The Deck

Nearly 26 years after the eight-year-old vanished from his second-floor apartment in Clearwater, Florida, his whereabouts remain a mystery. Zachary’s case is Florida’s longest-running AMBER Alert. It is also a story we covered on Crime Junkie more than seven years ago. In this episode of The Deck, we’re taking a fresh look at the evidence, including the 911 call Zachary’s mother made in the early morning hours of September 11 to report him missing. Could there have been clues that were missed? And could statements made by Zachary’s mother early on shed new light on a cold-case investigation that has stumped both detectives and Crime Junkies alike?

When 15-year-old Tawnya first vanished into thin air on a cold winter’s night in 1996, law enforcement considered her a runaway, despite her family believing otherwise. Months later, answers did come… tragic ones… along with plenty of questions about some of Tawnya’s friends and the circumstances of what happened to her that night.

For more than three decades, the question of who killed 26-year-old Mary Kathleen Rodriguez has hung over the town of West Odessa, Texas. Known as Kathleen to those who loved her, the live-in nanny was found brutally beaten to death inside the home of the couple she worked for. Although the case has changed hands from one detective to another, the original facts of the case remain the same. There was no sign of forced entry, meaning Kathleen almost certainly knew whoever came to the door that night. And the one person who could have been on the other side of that door is still at large.

49-year-old Daniel Traina was hard to miss. The Six-foot-four happy-go-lucky guy was always bopping around the West Palm Beach suburb of Lake Park. … well known to bartenders, store clerks, and neighbors. So it was mind-boggling when, in May of 2021, Daniel walked out of a 7-Eleven next to Florida’s busy Federal Highway … and vanished into the sticky, humid night… leaving behind NO clues. And as investigators have tried to retrace Daniel’s final movements and work their way through those closest to him, the case has taken on a distinctly South Florida feel. An ocean-side town, a 7-Eleven sign glowing in the dark, a cast of eccentric characters, conflicting stories, and a mystery that, five years later, still has everyone asking: how did someone who was so hard to miss vanish without a trace?

Thirteen-year-old Ilene Misheloff normally walked the same path home from school most days. And on January 30, 1989, all signs indicate she took that same route… and ALMOST made it home. But something… or someone intervened. And somehow, with all the traffic and houses that lined her route, no one saw the moment that Ilene Misheloff disappeared. In a case with so many leads and tips, investigators all these years later are left with one physical piece of evidence and a million questions… some of which they’re hoping you might be able to answer.

Most cold case investigators will tell you that murder is a dirty business. But once in a while, there’s a murder so horrific that it could be mistaken for an urban legend. The unsolved homicide of Benjamin is one of those cases. It began on a summer evening much like any other for Benjamin. He left his apartment and headed off to his local bar just a few blocks away from home in Bridgeport’s East End. No doubt the neighbors expected to see him the next day, as they usually did – singing Spanish love songs on his porch. But that’s not how things transpired… Benjamin’s story would end with a grim discovery in the middle of a road just a five-minute drive from his apartment.

It was Memorial Day weekend in 2010, and hot as hades in North Carolina, when 22-year-old Terrance “Konomi” Plummer Junior was found murdered in a crime so brutal—and so deliberate—that it stayed with everyone who touched the case—especially Lt. Jeff Locklear. What began as another homicide investigation became the one case he could never shake—his White Whale. More than a decade later, the answer would come from something investigators had possessed all along. And information they never knew existed—finally solving Plummer's murder and giving Locklear something he'd spent years chasing: closure.

When Beverly Logan, a gentle, 56-year-old certified nurse’s aide, was found murdered in her kitchen, the Salina, Kansas Police Department found themselves on the hunt for her killer. They believe it might have been someone she knew. But over 18 years later, who that person is has remained a mystery.

In late June 1987, the town of Bemidji, Minnesota, was gearing up for Independence Day weekend. Celebrations quickly turned to panic when Anita Carlson, a college graduate with hopes of working in TV production, went missing from her nighttime job at Pete’s Place, a convenience store at the intersection of Highways 2 and 89. By the end of the weekend, Anita had been found dead. Nearly 40 years later, investigators are still trying to figure out what happened that night.

A message from Ashley about the future of The Deck

On August 6, 1989, Rosa McMillian was found murdered inside that home. She had been brutally attacked—and sexually assaulted—in her own living room. The crime scene didn't make sense, and a few mysterious items were left behind by whoever killed Rosa. Something else left behind? The killer's DNA. In most cases, that would be enough to close the books. But in Rosa’s case…DNA isn’t what brought answers. In fact, it’s the opposite…and the one thing that would keep a solve out of reach.

