The Trail Went Cold

January 12, 1994. Albuquerque, New Mexico. After dropping off a friend at a restaurant, 16-year old Jonathan Francia is carjacked and abducted from the parking lot in his mother’s Chevrolet Camaro. Five days later, the burned-out vehicle is discovered in the Arizona desert nearly 300 miles away and Jonathan’s charred remains are inside the trunk. A suspect named Paul Richardson is soon arrested and confesses that he committed the crime alongside an unidentified drifter known only as “Jason”. Paul fatally hangs himself in his jail cell and while his wife, Trena Richardson, is later indicted after admitting to involvement in the murder, the charges wind up being dismissed after her confession is thrown out. Since the mysterious “Jason” is never identified or tracked down, no one is ever convicted of Jonathan’s murder and the truth about what happened remains murky. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a brutal and frustrating crime which has yet to receive a conclusive resolution after three decades.

Additional Reading:

https://unsolved.com/gallery/jonathan-francia/

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

https://www.newspapers.com/image/157704267/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/157723443/

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/516316009/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/158405516/

“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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 30, 2013. Castaic, California. An overturned abandoned SUV belonging to 19-year old Bryce Laspisa is discovered at the bottom of a steep embankment near Castaic Lake, but even though most of his personal possessions have been left behind, Bryce himself is nowhere to be found. While beginning his sophomore year at Sierra College in Rocklin, Bryce had been displaying erratic behaviour and seemed to be experiencing issues with drugs and alcohol before he made the inexplicable decision to drive hundreds of miles away. During his trip, Bryce seemingly spent long periods of time just sitting inside his parked SUV, but even though he assured his parents he would eventually join them at their home in Laguna Niguel, he vanishes before he arrives. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the unsolved disappearance of Bryce Laspisa, who went missing under very bizarre circumstances.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (323) 890-5500.

Additional Reading:

https://charleyproject.org/case/bryce-david-laspisa

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/bryce-laspisa-missing-person-castaic-lake/1959070/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/09/05/mystery-over-burning-body-found-where-naperville-central-grad-disappeared-2/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/28/search-continues-2-years-after-central-grad-vanished-2/

https://scvnews.com/oct-19-20-organized-search-planned-for-missing-teen/

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/one-year-after-bryce-laspisas-disappearance-parents-ask-for-acts-of-kindness/

https://www.kcra.com/article/site-being-searched-for-missing-sierra-college-student-turns-up-body/6407433

https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/bryce-david-laspisa

https://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/crime/bryce-laspisa-still-missing-one-decade-after-unexplained-disappearance-480422

https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/63054d863f34185e925fcc8d/?passthrough=1

“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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 30, 1990. Westerville, Ohio. The mother of 22-year old Tony Lombardi returns home, assuming her son is at work. Forty-five minutes later, she claims that she hears the sound of a door closing followed by footsteps and she soon discovers Tony’s body on his bed. He has been shot through the head and a gun is lying on the floor next to him, but police rule Tony’s death to be a suicide. However, Tony’s family discovers injuries on his body to make them believe he was the victim of foul play and was possibly murdered by another man who was angry that Tony was dating his girlfriend, but his death is never reclassified.

June 30, 1991. Galesburg, Illinois. After not hearing from him for a day-and-a-half, the parents of 23-year old Danny Williams discover his dead body on a couch inside his house. He has been shot through the forehead and since a gun Danny owned is found in his lap, the police believe that his death was a suicide. Danny’s family uncover a number of suspicious discrepancies to make them believe he was murdered, including the possible presence of small traces of blood at the scene which do not match Danny’s blood type. A coroner’s jury officially list Danny’s cause of death as “uncertain”, but no conclusive evidence of foul play can be found.

On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover two suspicious suicide cases featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” involving young men who supposedly died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, but their families felt differently.

Additional Reading:

https://unsolved.com/gallery/tony-lombardi/

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

https://unsolved.com/gallery/danny-williams/

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

https://www.newspapers.com/image/306495856/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/299581538/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/300115062/

“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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

On December 23rd, 1974, three girls from Fort Worth, Texas vanished: Rachel Trlica, Renee Wilson, and Julie Mosely. After almost 50 years, the case has become steeped in misinformation and sensationalized mythos. In their series on the Fort Worth Missing Trio, Gone Cold attempts to cut through the misconceptions and confusion surrounding Julie, Renee, and Rachel’s disappearances.

