Tonight on Investigation: Homicide, hosts Therese Apel, Nicole Kral, and Amanda Johansson welcome former Jackson detective Charlie Smith for an in-depth look at one of Jackson’s most haunting cases: the 1987 kidnapping and death of Mildred Spires. 

On a warm July afternoon in 1987, 22-year-old Mildred left her family’s home after a brief phone call with her mother’s estranged husband — a conversation about a “pipe” in the garage that no one fully understood. Dressed in Calvin Klein jeans and a t-shirt, Mildred told her sister she was heading out to get gas and would bring back Doritos Ranch chips. She never returned.  

In this episode, the team retraces the chilling timeline of Mildred’s last known hours, explores the behavior of those closest to her, and examines the desperate search that followed. Detective Smith shares first-hand insights from the original investigation: the missing car, the unanswered calls, and the clues that pointed to something far more sinister.  

It’s a story of suspicion and mystery that still casts a long shadow nearly four decades later.  

This podcast is produced by Daniel Anderson and Audio Alchemy.