Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Before we explore the mystery, we need to get to
know Cindy because she was morethan a missing person.
She was a student, a friend,someone with hopes and plans.
(00:43):
Born on February 25, 1980, inSouth Korea, Cindy, whose full
name was Hein Jong Cindy Song,moved to the United States in
the mid-1990s to live withrelatives in Virginia.
Eventually she enrolled atPennsylvania State University
Penn State, majoring inintegrative arts.
At twenty one years old in late2001, she was in the final
(01:03):
stretch of her college career,scheduled to graduate in spring
2002.
She worked two part-time jobs,held membership in student
clubs, and friends described heras hardworking, responsible, and
lively.
She lived in the 300 block ofWest Clinton Avenue at the State
College Park Apartments, in thecollege town of State College,
Pennsylvania.
(01:23):
On her last night, she dressedup for a Halloween party with
friends.
According to many sources, shewore a bunny costume, rabbit
ears, a fluffy tail, a whitetennis skirt, a playful touch
that mirrored her upbeat spirit.
Her friends say that evening shewas in good spirits.
In fact, the details of hercostume and her outgoing nature
have come to stand out in thenarrative because they contrast
(01:46):
so sharply with what happenednext.
The night of October 31st,Halloween, 2001 took a tragic
turn for Cindy.
Let's walk through the timeline.
According to available records,Cindy and two friends often
named as Stacy Pake and Lisa Kimattended a Halloween party at a
local club in downtown StateCollege, reportedly the venue
known as Players Nightclub laterIndigo in the 100 block of West
(02:09):
College Avenue.
They left around 2 a.m.
on November 1st, after the clubclosed.
The friends then went to afriend's apartment where they
hung out for some time,according to the timeline.
At approximately 4 a.m., Cindywas dropped off outside her
apartment complex.
Her friends watched her walkinside.
What makes this moment chillingis that it appears entirely
(02:30):
routine.
A responsible group of friends,a safe drop-off in a college
town they knew well.
Yet that was the last confirmedsighting of Cindy.
She never made another verifiedappearance.
When her roommate returned tothe apartment later, things
looked normal but also off.
Cindy's backpack was by thedoor.
Her cell phone was in its usualspot.
(02:51):
Even her false eyelashes part ofthe costume were found in the
apartment, which suggests shehad at least started to settle
in after being dropped off.
But a number of crucial itemswere missing.
Her purse that contained herdriver's license, credit cards,
and keys was gone.
The costume itself the rabbitears and tail were also missing
in some accounts.
There were no signs of forcedentry, no overturned furniture,
(03:14):
no immediate evidence ofstruggle.
Her cell phone records show nooutgoing or incoming calls after
that night, and her credit cardsshow no activity after her
disappearance.
Investigators deemed it unlikelyshe walked away voluntarily in
part because of these anomaliesand in part because of her
personal plans ahead.
One early tip came fromPhiladelphia.
(03:35):
A witness claimed to have seen ayoung woman matching Cindy's
description being forced into avehicle in the Chinatown area.
But that lead ultimately fizzleddue to inconsistent statements.
In short, at 4 M, a young womanis dropped off at home after a
party.
She walks inside.
She disappears.
Her phone stays silent.
Her purse and ID vanish.
(03:57):
No struggle is visible.
There are more questions thananswers.
From the moment Cindy wasreported missing on November
4th, 2001 investigations werelaunched, but faced significant
challenges from day one.
The lead time, Cindy was lastseen early November 1st, and her
friends reported her missingthree days later.
That's a gap during whichevidence might decay.
(04:19):
Inside the apartment,investigators found her
backpack, phone, and falseeyelashes, but missing, her
purse, keys, and costume, nosign of forced entry, according
to one in-depth review.
Her cell phone records showed noincoming or outgoing calls since
she was last seen, and searchingher apartment, police found the
(04:39):
bunny costume was not found.
Bloodhound scent teams were usedin the surrounding area,
including possible pathways to atwenty four hour supermarket she
frequented.
Some theories suggested she mayhave left willingly to grab
something and been abducted enroute, but no definitive scent
trail.
Investigators consideredalternate scenarios voluntary
(05:00):
disappearance, abduction justoutside the apartment, or
someone gaining access inside.
