July 18, 2024 • 28 mins
In this episode, we delve into a haunting mystery from 1994 in Indiana. It began with a disturbing photograph found at a car wash in Merrillville, depicting a bound and gagged woman. Despite efforts, her identity and fate remain unknown. Months later, in a nearby river, children fishing made a grisly discovery: a skeletal foot inside a Nike shoe. This led to the uncovering of severely decomposed remains, eventually identified as 19-year-old Brandy Sherry. Her tragic murder, marked by blunt force trauma, shocked her community. Despite exhaustive efforts by investigators and the FBI, her killer and the connection to the mysterious photograph remain unsolved. Join us as we explore the unanswered questions surrounding Brandy's case and the enduring quest for justice.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Mysteries of Mimosa's, I'm Max and with me is my co-host Aria.
(00:16):
Hi everyone, thanks for listening.
And don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube to stay updated
on all our latest episodes and behind the scenes content.
Yeah, and don't forget to follow us, rate us five stars, and spread the word about our
podcast.
Without you, we would just be two lonely people talking into a microphone bickering over who's
(00:36):
better at trivia.
Me.
Which would, well.
Well, right now.
Not really.
Anyway, since Aria got 100% several weeks back, I've been in the hot seat.
And I'm just going to be honest with you, Aria, I have received a lot of feedback from our
listeners and the one common opinion is that you are deliberately asking questions that
(00:56):
are impossible to answer to save yourself from embarrassment.
No, it's not to save myself from embarrassment.
It's just to put you in the hot seat for once.
Right, for once.
Right.
Because it took so long.
No, I know.
That's why I deliberately chose those hard questions.
Okay, well I hope today's trivia questions are a little bit better than last time.
(01:18):
Maybe, I guess we'll see.
So each week we do a trivia segment from the year of the case we're covering.
The idea behind the trivia segment is to mentally bring you back in time by asking each other
a few questions from that time period.
This week's case is from the year 1994.
Hopefully you'll be able to remember where you were and what you were doing, if you were
(01:39):
even alive then.
Some of you may not have been born in 1994, but Max was 14 years old in 1994.
And so little 14 year old Max was rocking his rat tail in his mullet.
I don't think you had a rat tail at 14.
Maybe not, but actually I probably did.
I don't remember.
All right, what would you have for trivia?
Let's go.
(02:00):
Let's get this thing done.
All right.
No, I knew it.
All right, question one, are you ready?
Ready as I'll ever be.
Okay.
What major web browser was released in 1994?
Was it WebCrawler?
No, it was Netscape Navigator.
(02:23):
Netscape Navigator, yeah, that was going to be my second guess.
You really knew that?
I do.
I remember I used it.
I've never heard of it.
Well, I used it and I know it.
I used both of those.
Apparently it was like the big deal into everybody being able to access the worldwide web.
Right.
Yeah, it kind of started everything off.
(02:44):
I don't think I was using computers when I was 14 in 94.
Yeah, actually I was 1994 for sure.
Yeah.
All right.
I remember I used them in the library, went to a computer lab.
We had one.
We had a computer in 1994, our own personal...
I mean, it was ginormous, but we had one.
(03:04):
Yeah.
Okay.
Next question.
Which country hosted the World Cup in 1994 where Brazil won the championship for the
fourth time?
Oh man, I wouldn't even begin to know anything about that.
Just take a guess.
I'm just going to guess Brazil.
Oh, the United States.
(03:25):
Really?
Yeah.
Wow.
Okay.
True story.
I think I would remember that.
I'm going to fact check you with my Netscape Navigator right now.
All right.
Question number three.
What astronomical event occurred in 1994 when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided
with Jupiter producing visible impacts on the planet's atmosphere?
(03:50):
What cosmic event happened?
An astronomical event.
Astronomical event?
Yeah.
It's when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.
Well, I mean, I guess it would be just massive meteor showers.
It's actually referred to as the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact.
Okay.
Well, of course I wouldn't know that, but I think I'm going to take that one because
(04:13):
I knew what it was going to produce.
Is it a meteor shower?
I don't know.
I guess.
I have no idea.
Okay.
Hold on.
Rule number one when you're hosting trivia, you should probably know a little bit about
it.
Oh, you have to know the history of it?
That's not fair.
I always come prepared, but it's okay.
No, you don't.
Okay.
I'm just going to do what you do.
Okay.
I'll go ahead and give you that one this time.
(04:35):
Okay.
That's fine.
All right.
The fourth and final question.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
If I get this, do I win?
No.
Oh.
