one but they would soon find out that they had it all wrong, and it wasn't him who had done it. Instead, it would be someone who they never suspected of. Join us for today's episode to find out what happened to Sara. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started. 


You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

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