CW: this episode contains descriptions of violence against a pregnant person

Our first minisode features a case out of Stockton, CA that seems to have gone cold practically as soon as it began.

Barbara Ann Smith's body was found behind a portable classroom on the grounds of Van Buren Elementary in 1991, and 30 years later, we still don't know anything else. What happened to Barbara Ann Smith?

Sources

• https://www.abc10.com/article/news/crime/unsolved-california-chapter-story/103-097c2ac6-7a45-437a-9b30-6c3df3f78eb0
• https://www.abc10.com/article/news/crime/pregnant-stockton-woman-unsolved/103-7974f9fc-8bfc-4c73-b137-4da591335dc8?utm_source=operamini&utm_medium=feednews&utm_campaign=operamini_feednews&fr=operanews
• https://m.facebook.com/SJCDA/photos/a.413782925335053/4593214954058475/
• https://twitter.com/madisoncwade/status/1461781342132355082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

CW: this episode discusses body descriptions of pregnant women and the concept of "coffin birth," please use caution when listening

One week before her due date, 24 year old Evelyn Hernandez and her 5 year old son, Alex, went missing from her San Francisco neighborhood and were never seen alive again. Months later, Evelyn's body would be found in the San Francisco Bay, but her son Alex and her son-to-be, Fernando, were still missing. This is the case of the Hernandez family, and how Evelyn's case was tragically and unfairly eclipsed by an extremely similar case that captivated the world. Evelyn and her boys deserved, and still deserve, better.

If you have any information about the murder of Evelyn Hernandez and/or the disappearance of Alex + Fernando, please contact the San Francisco Police Department Cold Case Unit at (415) 553-1450.

Sources

• https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=131949&page=1#:~:text=On%20July%2024%2C%202002%2C%20Hernandez's,would%20become%20a%20national%20obsession.
• https://vocal.media/criminal/the-unsolved-murder-of-evelyn-hernandez
• https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a5143/a-tale-of-two-killings/
• https://themorbidlibrary.com/2020/11/15/the-unsolved-evelyn-hernandez/
• https://medium.com/the-crime-logs/torso-in-the-bay-6138839d1f31
• https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/l1r72y/the_unsolved_case_of_evelyn_hernandez_and_her/
• https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Remains-may-be-S-F-woman-who-vanished-Remains-2789331.php
• https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Eerily-similar-case-languishes-in-obscurity-2621215.php
• https://www.maryhallbergmedia.com/post/unsolved-the-strange-case-of-evelyn-and-alex-hernandez
• http://pwc-sii.com/Research/research/serial.htm
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462797668/
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462665572/?terms=evelyn%20hernandez&match=1
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/566686338/?terms=evelyn%20hernandez&match=1
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462336498/?terms=evelyn%20hernandez&match=1
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462426842/?terms=evelyn%20hernandez&match=1
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462323026/?terms=evelyn%20hernandez&match=1
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462347109/
• https://www.newspapers.com/image/462369157/?terms=evelyn%20hernandez&match=1

CW: descriptions of anti-trans violence and language, as well as graphic description of bodily injury

Nikki Kuhnhausen was a bright, confident 17 year old who went missing after telling friends she was meeting someone she'd met on Snapchat in the early morning hours of June 6, 2019. Nikki was never heard from again, and the main suspect in her disappearance skipped town immediately after she vanished. Please use caution when listening as this episode contains quotations of anti-trans language and descriptions of violence against transgender people.

Sources

• https://people.com/crime/washington-man-convicted-murdering-transgender-teen-after-date-case-inspired-mom-to-create-change/
• https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/sep/09/bogdanov-sentenced-to-20-years-in-murder-of-nikki-kuhnhausen/
• https://thecinemaholic.com/nikki-kuhnhausen-murder-how-did-she-die-who-killed-her/
• https://www.thereflector.com/stories/bogdanov-receives-almost-20-years-for-2019-murder-of-nikki-kuhnhausen,272294
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nikki-kuhnhausen-murdered-transgender-teen-dreams-of-working-with-idol-nicki-minaj/
• https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/aug/27/bogdanov-found-guilty-of-murder-in-death-of-nikki-kuhnhausen/
• 48 Hours episode - 41 mins https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nikki-kuhnhausen-david-bogdanov-transgender-teens-murder-new-law/?fbclid=IwAR2NfOCak0D6VcipU101WHfMEEYt2arf7h6BFiXcbGOeylLWxgznbzjlg1c
• https://lgbtqbar.org/programs/advocacy/gay-trans-panic-defense/gay-trans-panic-defense-legislation/

