The Deck

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.

If you know anything about the murder of Norris Evans, please call Rochester Police Department’s major crimes unit at 585-428-7157 or email them at MajorCr...

Our card this week is Shelby Wright, the 2 of Clubs from Washington. 

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. 

• If you have any information about the disappearance of Shelby Wright in Snohomish County, Washington, please call (425) 388-3845 or submit a...

Our card this week is Susie Timmons, the 9 of Diamonds from New York.

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.

• If you have information about the murder of Susie Timmons on July 29th, 1982, in Rochester, NY, please call the Rochester Police Department’s major crimes unit at 585-...

Our card this week is Darnell Smith, the 5 of Diamonds from California.

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 lef...

Our card this week is Robert Mitchell Jr., the 8 of Clubs from New York. 

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 l...

Our card this week is Jerene Matta, the Queen of Spades from Washington. 

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. 

Why was Jerene targeted? And who was she watching on her cameras?

Or maybe the...

Our card this week is Ron Harnish, the 7 of Clubs from California.

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. 

• If you have information about the murder of Ron Harnish on December 27th, 2006, in the G...

Our card this week is Jaklyn Baccoli, the 5 of Clubs from New York.

When demolition workers entered a vacant home in Rochester, New York, they expected asbestos—not a crime scene. But hidden inside was the body of 44-year-old Jaklyn Baccoli, a woman whose final moments were marked by unimaginable violence. As detectives dug into her life and the days leading up to her death, they uncovered a tangled web of addiction, survival, and s...

Our card this week is Valaine Briggs, the Ace of Spades from Utah.

When 19-year-old Valaine left her Salt Lake City apartment and walked to class one spring morning in 1977, her carefully planned future was full of promise. And though she was in a time of transition and had recently ended an engagement, Valaine knew even this temporary disappointment just brought her closer to the life she dreamed of…a life full of family and rooted...

Our card this week is Andrew Moore, the 6 of Clubs from California. 

This week marks the 25th anniversary of Andrew “Andy” Moore's murder.

26-year-old Andy was killed in September 2000 while sleeping in his San Diego, California, apartment. The scene left behind was confounding to detectives; the weapons are missing, odd items displaced but not taken, and the one thing "stolen" from Andy shows up not too far away from the crime scene...

Our card this week is Patricia Allen, the Queen of Hearts from Washington.

On October 3, 1995, Patricia Allen was asleep on her couch when she was stabbed once so precisely that it nearly cut her heart in half. So begins one of the most mysterious homicide cases out of Yakima, Washington. With no shortage of suspects – including a woman who some believe wanted to become Patty – this case is truly stranger than fiction. 

• Or, if yo...

Our card this week is Jodine Serrin, the 7 of Diamonds from California.

In 1995, Marisa Patti met David Mabrito on the beach in Oceanside, California – it was love at first sight. Twenty-three years later, he would be found responsible for the brutal murder and desecration of 39-year-old Jodine Serrin in her own bedroom. 

In the wake of the solve, Marisa and her son were left on their own to figure out how this man they loved, truste...

Our card this week is Maria “Mary Faye” Mendez, the Wild Card from Texas.

Maria “Mary Faye” Mendez walked out of the duplex she shared with her family in Odessa, Texas, on Aug. 2, 1985, and seemingly vanished without a trace. Her sister-in-law watched Mary head in the direction of a local bar after fighting with her husband, who they knew as Arnuldo Mendez. Mary had asked her sister-in-law to watch her 5-year-old daughter, Virginia,...

Our card this week is Lawrence Riegel, the 5 of Spades from Washington.

When Lawrence was reported missing on January 10th, 2010, he didn’t exactly vanish without a trace. Between mysterious phone records and strange theories from a recluse who lived in an isolated trailer park , police had a good idea what his last movements were and with whom he interreacted – and specifically, they honed in on two people who seemed very suspiciou...

Our card this week is Gregory Fickess, the Jack of Diamonds from New York. 

On a summer night in 1993, 19-year-old Gregory Fickess had just gotten out of his car in downtown Rochester when he was jumped in a seemingly unprovoked, fatal act of violence. A case with no motive and few cooperating witnesses is tough to get very far. But when detectives find out that one of the few cooperating witnesses they did have dies… suddenly… and ...

Our card this week is Jonathan Garcia-Valladares, the 7 of Diamonds from Arizona.

Being a 13-year-old kid can be tough, to say the least. But it seemed as if Jonathan Garcia-Valladares had it figured out. He was an overachieving student. He was a chess player. And on a crisp fall day in 2010, Jonathan was trying to get in shape for the football team, a sport he’d just joined. But on that day, his short life would come to an end. 

In ...

Our card this week is Robert Gene Jones, the 10 of Diamonds from Louisiana. 

Robert was known as a quiet man who stayed out of trouble, so when he was found shot to death in his home one morning in the winter of 2002, police were initially stumped when it came to both motive and culprit. That might’ve been because Robert was never the intended target in what’s now become a mystery that investigators hope one of you may hold the key ...

Maurice – or Melissa, as they sometimes introduced themselves – was 22 when they were shot and killed in Phoenix, Arizona. They were just starting to build a name for themselves as a performer, making it to the regional final for American Idol and acting in dozens of local productions, including The Wiz, Westside Story, and Alice in Wonderland. But the curtain fell too soon…

According to friends and family, gender identity was fluid...

Our card this week is Roger "Unkle Rog" McCall, the 2 of Spades from New York. 

If you lived in the Rochester area back in the day, you might recognize the smooth voice of “Unkle Rog.” As a late-night radio host and DJ at WCMF for almost 30 years, perhaps he kept you company past midnight, maybe helped you stay awake during a third shift. By 52, Roger had already survived a terminal cancer diagnosis, only to be gunned down on Decemb...