But given her grades, jobs, andfuture plans tickets to a
concert, computer order theyjudged a voluntary vanishing
unlikely.
Despite publicity locally andnational interest for missing
persons databases after theearly flurry, the trail cooled.
In 2013, investigators with theassistance of the FBI obtained
(05:23):
DNA samples from Cindy'sbiological parents to compare
with unidentified remains inother cases, but no match
emerged.
As one retrospective puts it,her case joins the lexicon of
local legend in State College,one of those crimes that haunt a
college town precisely becauseit seems so out of place in a
safe environment.
And then a dark new twist.
(05:45):
To understand the speculationaround Cindy's disappearance, we
need to look at the shadowfigure of Hugo Marcus Zelensky,
a convicted murderer with agruesome reputation, whose name
comes up in connection withCindy's case, though not
conclusively.
Zelensky's history is chilling.
Originally a bank robber and carthief, he served prison time,
then became associated with astring of violent crimes in
(06:07):
northeastern Pennsylvania.
A key moment, and 23 authoritiessearched his home in Kingston
Township, Luzern County, about100 plus miles north of State
College, and uncovered shallowgraves in his backyard.
Among the remains were those ofhis known victim, Michael Jason
Kerkowski Jr.
and his girlfriend TammyFassett.
Reports indicate up to tentwelve sets of remains may have
(06:30):
been found, or suspected, on hisproperty.
Zelensky was convicted in 2006for abuse of a corpse in the
Kerkowski case, later retrieddue to jury tampering, and in
2015 convicted of murder forthat case and sentenced to life
in prison.
In short, this is a man capableof terror, body disposal, and
hiding victims.
Which begs the question, couldhe have been involved in Cindy's
(06:53):
disappearance?
The alleged connection Zelenskyand Cindy.
Here we navigate betweenpossibility and proof examining
why some investigators andcommentators believe a link
exists between Zelensky andCindy and why it remains
speculation.
The claims.
An informant, Paul Weekly,claimed that Zelensky and an
accomplice, Michael Kurkowski,abducted Cindy in state college
(07:15):
on Halloween night of 2001.
According to Weekly's account,they mistook her for a
prostitute because she waswearing a bunny costume.
They kidnapped her, held her ina walk-in safe or vault at
Kurkowski's property, and laterkilled her.
Weekly claimed that Cindy's bodywas buried on Zelensky's
property.
Some versions say that Kurkowskikept Cindy's bunny ears as a
(07:36):
trophy, and Zelensky killed himas a result.
What strengthens the theory.
Zelensky's known capacity forbody disposal and burial in
remote property.
The informant's role, Weakleycooperated with authorities,
helped locate other graves.
The timeline coincides in aloose way with Cindy's
disappearance 2001 andZelensky's criminal activity.
(07:57):
The costume detail bunny earsmay arguably act as a signature
or trophy.
What weakens it what's missing?
No physical evidence linksCindy's body to Zelensky's
property.
Investigators have not locatedher remains among the bodies
found at his home.
Weakley's reliability isquestioned.
He did provide true informationregarding other murders, but his
(08:17):
details about Cindy haveinconsistencies.
Some say that he searched theinternet for Cindy's case prior
to providing his tip, whichraises the possibility of
fabrication.
The geographic distance.
State College to Luzern Countyis a long drive, though not
impossible, but it raisesquestions about logistics of
abduction, transport, andconcealment.
(08:38):
The lack of any DNA matchbetween Cindy's parents and
remains discovered on Zelensky'sproperty to the public's
knowledge.
No known murder charge has beenfiled linking Zelensky to Cindy.
The case remains open.
Investigative statements.
In two thousand nine, a localarticle noted The discovery of
bodies raises new questionsabout the disappearance of a
(08:58):
Penn State student.
The case of the unidentifiedbodies is in the hands of
Luzerne County investigators.
Most official commentary remainscautious.
They acknowledge Zelensky as aperson of interest, but say no
conclusive link has beenestablished.
So what we have here is achilling candidate, but one
without the smoking gun.
Probable scenarios andhypotheses.
(09:21):
Having laid out the facts, wenow turn to possible scenarios
and evaluate what appears mostplausible and where the gaps
remain.
Scenario A Cindy was abducted inthe apartment building or
immediately outside by someonewho gained access.
Strengths.
