The Path Went Chilly

June 23, 1996. Boston, Massachusetts. The dismembered upper body of 20-year old Karina Holmer is found inside a plastic trash bag in a dumpster. She was strangled to death before being sliced directly in half and the lower portion of her body is never recovered. Karina hails from Sweden and has spent the past three months working as an au pair for a married couple and she was last seen partying at a nightclub nearly 36 hours before she was found. Even though the investigation looks at a number of potential suspects, there is no evidence to implicate anyone. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore a brutal unsolved crime which has often been described as Boston’s version of the Black Dahlia murder. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Boston Police Department Unsolved Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470 or the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS (8477).

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/22/metro/who-killed-karina-holmer-twenty-five-years-later-swedish-nannys-grisly-murder-remains-unsolved/

https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/03/30/from-the-archive-body-identified-as-swedish-nanny-karina-holmer/

https://www.masslive.com/boston/2021/06/karina-holmer-cold-case-boston-police-seek-new-leads-in-brutal-1996-murder-of-20-year-old-swedish-au-pair.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441014499/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/546676252/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441015411/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441016075/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441016594/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/440995729/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441018223/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441071148/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441516425/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441527386/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441855310/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441089022/

Just a quick note if you are listening to part one, I was struggling to find a case out of Southeast Asia that is similar to the Black Dhalia and was theorized that it could potentially be tied to George Hodel, that is the Manila Jigsaw murder in the Phillipines, the killing of Lucila Lalu in 1967

June 23, 1996. Boston, Massachusetts. The dismembered upper body of 20-year old Karina Holmer is found inside a plastic trash bag in a dumpster. She was strangled to death before being sliced directly in half and the lower portion of her body is never recovered. Karina hails from Sweden and has spent the past three months working as an au pair for a married couple and she was last seen partying at a nightclub nearly 36 hours before she was found. Even though the investigation looks at a number of potential suspects, there is no evidence to implicate anyone. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore a brutal unsolved crime which has often been described as Boston’s version of the Black Dahlia murder. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Boston Police Department Unsolved Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470 or the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS (8477).

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/22/metro/who-killed-karina-holmer-twenty-five-years-later-swedish-nannys-grisly-murder-remains-unsolved/

https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/03/30/from-the-archive-body-identified-as-swedish-nanny-karina-holmer/

https://www.masslive.com/boston/2021/06/karina-holmer-cold-case-boston-police-seek-new-leads-in-brutal-1996-murder-of-20-year-old-swedish-au-pair.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441014499/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/546676252/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441015411/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441016075/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441016594/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/440995729/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441018223/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441071148/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441516425/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441527386/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441855310/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/441089022/

April 9, 1947. Woodward, Oklahoma. Four-year old Joan Gay Croft is taken to the local hospital after an F5 tornado devastates her hometown and takes the lives of over 100 people, including her mother. While Joan Gay and her half-sister are recovering from injuries in the basement, two men show up and take her away. They claim that they are taking Joan Gay to another hospital to see her family, but she is never seen again. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of odd developments, including an anonymous E-mailer claiming to be Joan Gay. Did Joan Gay Croft go on living her life under a new identity? If so, who were the two unidentified men who took her? Could she still be alive today? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” explores a truly baffling mystery surrounding one of the worst tornados in history. 

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2557dfok.html

https://newsok.com/article/2468875/dna-test-may-solve-47-year-old-woodward-mystery-woman-believes-shes-joan-gay-croft

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/woodward-mystery-believed-solved/article_0fb79ae6-33a1-5c44-9938-f9559581419e.html

http://newsok.com/where-is-mystery-woman-connected-to-1947-woodward-tornado/article/3666941

https://newsok.com/article/2609396/woman-seeks-cousin-lost-after-tornado

https://www.enidnews.com/opinion/after-years-joan-croft-still-a-mystery/article_9eefe3d7-1ca3-5af8-a438-efe4e2d71ea9.html

http://kfor.com/2016/05/05/search-still-on-for-woodward-5-year-old-who-vanished-after-tornado-69-years-ago/

April 9, 1947. Woodward, Oklahoma. Four-year old Joan Gay Croft is taken to the local hospital after an F5 tornado devastates her hometown and takes the lives of over 100 people, including her mother. While Joan Gay and her half-sister are recovering from injuries in the basement, two men show up and take her away. They claim that they are taking Joan Gay to another hospital to see her family, but she is never seen again. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of odd developments, including an anonymous E-mailer claiming to be Joan Gay. Did Joan Gay Croft go on living her life under a new identity? If so, who were the two unidentified men who took her? Could she still be alive today? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” explores a truly baffling mystery surrounding one of the worst tornados in history. 