What landmark agreement was signed in 1994 aimed at creating a free trade zone between
Canada, Mexico, and the United States?
Oh, I don't even know.
(04:55):
What does it start with?
N. No clue.
Really?
No.
Okay.
The North American Free Trade Agreement.
Oh, that.
Oh, NAFTA.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm not really good at politics and stuff, so now you know my weakness.
No, I wouldn't say that.
(05:17):
You know enough.
All right.
I know enough to be dangerous.
All right.
All right.
So, oh, real quick before we get started in this, today's mystery mimosa recipe is a grapefruit
rosemary mimosa.
This mimosa blends a bright citrusy note of grapefruit with hints of aromatic rosemary.
It includes one part of grilled champagne or chilled champagne, whichever you prefer,
(05:44):
and one part chilled grapefruit juice.
And then you just add the rosemary sprigs for a garnish.
So I know our show is mysteries and mimosas, and we give a mimosa recipe every time.
But I just want to give a shout out.
We have a Nespresso machine, and today I was at the store, and Nespresso made pumpkin spice
(06:07):
flavored pods for the Nespresso.
Hold on.
Nobody cares.
It's not fall yet.
It's still summer.
I know.
Let's move this along.
I love fall, and I love pumpkin spice.
And so I wanted to put that out there because I was super excited when I saw it today because
this is the reason we've had an Nespresso for a couple of years, and they've never done
that before.
They've done it for the Keurig.
(06:27):
They do it for a regular coffee maker, but they've never done the pods for the Nespresso.
And then I saw it today.
Well, how was it?
It's delicious.
And I just wanted to let everyone know that.
Well, thank you for the news announcement.
You're welcome.
And if you'd like to show support for our show, visit dragingglassware.com and treat
yourself to a set of their exquisite cocktail glasses.
(06:49):
Enter promo code mysteries and mimosas podcast at checkout to enjoy a special 10% discount
on your order from Draging Glassware.
Thank you.
And now we can get started.
As you mentioned, today's episode is from the year 1994 in Hammond, Indiana.
Located in Lake County in the northwest corner of Indiana, Hammond is part of the Chicago
(07:09):
metropolitan area.
It's situated approximately 20 miles southeast of downtown Chicago.
Okay.
I actually love Chicago to go and visit there.
We had a really great time last time we were there, you know, staying right next to the
river and we were there during or around the time of St. Patrick's day.
(07:29):
And we left the day before they did, they dyed the river green and I was so sad.
Yeah, I really wanted to see that.
I've never seen that before.
I mean, I've seen it on TV, but I've never seen it live and we were so close.
I had never, that was the first time I had ever been to Chicago to visit and man, was
it cold.
Oh, it was.
It was really cold, but it was so fun.
So in Hammond in March of 1994 in the neighboring town of Merrillville, Indiana, employees of
(07:56):
the Mr. Soft Car Wash found something rather disturbing.
They found a five by seven black and white photograph depicting a woman who was bound
and gagged and covered in plastic.
When police looked at the photograph, they couldn't determine whether the woman was alive
or dead, where the photo came from or how old the photo was, but they collected it anyway.
(08:18):
Okay.
So the employees of the car wash found it.
Where did they find it?
Like I don't know.
You know, I've searched through the news articles.
I can't find, you know, I don't think it came out of anybody's car because they can never
connect the photo to anybody.
So I think they probably either just found it in the trash or, you know, maybe, I don't
know, but the vacuums are on the ground or something, but either way, isn't that really
(08:38):
weird?
Yeah.
So four months later on July 25th, a couple of boys were fishing near the northern edge
of liable road in the Highland neighborhood, still in Hammond.
The boys were fishing a river called the Little Calamite River, which is about a 46 mile river
that runs through several communities on like the Northwest part of Indiana, including Hammond.
(09:01):
And while they were out there fishing, one of the boys caught something really unexpected.
Care to guess?
I have no idea.
No clue?
Wasn't a fish.
One of the boys pulled out a Nike running shoe and inside the shoe was a human foot.
Oh geez.
Can you imagine?
No, especially being a little kid.
You're out fishing and you think you have a bite and then you reel it in and it's a
(09:22):
foot.
Right.
Terrifying.
Those kids are, they carry that memory with them today.
Oh, for sure.
Authorities scoured both sides of the river from where the foot was discovered, employing
divers and a helicopter in an extensive search for the remaining body parts.
Despite their efforts, police were unable to find any additional evidence or remains.
On September 4th, two children noticed something unusual sticking out from a drainpipe along
(09:46):
the little Calamite River.