Just shy of 70 years ago, two little skeletons were found by a groundskeeper in Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC. From the very morning of their discovery, all the way until February 2022, the search for their identities and their killer stretched over 7 decades, multiple investigators, and threatened to remain just a Vancouver horror story until a young woman started asking questions about old family photos. This is the story of the 1953 Babes in the Woods case of Vancouver, BC.

Sources

• https://evelazarus.com/its-almost-70-years-since-they-were-found-buried-in-stanley-park-but-now-the-babes-in-the-woods-have-their-names-back/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babes_in_the_Wood_murders_(Stanley_Park)
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/babes-in-the-woods-identified-1.6352438
• Cold Case Vancouver: The City's Most Baffling Unsolved Murders by Eve Lazarus, pg 23-36
• https://vpd.ca/news/2022/02/15/vpd-identifies-child-victims-in-historic-cold-case-murder/
• https://globalnews.ca/news/4611940/babes-in-the-woods-case-dna/
• https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/69umbc.html
• https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/68umbc.html
• https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Babes_in_the_Wood
• https://morbidology.com/the-babes-in-the-woods/
• https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/492366318/
• https://www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca/post/murder-mystery-and-intrigue-in-review-babes-in-the-woods
• http://babesinthewoodsmurdercase.blogspot.com/
• https://forum.canucks.com/topic/400045-identity-of-victims-in-famous-babes-in-woods-stanley-park-70-year-old-murder-mystery-case-finally-solved/

This case is a bit of rollercoaster and Caro is riding it with you, listeners! Sara brings us the extremely frustrating case of Nicholas Francisco - an apparent family man who disappeared from the Seattle area in 2008.

Our thoughts and hearts are with the people of Ukraine, please find below a list of recommended organizations to donate to if you are looking for ways to support from around the globe:

UNICEF

Doctors Without Borders

Voices of Children

Intl Committee of the Red Cross

Save the Children

UN Refugee Agency

CARE

Intl Medical Corps

Last but not least, please find here the story of the Gil sisters, found dead in their father's Renton home in December of 2021. Their father was also found dead, upstairs in his bedroom. This case appears to have stalled and it needs more attention!

Full link: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/3-dead-in-renton-apartment-teen-girls-father-found-without-apparent-injuries/

Sources

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsmartinnicholasfrancisco
• https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/nicholas-francisco-family-man-disappears-revealed-leading-double/story?id=11145043
• https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/missing-seatac-man-found-with-new-name-in-new-state/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-real-life-don-draper-ad-exec-who-disappeared-to-lead-double-life-is-found/
• https://westseattleblog.com/2009/11/remember-the-nicholas-francisco-disappearance-case-closed/
• https://supportingchristine.wordpress.com/
• https://slog.thestranger.com/2008/06/remember_nicholas_francisco-iphone
• https://westseattleblog.com/2010/02/local-tv-station-tracks-down-once-missing-nicholas-francisco/
• https://www.eyesforlies.com/blog/2010/02/alex-martin-is-nick-francisco/
• https://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/runawaymissing-art-director-found-in-la-doing-design-work/6676/
• https://twitter.com/sisco?lang=en (old Twitter account)
• My Life is a Lifetime Movie (#2 - Betrayed by a Lover?)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OAvqY5MHMU - 20/20 on ID - Love and Lies - starts at about 26:40 in
• http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthread.php?8387-Nicholas-Francisco-ran-away-and-abandoned-pregnant-wife-kids
• https://rightbraintheology.com/ - Christine's website

You've heard of Sasquatch, but have you heard of Batsquatch? It hasn't been around long, but it sure has made some lasting impressions in Washington state after its mysterious appearance following the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens. Do you believe?

