The Path Went Chilly

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

February 14, 1980. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While recovering from a bad drug hangover, 25-year old Michael Rosenblum drives off in his girlfriend’s car and vanishes without a trace. The vehicle is soon found abandoned by the Baldwin Borough Police Department, but even though Michael’s family reports him missing, the police inexplicably keep the car impounded for three months without informing anyone. As the years go by, Michael’s father uncovers disturbing evidence to suggest that the Baldwin police chief helped orchestrate an elaborate cover-up involving his son’s disappearance. Even when a skull fragment belonging to Michael is found in 1992, there are no answers about what happened to him. This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles the unexplained disappearance and death of Michael Rosenblum, which is perhaps our most convoluted and controversial case to date.

Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/archives/michael-rosenblum

http://coldcaseshardcopy.blogspot.com/2011/10/who-murdered-michael-rosenblum.html

Pittsburgh Magazine (April 1988)

February 14, 1980. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While recovering from a bad drug hangover, 25-year old Michael Rosenblum drives off in his girlfriend’s car and vanishes without a trace. The vehicle is soon found abandoned by the Baldwin Borough Police Department, but even though Michael’s family reports him missing, the police inexplicably keep the car impounded for three months without informing anyone. As the years go by, Michael’s father uncovers disturbing evidence to suggest that the Baldwin police chief helped orchestrate an elaborate cover-up involving his son’s disappearance. Even when a skull fragment belonging to Michael is found in 1992, there are no answers about what happened to him. This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles the unexplained disappearance and death of Michael Rosenblum, which is perhaps our most convoluted and controversial case to date.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/archives/michael-rosenblum

http://coldcaseshardcopy.blogspot.com/2011/10/who-murdered-michael-rosenblum.html

Pittsburgh Magazine (April 1988)

(Part 2/2) May 5, 1996. Tijuana, Mexico. A young man is struck by a motorcycle while running across the highway and dies in hospital six days later. Three weeks pass before he is identified as Patrick Sean Kelly, a 22-year old Canadian film student who had gone missing from the University of Southern California. There are a number of suspicious discrepancies to suggest there is more to Patrick’s death than a simple accident, as his ATM card is used and his vehicle is driven after he is hospitalized. The evidence also shows that Patrick may have travelled to Mexico with another young man, but this person is never identified. What compelled Patrick to make this trip? If he travelled with someone else, what happened to them? Was Patrick’s death really caused by the motorcycle accident, or did the local authorities orchestrate a cover-up? These are just some of the unanswered questions in this week’s baffling episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, which chronicles an unexplained death which turned into a nightmare of jurisdictional red tape.

Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/gallery/patrick-sean-kelly/

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

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-22/news/mn-26754_1_terri-kelly

https://web.archive.org/web/20041224153241/http://www.thepacc.org:80/Kelly.html

May 5, 1996. Tijuana, Mexico. A young man is struck by a motorcycle while running across the highway and dies in hospital six days later. Three weeks pass before he is identified as Patrick Sean Kelly, a 22-year old Canadian film student who had gone missing from the University of Southern California. There are a number of suspicious discrepancies to suggest there is more to Patrick’s death than a simple accident, as his ATM card is used and his vehicle is driven after he is hospitalized. The evidence also shows that Patrick may have travelled to Mexico with another young man, but this person is never identified. What compelled Patrick to make this trip? If he travelled with someone else, what happened to them? Was Patrick’s death really caused by the motorcycle accident, or did the local authorities orchestrate a cover-up? These are just some of the unanswered questions in this week’s baffling episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, which chronicles an unexplained death which turned into a nightmare of jurisdictional red tape.

Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/gallery/patrick-sean-kelly/

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

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-22/news/mn-26754_1_terri-kelly

https://web.archive.org/web/20041224153241/http://www.thepacc.org:80/Kelly.html

(Part 2/2) November 13, 1981. Stinson Beach, California. 44-year old John Paul Russell and 34-year old Bob Dozier emerge from the Pacific Ocean, claiming that their yacht, the Freedom II, sank after a large freighter crashed into them. John’s 30-year old wife, Suzanne Russell, and their 20-year old friend, Kristen Tomlin, were also on the boat and presumed drowned. However, when no trace of the Freedom II can be found, investigators begin to suspect that the whole incident is an elaborate scam orchestrated by the two men. Evidence also suggests that Suzanne Russell may have been in on the scam and faked her own death. After hiding out as fugitives for over a decade, John Paul Russell and Bob Dozier are captured and serve time in prison for fraud, but no trace of Kristen Tomlin is ever found. Was Kristen also a part of the scam and did she stage her own disappearance? Or was she an innocent victim who fell prey to some con artists? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” covers an incredibly bizarre fraud scheme involving a missing boat which eventually turned into an unsolved missing persons case.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/11/17/Ketch-mystery-deepens/7430788022132/