Her door was locked from inside,or at least no forced entry was
found.
(09:41):
She may have left briefly to goto the twenty four hour
supermarket she frequented.
Investigators found no scenttrail.
She had no phone activity andcards were unused.
This suggests she didn't vanishvoluntarily.
Weaknesses This scenario leavesthe perpetrator unknown.
The lack of CCTV or witness isproblematic.
(10:01):
The person could have beensomeone she knew.
Scenario B Cindy left herapartment briefly, for example,
to grab a snack and was abductedoutside.
Strengths.
Evidence shows she often madelate night trips.
Investigators found no record ofher entering the nearby twenty
four hour store.
The lack of scent trail suggestsabduction quickly after leaving.
(10:22):
Weaknesses It does not specifythe identity of the abductor,
nor explain why the pursadewould be missing unless someone
deliberately took them.
Scenario Cindy's disappearanceis linked to Zelensky and
Kirkowski in the mannerdescribed by Weekly.
Strengths.
The informant's story includesspecific details Bunny Ears
trophy and Zelensky's propertyhad confirmed bodies buried.
(10:45):
Capability exists.
If true, it would explain why noremains found on site, yet they
may be elsewhere and why minimaltrail exists transport out of
county.
Weaknesses No physical evidence.
The informant's credibility iscircumspect.
Extra logistical and temporalquestions, moving a body from
state college to Luzerne County,burying or burning it.
(11:07):
Also, the costume details couldbe misremembered or embellished.
Scenario D Cindy walked awayvoluntarily, for example,
suicidal or running away.
Strengths.
It's possible in any missingperson's case.
Weaknesses The weight ofevidence argues against
voluntary disappearance.
Her life was full of plans, shehad tickets to a concert, a
(11:28):
computer ordered, friends whodescribed her as stable.
Assessing probability.
Based on available evidence,scenarios A or B abduction near
her apartment or en route tostore seem most plausible.
The link to Zelensky remainsspeculative but cannot be
completely dismissed.
At present, scenario C has theallure of explanation but lacks
(11:48):
substantiation.
Key unanswered questions Whereis Cindy's body if deceased?
If it's buried hidden, in whatlocation and why hasn't it been
found?
Did she ever leave the apartmentarea after forum?
Or was she taken inside?
Did someone in her building or avisitor gain access?
What happened to her purse,Idaho and costume?
Were they taken as trophies aspart of abduction or disposed
(12:11):
of?
Could Zelensky's graveyardproperty still hide remains not
yet discovered and could Cindybe among them or elsewhere by
his direction?
Has all feasible DNA testingbeen completed and remains
compared globally or at leaststatewide?
Investigating Cindy'sdisappearance faced and still
faces a host of obstacles.
Let's explore them.
(12:32):
Time and evidence degradation.
More than twenty years havepassed since 2001.
Memories fade, CCTV footage, ifany is likely lost, physical
evidence may have degraded orbeen lost.
This makes gathering reliableinformation harder.
Limited crime scene clarity.
Her apartment did not present aconventional crime scene, no
(12:52):
obvious signs of forced entry orstruggle.
That complicates theinvestigation because
investigators lack a definitivelocation of abduction.
Without a known crime scene,tracing footprints or forensic
evidence is limited.
Jurisdictional complexity.
The disappearance happened inCenter County State College
while the suspect Zelensky'scrimes occurred in Luzern
(13:13):
County.
If the body was moved, you havemulti-jurisdictional issues,
coordination, resources, andpotential evidence movement.
The lead agencies may differ,memory of witnesses may differ,
and institutional continuity cansuffer.
International dimension.
Cindy was an internationalstudent from South Korea.
Her family's location abroad mayhave slowed some communications
(13:35):
or created logisticalcomplications in international
cooperation, though to be fair,the FBI provided DNA assistance
in 2013.
Witness reliability and tipquality.
The only major name tip puttingZelensky in the case comes from
Weekly.
While helpful, it's hearsay andmaybe suspect given his possible
motive.
Other tips Philadelphia citingfizzled.
(13:57):
Without a highly credible,corroborated witness, the
investigation stalls.
Resource and prioritization.
Cold cases cost money, manpower,and time.
After the initial push, manydisappearances become low
priority in agencies faced withactive cases.
This often leaves casesunsupported for years.
