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It was a normal day in September of 1988 when 19 year old Tara Calico went on her morning bike ride. Other than running a little behind schedule, there was nothing out of the ordinary. But when noon rolled around and Tara failed to come back home, her mother Patty knew that something was horribly wrong. 

Nearly a year after her mysterious and sudden disappearance, a polaroid photograph is found in a parking lot in Florida, over 1500 miles away that casts everything in a very sinister light. 

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Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Tara_Calico

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/tara-leigh-calico

Picture of the polaroid https://allthatsinteresting.com/tara-calico

Melinda's website about her podcast and film: https://www.taracalico.com/

https://people.com/crime/tara-calico-polaroid-photo-true-story/

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A detective in Florida had a stack of cold cases. He suddenly had a brilliant idea, what if he put cold cases on playing cards like they did for the war on terror and other conflicts and distributed those around to prisons to generate leads? Thus, the idea was born and now 20 states have adopted this. We also discuss one of those cards: The cold case of Susan Schwarz dubbed the Queen of Hearts. 


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Cruel Tea is a part of the Pod Moth Network: https://podmoth.network/
Sources:
the idea of the card decks: https://www.ranker.com/list/cold-case-playing-cards/jessika-gilbert 

list of links with additional information about Susan Schwarz https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/cold-case-solved-gregory-johnson-arrested-for-the-1979-murder-of-susan-schwarz/

ID Investigation Discovery- Motives and Murder: Cracking the Case Queen of Hearts https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5yjy0a

Natural Witness The New Detectives, Episode on Molly McClure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM4EizRGFN4

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During the Cold War the US was pouring tons of money into research for their Star Wars program, IE the Strategic Defense System which, ideally, would shoot ICBM nukes out of the sky, from space, before they could hit their targets on American soil. The US contracted some research through a company called Marconi Electronics in England. From 1982 to 1988 over 25 of the Marconi scientists and engineers would end up dead under very mysterious circumstances. Why?

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Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEC-Marconi_scientist_deaths_conspiracy_theory

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-04-17-8803090394-story.html

https://viralnova.com/science-death-conspiracy/

https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread857714/pg1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTUuVDEexA4&t=637s

Shittiest song ever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1b8AhIsSYQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marconi_Wireless_Telegraph_Company_of_America

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On a cold day in February 1957, a young man was out trying to get an eyeful of some college girls from a secure vantage point in the woods. What he found instead was the badly beaten body of a little boy, discarded like trash in the woods, left in a cardboard box. The case would go cold for over sixty years until a big break in November of 2022. Now, at last, the boy in the box has a name: Joseph Zarelli. 

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Sources: 

https://allthatsinteresting.com/boy-in-the-box

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRTghh6NUfI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Joseph_Augustus_Zarelli

https://people.com/crime/philadelphias-boy-in-the-box-identified-after-65-years/

https://www.inquirer.com/news/joseph-zarelli-boy-in-the-box-internet-speculation-20221215.html

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First case in our Cold Case month! For this month we'll be featuring cases that went cold and were either solved or remain unsolved to this day. We'll have famous and obscure cases alike! 

For years, Joseph DeAngelo terrorized California breaking into homes, assaulting the occupants and leaving a trail of terror and death in his wake. He always seemed several steps ahead of law enforcement. It would take four decades, a true crime writer, and ancestry DNA tests to catch him. 

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Sources (will post soon)

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Apologies for the late upload! Mercury Gatorade strikes again and we had some technical difficulty. Because of course. 

Joseph of Cupertino came from modest beginnings, born in a stable to his debt ridden, widowed mother. He was reviled by kids his age and his mother and generally everyone who met him. He was odd. Weird. Had visions. But these visions were all about God and he endeavored to become a priest. Which he did! Then, much to the shock and amazement of all who witnessed it, Joseph found he could fly. 

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Our discord, merch, and more: linktr.ee/crueltea

Sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_of_Cupertino
https://skepticalinquirer.org/2018/07/secrets-of-the-flying-friar-did-st-joseph-of-copertino-really-levitate/
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2020/10/the-bizarre-case-of-the-flying-priest/

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Recorded in November of 2022, this is the last of our patreon rewind cases! Next month's theme is Cold Cases, both solved and unsolved. Thank you all for making this very hard year tolerable. We love y'all! <3 

In July of 2014, Lars Mittank went with five friends to Bulgaria's Riveria on a trip to unwind. He was never seen again. What happened? Why did Lars frantically flee the airport? Did Lars really get into a fight, or did he make it all up and if so, why? 

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The last RELEASED footage of Lars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjsgJRAxIK0

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Maybe one of my all time favorite episodes! Willow did a great job on this case and all of it's twists and turns! 

Dolly married her boss from the textile mill, but was ultimately unsatisfied. She took on lovers, right under her husband's nose, but none stuck around for long, until she met young Otto. All that running around was garnering attention so she decided that Otto would have to live in her attic. For over 20 years. 

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One of the more well known mass UFO sightings took place on March 13th, 1997 in Phoenix Arizona, parts of Nevada, and parts of Mexico. Witnessed by thousands, video taped by a few, it remains unsolved and hotly debated by believers and skeptics alike. Here, Lillian and Merris share some little known facts about this amazing case. 

Cruel Tea is a part of the Pod Moth Network

News footage of the Phoenix Lights: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=phoenix+lights+footage

Go here for merch, discord, and other projects: https://linktr.ee/crueltea

Sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Lights

https://ktar.com/story/1490163/more-than-20-years-later-mystery-of-phoenix-lights-still-fascinates-people/

https://www.abc15.com/entertainment/events/mystery-continues-on-25th-anniversary-of-phoenix-lights-harkins-hosting-special-event

https://www.azfamily.com/2022/03/13/phoenix-lights-25-years-later/

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Lights-Skeptics-Discovery-Alone/dp/1943625778

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PATREON REWIND: All the regular episodes this month are gifts from our patrons to you! They were chosen as some of our best episodes and we hope you enjoy them! Excuse Lilian's voice in this one, she had Covid. 

9 year old Anthonette disappeared from her home on April 5, 1986. Her case remains unsolved though disturbing clues have emerged over the years including a call to police and an encounter in a diner far from home. Is Anthonette still alive? 

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https://www.acf.hhs.gov/trauma-toolkit/victims-human-trafficking

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