July 11, 1988. Walnut Creek, California. Lester Garnier, a 30-year old vice officer with the San Francisco Police Department, is found shot to death inside his car in a shopping center parking lot. Eyewitnesses recall seeing at least two unidentified blonde women in the parking lot the previous night and speculation mounts that Lester’s murder might be connected to his involvement in the recent high-profile bust of a teenage prostitution ring. Twenty years later, authorities announce that a partial fingerprint from the crime scene has been matched to Catherine Kuntz, a Scottish woman with an extensive criminal history, but there is not enough evidence to file charges. Was Kuntz responsible for Lester Garnier’s murder? If so, what was her motive? Were other people involved in this crime? What was Lester doing in that parking lot to begin with? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a baffling unsolved murder of a police officer which has a number of unanswered questions.

Additional Reading:

https://unsolved.com/gallery/lester-garnier/

https://www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-S-COLDEST-CASE-A-coverup-is-still-2669756.php

https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Fingerprint-may-solve-mystery-of-cop-s-killing-3281170.php

https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Suspect-in-S-F-cop-s-1988-slaying-is-deported-3173664.php

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The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.