Unsolved with Steve Gregory

By KFI AM 640 (KFI-AM)True Crime

Unsolved with Steve Gregory episodes

December 03, 2023 Episode 604 - Front Yard Assassination / Laundromat Execution
Case #1: December 30th, 2018, 46-year-old Demetrius Brackens and a relative had just walked out of the front door of a home in Compton. As they went down the sidewalk a man came up on them and without warning or provocation opened fire fatally hitting Brackens and injuring the relative. Neither of the men were tied to a gang and a doorbell video caught a glimpse of an SUV driving from the scene. UPDATE: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Compton City Council are offering a combined reward of $20,000 for the capture of the person or persons responsible for Brackens’ death and the attempted murder of his relative. Case #2: 13-year-old Miguel Perez and 19-year-old Jose Merlos were janitors at a laundromat in Lynwood. On March 8th, 1992, after closing the business for the night, someone entered the laundromat and forced the two to the rear of the building; they were shot execution style. While robbery was the strongest motive, detectives now believe there may have been something more to it. And how will a conversation overheard at a recent party steer the 30-year-old investigation?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 9 min
November 26, 2023 Episode 603 - Holiday Homicides
In this special edition of Unsolved with Steve Gregory we look back at homicides that happened between the traditional holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s – cases from Southern California and around the country. Many experts say the holiday season is a major stressor for people and some of the motivations behind holiday homicides include money, loneliness, and domestic issues. We look at murders as far back as 1881 and as recent as 2022. The cases come from all walks of life, including a poverty-stricken community in Kentucky and an upscale neighborhood in Chicago. The killers include a tobacco sharecropper, a former engineer with JPL, a desperate roommate, and an 18-year-old who didn’t want to pay rent.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 6 min
November 19, 2023 Episode 602 - Dead Body Dogs
We meet Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedics Nick Bartel and Eddie Ruiz who have the additional gruesome task of handling Human Remains Detection K-9’s (aka Cadaver Dogs). The dogs are used both in murder investigations and recovery efforts. Bartel and Ruiz were sent to the island of Maui to help find human remains from that deadly wildfire in August of 2023. The firefighters walk us through how the dogs are trained to focus in on decomposed flesh and even bone marrow. Bartel and Ruiz also give candid first-person accounts of the carnage and devastation they experienced searching for remains around the historic town of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. This is part of Unsolved’s ‘Crime Fighter Series’.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 7 min
November 12, 2023 Episode 601 - Bloody Bedroom
In December of 1983 17-year-old Kristina Rosenberger was found stabbed to death under her bed inside her family’s home in Artesia, California. Kristina’s mother inadvertently discovered the body of her daughter while on the phone with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Kristina’s mother thought she might have been hurt in an accident or was missing. Investigators zeroed in on a couple suspects, including the mother’s live-in boyfriend. Eventually, the case went cold and anyone who might have had access or reason to murder Kristina was cleared or, for whatever reason, never investigated further. LA County Sheriff’s Cold Case Detective Shaun McCarthy breaks down the case of the Bloody Bedroom, including new twists and clues in the case
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 4 min
August 06, 2023 Episode 510 - SEASON 5 FINALE / RECAP
In this episode we review the cases from Season 5. We also welcomed two new agencies to the program, the Redondo Beach Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department returns as well as the FBI. We feature an accelerant-sniffing dog in our Crime Fighter Series, and cases about a con-man who preyed on single mothers, a security guard ambushed in a grocery store, a military man gunned down in front of a relative’s home, a missing mother in Mexico, and an 89-year-old woman who may have been ‘scared to death’. Plus, we feature a case where a bag of dry bones from 20 years ago led detectives to the identity of a victim and her possible killer. Unsolved with Steve Gregory is produced by Steve Gregory and Jacob Gonzalez.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 6 min
July 30, 2023 Episode 509 - The Fast and Furious Fatal House Fire
On April 8th, 2016, fire crews were sent to a home on Mesarica Road in Covina, California. Smoke was seen coming from the roof and it seemed isolated to one area. When firefighters entered, they found the body of 89-year-old Helen Lambert. Her heavily charred body was on a bed and her wrists tied up. Investigators determined that Lambert didn’t die from the fire but most likely died from a very unusual circumstance. The woman lived with her teenage grandson who was at school when the fire happened. A neighbor who was also Lambert’s caregiver is the one who called 911. Who would tie up a grandmother, ignite a fire in her bedroom, and leave her for dead? And what was the motive? Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detectives Shaun McCarthy and Rich Tomlin debrief us on the investigation.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 6 min
July 23, 2023 Episode 508 - Arson K-9 / Laundromat Double Execution
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recently added an accelerant-sniffing K-9 to its arson unit. The specially trained dog can detect gasoline, diesel, lighter fluid, and many other accelerants. This segment is part of our ongoing Crime Fighter Series that features a behind the scenes look at the work to help solve cases. Also in this episode, 13-year-old Miguel Perez and 19-year-old Jose Merlos were janitors at a laundromat in Lynwood. On March 8th, 1992, after closing the business for the night, someone entered the laundromat and forced the two to the rear of the building; they were shot execution style. While robbery was the strongest motive, detectives now believe there may have been something more to it. And how will a conversation overheard at a recent party steer the 30-year-old investigation?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 9 min
July 16, 2023 Episode 507 - History of Homicide (Encore Presentation)
In this season opener we speak with Mike Fratantoni of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Information Bureau. Fratantoni is also the curator of the department’s museum housed in the ground floor of the historic Hall of Justice. Fratantoni tells us about the beginning of the department in 1850 and walks us through the history of the department including the creation of the Homicide Detail in 1921, which became the Bureau of Investigation in 1934, and eventually evolved into the Homicide Bureau in 1950. Fratantoni also tells us about the ‘Vigilance Committee’ which was made up of townspeople who held secret court and carried out private executions.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 9 min
July 09, 2023 Episode 506 - Dry Bones and DNA / Cul-De-Sac Killer
Case #1 begins in the city of Redondo Beach where a bag of dry bones was discovered in 2001 by plumbers working at a residential construction site. Workers initially thought the bones were not human, but someone decided to call 911, which sparked a multi-year journey that led investigators from a Jane Doe to recently identifying Catherine Parker-Johnson. Now, if investigators could only find who killed Catherine and why. Case #2 involves a 20-year-old man who was killed for no apparent reason. How does a gaming nerd with a spotless record, loving family, and a fulltime job, get shot in cold blood at a cul-de-sac in an industrial part of El Monte, California?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 7 min
July 02, 2023 Episode 505 - Missing Mom in Mexico
On February 9th Maria Del Carmen Lopez was taken from the front yard of her home in Pueblo Nuevo, Colima, Mexico. Lopez is a US Citizen and retired to Pueblo Nuevo ten years ago. Lopez’ daughter, Zonia ‘Zoe’ Lopez, tells us about the day her family got a ransom call, and the subsequent calls for money, only to be ignored and ghosted. She also speaks about her family's frustration with the FBI and Mexican authorities. We also speak with the FBI about the case and how the agency handles the abductions of US Citizens in foreign countries. After you hear both sides of this mystery, you’ll be left with way more questions than answers.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 hr 6 min

About Unsolved with Steve Gregory

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There are more than 10,000 unsolved crimes in Southern California, most of which are homicides. Unsolved with Steve Gregory highlights some of the cases that have gone cold, hit a brick wall or just…