As you can imagine, their curiosity got the best of them and as they moved to take a closer
look sticking out of the drainpipe, they found an object wrapped in plastic.
Upon further inspection, they discovered the decomposed remains of a human body.
The remains were discovered in the vicinity of the 7800 block of Nevada street, just a
(10:08):
short distance from where the boys found the foot.
So when you look at the map of where the boys were fishing and where the drainpipe is, it's
really just like an S curve in the river.
It's just, just to the north of where the foot was found.
Okay.
Initially, police couldn't confirm the gender of the body because of the state of decomposition,
but according to those who helped remove the body from the pipe, the size and style of
(10:32):
clothing found on the remains led them to believe that the remains belonged to a woman.
Upon examination, it was determined that the body was missing a foot and the shoe recovered
with the remains matched the one found by the boys who were fishing.
The body was wearing a black leather jacket with a thin solute lining, a hooded medium
sweatshirt, size five Levi jeans, and a padded bra with a floral pattern.
(10:56):
So investigators considered two scenarios.
Either the remains were initially dumped into the nearby sewer system and became lodged
in the drainage pipe or the remains were deposited in the river and carried into the pipe by
the water's flow.
Over the course of several days, the Lake County Aquatic Underwater Recovery and Rescue
Unit conducted an extensive underwater search near the area of the recovery site.
(11:20):
Divers meticulously combed through the riverbed mud and ventured more than 30 feet into the
drainpipe aiming to fully recover the remains.
So the drainpipe apparently is about 30 feet into the street and connected by a manhole
somewhere over there on Nevada street.
Okay.
So I just wanted to take a second to kind of explore both of these scenarios.
(11:44):
So just so I can make sure I have this right.
So the foot that was found by the boys fishing was found in July and then the rest of the
body is found in September.
Exactly.
The end of July to the early September.
Okay.
But they weren't very far apart from each other, correct?
No, not at all.
You know, if you look at the map on Google and the streets, I'm sure the same now as
(12:09):
they were then, it's less than a quarter mile away.
I mean, it's super close.
It's just within a couple of bends in the river where that drainage pipe is to where
the boys were fishing, but they could have been fishing along the banks for any distance.
Yeah.
I'm just the reason I ask and I'm curious is I'm sure that when that foot was found,
they went and did a search of that area.
(12:29):
Well, they did.
Yeah.
I just wonder why the rest of the body wasn't found then.
Maybe it was in that drainage pipe and it just hadn't been dislodged far enough down
for them to find it at the time.
I don't know.
Yeah.
That's kind of where my brain goes.
I mean, you know, depending on the water levels and the drainage and everything during those
months or however long the body had been there, you know, the water, it's possible the water
(12:54):
levels could have risen high enough and started moving that river fast enough to where it
would have went up the drainage pipe.
But this river is not a fast moving river like some mountain streams or larger, more
turbulent rivers.
Its typical flow is like a moderate pace.
So I do think it's possible that, you know, the way that the river flows, which the foot
(13:16):
was found upstream from the body.
So to me, it makes sense that the body would have been, you know, upstream at some point,
you know, unless the, you know, whoever did this cut the foot off or tried to dismember
the body.
I mean, who knows exactly how these two things happen, but certainly strange.
(13:37):
Yeah, for sure.
After recovering the remains from the drainage pipe, police were only able to speculate the
remains belong to a woman based on the victim's clothing.
But due to the advanced state of decomposition, determining the gender was essentially impossible.
Looking at the victim's clothing for answers, investigators from the coroner's office determined
(13:57):
that the Nike shoes originated from a 13,000 pair lot shipped in two separate containers
by Nike to a distribution site in Phoenix.
From there, the shoes were distributed to the shoe store lady foot locker around the
whole country.
So it's almost impossible to track that down to a single purchase.
Yeah.
But I mean, great effort.
I was going to say the fact that they were even able to, you know, tie it down to these
(14:20):
two shipments, it's just that once it reached Phoenix, then they kind of separated to the
entire country.
So yeah, makes it a lot harder.
Is there even lady foot lockers around anywhere?
I was just going to ask you, I don't think so.
I've not seen one.
Me either.
I remember them, but I don't think they exist anymore.
To assist in the investigations, authorities enlisted the expertise of an anthropologist.
(14:42):
Their role was pivotal in reconstructing the remains in hopes of determining the victim's
race, age, gender, height, weight, all that stuff.
Additionally, the anthropologist was tasked with uncovering the cause and manner of death.
As you can imagine, this process was quite time consuming.