On a cold December night in 2018, 25-year-old Kevin Nguyen went to see a band at a Fort Wayne bar and never came home. Surveillance cameras captured his final known hours in eerie fragments before he vanished. What happened next has fueled years of rumors, online theories, and bitter disagreements between investigators and Kevin’s family. With unreleased video evidence, mysterious tips about a possible killing, and no trace of Kevin ever found, his disappearance remains one of Indiana’s most haunting unsolved mysteries.

In February 2013, 21-year-old Kelsie Schelling had just learned she was eight weeks pregnant. Hours after her first prenatal appointment, she drove from Denver to Pueblo - and was never seen again. Kelsie’s body has never been found. But years later, someone was convicted of her murder. How do investigators build a case without a body? And after more than a decade, is there still a chance of finding Kelsie?

For more than three decades, the family of Milagros Nieves never talked about her murder. She’d been stabbed 33 times in the presence of her beloved baby granddaughter. The violence of it, the brutality of it, was too much for her family to relive. But when our team at The Deck started looking into Milagros’ case, they uncovered information that would leave everyone, including investigators, with even more questions.

In July 1984, Clarence and Marjorie Paulson, father and daughter, were reported missing from their home in Minnesota. At first glance, sheriff’s deputies didn’t see any obvious signs of a struggle. Marjorie and Clarence didn’t have driver’s licenses, and the three-wheeler Clarence used to travel was still at his house. Marjorie’s purse and knitting needles were left behind. Neighbors didn’t offer much of an explanation about where they’d gone – the two were considered reclusive, but known to travel into town every so often. But a closer examination of the home revealed more to the story. And six years after reported missing, detectives found the unthinkable.

For the last eleven years, the mystery of who murdered 33-year-old Eddie has haunted the New Castle County Police. It looked to them like Eddie had been targeted – shot just steps from where he lived and in front of his children. But a few BIG questions remain: Who was the man, possibly in disguise, that shot Eddie that day? And was this the same man caught on a surveillance camera near the scene? And WHY would anyone want this otherwise normal-seeming dad dead?

When police arrived at the scene of Angelica Sandoval’s disappearance on February 24th, 2011, what they came across seemed eerily frozen in time: her 1995, four-door, green Oldsmobile sedan was parked on 13th Street, in front of her two-bedroom duplex. Her keys were still in the driver’s side lock, but the back driver’s side door of the car was hanging open, revealing a basket of laundry and her purse still inside the car. The eeriness of that scene - the way that Angelica had seemingly just been plucked away in the middle of such a routine task - left a heaviness that has hung over Alamosa, CO, since that wintry night and left a Detective to work through a maze of potential suspects, leads, small-town gossip, and unanswered questions.

In the fall of 1991, just as the season was starting to change, a couple fishing at sunrise at a small lake in Fayetteville, North Carolina, noticed something floating near the surface of the water. At first, they thought it was a blow-up doll. But upon closer inspection, the couple saw hair on the legs and realized it wasn’t a doll. It was a human being—a person who would be identified as 24-year-old Jimmy Riddle. Jimmy was also known to some of their friends as Jamie, but how much their identity played into their death isn’t clear. What the police have to go on are potential witness statements, items left at the crime scene, and maybe, just maybe, DNA. Nearly 35 years after Riddle’s killing, there’s a new detective on the case…a detective determined to unearth the answers once and for all.

This week, we’re resurfacing an important old episode for you because we just learned more information about a person of interest who’s never been ruled out. His name is Mark Douglas Burns, and he's a terrifying individual. He came up in a Crime Junkie episode we dropped in the fan club in which Burns confessed to murdering a young mom in her home back in 2001. And the overlaps between him and Tonya’s last known movements cannot be ignored. Re-listen to today's episode closely... and then go check out the episode on Sue Gunderson Higgins in the Crime Junkie Fan club and tell me what you think. Could Mark be the missing link? Tonya Teske was a free-spirited 18-year-old who chose to live her life on the open road by hitchhiking around the mountain west. On August 13, 1997, she was last seen in Montana at a truck stop before her body was discovered two days later on the side of a highway in Idaho.

In the early hours of June 30th, 2014, 33-year-old Nefertiri, who went by “Neffie”, was kidnapped from her own front yard. In the dark, she was dragged into her car, away from the townhome she shared with her mom and three children. Even though Neffie’s kidnapping was witnessed, it would be almost nineteen hours before police learned that Neffie was missing. After an investigation failed to find out what happened to Neffie, a Delaware court declared her legally dead. But her body has still never been found. Could the identity of Neffie’s kidnapper lie with friends she saw hours before she vanished? Or is the suspect a convicted killer out for revenge?