Body not found, no definitiveproof of death.
(14:18):
Because Cindy's body has notbeen recovered and no one has
been charged.
Investigators are dealing with adisappearance, not a homicide.
That means legal thresholds andresource application differ
significantly.
Without a body, proving murderis harder.
Potential mishandling orcontamination of early evidence.
Some local chatters suggest thatcleaning and activity in the
(14:39):
apartment may have disturbedpossible evidence before proper
forensic documentation, thoughthis remains anecdotal.
For example, one Reddit poststates the family cleaned the
apartment soon after arrival.
All of these factors compoundand mean that even though the
disappearance remains active,the odds of resolution diminish
with time.
But they are not zero.
(15:00):
Beyond the facts and theories,we must pause and consider the
human dimension.
This case is not just aboutcrime, it's about a young life
gone missing, a family leftwithout answers, a campus
community shaken.
They sent a daughter abroad tostudy, watched her disappear,
and have lived with unansweredpain ever since.
The lack of closure meansmourning is suspended, and life
(15:21):
must go on around it.
One article quoted a familymember.
What makes it even sadder isthat nobody knows exactly what
that tragedy was.
In a college town like StateCollege, where students feel
safe, the disappearance of oneof their own shook the sense of
security.
Many current students weren'teven born when it happened, but
it still reverberates.
(15:42):
On Reddit.
From Central Pia here, StateCollege is my hometown, so this
case always stuck to me when Iwas growing up.
Though this episode focuses onCindy, part of the broader
wreckage involves the knownvictims of Zelensky Michael
Kirkowski Jr., Tammy Fassett,others.
Each body discovered, eachfamily destroyed, adds to the
tragedy.
(16:02):
The connection to Cindy remindsus that the violent predators
net may have been wider thanconfirmed.
When a disappearance goesunsolved, trust in institutions
is tested.
The unanswered, where is shebecomes part of the story of the
vulnerable, not just in statecollege, but across college
campuses, among internationalstudents, among young women
alone late at night.
(16:24):
The wreckage includes fear,vulnerability, and what if
scenarios.
So where do we stand today withCindy's case?
And what needs to happen to movethings forward?
Cindy's song remains missing.
Her disappearance is classifiedas a missing person's case, not
a confirmed homicide.
Investigators in collaborationwith the FBI obtained DNA from
Cindy's biological parents in2013 to compare with remains
(16:47):
from Zelensky's property andelsewhere, but no match has been
publicly confirmed.
Zelensky remains incarcerated,serving life in prison for the
murders of Krokowski and Facet.
He is acknowledged as a personof interest in many unsolved
cases, including Cindy's, but noindictment links him directly to
her disappearance.
Unsolved cases like Cindy's areoften solved by the smallest
(17:09):
detail.
A witness remembers a voice, asmell triggers a memory, a new
forensic method matches remainsdecades old.
The wreckage of a missing personis not irreparable, it is a
waiting connection, questionanswer.
As we draw this episode to aclose, let's reflect on what
Cindy Song's case tells us andwhat it demands of us.
This isn't just about onemissing woman, it's about all
(17:31):
those who vanish, whose storiesfreeze in time, whose families
wait.
Cindy's story involves a youngwoman with dreams, in an
environment we assume safe, whodisappeared in the span of
minutes and left a puzzle ofloss behind.
We are still left with thehaunting image, bunny ears, a
cotton tail, walking inside herapartment at 4M, then gone, her
(17:52):
phone silent, her cardsuntouched, her life unjustly
paused.
In the possibility that HugoZelensky had a role, we see the
face of a predator who buriedbodies and kept secrets, but we
do not yet see proof, and thatmatters, because justice
requires facts, not justsuspicion.
What we can do is rememberCindy.
We can honor the missing byreturning to their cases,
(18:15):
shining light where darknesspersists.
We can support families whoremain in limbo.
We can challenge institutions tokeep investigating, keep
searching, keep hoping.
Thank you for listening to HumanWreckage.
I'm Thomas.
If you found this episodemeaningful, please subscribe,
leave us a review, share it withsomeone who cares about missing
persons.
(18:35):
If you have tips or want toreach out, our contact details
are in the show notes.
Until next time, may we keep oureyes open, may we remember those
who remain missing, and may westrive to turn wreckage into
resolution.