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2557dfok.html

https://newsok.com/article/2468875/dna-test-may-solve-47-year-old-woodward-mystery-woman-believes-shes-joan-gay-croft

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/woodward-mystery-believed-solved/article_0fb79ae6-33a1-5c44-9938-f9559581419e.html

http://newsok.com/where-is-mystery-woman-connected-to-1947-woodward-tornado/article/3666941

https://newsok.com/article/2609396/woman-seeks-cousin-lost-after-tornado

https://www.enidnews.com/opinion/after-years-joan-croft-still-a-mystery/article_9eefe3d7-1ca3-5af8-a438-efe4e2d71ea9.html

http://kfor.com/2016/05/05/search-still-on-for-woodward-5-year-old-who-vanished-after-tornado-69-years-ago/

October 6, 1983. British Columbia, Canada. 27-year old Bernd Goericke and his 22-year old fiancée, Andrea Scherpf, are found shot to death next to a remote road. The couple hailed from West Germany and had been hitchhiking through Canada and an unidentified man driving a pick-up truck is seen using Andrea’s travellers’ cheques in the days following her death. Nearly six years later, a suspect named Andy Rose is charged with the crime based on testimony from a former friend who claimed she heard him confess to the murders. After two trials and two overturned convictions, the charges against Andy are dropped when DNA testing on a key piece of evidence excludes him as the perpetrator, but no one else is ever charged with killing Bernd and Andrea. On this week’s episode of “The  Path Went Chilly”, we travel back to our home country of Canada to explore an unsolved double murder which led to a wrongful conviction.If you have any information about this case, please contact the Chetwynd branch of the RCMP at (250) 788-9221 or the Canadian Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Support the show: 

patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

patreon.com/julesandashley

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_murder_of_Andrea_Scherpf_and_Bernd_Görickehttps://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2648100646

https://archive.today/20120723055359/

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2008-2009/someone_got_away_with_murder/timeline.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/newfoundlander-s-ordeal-with-rcmp-sting-subject-of-cbc-documentary-1.834222

https://vancouversun.com/news/metro/police-seek-new-leads-in-1983-murder-of-two-german-tourists-near-chetwynd“The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook” by Gisli H. Gudjonsson

https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/files/mrbig.pdfhttps://ucfiles.com/filestatus.php?number=104200082

https://www.newspapers.com/image/501465197/https://www.newspapers.com/image/495935807/https://www.newspapers.com/image/496051750/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495047641/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/494831236/https://www.newspapers.com/image/496376227/

October 6, 1983. British Columbia, Canada. 27-year old Bernd Goericke and his 22-year old fiancée, Andrea Scherpf, are found shot to death next to a remote road. The couple hailed from West Germany and had been hitchhiking through Canada and an unidentified man driving a pick-up truck is seen using Andrea’s travellers’ cheques in the days following her death. Nearly six years later, a suspect named Andy Rose is charged with the crime based on testimony from a former friend who claimed she heard him confess to the murders. After two trials and two overturned convictions, the charges against Andy are dropped when DNA testing on a key piece of evidence excludes him as the perpetrator, but no one else is ever charged with killing Bernd and Andrea. On this week’s episode of “The  Path Went Chilly”, we travel back to our home country of Canada to explore an unsolved double murder which led to a wrongful conviction.If you have any information about this case, please contact the Chetwynd branch of the RCMP at (250) 788-9221 or the Canadian Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Support the show: 

patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

patreon.com/julesandashley

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_murder_of_Andrea_Scherpf_and_Bernd_Görickehttps://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2648100646

https://archive.today/20120723055359/

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2008-2009/someone_got_away_with_murder/timeline.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/newfoundlander-s-ordeal-with-rcmp-sting-subject-of-cbc-documentary-1.834222

https://vancouversun.com/news/metro/police-seek-new-leads-in-1983-murder-of-two-german-tourists-near-chetwynd“The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook” by Gisli H. Gudjonsson

https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/files/mrbig.pdfhttps://ucfiles.com/filestatus.php?number=104200082

https://www.newspapers.com/image/501465197/https://www.newspapers.com/image/495935807/https://www.newspapers.com/image/496051750/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495047641/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/494831236/https://www.newspapers.com/image/496376227/

November 15, 1928. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. 29-year old Glen Hyde and his 22- year old wife, Bessie, decide to spend their honeymoon taking a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon down the rapids of the Colorado River and hope to attain a new speed record. Shortly after stopping at the home of a photographer named Emery Kolb, the Hydes vanish without a trace. Their empty boat is eventually discovered on the river nearly 150 miles away with all of the couple’s supplies and possessions onboard, but Glen and Bessie are nowhere to be found. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of surprising twists, including a woman who claimed to be Bessie Hyde and the discovery of an unidentified male skeleton in Emery Kolb’s boathouse. Did Glen and Bessie Hyde drown in the Colorado River, or was something a lot more sinister behind their disappearances? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles the Grand Canyon’s most famous mystery, which has remained unsolved for nearly a century.

