On April 25, 1994, 15-year-old Laralee Spear was abducted, shot, and killed after she stepped off her school bus outside DeLand, FL. Her murder has never been solved. A $50,000 reward is available for the tip that leads detectives to the killer.

Guest Bio and Links:

Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood is a second-generation law enforcement officer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Sheriff Chitwood was elected Sheriff of Volusia County in August 2016 sworn in Jan. 3, 2017, and re-elected without opposition in August 2020.  

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, sits down with Sheriff Michael Chitwood to cover the unresolved case of Laralee Spear, a young girl brutally murdered in 1994. Sheriff Chitwood details the investigative efforts and ongoing commitment to solving this case, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and modern forensic advancements. 

Call the Major Case Unit at 386-254-1537 or email [email protected] if you have any tips on the Laralee Spear case. 

Show Notes:

• (0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum.  
• (0:30) Sheryl introduces Sheriff Michael Chitwood to the listeners
• (3:00) The Laralee Spear cold case
• (5:30) Initial investigation and findings
• (8:00) Details of creating the suspect pool 
• (14:00) Role of the original detectives 
• (16:30) Challenges in the investigation 
• (19:30) $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case
• (21:00) Call the Major Case Unit at 386-254-1537 or email [email protected] to help
• (21:40) “I am not afraid. I got a gun. I want to shoot back. Let's see how much balls you got and come and get me.” -S.M.C
• Thanks for listening to another episode! If you love the show and want to help grow the show, please head over to Itunes and leave a rating and review! 

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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.  

Social Links:

• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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