Sources

• https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Batsquatch
• https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Orang_Bati
• https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2021/08/half-bat-half-sasquatch-nw-legend-explored-in-batsquatch-of-mount-st-helens.html
• https://portlandghosts.com/the-story-of-the-batsquatch-the-terror-that-mount-st-helens-awoke/
• https://washingtonbigfoot.com/tag/mount-st-helens/
• https://aminoapps.com/c/urban-legends-cryptids/page/blog/the-batsquatch-of-mt-saint-helens/8anY_EqumujKYGz8YbEeMWq1VMr1ZGVEqo
• https://www.alamy.com/batsquatch-is-a-legendary-creature-that-is-alleged-to-inhabit-the-pacific-northwest-in-the-area-of-mount-st-helens-image419136827.html
• http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2014/06/is-it-bird-is-it-plane-no-its-batsquatch.html
• https://beyondtheparanormal.co.uk/2020/02/01/batsquatch/
• Monsters Across America, "Batsquatch"
• Camp Monsters Podcast by REI, "Batsquatch"
• Indonesian translation + background research by Danny Dhillon

Devoted mother of 4, Heather Leann Cameron (Haller), went missing after repeated distress calls to 911 about 20min outside of Redding, CA in August of 2012 while in the company of her ex boyfriend, Daniel Lusby. Heather is still missing today, nearly 10 years later. What happened to Heather Leann Cameron?

Sources

• https://charleyproject.org/case/heather-leann-cameron
• https://www.smokesignals.org/articles/2017/10/30/still-seeking-answers-tribal-member-heather-cameron-has-been-missing-for-five-years/
• https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForHeatherCameronHaller/
• https://twitter.com/heathercameronh
• https://coreysobell.medium.com/48-hours-what-happened-to-heather-cameron-and-cort-jones-838b6e1e8c40
• https://www.truecasefiles.com/2019/08/the-disappearance-of-heather-cameron.html
• https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-heather-cameron-28-redding-18-aug-2012.235822/
• https://www.opb.org/article/2021/03/09/oregon-missing-murdered-indigenous-people/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlQaGchTW8c&t=7s - Crimery

In 1988, Mulugeta Seraw lost his life for simply being who he was: a Black man from Ethiopia. His murder by racist skinheads horrified Portland and exposed the deep roots of white supremacy in the community. This is Mulugeta's story.

Sources

• Hate on Trial by Morris Dees
• A Hundred Little Hitlers by Elinor Langer
• http://media.oregonlive.com/history/other/2014/12/04/grandjurydecision1.pdf
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulugeta_Seraw
• https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/10/25/remember-mulugeta-30-years-after-splc-lawsuit-life-and-legacy-man-killed-hate-group
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/portland-hate-crime-mulugeta-seraw/
• https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mulugeta-seraw-1960-1988/
• https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2014/11/1998_story_legacy_of_a_hate_cr.html
• https://muse.jhu.edu/article/830039/summary
• https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/seraw-mulugeta/#.YfHKyOrML3Q
• https://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-27436-ken-death-mieske-dies.html
• https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2020/01/white-supremacists-on-trial-for-inciting-murder-required-extraordinary-security-in-portland-case-reverberates-30-years-later.html
• https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2011/07/27/ken-mieske-skinhead-murderer-ethiopian-student-1988-dies
• https://billmoyers.com/content/hate-trial-bill-moyers/
• https://vimeo.com/129797289
• https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2008/11/lessons_from_mulugeta_seraws_b.html
• https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/06/05/Apologetic-skinhead-gets-life-term/6661613022400/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2021/01/17/kyle-brewster-convicted-in-1988-killing-of-mulugeta-seraw-fought-at-jan-6-pro-trump-rally-in-salem/#:~:text=Released%20from%20prison%20in%202002,the%20white%20supremacist%20group%20Volksfront.
• https://apnews.com/article/02b78d7936b2c39417c6ff961b166a07
• https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/20/us/skinhead-is-sentenced-in-slaying-of-black.html
• https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/it-happened-in-1988/Content?oid=850524
• https://timeline.com/seraw-ethiopian-murder-metzger-b50884b83a92
• https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1989-09-02-8909024272-story.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Metzger

CW: This episode contains graphic descriptions of physical abuse against children and adults, please use caution when listening.