In September of 1964, Terry and Alan Westerfield were dropped off at the movies and were never seen again. For the last six decades, the Fayetteville Police Department has been trying to unravel the mystery behind their disappearance.

In March 1999, 22-year-old Lindsay Wells was reported missing from her Simi Valley home, where she lived with her fiancé and his mother. Since she was reported missing, police have fielded sightings of Lindsay near a Simi Valley 7-Eleven, buying a train ticket headed to Tijuana, and at Disneyland, but these tips never yielded a lead. Since then, the case developments have included work with a psychic medium, an undercover wire operation, and searches with cadaver dogs. Lindsay remains missing.

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are sharing the story of Marjorie “Christy” Luna to honor her life and amplify the voices of survivors. From the outside, Greenacres seemed like a picture-perfect place to grow up — where kids roamed barefoot between the park, school, and corner store. But beneath that storybook setting, something darker was unfolding, and it came to a head one May evening in 1984 when Christy disappeared. More than 40 years later, her friends are revisiting their childhood memories, uncovering how abuse and violence can exist in plain sight — often hidden or left unspoken. By sharing Christy’s story during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we hope to raise awareness, support survivors, and remind others that their voices matter.

The year 2008 had barely gotten started when 40-year-old Jason Vesper found himself in the middle of a family argument with his wife and teenage son. In the early hours of January 2nd, Jason left the family home in Scottsbluff to go for a short drive and blow off some steam. It was his MO when he needed to decompress. As Jason walked into the dark towards his pickup, with snow still lying thick on the ground, no one could have predicted the horror that would unfold over the next few minutes. Jason’s last moments were caught almost entirely on surveillance footage – except for a short window in which he was viciously and deliberately murdered. What exactly transpired between Jason and his killer during that period was never captured on film. Why did Jason become a target during a spur-of-the-moment drive? And was the killer – or killers – closer to home than anyone could have imagined?

In 1973, Janet Couture was murdered in her home, and for more than five decades the case remained unsolved. Despite years of investigation, the breakthrough came only in 2025, when a longtime suspect with a violent history was finally arrested.

In the early hours of December 30, 2018, deputies with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office were called to the Penniman neighborhood of Williamsburg, initially for a report of shots fired. Then, they were called again: A 20-year-old had been fatally shot in his home. They spend the next several days talking to Mason’s friends, searching for surveillance footage, and collecting evidence. Since then, investigators have canvassed the neighborhood, turning over every possible clue that might help piece together what happened on December 29, 2018. They believe they might be close to answers — as long as they’re able to track down the man who might know what happened.

Early one June morning in 2004, Jeffrey Nichols told his girlfriend he was meeting his ex-wife in a shopping center parking lot to buy a set of golf clubs. But his ex-wife told police they were getting together at a McDonald's for a family meeting. No matter which version is true, one thing is for certain: After the morning of June 8th, 2004, Jeff was never seen again. And not only does his story include an honest-to-god, real-life burn book – we also found a clue that had been sitting in plain sight for the past 20 years that just might prove someone is lying

When Kenneth “Kenny” Floyd was found dead inside his apartment in Aurora, Colorado, in 1995, detectives found a clue they hoped would lead right to his killer — a trail of their suspect’s blood leading from Kenny’s door to the front of his building. That blood evidence allowed investigators to develop a DNA profile that they traced to one particular island in the Caribbean, bringing them closer than ever to finding answers for Kenny’s close-knit family. But a series of volcanic eruptions on the island destroyed the very records investigators needed to ID Kenny’s killer. Still, the genealogist working on Kenny’s case is hopeful that if more people with ancestry from that island, or the East Coast of the United States, upload their DNA profiles to GEDMatch and select the option to opt-in for law enforcement, she’ll be able to fill in the rest of the suspect’s family tree….and if she can do that, investigators might be able to finally close this case.

One morning in August 1986, a contractor showed up to work on the floors in a vacant house in Williamsburg, Virginia. When he arrived, he found a woman on her side in the mostly-full bathtub. In her wake were a trail of clues: a U.S. Army class ring, a mysterious hat with feathers, and sightings in what were likely her final hours.

