The Path Went Chilly

(part 2/2) September 8, 1981. Mount Vernon, South Dakota. 30-year old John Mathis contacts police to inform them that he has been shot in the arm after a struggle with a masked attacker on his farm. When police arrive, they discover that John’s wife, LaDonna Mathis, and their two children, four-year old Brian and two-year old Patrick, have been shot to death. While John claims the masked attacker was responsible, investigators find a number of discrepancies in his story. John is eventually charged with murdering his wife and two sons, but when he goes on trial, the jury acquits him. Were LaDonna, Brian and Patrick actually killed by an unknown assailant? Or did John Mathis get away with the murder of his family? We examine both sides of this harrowing and controversial case on this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/crime-and-courts/1538088-mathis-murders-30-years-later-some-authorities-remain-convinced-john

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/crime-and-courts/1538125-surviving-mathis-child-says-father-innocent-murders

http://rapidcityjournal.com/twenty-years-later-mathis-case-still-unsolved/article_299e6074-bda0-5dc0-aa19-1eb0ab8f0728.html

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/09/09/Survivor-of-multiple-slaying-making-sense-sheriff-says/8257368856000/

September 8, 1981. Mount Vernon, South Dakota. 30-year old John Mathis contacts police to inform them that he has been shot in the arm after a struggle with a masked attacker on his farm. When police arrive, they discover that John’s wife, LaDonna Mathis, and their two children, four-year old Brian and two-year old Patrick, have been shot to death. While John claims the masked attacker was responsible, investigators find a number of discrepancies in his story. John is eventually charged with murdering his wife and two sons, but when he goes on trial, the jury acquits him. Were LaDonna, Brian and Patrick actually killed by an unknown assailant? Or did John Mathis get away with the murder of his family? We examine both sides of this harrowing and controversial case on this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/crime-and-courts/1538088-mathis-murders-30-years-later-some-authorities-remain-convinced-john

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/crime-and-courts/1538125-surviving-mathis-child-says-father-innocent-murders

http://rapidcityjournal.com/twenty-years-later-mathis-case-still-unsolved/article_299e6074-bda0-5dc0-aa19-1eb0ab8f0728.html

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/09/09/Survivor-of-multiple-slaying-making-sense-sheriff-says/8257368856000/

(Part 2/2) November 18, 1970. Nashville, Indiana. A barn located on the property of 52-year old Clarence Roberts burns to the ground and a charred body is found in the rubble. Clarence’s family assume the body is him, but since he was experiencing serious financial problems at the time, the authorities suspect that Clarence faked his own death, so that his wife, Geneva, could collect on some substantial life insurance policies. Ten years later, Geneva Roberts is killed in a mysterious house fire… alongside a man who is identified as her supposedly deceased husband, Clarence! But what caused the couple’s deaths and whose body was burned in 1970? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles the incredibly bizarre tale of a man who supposedly died in two different fires ten years apart.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Clarence_and_Geneva_Roberts

“Notorious 92: Indiana’s Most Notorious Murders in All 92 Counties” by Andrew E. Stoner

https://www.leagle.com/decision/19801787410ne2d137711761

November 18, 1970. Nashville, Indiana. A barn located on the property of 52-year old Clarence Roberts burns to the ground and a charred body is found in the rubble. Clarence’s family assume the body is him, but since he was experiencing serious financial problems at the time, the authorities suspect that Clarence faked his own death, so that his wife, Geneva, could collect on some substantial life insurance policies. Ten years later, Geneva Roberts is killed in a mysterious house fire… alongside a man who is identified as her supposedly deceased husband, Clarence! But what caused the couple’s deaths and whose body was burned in 1970? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles the incredibly bizarre tale of a man who supposedly died in two different fires ten years apart.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Clarence_and_Geneva_Roberts

“Notorious 92: Indiana’s Most Notorious Murders in All 92 Counties” by Andrew E. Stoner

https://www.leagle.com/decision/19801787410ne2d137711761

(Part 2/2) December 3, 2003. Baltimore, Maryland. While working on a plea agreement, 38-year old prosecutor Jonathan Luna leaves his office at the Federal District Court Building shortly before midnight. The following morning, Luna’s vehicle is discovered over 90 miles away in a rural creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and his body is lying in the water. He has been stabbed 36 times with his own penknife, but while the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office are certain Luna was murdered, the FBI believe his death might have been a suicide. An investigation into Luna’s movements only opens up more questions, as he inexplicably made a detour through Delaware before travelling to Pennsylvania. Was Jonathan Luna a victim of foul play? And what was the purpose of his lengthy road trip? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” examines one of the most baffling unexplained deaths we have ever encountered.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-decade-later-prosecutor-lunas-death-still-a-mystery/2013/12/10/211e2ab8-f563-11e2-aa2e-4088616498b4_story.html?utm_term=.d5e0800ed279

https://lancasteronline.com/news/the-curious-case-of-jonathan-luna/article_4e09be61-673f-54a5-a19b-ef95f509e542.html

