Cold Cases

Helen Melchi was a loving mother and community do-gooder who was murdered in her Champaign home in 2003. Even though two suspects were charged in the case, those charges were eventually dropped. Today, the family and authorities continue to…

It’s been 33 years since Kimberly Ann Thompson disappeared from Champaign without a trace. 'If we found out that she was alive that would be fantastic,' her sister, Debra, tells Carol Vorel in Episode 14 of her award-winning podcast,…

21-year-old Deonta Rozier was shot in the chest and died in a soggy field north of Urbana in January 2017. In Carol Vorel's 13th "Cold Cases" project, the veteran newswoman talks with family and detectives about the case. 'He…

Classie May Ragland, a young mother with an easygoing personality, was stabbed to death at her Urbana home. Nearly 45 years later, law enforcement still is chasing leads. 'People talk. Somebody told somebody something. And my guess is that the…

Classie May Ragland, a young mother with an easygoing personality, was stabbed to death at her Urbana home. Nearly 45 years later, law enforcement still is chasing leads. 'People talk. Somebody told somebody something. And my guess is that the offender who killed Classie May told somebody something at some point,' Urbana police Sgt. Mike Cervantes tells Carol Vorel in the 12th episode of her Cold Cases podcast series, 'And for whatever reason, that person has not come forward yet. I would hope that at some point somebody would share something for the sake of the family.'

It's been more than 13 years since the body of Emanuel Boyd Jr. was found in his home on Champaign’s north side. The 66-year-old man, police said, was killed by a blow to the head. 'I just have one question…

It's been more than 13 years since the body of Emanuel Boyd Jr. was found in his home on Champaign’s north side. The 66-year-old man, police said, was killed by a blow to the head. 'I just have one question for whoever did this: Why?  There is no need for that whatever they did,' Boyd's brother, Charles Franklin, tells Carol Vorel in the 11th episode of her Cold Cases podcast series. 'If I knew who it was, I would be in prison right now.'

05-17-19 Brian Barnhart with Carol Vorel to preciew her Cold Case that Runs Sunday.

It's known as the Burning Body case, a grisly murder of a young man from Sidney whose body was discovered smoldering on the side of the rural Champaign County road. Three-plus decades later, investigators remain stumped about who killed Robert…

It's known as the Burning Body case, a grisly murder of a young man from Sidney whose body was discovered smoldering on the side of the rural Champaign County road. Three-plus decades later, investigators remain stumped about who killed Robert Vaughn Wagner. 'We won't rest until we can provide some kind of closure for the family,' Champaign County Sheriff's Investigator Tim Beckett tells Carol Vorel in the 10th episode of her Cold Cases podcast series.