In the summer of 2001, Daphne Hope vanished… and for over seven long years, her case disappeared into the reams of files at the Denver Police Department. And even when new detectives did start digging, no one has been able to piece together exactly what happened to Daphne. Over the years, theories about her disappearance have varied wildly – from sex work and drug deals to a serial killer. There was even speculation that Daphne wasn’t missing at all, that she was hiding in protective custody. And then there’s the man she lived with at the time – what might he know about her disappearance?

There is a man serving a life sentence in a Florida prison for his part in the 1989 murder of a 29-year-old pregnant woman named Donna Callahan. Two brothers were ultimately convicted for her abduction – and each of them pointed to the other as the ultimate preparator. But only one of them would go on to confess to over a dozen other murders. That man is now considered, by some, to be one of the deadliest killers on Florida’s Gulf Coast. And if his original confessions are to be believed, then not one, but two Fort Walton Beach cases could be closed. Right now, one detective is making it his mission to find out once and for all: Can he prove Mark Riebe is the serial killer everyone thinks he is? And was he–or someone else entirely–responsible for the murders of Ronda Taylor and Bonnie Ryther?

In September 1980, a Holiday Inn hotel in rural Iowa became the scene of a shocking double murder: a couple was found dead in their hotel bed, covered in lacerations. And the scene around them is one of the strangest and most puzzling I’ve ever come across in all my work. It’s one of the reasons this case has gained notoriety over time: I mean, to this day, the hotel where the couple lost their lives is still visited by true crime fanatics. Despite multiple suspects – and three agencies contributing to the investigation – no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with Rose and Roger’s deaths. But… we have an exclusive update – something is about to happen in the Rose and Roger case that just might solve this nearly 50-year-old mystery.

When a young woman was found brutally murdered in an Aurora, Colorado alleyway in October 1996, one eagle-eyed detective zeroed in on forensic evidence he hoped would lead him to her killer. But one by one, that evidence ruled out every person they thought may have killed 25-year-old Tangie Sims and eventually her case went cold. And it stayed cold until new detectives revisited old evidence with new technology, took a look at one particular family tree and finally found who they’d been looking for.

Nothing causes the true crime community to stir more than a case with the open-ended question of did he? Or didn’t he? Well, except that is, when the question is did SHE? For longer than 32-year-old Thomas Mather was alive, a rural town in Iowa has been haunted by their only unsolved homicide. The former Sheriff told us it’s the only who dun it they have left. Does no foreign DNA evidence and strange behavior mean that Dawn Mather had to have been involved in killing her husband? Or does an unidentified fingerprint and tire tracks prove she didn’t?

A late-night fire in a Rhode Island cemetery led to the discovery of the body of Shad Gandy Kaydea, a young father and aspiring rapper who was strangled, then set on fire. As detectives peeled back the layers of Shad’s life, they uncovered volatile family tensions, a suspicious life insurance policy, and a man whose story kept changing. More than a decade later, his killer still walks free… but someone out there knows the truth.

For 50 years, Theresa Dusevitch’s case was intrinsically tied to Debra Espey’s murder. Both women were 19 years old when they were killed back in 1973, just eight months apart. There were other similarities, too: Both women were found nude from the waist down, their shirts pulled up, hands over their heads, with head wounds as their cause of death. The wooded area where each young woman was found was just three miles apart in and near a town, ironically enough, named Niceville, Florida. But at the end of 2025, Debra Epsey’s case was solved, and her killer turned out to be an acquaintance of hers, Dennis Murphy. In learning that Dennis killed Debra, law enforcement was able to conclude through DNA that he did not kill Theresa–meaning all the connections that seemed to be linked were just a coincidence. So now, detectives are looking at Theresa’s case with new eyes. And with the momentum of one 1973 cold case solved under their belt, they’re hoping you might help them get another.

Debra Espey was the 6 of Clubs from Florida. We first reported on her case in 2024, and left you all on the precipice of hope that new DNA testing would finally shed light on what happened to a young girl in Niceville over 50 years ago. Well, the results are in! And Debra’s case is SOLVED. It turns out her killer was hiding in plain sight, the entire time. In our original reporting, police told us they thought the man responsible for Debra’s murder also killed 19-year-old Theresa Dusevitch. But DNA has now proven they aren’t connected. Which means our team went back to Theresa’s case with fresh eyes. And we’ll be bringing you a brand-new story about her, the Queen of Diamonds from Florida.

