DNA: ID

Episode 122 Patricia Stichler Part 2 of 2

This is the conclusion of the Patricia Stichler case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, please stop now and go back and listen to that part first.

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Episode 122 Patricia Stichler Part 1 of 2

New Years’ Day 1985 should have rung in an exciting new year for Patti Stichler and her three young daughters.  Instead, in the middle of the night on January 1-2, someone slashed and stabbed Patti to death in her bedroom.  Her three girls, ages 11, 9 and 6, were in their bedrooms just feet away.  The oldest, Andrea, was the one to find her mom, and also found the most significant clue the police had – the open window in the blood-stained bathroom, and the gaping curtains that had been cut away from it. A knife sheath was found right outside, but the killer eluded police for decades.  Sylvania, OH investigators focused on people Patti knew, but could not link anyone in her inner circle to the crime. Decades later, a very complex forensic genealogy analysis that required interpreting one-sided DNA matches, piercing adoption records, and a lot of luck, finally provided a name – and it was not who anyone suspected.

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Episode 121 Doe: ID 'Oscar Talley Road Jane Doe' Shawna Beth Garber 

In December, 1990, a couple discovered a human skull on an abandoned farm on Oscar Talley Road near Lanagan, Missouri. A search of the area by police revealed more bones, and clothing. The remains were determined to be that of a woman, but she carried no ID. A white towel had been wrapped around the woman's head, and she was tied with several types of bindings made up of ropes, cords, and coax cables. Due to the state of decomposition, the cause and manner of death could not be determined, but police were confident that the woman had been the victim of a homicide. The dead woman was given the name 'Oscar Talley Road Jane Doe' and police went about trying to figure out how she died and who was responsible; but first, they needed to find out their victim's name, and it would take decades. Along the way, her remains would even be misplaced, and finding them became an investigation within the investigation. In 2021, after more than three decades, genealogy and DNA were used to identify 'Oscar Talley Road Jane Doe' as Shawna Beth Garber. She was 22 years old when she died in 1990. As tragic as the end of her life was, as investigators dug into her background, it seemed as if Shawna never had an easy life; instead it was filled with abuse, and being separated from her family. Now that police knew who their victim was, they focused on finding the person that killed her, and they zeroed in on a man named Taffey Reeves. Unfortunately, Reeves was dead by the time this case was solved, and when investigators looked into his background, they found a disturbing pattern of crimes that led them to believe he was a serial killer. The investigation into Reeves and whether he has other victims is ongoing. After more than three decades, 'Oscar Talley Road Jane Doe' has her name back; it's Shawna Beth Garber, and this is her story. 

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Episode 120 Melinda Salazar and Carrole Ann White 

Starting in 2017, someone started killing women in southwest Detroit, MI.  The killer struck at night, and always used the same weapon – his car.  Detroit police realized that they had a serial killer on their hands. His MO was always the same – pick up a white, female sex worker; have a sexual encounter with her in his vehicle; and then, run her down with that vehicle and rob her.  He was brazen, ruthless, and active, with at least five cases fitting his MO.  Despite all the trappings of modern technology at detectives’ disposal, they could not identify the Hit and Run Killer.  Finally, the application of forensic genealogy in an active investigation gave detectives what they needed – a name.  This episode features an exclusive interview with CeCe Moore on her genealogy analysis, and brings to listeners a case that received very little media coverage.

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Episode 119 Doe: ID 'Chimney Doe' Ronnie Joe Kirk 

In 1989, a custodian in a music store in Madison, Wisconsin discovered human remains in the chimney. At first, it was not clear that the remains were of a male or female, and remnants on clothing though to be a dress fueled confusion. An expert told police that the remains certainly belonged to a man, but since there was no ID with the body, they had no idea who the person was, nor did they know how their body had managed to get down the very small opening of the chimney, or if he was a homicide victim. For years the case remained a mystery, and the man was named 'Chimney Doe'. Eventually, DNA & genealogy proved that the remains were that of Ronnie Joe Kirk who dropped from sight in 1970 after losing contact with his family. Kirk was born in Oklahoma and is known to have travelled through Alabama, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. Authorities now know who he is, but how his remains got where they were found, and whether or not he's a homicide victim, remain a mystery and police are still trying to put the pieces together. Chimney Doe now has his name back; it's Ronnie Joe Kirk, and this is his story. 