Before we explore the mystery, we need to get to
know Cindy because she was morethan a missing person.
She was a student, a friend,someone with hopes and plans.
(00:43):
Born on February 25, 1980, inSouth Korea, Cindy, whose full
name was Hein Jong Cindy Song,moved to the United States in
the mid-1990s to live withrelatives in Virginia.
Eventually she enrolled atPennsylvania State University
Penn State, majoring inintegrative arts.
At twenty one years old in late2001, she was in the final
(01:03):
stretch of her college career,scheduled to graduate in spring
2002.
She worked two part-time jobs,held membership in student
clubs, and friends described heras hardworking, responsible, and
lively.
She lived in the 300 block ofWest Clinton Avenue at the State
College Park Apartments, in thecollege town of State College,
Pennsylvania.
(01:23):
On her last night, she dressedup for a Halloween party with
friends.
According to many sources, shewore a bunny costume, rabbit
ears, a fluffy tail, a whitetennis skirt, a playful touch
that mirrored her upbeat spirit.
Her friends say that evening shewas in good spirits.
In fact, the details of hercostume and her outgoing nature
have come to stand out in thenarrative because they contrast
(01:46):
so sharply with what happenednext.
The night of October 31st,Halloween, 2001 took a tragic
turn for Cindy.
Let's walk through the timeline.
According to available records,Cindy and two friends often
named as Stacy Pake and Lisa Kimattended a Halloween party at a
local club in downtown StateCollege, reportedly the venue
known as Players Nightclub laterIndigo in the 100 block of West
(02:09):
College Avenue.
They left around 2 a.m.
on November 1st, after the clubclosed.
The friends then went to afriend's apartment where they
hung out for some time,according to the timeline.
At approximately 4 a.m., Cindywas dropped off outside her
apartment complex.
Her friends watched her walkinside.
What makes this moment chillingis that it appears entirely
(02:30):
routine.
A responsible group of friends,a safe drop-off in a college
town they knew well.
Yet that was the last confirmedsighting of Cindy.
She never made another verifiedappearance.
When her roommate returned tothe apartment later, things
looked normal but also off.
Cindy's backpack was by thedoor.
Her cell phone was in its usualspot.
(02:51):
Even her false eyelashes part ofthe costume were found in the
apartment, which suggests shehad at least started to settle
in after being dropped off.
But a number of crucial itemswere missing.
Her purse that contained herdriver's license, credit cards,
and keys was gone.
The costume itself the rabbitears and tail were also missing
in some accounts.
There were no signs of forcedentry, no overturned furniture,
(03:14):
no immediate evidence ofstruggle.
Her cell phone records show nooutgoing or incoming calls after
that night, and her credit cardsshow no activity after her
disappearance.
Investigators deemed it unlikelyshe walked away voluntarily in
part because of these anomaliesand in part because of her
personal plans ahead.
One early tip came fromPhiladelphia.
(03:35):
A witness claimed to have seen ayoung woman matching Cindy's
description being forced into avehicle in the Chinatown area.
But that lead ultimately fizzleddue to inconsistent statements.
In short, at 4 M, a young womanis dropped off at home after a
party.
She walks inside.
She disappears.
Her phone stays silent.
Her purse and ID vanish.
(03:57):
No struggle is visible.
There are more questions thananswers.
From the moment Cindy wasreported missing on November
4th, 2001 investigations werelaunched, but faced significant
challenges from day one.
The lead time, Cindy was lastseen early November 1st, and her
friends reported her missingthree days later.
That's a gap during whichevidence might decay.
(04:19):
Inside the apartment,investigators found her
backpack, phone, and falseeyelashes, but missing, her
purse, keys, and costume, nosign of forced entry, according
to one in-depth review.
Her cell phone records showed noincoming or outgoing calls since
she was last seen, and searchingher apartment, police found the
(04:39):
bunny costume was not found.
Bloodhound scent teams were usedin the surrounding area,
including possible pathways to atwenty four hour supermarket she
frequented.
Some theories suggested she mayhave left willingly to grab
something and been abducted enroute, but no definitive scent
trail.
Investigators consideredalternate scenarios voluntary
(05:00):
disappearance, abduction justoutside the apartment, or
someone gaining access inside.