Our longest episode yet tells the horrific, decades-long story of Michelle Knotek and her systematic pattern of abuse and manipulation of the people she was supposed to love and care for the most. Knotek is slated for release from prison in June of 2022, and this episode will have you asking - why should she ever be released at all?

Sources

• If You Tell by Gregg Olsen - 2019
• https://allthatsinteresting.com/shelly-knotek
• https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/876416/shelly-knotek-abuse-daughters-serial-killer/
• https://nypost.com/2019/11/30/kids-of-murderer-michelle-shelly-knotek-warn-their-mom-could-kill-again/
• https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Dog-adds-twist-to-Raymond-case-1121726.php
• https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20030817&slug=raymond17m
• https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Woman-gets-22-years-in-deaths-of-boarders-1152156.php
• https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Plea-deal-reduces-charge-in-Raymond-murder-case-1136130.php
• https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20030813&slug=raymond13m
• https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Suspect-s-relatives-contacted-police-in-2001-1121929.php#page-1
• Sins & Secrets - Season 4, Episode 7 - The Murder Inn (Free on Discovery+)
• Wicked Attraction - Home Sweet Home (Free on Discovery+)

Toddler Teekah Lewis vanished without a trace from a Tacoma, WA bowling alley the night of January 23, 1999. She is still missing, just shy of 23 years later. Where is Teekah Lewis?

Find Teekah Lewis Facebook Page

Missing Teekah Lewis Instagram

Sources

• https://mynorthwest.com/12565/cold-case-detectives-refuse-to-give-up-solving-tacoma-child-disappearances/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuuZ6lCs9Mk
• https://medium.com/@jennbaxter_69070/the-unsolved-abduction-of-teekah-lewis-144bc0618502
• https://ncmissingpersons.org/teekah-lewis/
• https://www.crimeonline.com/2021/07/30/crime-stories-tacoma-tot-teekah-lewis-seemingly-disappears-into-thin-air-at-bowling-alley/
• https://www.instagram.com/missingteekahlewis/?hl=en
• https://www.facebook.com/Help-find-Missing-Teekah-Lewis-100247185413648/?ref=page_internal
• https://www.missingkids.org/poster/ncmc/859446/1
• https://www.pollyklaas.org/missing-children/teekah-lewis/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/mx0ifm/twoyearold_teekah_lewis_was_a_few_feet_from_her/
• https://imgur.com/gallery/mZ3Sngv
• https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/fm3yhc/timeline_and_lengthy_write_up_of_the_teekah_lewis/
• https://patch.com/washington/across-wa/tacoma-police-share-suspect-description-teekah-lewis-case
• https://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/alerts-missing-persons/missing-children/attachment/lewis_teekah-2/
• https://komonews.com/news/local/i-celebrate-it-for-her-teekah-lewis-mom-honors-birthday-20-years-after-disappearance
• https://www.dailyadvent.com/news/ea9ee7f06fc1c01573717b44b7ae6657-Crime-Stories-Tacoma-Tot-Teekah-Lewis-Seemingly-Disappears-Into-Thin-Air-at-Bowling-Alley
• https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/wa-teekah-lewis-2-tacoma-23-jan-1999.38987/page-7
• https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19990127&slug=2940874
• https://komonews.com/news/local/new-tip-in-teekah-lewis-case-leads-police-to-tacoma-park
• https://people.com/crime/toddler-kidnapped-bowling-alley-when-it-was-mothers-turn-to-bowl/
• https://unresolved.me/teekah-lewis
• https://www.kiro7.com/news/possible-break-case-teekah-lewis-disappearance/246683426/
• https://www.q13fox.com/news/father-of-teekah-lewis-speaks-out-for-first-time-since-daughters-disappearance-18-years-ago
• https://www.kiro7.com/news/crime-law/teekah-lewis-sister-victim-attempted-luring/246889846/
• https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20060621&slug=weblewis21
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B10lodRlGx0
• https://www.angelfire.com/jazz/jazzyrose/Teekah.html
• https://charleyproject.org/case/teekah-latres-lewis