This is a preview of Gone Cold’s coverage of the case, and you can find the rest of the story by subscribing to Gone Cold – Texas True Crime wherever you listen to podcasts.

https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

November 29, 1980. Duncan, British Columbia. 32-year old Granger Taylor drives away from his family’s farm in his pick-up truck, but never returns. Granger had developed an obsession with UFOs and claimed he started communicating with them and he leaves behind a note in which he states that he is going away on a 42-month interstellar voyage on an alien spacecraft. Five-and-half years later, human bones which are believed to belong to Granger and wreckage from his truck are found inside a crater on a nearby mountain. While it’s suspected that Granger travelled there and was killed in an explosion, there are no conclusive answers about what happened. For our final Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we will be tackling a UFO-themed story about the disappearance and presumed death of Granger Taylor.

Additional Reading:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-man-who-went-to-space-and-disappeared-the-story-of-granger-taylor/

https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/bcs-granger-taylor-left-a-note-saying-he-was-boarding-an-alien-spaceship

https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/episodes/spaceman

https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/mechanic-genius-restores-a-vintage-kittyhawk-plane-in-his-backyard

https://www.timescolonist.com/islander/what-happened-to-granger-taylor-4669648

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

https://www.newspapers.com/image/508870222

https://www.newspapers.com/image/508064460/

“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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 12, 2014. Beaver County, Pennsylvania. A severed head belonging to an elderly woman is discovered in a rural wooded area about thirty feet from the nearest road, but the rest of her remains cannot be found. The head has rubber balls inside its eye sockets and since it has been embalmed, investigators are unable to extract any DNA to make an identification, so the victim becomes known as “The Beaver County Jane Doe”. While the authorities do not believe that foul play took place, a local resident named Jay Grabner starts displaying suspicious behaviour to indicate he might have some knowledge about the head. However, all attempts to determine the Beaver County Jane Doe’s identity and the circumstances of her death are unsuccessful. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an incredibly bizarre mystery about the discovery of a severed head.

Join us on Saturday, October 26 at 8:00pm ET for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.

Additional Reading:

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

https://unsolved.com/gallery/the-severed-head/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/15/the-strange-sad-quest-to-match-a-severed-embalmed-head-with-its-body/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bb82266a0128

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-bodies-head-specialreport/special-report-a-womans-severed-head-was-found-in-the-woods-who-is-she-idUSKBN1D21B4/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pennsylvania-head-idUSKBN0TX2F120151214/

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/education/2015/12/12/edinboro-university-artist-creates-new/25015300007/

https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/local/2015/12/06/mysterious-case-embalmed-head-found/989358007/

https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/12/08/increased-reward-offered-for-information-on-embalmed-head-found-in-economy-beaver-county/69708414007/

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Beaver_County_Jane_Doe

https://www.distractify.com/p/beaver-county-severed-head

“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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

November 1, 1974. North Adams, Massachusetts. After leaving a dance at a local lodge, 18-year old Kim Benoit goes missing. Two weeks later, Kim’s body is discovered at the bottom of an embankment in a remote area twelve miles away and it is determined that she was the victim of strangulation. In October 1976, 17-year old Cynthia “Rocky” Krizack goes missing after leaving her home in the nearby town of Williamstown and her body is also eventually found at the bottom of a remote embankment. Since Rocky has been strangled to death and there are similarities between the two cases, investigators look into the possibility that she was killed by the same person who murdered Kim, but both crimes remain unsolved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a pair of cold cases from the Berkshires.

If you have any information about the featured cases, please contact the Berkshire County State Police Detective Unit at (413) 499-1112. That’s (413) 499-1112. For Kim Benoit’s murder, you can also contact the North Adams Police Department at (413) 664-4944 and for Cynthia “Rocky” Krizack’s murder, you can also contact the Williamstown Police Department at (413) 458-5733.