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/06/us/san-franciscans-puzzled-over-missing-ketch.html

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-05-01/local/me-766_1_theft-suspect

November 13, 1981. Stinson Beach, California. 44-year old John Paul Russell and 34-year old Bob Dozier emerge from the Pacific Ocean, claiming that their yacht, the Freedom II, sank after a large freighter crashed into them. John’s 30-year old wife, Suzanne Russell, and their 20-year old friend, Kristen Tomlin, were also on the boat and presumed drowned. However, when no trace of the Freedom II can be found, investigators begin to suspect that the whole incident is an elaborate scam orchestrated by the two men. Evidence also suggests that Suzanne Russell may have been in on the scam and faked her own death. After hiding out as fugitives for over a decade, John Paul Russell and Bob Dozier are captured and serve time in prison for fraud, but no trace of Kristen Tomlin is ever found. Was Kristen also a part of the scam and did she stage her own disappearance? Or was she an innocent victim who fell prey to some con artists? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” covers an incredibly bizarre fraud scheme involving a missing boat which eventually turned into an unsolved missing persons case.

Additional Reading:

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

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/11/17/Ketch-mystery-deepens/7430788022132/

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/06/us/san-franciscans-puzzled-over-missing-ketch.html

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-05-01/local/me-766_1_theft-suspect

(Part 2/2) November 24, 1956. LaPlace, Louisiana. 46-year old married family man Thomas Hotard and 31-year old single mother Audrey Moate meet up to continue their secret affair, which they have been carrying on for years. The following day, Thomas’ body is discovered inside his vehicle at a remote swamp area with a shotgun blast to the back of his head. Even though most of Audrey’s clothing has been left behind, she is nowhere to be found and a search of the area turns up no trace of her. Two decades later, a dying man confesses that his common-law wife was responsible for murdering the couple and that he helped dispose of Audrey’s body, but no evidence is found to support his story. This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” covers a “lovers’ lane” murder from the Louisiana bayou involving one victim who has still never been found.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/audrey-alta-moate

https://nbcmontana.com/archive/montana-woman-hopes-dna-will-crack-unsolved-mysteries-cold-case

November 24, 1956. LaPlace, Louisiana. 46-year old married family man Thomas Hotard and 31-year old single mother Audrey Moate meet up to continue their secret affair, which they have been carrying on for years. The following day, Thomas’ body is discovered inside his vehicle at a remote swamp area with a shotgun blast to the back of his head. Even though most of Audrey’s clothing has been left behind, she is nowhere to be found and a search of the area turns up no trace of her. Two decades later, a dying man confesses that his common-law wife was responsible for murdering the couple and that he helped dispose of Audrey’s body, but no evidence is found to support his story. This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” covers a “lovers’ lane” murder from the Louisiana bayou involving one victim who has still never been found.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/audrey-alta-moate

https://nbcmontana.com/archive/montana-woman-hopes-dna-will-crack-unsolved-mysteries-cold-case

(part 2/2) December 22, 1967. Chicago, Illinois. After leaving work and picking up his son from school, Dr. John Branion, a prominent African-American physician who treated Martin Luther King Jr., returns home to discover that his wife, Donna Branion, has been shot to death. Police become suspicious of Dr. Branion’s behaviour and eventually charge him with the murder after discovering that the likely murder weapon, a Walther PPK, and four shells are missing from his home. Even though Branion appears to have a solid alibi and his defense team argues there was not enough time for him to commit the crime, he is found guilty at trial. While free on bond to appeal the verdict, Branion flees the country, but is recaptured years later and dies in 1990. However, questions remain about the validity of the original conviction. Was Donna Branion actually murdered by her husband? Was an innocent man wrongfully convicted? Or is the real answer a lot more complex? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” examines a very controversial murder case which is still debated 50 years later.

Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Art: @fleshwadYT

Music: Paul Rich