So investigators turned to the public for help.
When the remains were taken to the coroner's office, they found several items in the pockets
(15:05):
of the black jacket.
Investigators found a brass colored clarion lipstick holder, two coins, a black cigarette
lighter and a house key from ACE hardware attached to a little purple clip style ring.
So this is where I have to give these investigators credit.
They published an article in the local newspaper featuring a picture of these items, hoping
(15:25):
that someone might recognize them and come forward with information.
It didn't take long before Barbara Corey came forward and identified the key and the keyring.
Barbara said when she saw the picture in the newspaper, she held up her own house key to
the key in the picture and thought maybe this might belong to her 19 year old daughter,
(15:46):
Brandi Sherry.
According to Barbara, the last time she saw Brandi was on February 14th around 730 in
the evening.
So at this time in February, Barbara was working the night shift so she was at home sleeping
around 730 when Brandi woke her up and asked her to borrow a sweater.
Brandi had plans to visit her boyfriend that evening at his house in South Hammond, but
(16:08):
Brandi didn't drive so Barbara wasn't really sure how Brandi was going to get there.
When Barbara left work that evening, she had no idea Brandi would never make it to her
boyfriend's house and had no idea it would be the last time Barbara ever saw Brandi again.
When Brandi didn't make it to her boyfriend's house, she became increasingly worried and
on February 16th, two days after Brandi was last seen, Barbara and her ex-husband, Lenny
(16:32):
Samala, reported Brandi missing.
When Brandi was 13 years old, Lenny reconnected with his daughter and spent the next six years
getting to know her.
After Brandi disappeared, Lenny and Barbara spent the day and night together looking for
Brandi, hoping to find her safe and bring her home.
It doesn't seem like Brandi's boyfriend was ever a suspect in Brandi's disappearance
(16:53):
and according to Barbara, her boyfriend called every day after she went missing, hoping for
good news, but that news never came.
So back to the newspaper article.
When Barbara saw the house key in the newspaper, she picked up the phone, she called the coroner's
office.
Lake County Coroner Thomas Philpott and the Hammond Police Department Detectives visited
Barbara at her home.
(17:13):
When they tested the key in Barbara's lock, it was confirmed, it fit perfectly, it unlocked
the house.
I just can't imagine what Barbara felt when the key opened her door.
Right?
Or even how she felt when she picked up the newspaper and saw that and recognized that
key ring and held her own key up to it and thought, you know, that's just how scary that
(17:37):
is for her, right?
I can't even imagine the emotions she was feeling.
I think that probably what would go through her head is, hey, that looks familiar.
It looks like my daughter's key.
Part of her probably hopes that it is so she can have answers because she's been missing
her daughter since February, but the other part is really hoping that it's not a match
so that there's still hope that Brandi would still be alive.
(17:59):
Exactly.
So now that the detectives had their biggest lead in the case to identify the remains,
they were able to positively identify the victim as Brandi Sherry and they did this
by reviewing Brandi's dental records.
In addition to making a positive identification, the anthropologist was able to reconstruct
the remains and determined that the cause of death was massive blunt force trauma and
(18:21):
ruled the manner of death was homicide.
Brandi's body was found just one day shy of what would have been her 20th birthday.
At the time of her disappearance, Brandi was working at Baw's Hot Dog in Hammond, Indiana.
Brandi was described as a good girl with no known enemies.
She was Barbara's only daughter.
In one newspaper article, Barbara says, in one way, it's a consolation.
(18:46):
I know where she is now.
You cannot imagine not knowing where your child is.
She's been missing so long, the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months.
So I think we've talked about this in past episodes also, the not knowing, right?
How hard it is to find out that something horrible happened to a loved one, right?
(19:07):
They're deceased, they're no longer with us.
But you at least have some answers at that point.
When you look at some of these families that go weeks to months to years and sometimes
never get those answers, they never find their loved one, how heartbreaking that is.
I couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child.
(19:31):
But like you said, just the pain of not knowing that you've lost a child and hoping there's
always a glimmer of hope inside you that your child will return.
That's what Barbara experienced from February all the way through, you know, probably August
at that point, you know, at least September, just hoping, hey, you know, I hope Brandy
(19:51):
comes home.
But she never did.
And it's also worth mentioning Brandy only lived about three and a half miles from that
drain pipe.
And the drain pipe is about 16 and a half miles from Mr. Soft Car Wash.
These locations are relatively close to each other.
If you look at it on the map, they're all in the same neighborhood vicinity of that
metropolitan city.