Support the Show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Glen_and_Bessie_Hydehttp://charleyproject.org/case/glen-rollin-hyde

http://charleyproject.org/case/bessie-louise-haley-hyde“Sunk Without a Sound: The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde” by Brad Dimock

November 15, 1928. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. 29-year old Glen Hyde and his 22- year old wife, Bessie, decide to spend their honeymoon taking a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon down the rapids of the Colorado River and hope to attain a new speed record. Shortly after stopping at the home of a photographer named Emery Kolb, the Hydes vanish without a trace. Their empty boat is eventually discovered on the river nearly 150 miles away with all of the couple’s supplies and possessions onboard, but Glen and Bessie are nowhere to be found. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of surprising twists, including a woman who claimed to be Bessie Hyde and the discovery of an unidentified male skeleton in Emery Kolb’s boathouse. Did Glen and Bessie Hyde drown in the Colorado River, or was something a lot more sinister behind their disappearances? This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles the Grand Canyon’s most famous mystery, which has remained unsolved for nearly a century.

Support the Show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Glen_and_Bessie_Hydehttp://charleyproject.org/case/glen-rollin-hyde

http://charleyproject.org/case/bessie-louise-haley-hyde“Sunk Without a Sound: The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde” by Brad Dimock

Wednesday Jun 30, 2021The Trail Went Cold - Episode 232 - Gary Simmons







October 15, 1974. Overland Park, Kansas. 32-year old businessman Gary Simmons leaves his office in order to purchase a horse from a man named Tom Dixon. Later that day, Gary provides authorization for Dixon to cash a $30,000 cheque he paid him, but Gary is never heard from again and Dixon also disappears after collecting the money. Seventeen years later, Gary’s skeletal remains are discovered inside a cave and it turns out he has been shot in the head. While Dixon is believed to be involved, he is never tracked down and investigators suspect that Gary may have been the victim of an elaborate murder plot orchestrated by an unknown third party. Could this person have also killed Tom Dixon? If so, what was the motive for this crime? On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore the baffling and convoluted unsolved murder of Gary Simmons.

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Additional Reading:

https://unsolved.com/gallery/tom-dixon/

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Gary_Simmons

https://apnews.com/article/cf426a208f5d0da2af630c490f93e17ehttp://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-10-20/news/9110200207_1_simmons-skeleton-gary-comptonThe Nevada Daily Mail (October 20, 1991)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/676554618/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/676554882/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/681960576/https://www.newspapers.com/image/681960638/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/682154238/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/676745192/https://www.newspapers.com/image/676745195/

Wednesday Jun 30, 2021The Trail Went Cold - Episode 232 - Gary Simmons







October 15, 1974. Overland Park, Kansas. 32-year old businessman Gary Simmons leaves his office in order to purchase a horse from a man named Tom Dixon. Later that day, Gary provides authorization for Dixon to cash a $30,000 cheque he paid him, but Gary is never heard from again and Dixon also disappears after collecting the money. Seventeen years later, Gary’s skeletal remains are discovered inside a cave and it turns out he has been shot in the head. While Dixon is believed to be involved, he is never tracked down and investigators suspect that Gary may have been the victim of an elaborate murder plot orchestrated by an unknown third party. Could this person have also killed Tom Dixon? If so, what was the motive for this crime? On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore the baffling and convoluted unsolved murder of Gary Simmons.

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Additional Reading:

https://unsolved.com/gallery/tom-dixon/

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Gary_Simmons

https://apnews.com/article/cf426a208f5d0da2af630c490f93e17ehttp://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-10-20/news/9110200207_1_simmons-skeleton-gary-comptonThe Nevada Daily Mail (October 20, 1991)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/676554618/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/676554882/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/681960576/https://www.newspapers.com/image/681960638/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/682154238/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/676745192/https://www.newspapers.com/image/676745195/