The Path Went Chilly

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

Music: Paul Rich

Art: @fleshwadYT

December 27, 1993. Lockhart, Texas. The body of 38-year old Latricia White is discovered in her bed after having been shot six times. Latricia’s live-in boyfriend, Lee “Dub” Wackerhagen, has vanished from their home, alongside his nine-year son, Chance. Three days later, Dub’s abandoned pick-up truck is discovered, containing many of his personal items and blood which does not belong to Latricia. Since Dub was known for having a volatile temper, he becomes the prime suspect in the murder and a warrant is issued for his arrest. However, over two decades later, the authorities announce that new evidence suggests Latricia, Dub and Chance were all victims of foul play. But who could have been responsible? Today’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” examines a baffling unsolved case which was voted on by our listeners in a Facebook poll.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Also, please check out the Charley Project profile pages for Lee “Dub” Wackerhagen and Chance Wackerhagen for more information.

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/gallery/chance-wackerhagen/

http://archive.caller.com/news/local/crime/dps-looking-for-suspects-in-1993-murder-missing-persons-case-involving-kingsville-boy-33386e34-526b–380185871.html

http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Investigators-reopen-1993-Texas-murder-disappearance-case-379961121.html

December 27, 1993. Lockhart, Texas. The body of 38-year old Latricia White is discovered in her bed after having been shot six times. Latricia’s live-in boyfriend, Lee “Dub” Wackerhagen, has vanished from their home, alongside his nine-year son, Chance. Three days later, Dub’s abandoned pick-up truck is discovered, containing many of his personal items and blood which does not belong to Latricia. Since Dub was known for having a volatile temper, he becomes the prime suspect in the murder and a warrant is issued for his arrest. However, over two decades later, the authorities announce that new evidence suggests Latricia, Dub and Chance were all victims of foul play. But who could have been responsible? Today’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” examines a baffling unsolved case which was voted on by our listeners in a Facebook poll.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Also, please check out the Charley Project profile pages for Lee “Dub” Wackerhagen and Chance Wackerhagen for more information.

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/gallery/chance-wackerhagen/

http://archive.caller.com/news/local/crime/dps-looking-for-suspects-in-1993-murder-missing-persons-case-involving-kingsville-boy-33386e34-526b–380185871.html

http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Investigators-reopen-1993-Texas-murder-disappearance-case-379961121.html

(Part 3/3) June 7, 1992. Springfield, Missouri. After an evening of partying following their high school graduation, 19-year old Suzie Streeter and her 18-year old friend, Stacy McCall, decide to spend the night at Suzie’s house alongside Suzie’s 47-year old mother, Sherrill Levitt. They are last seen shortly after 2:00 AM, but later that day, Suzie, Stacy, and Sherrill, a.k.a. “The Springfield Three”, are all discovered to be missing from the house. The scene contains some bizarre clues, including a broken globe from the porch light and an odd answering machine message which is inadvertently erased, but no evidence of forced entry or a struggle. Over the years, there would be a number of leads, such as a convicted criminal who claimed to know what happened to the victims and a tip that their bodies were buried underneath the parking garage of a local hospital, but no trace of the Springfield Three is ever found. For our special three-year anniversary show of “The Path Went Chilly”, we will be chronicling one of the famous and puzzling missing persons cases of all time.


Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/stacy-kathleen-mccall

http://charleyproject.org/case/suzanne-elizabeth-streeter

http://charleyproject.org/case/sherrill-elizabeth-levitt

https://web.archive.org/web/20141031034010/http://archive.news-leader.com/article/20020603/NEWS01/60608049/Three-Missing-Women-Ten-Years-Later-Part-1-5

http://streeterfamilyblogg.blogspot.com

Music: Paul Rich

Art: @fleshwadyt [email protected]

(Part 2/3) June 7, 1992. Springfield, Missouri. After an evening of partying following their high school graduation, 19-year old Suzie Streeter and her 18-year old friend, Stacy McCall, decide to spend the night at Suzie’s house alongside Suzie’s 47-year old mother, Sherrill Levitt. They are last seen shortly after 2:00 AM, but later that day, Suzie, Stacy, and Sherrill, a.k.a. “The Springfield Three”, are all discovered to be missing from the house. The scene contains some bizarre clues, including a broken globe from the porch light and an odd answering machine message which is inadvertently erased, but no evidence of forced entry or a struggle. Over the years, there would be a number of leads, such as a convicted criminal who claimed to know what happened to the victims and a tip that their bodies were buried underneath the parking garage of a local hospital, but no trace of the Springfield Three is ever found. For our special three-year anniversary show of “The Path Went Chilly”, we will be chronicling one of the famous and puzzling missing persons cases of all time.


Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/stacy-kathleen-mccall

http://charleyproject.org/case/suzanne-elizabeth-streeter

http://charleyproject.org/case/sherrill-elizabeth-levitt

https://web.archive.org/web/20141031034010/http://archive.news-leader.com/article/20020603/NEWS01/60608049/Three-Missing-Women-Ten-Years-Later-Part-1-5

http://streeterfamilyblogg.blogspot.com

Music: Paul Rich

Art: @fleshwadyt [email protected]

(Part 1/3) June 7, 1992. Springfield, Missouri. After an evening of partying following their high school graduation, 19-year old Suzie Streeter and her 18-year old friend, Stacy McCall, decide to spend the night at Suzie’s house alongside Suzie’s 47-year old mother, Sherrill Levitt. They are last seen shortly after 2:00 AM, but later that day, Suzie, Stacy, and Sherrill, a.k.a. “The Springfield Three”, are all discovered to be missing from the house. The scene contains some bizarre clues, including a broken globe from the porch light and an odd answering machine message which is inadvertently erased, but no evidence of forced entry or a struggle. Over the years, there would be a number of leads, such as a convicted criminal who claimed to know what happened to the victims and a tip that their bodies were buried underneath the parking garage of a local hospital, but no trace of the Springfield Three is ever found. For our special three-year anniversary show of “The Path Went Chilly”, we will be chronicling one of the famous and puzzling missing persons cases of all time.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/stacy-kathleen-mccall

http://charleyproject.org/case/suzanne-elizabeth-streeter

http://charleyproject.org/case/sherrill-elizabeth-levitt

https://web.archive.org/web/20141031034010/http://archive.news-leader.com/article/20020603/NEWS01/60608049/Three-Missing-Women-Ten-Years-Later-Part-1-5

http://streeterfamilyblogg.blogspot.com

Music: Paul Rich

Art: @fleshwadyt [email protected]

June 18, 1977. Tucson, Arizona. After disappearing from his family for eleven days, the body of escrow company owner Charles “Chuck” Morgan is found outside his vehicle in the desert. He has been shot in the back of the head and is carrying a two-dollar bill which appears to have a coded message written on it. Even though Chuck had allegedly survived a kidnapping ordeal three months earlier and there are of lot suspicious things surrounding his death, the official police ruling is suicide. Thirteen years later, a Phoenix man named Doug Johnston is shot to death… but was his murder actually intended for a journalist investigating Chuck Morgan’s case? On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we examine two cases featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” which may be linked together by a frightening conspiracy.

Support the Show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/archives/chuck-morgan

http://tucson.com/news/local/crime/cold-case-strange-evidence-found-in-on-near-man-s/article_e84a1034-c078-5a43-81a1-e602f52eda02.html

https://www.cochise.az.gov/sites/default/files/treasurer/WillcoxMurder.pdf

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

Art: @fleshwadYT [email protected]

Music: Paul Rich

June 18, 1977. Tucson, Arizona. After disappearing from his family for eleven days, the body of escrow company owner Charles “Chuck” Morgan is found outside his vehicle in the desert. He has been shot in the back of the head and is carrying a two-dollar bill which appears to have a coded message written on it. Even though Chuck had allegedly survived a kidnapping ordeal three months earlier and there are of lot suspicious things surrounding his death, the official police ruling is suicide. Thirteen years later, a Phoenix man named Doug Johnston is shot to death… but was his murder actually intended for a journalist investigating Chuck Morgan’s case? On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we examine two cases featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” which may be linked together by a frightening conspiracy.

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://unsolved.com/archives/chuck-morgan

http://tucson.com/news/local/crime/cold-case-strange-evidence-found-in-on-near-man-s/article_e84a1034-c078-5a43-81a1-e602f52eda02.html

https://www.cochise.az.gov/sites/default/files/treasurer/WillcoxMurder.pdf

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

Art: @fleshwadYT [email protected]

Music: Paul Rich

October 23, 1981. Newburgh Heights, Ohio. 17-year old Kurt Sova goes out to spend the evening with friends, but does not return home. When Kurt’s parents go searching for him, they learn that he vanished after getting drunk at a party. Five days after his disappearance, Kurt’s body is discovered in a ravine, but the coroner’s office cannot figure out his exact cause of death and determine that he died only a day or two before he was found. The confusion is heightened by suspicious behavior from the host of the party, an unexplained eyewitness sighting of Kurt, and a mysterious stranger who accurately predicted the discovery of Kurt’s body two days beforehand. By popular demand, this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” will be chronicling one of the most memorable cases ever featured on “Unsolved Mysteries”

Additional Reading:

http://www.unsolved.com/gallery/kurt-sova

“The Plain Dealer” (October 27, 1991)

Art: @fleshwadYT [email protected]

Music: Paul Rich

October 23, 1981. Newburgh Heights, Ohio. 17-year old Kurt Sova goes out to spend the evening with friends, but does not return home. When Kurt’s parents go searching for him, they learn that he vanished after getting drunk at a party. Five days after his disappearance, Kurt’s body is discovered in a ravine, but the coroner’s office cannot figure out his exact cause of death and determine that he died only a day or two before he was found. The confusion is heightened by suspicious behavior from the host of the party, an unexplained eyewitness sighting of Kurt, and a mysterious stranger who accurately predicted the discovery of Kurt’s body two days beforehand. By popular demand, this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” will be chronicling one of the most memorable cases ever featured on “Unsolved Mysteries”

Support the show:

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://www.unsolved.com/gallery/kurt-sova

“The Plain Dealer” (October 27, 1991)

Promo: Ye Olde Crime Podcast

Art: @fleshwadYT [email protected]

Music by Paul Rich