(20:12):
After the identification of Brandy's body, divers combed the river and drain pipe as
far as 30 feet into the ground, looking for more clues only to find more bone fragments
and bracelets presumed to belong to Brandy.
The investigation failed to identify any suspects in the case.
And it also failed to bridge a connection between the photograph that was at the car
wash and Brandy's murder.
(20:34):
But that was that photograph determined to be Brandy, though?
It was not.
They never had any connection.
It's just such a strange moment in time for that photograph to be found.
So I think it kind of begs the question then, was this possibly like a serial killer?
I mean, is there I mean, we have a picture of another female bound.
(20:56):
You know, we don't know if she's dead or alive in the photo.
And then Brandy's body is found in the same area, like you said, in that vicinity.
So is there someone going around killing these young women?
Right.
I mean, it's it's completely possible.
It's possible that that picture could be Brandy.
I think that they would have figured that out.
(21:16):
Right.
But you know, one of the detectives in the newspaper said, you know, this this photograph
could be 10 years old or more.
So they never could bridge any connection between the photograph and Brandy's homicide.
But I just think it's super weird that it's found just on the cusp of the discovery of
(21:36):
Brandy's body in the river.
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, remember, this is 1994.
You know, there's no surveillance cameras probably on Nevada Street.
So they're not able to develop a suspect based or even a vehicle, because even if they did
have any surveillance camera, it's going to be the CCTVs with the tape that over, you
(21:56):
know, records over and over and over again.
And who knows what their investigative efforts were in 1994.
Certainly DNA was was not as advanced as it is now.
Maybe there's something that they could do.
I'm guessing not because of the decomposition level of the body.
But you know, I don't think that this case is ever going to get solved unless somebody
(22:19):
comes forward and says something because somebody out there knows something.
Exactly.
Yeah, you're right.
Like, you know, for one, we don't know how she was getting from her house to her boyfriend's
house if she was walking.
Obviously there's no ring cameras.
There's, you know, nothing catching her her walk from her house to her boyfriend's house.
(22:40):
And yeah, I think this is one of those cases that we won't get answers to unless somebody
does come forward.
Because like you said, somebody out there doesn't know something.
Whoever did this obviously knows or has told somebody something.
So yeah, I mean, if you think about it, Brandy's mom mentions that she didn't drive.
(23:01):
But she also mentions in another newspaper article that, you know, she had plenty of
friends.
And the other interesting thing that I didn't mention yet was Lenny is quoted in the newspaper
as saying that in his search for Brandy, you know, he and he and Barbara went out every
night, you know, spent so much time just looking for their child, never could find her.
(23:23):
But but Lenny says, you know, these search efforts that Barbara and I did took me to
places I never knew existed.
I met some really wonderful people that was friends with Brandy and I met some people
that are I think he quotes it as being like a darker part of society.
So it doesn't necessarily mean that anybody close to Brandy killed her.
(23:47):
But I think it's it's interesting that the close proximity of the recovery of her body
to her house, I mean, three and a half miles is not very far to venture from your house.
Right.
Especially in a metropolitan area.
It's pretty easy to get around on foot, you know, with buses, public transportation and
things in that type, even in 1994.
(24:10):
But I think the close proximity says something to me.
It just kind of makes me think this is probably a crime of opportunity.
And she probably left with every intention of making it to her boyfriend's house.
But maybe somebody saw her after she left the house and who knows what happened from
there.
Right.
(24:31):
I wonder, do you know how far her house was from her boyfriend's?
I mean, was it some something that would be like an easy walk or?
Well, assuming that Hammond is the same size today as it was back in 1994, which is probably
not the case.
It's probably bigger now.
So today, the city area is about 23 and a half square miles.
(24:51):
So I'm assuming that it's probably the same in 1994 or pretty close to it.
Certainly that's an area that Brandi could cover on foot and with the help of public
transportation, don't you think?
Yeah.
I mean, who knows within that area where her boyfriend lived or how far away he was.
But the only thing that I was able to find in my research was that he lived in South
(25:13):
Hammond.
She's on the north side of Hammond.
So across the city.
But this is a suburb area.
So you know, she has friends that could give her a ride.
She could have been walking to the bus stop.
She might not have even made it very far from her home.
I mean, obviously she didn't.
Yeah.
Somewhere in that area, I think was a crime scene that police just were unaware of.
(25:37):
And by the time her body was discovered, the crime scene's obviously gone.
So there's not a lot of information for them to go on with this.
Yeah.
No, absolutely not.
I mean, by the time she goes missing in February, her body's not found for several months.