On a snowy December night 35 years ago, 25-year-old Donna Ingersoll stormed outside and disappeared into the darkness after a heated argument with her boyfriend, leaving behind several important belongings and a twisted web of mysteries investigators have spent decades trying to untangle. Since 1990, Donna’s disappearance has weighed on the small town of Wabasha, Minnesota, as the passage of time has produced more questions than answers. But some recent developments have present-day investigators questioning everything they thought they knew about the case — and believing they’re closer than ever to cracking it. At the time she went missing, Donna was 4’11” and 106 pounds, had blonde hair and green or hazel eyes, and was last seen wearing boots and blue jeans. She would be 60 years old today.

In the spring of 2013, Paris Matthews was enjoying an evening at home when he heard a knock at the door. Someone on the other side called out their name – but Paris knew that was impossible. Seconds later, before he could piece together why someone was lying … Paris was shot, and the years-long search for his killer began. Investigators have had to weed through rumors, finger-pointing, strange text messages, and a CODIS hit that wasn’t what it seemed, but it might take someone out there to come forward for this mystery to finally be solved.

In 1971, 21-year-old Karen tried hitching a ride to go and meet her husband after work. She never made it and a week later her body was found floating in a canal nowhere near where she’d left or her destination. Was Karen a victim of a predator passing through? Or was a former Sheriff with a dark side responsible… and maybe that’s why this case has never been solved?

It was Memorial Day, 1985, when fifteen-year-old Tyra Garcia slipped out the front door to a neighbors house, saying she’d be gone for only a few minutes. No one expected those minutes to stretch into hours… and then days. And no one could have imagined that 40 years later, the case would still be unsolved. Especially when the answers seem to be right in front of us. Because there are two very compelling suspects that were barely investigated by law enforcement back then. Despite the fact that one matched a suspect composite sketch. And drove the same kind of car she was last seen getting into. And even when it’s found out that the bedspread her body was wrapped in was similar to one missing from their hotel room, little was done to find out what happened. Is it too late for answers? The current investigator would say no way. And he, along with a forensic scientist, are on a mission to find out what happened to Tyra and who is responsible.

Charles' bold suits and charismatic personality made him stand out. He was also a man who liked money — earning it, flashing it, and spending it. And trying to untangle Charles' different threads of income – and what may or may not be connected to his death – has kept investigators busy for decades. Especially when some of that income was almost definitely under the table.

When 73-year-old Margaret Reimann was murdered in her garage while getting ready to leave for church in 1986, everyone immediately started pointing fingers at one particular relative. And in the investigation that followed, detectives uncovered a decades-long family feud, grudges that had been festering for years, and questions about just how far someone might go when there’s money on the line. But almost four decades later, new DNA testing pointed them in a completely different direction. And now, the case is hotter than it’s ever been.

In 1975, 27-year-old Norris Evans was found brutally murdered in her Rochester home while her children were upstairs. The crime was shocking, but the decades of silence that followed may be even more haunting. Now, her children are breaking that silence in search of the truth.

In the Summer of 2004, Shelby Wright, along with his computer, disappeared, never to be seen again. Over two decades later, Shelby’s grandparents and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office are still looking for answers.

In the summer of 1982, Susie Timmons was discovered stabbed and beaten in a vacant lot north of downtown Rochester, NY. Investigators have spent nearly four decades trying to solve her murder.

Darnell Smith’s family never expected him – a pastor’s son and an ambitious student – to get killed in a hail of gunfire. For a young man without even a whisper of a criminal record, no one would have expected his life to end in such a violent way at the age of twenty. But Darnell Smith’s death became entangled in a world his family was never a part of — and left investigators scrambling to unravel what would soon become a neighborhood nightmare. For more than a decade it seemed like there was no hope for justice… but when our reports went to visit one of the crime scenes … they may have stumbled upon the key to solving this case. Listen to the first-ever in-depth coverage of Darnell Smith's case only on The Deck.

When the body of Robert Mitchell Jr., a “gentle giant” and towering presence in Rochester’s bar scene, is discovered burning in a public park, detectives don’t know what to think. As rumors swirl and leads dry up, the case grows cold… until a witness comes forward with details so specific, only someone close to the crime could know them. Now, nearly a decade later, investigators believe they know who killed Robert… But proving it in court is another story.

During the Yakima Police Department’s annual Christmas party, the news of 62-year-old Jerene’s murder shocked every officer and their plus ones. Jerene’s house was known for its security cameras – there were so many that you basically couldn’t enter the property without being filmed.

Twenty-two-year-old Ron Harnish was murdered on the streets of San Diego in December 2006. Almost 19 years later, the police and Ron’s own mother believe they know who’s responsible. But proving it has been a challenge, and the people they are after are as violent as it gets.