But given her grades, jobs, andfuture plans tickets to a
concert, computer order theyjudged a voluntary vanishing
unlikely.
Despite publicity locally andnational interest for missing
persons databases after theearly flurry, the trail cooled.
In 2013, investigators with theassistance of the FBI obtained
(05:23):
DNA samples from Cindy'sbiological parents to compare
with unidentified remains inother cases, but no match
emerged.
As one retrospective puts it,her case joins the lexicon of
local legend in State College,one of those crimes that haunt a
college town precisely becauseit seems so out of place in a
safe environment.
And then a dark new twist.
(05:45):
To understand the speculationaround Cindy's disappearance, we
need to look at the shadowfigure of Hugo Marcus Zelensky,
a convicted murderer with agruesome reputation, whose name
comes up in connection withCindy's case, though not
conclusively.
Zelensky's history is chilling.
Originally a bank robber and carthief, he served prison time,
then became associated with astring of violent crimes in
(06:07):
northeastern Pennsylvania.
A key moment, and 23 authoritiessearched his home in Kingston
Township, Luzern County, about100 plus miles north of State
College, and uncovered shallowgraves in his backyard.
Among the remains were those ofhis known victim, Michael Jason
Kerkowski Jr.
and his girlfriend TammyFassett.
Reports indicate up to tentwelve sets of remains may have
(06:30):
been found, or suspected, on hisproperty.
Zelensky was convicted in 2006for abuse of a corpse in the
Kerkowski case, later retrieddue to jury tampering, and in
2015 convicted of murder forthat case and sentenced to life
in prison.
In short, this is a man capableof terror, body disposal, and
hiding victims.
Which begs the question, couldhe have been involved in Cindy's
(06:53):
disappearance?
The alleged connection Zelenskyand Cindy.
Here we navigate betweenpossibility and proof examining
why some investigators andcommentators believe a link
exists between Zelensky andCindy and why it remains
speculation.
The claims.
An informant, Paul Weekly,claimed that Zelensky and an
accomplice, Michael Kurkowski,abducted Cindy in state college
(07:15):
on Halloween night of 2001.
According to Weekly's account,they mistook her for a
prostitute because she waswearing a bunny costume.
They kidnapped her, held her ina walk-in safe or vault at
Kurkowski's property, and laterkilled her.
Weekly claimed that Cindy's bodywas buried on Zelensky's
property.
Some versions say that Kurkowskikept Cindy's bunny ears as a
(07:36):
trophy, and Zelensky killed himas a result.
What strengthens the theory.
Zelensky's known capacity forbody disposal and burial in
remote property.
The informant's role, Weakleycooperated with authorities,
helped locate other graves.
The timeline coincides in aloose way with Cindy's
disappearance 2001 andZelensky's criminal activity.
(07:57):
The costume detail bunny earsmay arguably act as a signature
or trophy.
What weakens it what's missing?
No physical evidence linksCindy's body to Zelensky's
property.
Investigators have not locatedher remains among the bodies
found at his home.
Weakley's reliability isquestioned.
He did provide true informationregarding other murders, but his
(08:17):
details about Cindy haveinconsistencies.
Some say that he searched theinternet for Cindy's case prior
to providing his tip, whichraises the possibility of
fabrication.
The geographic distance.
State College to Luzern Countyis a long drive, though not
impossible, but it raisesquestions about logistics of
abduction, transport, andconcealment.
(08:38):
The lack of any DNA matchbetween Cindy's parents and
remains discovered on Zelensky'sproperty to the public's
knowledge.
No known murder charge has beenfiled linking Zelensky to Cindy.
The case remains open.
Investigative statements.
In two thousand nine, a localarticle noted The discovery of
bodies raises new questionsabout the disappearance of a
(08:58):
Penn State student.
The case of the unidentifiedbodies is in the hands of
Luzerne County investigators.
Most official commentary remainscautious.
They acknowledge Zelensky as aperson of interest, but say no
conclusive link has beenestablished.
So what we have here is achilling candidate, but one
without the smoking gun.
Probable scenarios andhypotheses.
(09:21):
Having laid out the facts, wenow turn to possible scenarios
and evaluate what appears mostplausible and where the gaps
remain.
Scenario A Cindy was abducted inthe apartment building or
immediately outside by someonewho gained access.
Strengths.