And it's been in water this whole time.
So yeah, there's not going to be a lot of evidence to go off of.
(25:59):
And she woke her mom up around 730 that night to borrow a sweater.
So she left some time after that, and this is in February.
So you know, it's probably dark and she's making this walk.
So you're right.
Somebody could have seen an opportunity and took advantage.
And the other interesting thing that came across my mind when I was reading about all
(26:22):
the articles of clothing that were found on her.
I don't know if police deliberately left out underwear, but they never mentioned any type
of underwear that she was wearing other than the floral pattern bra.
So either she wasn't wearing any underwear, the underwear was removed and kept as maybe
a trophy or souvenir.
(26:44):
Or they kept that secret to protect something in the investigation.
Who knows?
But if that does exist and it is in evidence, that is definitely something you would want
to test.
Oh, for sure.
Despite the passage of time, Brandy's memory can only stay alive through her family and
her friends and through the efforts of the detectives to try to make a break in the case.
(27:05):
In the pursuit of understanding every detail matters, right?
Absolutely.
And if you have any information about the murder of Brandy Sherry, you are encouraged
to contact the Hammond Police Department at 219-853-6300.
And I really hope someone listening knows something because I mean, I don't know if
(27:30):
Brandy's mom is still living, but I'm sure she has other family members out there that
would really like to have answers and Brandy deserves justice.
Yeah, I think it's interesting.
This is the year 2024.
This case happened exactly 30 years ago.
We are so close to July 25th.
(27:51):
Yeah.
Wow.
That's crazy that 1994 has already been 30 years.
Yeah.
30 years since I lost my rat tail.
Oh my gosh.
I'm kidding.
All right.
Well, thank you for tuning into this episode of Mysteries and Mimosa's.
Your support means the world to us.
Please consider following us, leaving us a five star review and sharing our podcast with
your family and friends.
(28:12):
One more thing, head on over to mysteriesandmimosa.net.
I have the website updated for Brandy's case.
There you'll see some newspaper clippings, a couple of pictures of the drainage pipe
and the location there in Hammond, Indiana.
As we conclude, let's raise our glasses in honor of Brandy Sherry and everyone in her
family who misses her every day.
Cheers.
(28:33):
Cheers.
Welcome to Mysteries of Mimosa's, I'm Max and with me is my co-host Aria.
(00:16):
Hi everyone, thanks for listening.
And don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube to stay updated
on all our latest episodes and behind the scenes content.
Yeah, and don't forget to follow us, rate us five stars, and spread the word about our
podcast.
Without you, we would just be two lonely people talking into a microphone bickering over who's
(00:36):
better at trivia.
Me.
Which would, well.
Well, right now.
Not really.
Anyway, since Aria got 100% several weeks back, I've been in the hot seat.
And I'm just going to be honest with you, Aria, I have received a lot of feedback from our
listeners and the one common opinion is that you are deliberately asking questions that
(00:56):
are impossible to answer to save yourself from embarrassment.
No, it's not to save myself from embarrassment.
It's just to put you in the hot seat for once.
Right, for once.
Right.
Because it took so long.
No, I know.
That's why I deliberately chose those hard questions.
Okay, well I hope today's trivia questions are a little bit better than last time.
(01:18):
Maybe, I guess we'll see.
So each week we do a trivia segment from the year of the case we're covering.
The idea behind the trivia segment is to mentally bring you back in time by asking each other
a few questions from that time period.
This week's case is from the year 1994.
Hopefully you'll be able to remember where you were and what you were doing, if you were
(01:39):
even alive then.
Some of you may not have been born in 1994, but Max was 14 years old in 1994.
And so little 14 year old Max was rocking his rat tail in his mullet.
I don't think you had a rat tail at 14.
Maybe not, but actually I probably did.
I don't remember.
All right, what would you have for trivia?
Let's go.
(02:00):
Let's get this thing done.
All right.
No, I knew it.
All right, question one, are you ready?
Ready as I'll ever be.
Okay.
What major web browser was released in 1994?
Was it WebCrawler?
No, it was Netscape Navigator.
(02:23):
Netscape Navigator, yeah, that was going to be my second guess.
You really knew that?
I do.
I remember I used it.
I've never heard of it.
Well, I used it and I know it.
I used both of those.
Apparently it was like the big deal into everybody being able to access the worldwide web.
Right.
Yeah, it kind of started everything off.
(02:44):
I don't think I was using computers when I was 14 in 94.
Yeah, actually I was 1994 for sure.
Yeah.
All right.