Additional Reading:

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/author-and-former-prosecutor-links-convicted-killer-to-kim-benoit-murder/article_d942ac81-a54f-5fb4-bd9c-ea9f1a5d95bb.html

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/66509/Reward-Offered-in-Renewed-Search-for-Kim-Benoit-s-Killer.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/cold-case-reward-information-kim-benoit-death-1974/

https://www.greylockglass.com/top-left-corner-170-investigating-cold-cases-of-murder-time-can-be-your-friend/

https://www.westernmassnews.com/2022/02/22/true-crime-cynthia-krizack/

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/47000/Cold-Case-Expert-Offers-Thoughts-on-Unsolved-Local-Murders.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/544888238/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/545933562/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/545034519/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1072387675

https://www.newspapers.com/image/470976091/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/532271900/

“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” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

September 12, 1983. Wyoming, Ohio. 59-year old Dorothea Irwin is found stabbed to death inside her residence. Since she was in the midst of selling the house and said she was meeting an interested buyer, it is theorized that this person murdered her as part of an elaborate set-up. Suspicion turns towards Dorothea’s son, John “Jay” Irwin, who had previously spent time in prison for fraud and encouraged his mother to put her home up for sale. Jay eventually commits some additional fraud schemes and becomes a wanted fugitive until he is captured in 1991, but no conclusive evidence links him or anyone else to Dorothea’s murder. Who was responsible for killing Dorothea Irwin and what could their motive have been? We shall attempt to answer that question on this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”.

Additional Reading:

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

https://www.newspapers.com/image/103324432/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/103324378/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/103324343/

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/763917774/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/100898478/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/801358948/

“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” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

March 10, 2005. Foley, Missouri. 13-year old Bianca Piper is reported missing by her mother, Shannon Tanner, who claims that she dropped Bianca off on a rural road about a mile from their residence. Bianca struggled with numerous mental health issues, included attention deficit hyperactive disorder and bipolar disorder, and had just gotten into a dispute with her mother. According to Shannon, she followed the recommendation of one of Bianca’s therapists and drove her daughter down the road, so that she could walk back home alone and deal with her aggression, but Bianca never arrived. Since investigators are unable to find her, they start believing that Bianca was abducted and became the victim of foul play. Was Bianca Piper harmed by a stranger or did something else happen to her? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a missing children’s case which remained unsolved for two decades.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at (636) 528-8546.

Additional Reading:

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

https://charleyproject.org/case/bianca-noel-piper

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/family-marking-th-anniversary-of-missing-foley-girl-with-fading/article_ccdad198-3191-5041-a01c-75cd283629fa.html

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/you-think-about-it-every-day-13-years-since-bianca-piper-disappeared/63-527561353

https://fox2now.com/news/after-14-years-mother-has-renewed-hope-missing-daughter-could-be-found/

https://www.firstalert4.com/2023/02/07/lincoln-county-cold-case-gets-renewed-hope/

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/porchlightusa/2005-piper-bianca-noel-200https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/porchlightusa/2005-piper-bianca-noel-2005-t11840.html5-t11840.html

https://www.bnd.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/answer-man/article202897184.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151984830/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151984920/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151780322/

https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/pimps-luring-suburban-high-school-girls-into-sex-slavery/

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/stcharles/st-peters-woman-sentenced-for-running-prostitution-operation-out-of-hotel-room/article_948fbfb3-fe67-56cd-bed4-4eb5a5e7067f.html

https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/sister-of-missing-girl-admits-trafficking-high-school-girls/

“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” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 10, 1994. Vancouver, British Columbia. 55-year old Nick Masee and his 39-year old wife, Lisa Masee, tell people they are planning to meet a potential investor about a $10 million business deal, but after Nick makes a reservation at a local restaurant, no one shows up. The following morning, Lisa makes a pair of phone calls to say that she and Nick are leaving town for a few days, but the couple is never heard from again. A pair of plastic zip ties are found near the front door of the Masee residence to suggest that a kidnapping may have taken place, but there is also speculation that Nick and Lisa disappeared voluntarily. Were the Masees actually the victims of foul play? If so, what was the motive? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a Canadian cold case involving a missing couple which has gone unsolved for 30 years. Special thanks to listener Maria Gabriella for narrating the opening of this episode.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the North Vancouver detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at (604) 985-1311

Additional Reading:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-mystery-of-a-quiet-banker-and-his-chic-wife/article4154929/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nick-and-lisa-masee-looking-back-on-the-mysterious-disappearance-1.2738150

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/25-years-still-missing-disappearance-nick-lisa-masee-1.5231001

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495149600/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495149604/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495192622/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495192938/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495151346/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/504623040/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495192938/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/496624172/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/495901857/

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1088dmbc.html

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1225dfbc.html

“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” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.