Her door was locked from inside,or at least no forced entry was
found.
(09:41):
She may have left briefly to goto the twenty four hour
supermarket she frequented.
Investigators found no scenttrail.
She had no phone activity andcards were unused.
This suggests she didn't vanishvoluntarily.
Weaknesses This scenario leavesthe perpetrator unknown.
The lack of CCTV or witness isproblematic.
(10:01):
The person could have beensomeone she knew.
Scenario B Cindy left herapartment briefly, for example,
to grab a snack and was abductedoutside.
Strengths.
Evidence shows she often madelate night trips.
Investigators found no record ofher entering the nearby twenty
four hour store.
The lack of scent trail suggestsabduction quickly after leaving.
(10:22):
Weaknesses It does not specifythe identity of the abductor,
nor explain why the pursadewould be missing unless someone
deliberately took them.
Scenario Cindy's disappearanceis linked to Zelensky and
Kirkowski in the mannerdescribed by Weekly.
Strengths.
The informant's story includesspecific details Bunny Ears
trophy and Zelensky's propertyhad confirmed bodies buried.
(10:45):
Capability exists.
If true, it would explain why noremains found on site, yet they
may be elsewhere and why minimaltrail exists transport out of
county.
Weaknesses No physical evidence.
The informant's credibility iscircumspect.
Extra logistical and temporalquestions, moving a body from
state college to Luzerne County,burying or burning it.
(11:07):
Also, the costume details couldbe misremembered or embellished.
Scenario D Cindy walked awayvoluntarily, for example,
suicidal or running away.
Strengths.
It's possible in any missingperson's case.
Weaknesses The weight ofevidence argues against
voluntary disappearance.
Her life was full of plans, shehad tickets to a concert, a
(11:28):
computer ordered, friends whodescribed her as stable.
Assessing probability.
Based on available evidence,scenarios A or B abduction near
her apartment or en route tostore seem most plausible.
The link to Zelensky remainsspeculative but cannot be
completely dismissed.
At present, scenario C has theallure of explanation but lacks
(11:48):
substantiation.
Key unanswered questions Whereis Cindy's body if deceased?
If it's buried hidden, in whatlocation and why hasn't it been
found?
Did she ever leave the apartmentarea after forum?
Or was she taken inside?
Did someone in her building or avisitor gain access?
What happened to her purse,Idaho and costume?
Were they taken as trophies aspart of abduction or disposed
(12:11):
of?
Could Zelensky's graveyardproperty still hide remains not
yet discovered and could Cindybe among them or elsewhere by
his direction?
Has all feasible DNA testingbeen completed and remains
compared globally or at leaststatewide?
Investigating Cindy'sdisappearance faced and still
faces a host of obstacles.
Let's explore them.
(12:32):
Time and evidence degradation.
More than twenty years havepassed since 2001.
Memories fade, CCTV footage, ifany is likely lost, physical
evidence may have degraded orbeen lost.
This makes gathering reliableinformation harder.
Limited crime scene clarity.
Her apartment did not present aconventional crime scene, no
(12:52):
obvious signs of forced entry orstruggle.
That complicates theinvestigation because
investigators lack a definitivelocation of abduction.
Without a known crime scene,tracing footprints or forensic
evidence is limited.
Jurisdictional complexity.
The disappearance happened inCenter County State College
while the suspect Zelensky'scrimes occurred in Luzern
(13:13):
County.
If the body was moved, you havemulti-jurisdictional issues,
coordination, resources, andpotential evidence movement.
The lead agencies may differ,memory of witnesses may differ,
and institutional continuity cansuffer.
International dimension.
Cindy was an internationalstudent from South Korea.
Her family's location abroad mayhave slowed some communications
(13:35):
or created logisticalcomplications in international
cooperation, though to be fair,the FBI provided DNA assistance
in 2013.
Witness reliability and tipquality.
The only major name tip puttingZelensky in the case comes from
Weekly.
While helpful, it's hearsay andmaybe suspect given his possible
motive.
Other tips Philadelphia citingfizzled.
(13:57):
Without a highly credible,corroborated witness, the
investigation stalls.
Resource and prioritization.
Cold cases cost money, manpower,and time.
After the initial push, manydisappearances become low
priority in agencies faced withactive cases.
This often leaves casesunsupported for years.