I remember I used them in the library, went to a computer lab.
We had one.
We had a computer in 1994, our own personal...
I mean, it was ginormous, but we had one.
(03:04):
Yeah.
Okay.
Next question.
Which country hosted the World Cup in 1994 where Brazil won the championship for the
fourth time?
Oh man, I wouldn't even begin to know anything about that.
Just take a guess.
I'm just going to guess Brazil.
Oh, the United States.
(03:25):
Really?
Yeah.
Wow.
Okay.
True story.
I think I would remember that.
I'm going to fact check you with my Netscape Navigator right now.
All right.
Question number three.
What astronomical event occurred in 1994 when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided
with Jupiter producing visible impacts on the planet's atmosphere?
(03:50):
What cosmic event happened?
An astronomical event.
Astronomical event?
Yeah.
It's when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.
Well, I mean, I guess it would be just massive meteor showers.
It's actually referred to as the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact.
Okay.
Well, of course I wouldn't know that, but I think I'm going to take that one because
(04:13):
I knew what it was going to produce.
Is it a meteor shower?
I don't know.
I guess.
I have no idea.
Okay.
Hold on.
Rule number one when you're hosting trivia, you should probably know a little bit about
it.
Oh, you have to know the history of it?
That's not fair.
I always come prepared, but it's okay.
No, you don't.
Okay.
I'm just going to do what you do.
Okay.
I'll go ahead and give you that one this time.
(04:35):
Okay.
That's fine.
All right.
The fourth and final question.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
If I get this, do I win?
No.
Oh.
What landmark agreement was signed in 1994 aimed at creating a free trade zone between
Canada, Mexico, and the United States?
Oh, I don't even know.
(04:55):
What does it start with?
N. No clue.
Really?
No.
Okay.
The North American Free Trade Agreement.
Oh, that.
Oh, NAFTA.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm not really good at politics and stuff, so now you know my weakness.
No, I wouldn't say that.
(05:17):
You know enough.
All right.
I know enough to be dangerous.
All right.
All right.
So, oh, real quick before we get started in this, today's mystery mimosa recipe is a grapefruit
rosemary mimosa.
This mimosa blends a bright citrusy note of grapefruit with hints of aromatic rosemary.
It includes one part of grilled champagne or chilled champagne, whichever you prefer,
(05:44):
and one part chilled grapefruit juice.
And then you just add the rosemary sprigs for a garnish.
So I know our show is mysteries and mimosas, and we give a mimosa recipe every time.
But I just want to give a shout out.
We have a Nespresso machine, and today I was at the store, and Nespresso made pumpkin spice
(06:07):
flavored pods for the Nespresso.
Hold on.
Nobody cares.
It's not fall yet.
It's still summer.
I know.
Let's move this along.
I love fall, and I love pumpkin spice.
And so I wanted to put that out there because I was super excited when I saw it today because
this is the reason we've had an Nespresso for a couple of years, and they've never done
that before.
They've done it for the Keurig.
(06:27):
They do it for a regular coffee maker, but they've never done the pods for the Nespresso.
And then I saw it today.
Well, how was it?
It's delicious.
And I just wanted to let everyone know that.
Well, thank you for the news announcement.
You're welcome.
And if you'd like to show support for our show, visit dragingglassware.com and treat
yourself to a set of their exquisite cocktail glasses.
(06:49):
Enter promo code mysteries and mimosas podcast at checkout to enjoy a special 10% discount
on your order from Draging Glassware.
Thank you.
And now we can get started.
As you mentioned, today's episode is from the year 1994 in Hammond, Indiana.
Located in Lake County in the northwest corner of Indiana, Hammond is part of the Chicago
(07:09):
metropolitan area.
It's situated approximately 20 miles southeast of downtown Chicago.
Okay.
I actually love Chicago to go and visit there.
We had a really great time last time we were there, you know, staying right next to the
river and we were there during or around the time of St. Patrick's day.
(07:29):
And we left the day before they did, they dyed the river green and I was so sad.
Yeah, I really wanted to see that.
I've never seen that before.
I mean, I've seen it on TV, but I've never seen it live and we were so close.
I had never, that was the first time I had ever been to Chicago to visit and man, was
it cold.
Oh, it was.
It was really cold, but it was so fun.
So in Hammond in March of 1994 in the neighboring town of Merrillville, Indiana, employees of
(07:56):
the Mr. Soft Car Wash found something rather disturbing.
They found a five by seven black and white photograph depicting a woman who was bound
and gagged and covered in plastic.