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10.pdf

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10-2.pdf

“The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna” by William Keisling

December 3, 2003. Baltimore, Maryland. While working on a plea agreement, 38-year old prosecutor Jonathan Luna leaves his office at the Federal District Court Building shortly before midnight. The following morning, Luna’s vehicle is discovered over 90 miles away in a rural creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and his body is lying in the water. He has been stabbed 36 times with his own penknife, but while the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office are certain Luna was murdered, the FBI believe his death might have been a suicide. An investigation into Luna’s movements only opens up more questions, as he inexplicably made a detour through Delaware before travelling to Pennsylvania. Was Jonathan Luna a victim of foul play? And what was the purpose of his lengthy road trip? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” examines one of the most baffling unexplained deaths we have ever encountered.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-decade-later-prosecutor-lunas-death-still-a-mystery/2013/12/10/211e2ab8-f563-11e2-aa2e-4088616498b4_story.html?utm_term=.d5e0800ed279

https://lancasteronline.com/news/the-curious-case-of-jonathan-luna/article_4e09be61-673f-54a5-a19b-ef95f509e542.html

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10.pdf

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10-2.pdf

“The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna” by William Keisling

(Part 3/3) This is a case from Robin's Patreon vault, so it may be new to some of you. February 17, 1988. Garrett County, Maryland. While working a shift at her family’s restaurant, 19-year old Cathy Ford receives a series of phone calls which prompt her to leave in order to attend a meeting with an unidentified individual, but she never returns. Three weeks later, the burned-out Ford Bronco Cathy had been driving is found in a wooded area in Grant County, West Virginia, located near a trailer being rented by a 31-year old sheriff’s deputy named Paul Ferrell. Even though Cathy’s body is never found, investigators discover compelling evidence to suggest that Paul murdered her. While Paul is charged and convicted of the crime, his defense team alleges that he did not receive a fair trial and even discover evidence to suggest that Cathy might still be alive somewhere. While Paul is ultimately granted parole and released from prison in 2004, Cathy is never found and the case remains shrouded in controversy.

Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

(Part 2/3) This is a case from Robin's Patreon vault, so it may be new to some of you. February 17, 1988. Garrett County, Maryland. While working a shift at her family’s restaurant, 19-year old Cathy Ford receives a series of phone calls which prompt her to leave in order to attend a meeting with an unidentified individual, but she never returns. Three weeks later, the burned-out Ford Bronco Cathy had been driving is found in a wooded area in Grant County, West Virginia, located near a trailer being rented by a 31-year old sheriff’s deputy named Paul Ferrell. Even though Cathy’s body is never found, investigators discover compelling evidence to suggest that Paul murdered her. While Paul is charged and convicted of the crime, his defense team alleges that he did not receive a fair trial and even discover evidence to suggest that Cathy might still be alive somewhere. While Paul is ultimately granted parole and released from prison in 2004, Cathy is never found and the case remains shrouded in controversy.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

This is a case from Robin's Patreon vault, so it may be new to some of you. February 17, 1988. Garrett County, Maryland. While working a shift at her family’s restaurant, 19-year old Cathy Ford receives a series of phone calls which prompt her to leave in order to attend a meeting with an unidentified individual, but she never returns. Three weeks later, the burned-out Ford Bronco Cathy had been driving is found in a wooded area in Grant County, West Virginia, located near a trailer being rented by a 31-year old sheriff’s deputy named Paul Ferrell. Even though Cathy’s body is never found, investigators discover compelling evidence to suggest that Paul murdered her. While Paul is charged and convicted of the crime, his defense team alleges that he did not receive a fair trial and even discover evidence to suggest that Cathy might still be alive somewhere. While Paul is ultimately granted parole and released from prison in 2004, Cathy is never found and the case remains shrouded in controversy.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

April 12, 1994. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 23-year old Karen Denise Wells has left on a cross-county road trip from her hometown in Oklahoma in order to visit her friend, Melissa Shepard, in New Jersey. After checking into a motel, Denise phones Melissa and asks her to come meet her there, but when Melissa arrives, Denise has vanished. Later that morning, Denise’s abandoned rental car is discovered 35 miles away on a remote road. The gas tank is empty and it turns out there are 700 miles on the vehicle’s odometer which cannot be accounted for. Investigators eventually start noticing discrepancies in Melissa’s story, leading them to believe she is withholding information about Denise’s disappearance. What actually happened to Karen Denise Wells? Why did her vehicle wind up in such a remote area? Where did those additional 700 miles on her odometer come from? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles one of the more baffling missing persons cases we’ve ever covered.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://charleyproject.org/case/karen-denise-wells

https://www.abc27.com/news/midstate-mystery-the-disappearance-of-karen-denise-wells/

https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/04/evidence_sparse_in_15yearold_d.html