January 24, 1987. Martinez, California. Nine-year old Eric Coy leaves his home on his bicycle in order to visit his aunt’s residence. Fifteen minutes later, Eric’s body and bicycle are discovered in a nearby wooded area and he has been stabbed several times. Four weeks after Eric is killed, six-year old Jeremy Stoner goes missing from nearby Vallejo before he is also found murdered and even though a suspect named Shawn Melton is charged with the crime, both of his trials end with hung juries and the charges against Melton are dropped. While investigators explore potential connections between the two cases, there are unable to find conclusive answers. Were Eric Coy and Jeremy Stoner both killed by the same perpetrator? Was Shawn Melton actually guilty of murder? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a pair of cold cases from the Bay Area of California that are still unsolved after 36 years. Special thanks to listener Hope Grimsley for narrating the opening of the episode.

If you have any information about the murder of Eric Coy, please contact the Martinez Police Department at (925) 372-3440

Additional Reading:

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/758716985/

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https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-04-mn-535-story.html

https://martineztribune.com/2016/01/21/cold-case-still-under-investigation/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/05/Guard-arrested-in-child-slaying/7547541918800/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/10/04/Second-jury-deadlocks-over-accused-child-killer/5028591940800/

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“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

“The Trail Went Cold” is doing a weekly livestream show on Vokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon UK” at the Tower Bridge, Leonardo Royal Hotel & Spa in London on June 10-11, 2023, as well as “Crimecon” at the World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida on September 22-24, 2023. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD23”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.co.uk or https://www.crimecon.com.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Austin, Texas on August 25-27, 2023. To get a 15 % discount on the purchase of tickets, please our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.