Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Mackenzie Cowell
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Mackenzie Cowell
Mackenzie Cowell was seventeen years old — a dancer, a cosmetology student, and a young woman with her whole life mapped out in front of her — when she stepped out of her beauty school in Wenatchee, Washington one February afternoon and never came back. Four days later, her body was found partially submerged in the Columbia River, twenty miles from where she had disappeared.
What followed was one of the stranger murder investigations in recent Washington state history. Investigators chased a months-long dead end involving drug dealers, a supposed snuff film, and an informant whose story kept changing. Meanwhile, the real answer had been hiding in plain sight — in the classroom where Mackenzie spent her afternoons, and in an apartment where a piece of carpet held a secret that luminol would eventually reveal.
Mackenzie had survived a difficult childhood, a contentious home life, and the relentless schedule she had set for herself. She made it through all of that. She didn't make it through one ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
Today’s snack: Quick and easy apple tart with buttermilk caramel syrup
Support us on Patreon
Sources:
What followed was one of the stranger murder investigations in recent Washington state history. Investigators chased a months-long dead end involving drug dealers, a supposed snuff film, and an informant whose story kept changing. Meanwhile, the real answer had been hiding in plain sight — in the classroom where Mackenzie spent her afternoons, and in an apartment where a piece of carpet held a secret that luminol would eventually reveal.
Mackenzie had survived a difficult childhood, a contentious home life, and the relentless schedule she had set for herself. She made it through all of that. She didn't make it through one ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
Today’s snack: Quick and easy apple tart with buttermilk caramel syrup
Support us on Patreon
Sources:
- Fretwell, Courtney. "Mackenzie Cowell." Forensic Tales, Rockefeller Audio, 30 Mar. 2026.
- Quirky-Motor. "[EXTENSIVE write up on the murder of Mackenzie Cowell, 17-year-old high school student killed in Washington State... Part 1 of 2]". Reddit, r/UnresolvedMysteries, ca. 2021.
- Quirky-Motor. "[EXTENSIVE write up on the murder of Mackenzie Cowell, 17-year-old high school student killed in Washington State... Part 2 of 2]". Reddit, r/UnresolvedMysteries, ca. 2021.
- Robbins, Jefferson. "Man contends he's innocent despite his guilty plea." The News Tribune, 18 Nov. 2012, p. B5.
- Robbins, Jefferson. "Suspect faces troubles in murder probe." Tri-City Herald, 24 Dec. 2010, p. 13.
- Smith, Catt. "The Murder of Mackenzie Cowell." Catt's True Crime Corner, 22 Dec. 2023.
- "48 Hours 'Secrets of the River': Be careful what you plead for." CBS News, 11 Aug. 2014.
- "Murder of Mackenzie Cowell." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Apr. 2026.
- Van Sant, Peter. "Mackenzie Cowell murder: The search for her killer." CBS News, 9 Aug. 2014.
- Dahl, Tanya. "Second Suspect Arrested In Mackenzie Cowell Murder." KXLY 4 News / YouTube, uploaded by 4 News Now.
View all episodes
By Tina and Rich
4.7
652652 ratings
Mackenzie Cowell was seventeen years old — a dancer, a cosmetology student, and a young woman with her whole life mapped out in front of her — when she stepped out of her beauty school in Wenatchee, Washington one February afternoon and never came back. Four days later, her body was found partially submerged in the Columbia River, twenty miles from where she had disappeared.
What followed was one of the stranger murder investigations in recent Washington state history. Investigators chased a months-long dead end involving drug dealers, a supposed snuff film, and an informant whose story kept changing. Meanwhile, the real answer had been hiding in plain sight — in the classroom where Mackenzie spent her afternoons, and in an apartment where a piece of carpet held a secret that luminol would eventually reveal.
Mackenzie had survived a difficult childhood, a contentious home life, and the relentless schedule she had set for herself. She made it through all of that. She didn't make it through one ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
Today’s snack: Quick and easy apple tart with buttermilk caramel syrup
Support us on Patreon
Sources:
What followed was one of the stranger murder investigations in recent Washington state history. Investigators chased a months-long dead end involving drug dealers, a supposed snuff film, and an informant whose story kept changing. Meanwhile, the real answer had been hiding in plain sight — in the classroom where Mackenzie spent her afternoons, and in an apartment where a piece of carpet held a secret that luminol would eventually reveal.
Mackenzie had survived a difficult childhood, a contentious home life, and the relentless schedule she had set for herself. She made it through all of that. She didn't make it through one ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
Today’s snack: Quick and easy apple tart with buttermilk caramel syrup
Support us on Patreon
Sources:
- Fretwell, Courtney. "Mackenzie Cowell." Forensic Tales, Rockefeller Audio, 30 Mar. 2026.
- Quirky-Motor. "[EXTENSIVE write up on the murder of Mackenzie Cowell, 17-year-old high school student killed in Washington State... Part 1 of 2]". Reddit, r/UnresolvedMysteries, ca. 2021.
- Quirky-Motor. "[EXTENSIVE write up on the murder of Mackenzie Cowell, 17-year-old high school student killed in Washington State... Part 2 of 2]". Reddit, r/UnresolvedMysteries, ca. 2021.
- Robbins, Jefferson. "Man contends he's innocent despite his guilty plea." The News Tribune, 18 Nov. 2012, p. B5.
- Robbins, Jefferson. "Suspect faces troubles in murder probe." Tri-City Herald, 24 Dec. 2010, p. 13.
- Smith, Catt. "The Murder of Mackenzie Cowell." Catt's True Crime Corner, 22 Dec. 2023.
- "48 Hours 'Secrets of the River': Be careful what you plead for." CBS News, 11 Aug. 2014.
- "Murder of Mackenzie Cowell." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Apr. 2026.
- Van Sant, Peter. "Mackenzie Cowell murder: The search for her killer." CBS News, 9 Aug. 2014.
- Dahl, Tanya. "Second Suspect Arrested In Mackenzie Cowell Murder." KXLY 4 News / YouTube, uploaded by 4 News Now.
More shows like Love Marry Kill
View all
48 Hours
10,972 Listeners
Snapped: Women Who Murder
5,280 Listeners
True Crime Brewery
1,158 Listeners
True Crime Couple
2,543 Listeners
Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast
8,900 Listeners
MURDERISH
3,440 Listeners
Crime Salad
3,226 Listeners
Housewives of True Crime
2,228 Listeners
Big Mad True Crime
5,933 Listeners
Women and Crime
2,998 Listeners
Serialously with Annie Elise
10,270 Listeners
LOVE MURDER
3,352 Listeners
True Crime Creepers
1,072 Listeners
Crime and Coffee Couple - True Crime Podcast
947 Listeners
Betrayal Season 5
8,305 Listeners