Episode 118 Donna Sue Hyatt

Donna Sue Hyatt was a loving daughter, sister, mother and grandmother who faced some challenges in life. She relied on her friends, family and faith to help her put a smile on her face every day, and she was always friendly, chatty and sunny – until someone murdered her on her living room floor. There were plenty of suspects both in Donna Sue’s life and in the larger Carlsbad, NM area she called home. But police could not pin the crime on any one of them, although they had their suspicions.  Eventually the case went cold. DNA testing in 2010 revived the case, but could not solve it.  It would take the advent of forensic genealogy to link a repeat offender to Donna’s brutal slaying – someone who had gotten away with it before. 

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Episode 117 Doe ID: 'Rhinelander John Doe' Norman Grasser

On March 19,1980, a deceased man was found off of Highway 17, between Rhinelander and Eagle River in Wisconsin. He carried no ID, and the authorities came to the conclusion that he had died as a result of hypothermia, perhaps after falling in the cold and never waking up. The man didn't appear to have the ideal clothing or shoes for walking out in such a cold area, and he didn't carry any ID. After feeling comfortable that they had resolved how he died, the authorities struggled to find anyone in the area who they felt could be a match for him, and his prints were not found to be a match to any on file. The dead man was dubbed 'Rhinelander John Doe'.  Finally after advancements in DNA and genealogy, authorities decided to make a new attempt to ID Rhinelander John Doe, and in In January 2023, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office enlisted the assistance of Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center to help solve the case. The plan worked, and Rhinelander John Doe was identified as Norman Grasser of Chicago. Just how he came to be in Wisconsin remains a mystery. His family had searched for him after filing a missing persons report, but unfortunately, authorities in Chicago never linked their missing persons case to the John Doe in Wisconsin. 'Rhinelander John Doe' finally has his name back; it's Norman Grasser, and this is his story. 

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Episode 116 Terry Paquette

Terry Paquette worked 60+ hours a week as manager of the Lil Champ convenience store on Clarcona Ocoee Road in Lockhart, FL.  It was there that he was stabbed 73 times in the store bathroom in 1996.  The investigation was approached from several angles, including that Terry was slain in the course of a robbery, or that he was killed in a hate crime.  Detectives investigating the case over the years felt certain that Terry knew his killer, but a thorough dissection of his personal life failed to turn up any viable suspects.  When forensic genealogy came along, it pointed to someone detectives had never heard of – someone who had more connection to Terry and the Lil Champ than anyone had guessed. 

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Episode 115 Doe ID 'Rock Collection John Doe' Captain Everett Leland Yager

A strange mystery unfolded after a boy in Arizona inherited a rock collection from his grandfather in 2002. The boy's mother while looking through the collection found something disturbing; something she knew was not a rock. It was a partial human jawbone containing several teeth. She contacted the Yavapai County Sheriff's office about the disturbing find. It was theorized at first that the remains could have come from a nearby Native American burial grounds, but they soon discounted that theory, and without any kind of clues to go on, they dubbed the remains 'Rock Collection John Doe'. 

In 2023, The Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, decided to take on identifying the remains. They were successful; the remains belonged to a Captain Everett Leland Yager. There was just one problem, Captain Yager had died in plane crash in California in 1951, and he was laid to rest in his home state of Missouri. The identification of the Captain's remains solved one mystery, but opened up another; how did Captain Yager's jawbone wind up in Arizona decades after he was laid to rest in another state? 

After more than two decades, 'Rock Collection John Doe' finally has his name back; it's Captain Everett Leland Yager, and this is his story. 

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Episode 114 Michella Welch

In this episode we cover the conclusion of the Michella Welch case.  If you haven’t listened to the Jenni Bastian case, (ep113) please go listen to that one first, as many details about Michella’s case are addressed there.  Michella would finally see justice of her own in 2022, nearly 40 years after her murder became inseparably linked to Jenni Bastian’s.  And, we talk to Detective Lindsey Wade about her role in solving these cases, and her brilliant book, “In My DNA: My Career Investigating Your Worst Nightmares.”

To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply  visit our channel page on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a Patreon subscription.

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