This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale of 1-5). In the summer of 2004, 23-year-old college student Jesse Valencia was found dead in a neighborhood in Columbia, Missouri, a city that’s home to the University of Missouri (better known as Mizzou). Jesse’s throat had been slashed by a jagged-edged, serrated knife. So, from the moment investigators arrived, they knew without a doubt that Jesse had been murdered. It didn’t take them long to zero in on their prime suspect – a man who had a lot to lose if his secret affair with Jesse was revealed.

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This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). During Thanksgiving break in the fall of 1969, 22-year-old Betsy Aardsma returned early to the campus of Penn State University to finish an important English project. Shortly after Betsy and her roommate walked to the library on campus, the sound of falling books and bookshelves startled those in the building. As people rushed to the middle of the library to see what had happened, Betsy was found lying under the pile of books that had crashed to the floor. She was taken to the campus hospital, but ultimately succumbed to her injury – a single stab wound that had pierced her chest.

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I'm a taking a break this week to spend time with my family and loved ones... But I do have a BIG announcement! Actually, a couple of announcements. Check out this week's update for more details.

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This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). On a freezing cold winter day in December of 1996, the body of a 21-year-old University of Oklahoma dance student was found at a nearby lake in the Oklahoma City metro. The student, Juli Busken, had been kidnapped and bound before she was raped and then ultimately shot in the head execution style. For nearly 8 years, her killer remained at large, but in 2004, law enforcement said DNA positively identified the killer as Anthony Sanchez. Now, in 2023, the man police, and a jury of his peers, say is responsible for the crime will be put to death Sept. 21. Although, some evidence may suggest that Sanchez wasn’t the killer after all... Instead, his defense is arguing that Sanchez’s father was the actual killer based on newly discovered information. However, the State of Oklahoma is rejecting any such possibility and stands firm that the right person responsible for the heinous crime is behind bars.

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This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). In March of 2003, 20-year-old community college student Megan McDonald was severely beaten and murdered, and then her lifeless body was dumped in a remote area. Like a real-life “Criminal Minds” story, the Behavioral Analysis Unit, or the BAU (a branch of the FBI), put together a profile of her killer, whom police have never publicly identified. But they do know who he is, and exactly what he’s capable of. The BAU determined that Megan’s murderer is a textbook narcissist who couldn’t take no for answer. And now, after 20 years, investigators say they are closer than ever to finally bringing Megan’s killer to justice.

If you have any information about Megan McDonald's murder, contact the New York State Police Department, Troop F Investigators.

CONFIDENTIAL Tip Line: 845.344.5370.

Email: [email protected].

The NYPD Detective Endowment Association and the FBI are each offering $10,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

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I'm taking a break this week, but I want to introduce my listeners to a podcast that I personally listen to on a weekly basis! It's one of my all-time favorite podcasts, Military Murder, hosted by Mama Margot. This particular episode covers the murder of a nursing student at Minot State University, Angila Wilder, who was discovered dead in her Minot, North Dakota, home while her son was sleeping in the next room. Listen to Part 1 of Angila Wilder's story here and check out Military Murder for Part 2.

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This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). In 2016, a man by the name of Charles Dean Bryant stalked and harassed one college student, before his actions escalated and he ended up taking the life of a different student. This is the story of how Bryant’s infatuation with his ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Mathis, turned into the brutal attack and murder of an innocent stranger, Jackie Vandagriff.

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This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). In September of 2015, UCLA senior Andrea DelVesco lay in her bed, peacefully sleeping, when an unexpected visitor broke into her off-campus apartment in the wee hours of the morning, for no apparent reason or motive other than to assault and murder her. Even though an upstairs neighbor heard the commotion, saw a suspicious man near the apartment, AND called 9-1-1 twice to report what she heard and saw, police initially arrived to the scene, but found nothing. They canvased the area, which seemed quiet, undisturbed, nothing out of the ordinary. So officers left the apartment complex, but they failed to even knock on Andrea’s apartment door or go inside. They would return for a second time, about 30 minutes later, to find Andrea’s apartment up in flames.

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This episode is rated a 4 (on my Serious Crime Scale). On Oct. 22, 2017, Darian failed to show up for her shift as a server at Chili’s restaurant, and her friends could not get in touch with her. For several days, her friends tried contacting Darian, but to no avail. So, they called Darian’s mom on Oct. 25 to fill her in. The next day, Darian’s parents immediately jumped in the car and drove from their home in Kansas to Oklahoma to file a missing persons report, but Darian was never found. She was last seen near a construction site in Stillwater, Oklahoma, but that was the last known sighting of her.

Stillwater Police Department: 405.742.8357

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation: 800.522.8017 or [email protected].

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This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). On December 4, 1998, 21-year-old Yale student Suzanne Jovin was stabbed 17 times and left for dead in an upscale neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. Police zeroed in on one and only one suspect: Suzanne’s thesis adviser and a lecturer at Yale University, Dr. James Van de Velde. But Dr. Van de Velde was never arrested. At least two prominent and very experienced investigators determined that there was no way he was involved in the murder, but local police dismissed the two investigators’ theories and evidence and nevertheless persisted, trying to prove that he killed Suzanne. Now, over 20 years later, Suzanne’s murder has still never been solved, and other suspects have never been publicly announced or identified.

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