Body not found, no definitiveproof of death.
(14:18):
Because Cindy's body has notbeen recovered and no one has
been charged.
Investigators are dealing with adisappearance, not a homicide.
That means legal thresholds andresource application differ
significantly.
Without a body, proving murderis harder.
Potential mishandling orcontamination of early evidence.
Some local chatters suggest thatcleaning and activity in the
(14:39):
apartment may have disturbedpossible evidence before proper
forensic documentation, thoughthis remains anecdotal.
For example, one Reddit poststates the family cleaned the
apartment soon after arrival.
All of these factors compoundand mean that even though the
disappearance remains active,the odds of resolution diminish
with time.
But they are not zero.
(15:00):
Beyond the facts and theories,we must pause and consider the
human dimension.
This case is not just aboutcrime, it's about a young life
gone missing, a family leftwithout answers, a campus
community shaken.
They sent a daughter abroad tostudy, watched her disappear,
and have lived with unansweredpain ever since.
The lack of closure meansmourning is suspended, and life
(15:21):
must go on around it.
One article quoted a familymember.
What makes it even sadder isthat nobody knows exactly what
that tragedy was.
In a college town like StateCollege, where students feel
safe, the disappearance of oneof their own shook the sense of
security.
Many current students weren'teven born when it happened, but
it still reverberates.
(15:42):
On Reddit.
From Central Pia here, StateCollege is my hometown, so this
case always stuck to me when Iwas growing up.
Though this episode focuses onCindy, part of the broader
wreckage involves the knownvictims of Zelensky Michael
Kirkowski Jr., Tammy Fassett,others.
Each body discovered, eachfamily destroyed, adds to the
tragedy.
(16:02):
The connection to Cindy remindsus that the violent predators
net may have been wider thanconfirmed.
When a disappearance goesunsolved, trust in institutions
is tested.
The unanswered, where is shebecomes part of the story of the
vulnerable, not just in statecollege, but across college
campuses, among internationalstudents, among young women
alone late at night.
(16:24):
The wreckage includes fear,vulnerability, and what if
scenarios.
So where do we stand today withCindy's case?
And what needs to happen to movethings forward?
Cindy's song remains missing.
Her disappearance is classifiedas a missing person's case, not
a confirmed homicide.
Investigators in collaborationwith the FBI obtained DNA from
Cindy's biological parents in2013 to compare with remains
(16:47):
from Zelensky's property andelsewhere, but no match has been
publicly confirmed.
Zelensky remains incarcerated,serving life in prison for the
murders of Krokowski and Facet.
He is acknowledged as a personof interest in many unsolved
cases, including Cindy's, but noindictment links him directly to
her disappearance.
Unsolved cases like Cindy's areoften solved by the smallest
(17:09):
detail.
A witness remembers a voice, asmell triggers a memory, a new
forensic method matches remainsdecades old.
The wreckage of a missing personis not irreparable, it is a
waiting connection, questionanswer.
As we draw this episode to aclose, let's reflect on what
Cindy Song's case tells us andwhat it demands of us.
This isn't just about onemissing woman, it's about all
(17:31):
those who vanish, whose storiesfreeze in time, whose families
wait.
Cindy's story involves a youngwoman with dreams, in an
environment we assume safe, whodisappeared in the span of
minutes and left a puzzle ofloss behind.
We are still left with thehaunting image, bunny ears, a
cotton tail, walking inside herapartment at 4M, then gone, her
(17:52):
phone silent, her cardsuntouched, her life unjustly
paused.
In the possibility that HugoZelensky had a role, we see the
face of a predator who buriedbodies and kept secrets, but we
do not yet see proof, and thatmatters, because justice
requires facts, not justsuspicion.
What we can do is rememberCindy.
We can honor the missing byreturning to their cases,
(18:15):
shining light where darknesspersists.
We can support families whoremain in limbo.
We can challenge institutions tokeep investigating, keep
searching, keep hoping.
Thank you for listening to HumanWreckage.
I'm Thomas.
If you found this episodemeaningful, please subscribe,
leave us a review, share it withsomeone who cares about missing
persons.
(18:35):
If you have tips or want toreach out, our contact details
are in the show notes.
Until next time, may we keep oureyes open, may we remember those
who remain missing, and may westrive to turn wreckage into
resolution.
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