When police looked at the photograph, they couldn't determine whether the woman was alive
or dead, where the photo came from or how old the photo was, but they collected it anyway.
(08:18):
Okay.
So the employees of the car wash found it.
Where did they find it?
Like I don't know.
You know, I've searched through the news articles.
I can't find, you know, I don't think it came out of anybody's car because they can never
connect the photo to anybody.
So I think they probably either just found it in the trash or, you know, maybe, I don't
know, but the vacuums are on the ground or something, but either way, isn't that really
(08:38):
weird?
Yeah.
So four months later on July 25th, a couple of boys were fishing near the northern edge
of liable road in the Highland neighborhood, still in Hammond.
The boys were fishing a river called the Little Calamite River, which is about a 46 mile river
that runs through several communities on like the Northwest part of Indiana, including Hammond.
(09:01):
And while they were out there fishing, one of the boys caught something really unexpected.
Care to guess?
I have no idea.
No clue?
Wasn't a fish.
One of the boys pulled out a Nike running shoe and inside the shoe was a human foot.
Oh geez.
Can you imagine?
No, especially being a little kid.
You're out fishing and you think you have a bite and then you reel it in and it's a
(09:22):
foot.
Right.
Terrifying.
Those kids are, they carry that memory with them today.
Oh, for sure.
Authorities scoured both sides of the river from where the foot was discovered, employing
divers and a helicopter in an extensive search for the remaining body parts.
Despite their efforts, police were unable to find any additional evidence or remains.
On September 4th, two children noticed something unusual sticking out from a drainpipe along
(09:46):
the little Calamite River.
As you can imagine, their curiosity got the best of them and as they moved to take a closer
look sticking out of the drainpipe, they found an object wrapped in plastic.
Upon further inspection, they discovered the decomposed remains of a human body.
The remains were discovered in the vicinity of the 7800 block of Nevada street, just a
(10:08):
short distance from where the boys found the foot.
So when you look at the map of where the boys were fishing and where the drainpipe is, it's
really just like an S curve in the river.
It's just, just to the north of where the foot was found.
Okay.
Initially, police couldn't confirm the gender of the body because of the state of decomposition,
but according to those who helped remove the body from the pipe, the size and style of
(10:32):
clothing found on the remains led them to believe that the remains belonged to a woman.
Upon examination, it was determined that the body was missing a foot and the shoe recovered
with the remains matched the one found by the boys who were fishing.
The body was wearing a black leather jacket with a thin solute lining, a hooded medium
sweatshirt, size five Levi jeans, and a padded bra with a floral pattern.
(10:56):
So investigators considered two scenarios.
Either the remains were initially dumped into the nearby sewer system and became lodged
in the drainage pipe or the remains were deposited in the river and carried into the pipe by
the water's flow.
Over the course of several days, the Lake County Aquatic Underwater Recovery and Rescue
Unit conducted an extensive underwater search near the area of the recovery site.
(11:20):
Divers meticulously combed through the riverbed mud and ventured more than 30 feet into the
drainpipe aiming to fully recover the remains.
So the drainpipe apparently is about 30 feet into the street and connected by a manhole
somewhere over there on Nevada street.
Okay.
So I just wanted to take a second to kind of explore both of these scenarios.
(11:44):
So just so I can make sure I have this right.
So the foot that was found by the boys fishing was found in July and then the rest of the
body is found in September.
Exactly.
The end of July to the early September.
Okay.
But they weren't very far apart from each other, correct?
No, not at all.
You know, if you look at the map on Google and the streets, I'm sure the same now as
(12:09):
they were then, it's less than a quarter mile away.
I mean, it's super close.
It's just within a couple of bends in the river where that drainage pipe is to where
the boys were fishing, but they could have been fishing along the banks for any distance.
Yeah.
I'm just the reason I ask and I'm curious is I'm sure that when that foot was found,
they went and did a search of that area.
(12:29):
Well, they did.
Yeah.
I just wonder why the rest of the body wasn't found then.
Maybe it was in that drainage pipe and it just hadn't been dislodged far enough down
for them to find it at the time.
I don't know.
Yeah.
That's kind of where my brain goes.
I mean, you know, depending on the water levels and the drainage and everything during those
months or however long the body had been there, you know, the water, it's possible the water
(12:54):
levels could have risen high enough and started moving that river fast enough to where it
would have went up the drainage pipe.
But this river is not a fast moving river like some mountain streams or larger, more
turbulent rivers.
Its typical flow is like a moderate pace.
So I do think it's possible that, you know, the way that the river flows, which the foot
(13:16):
was found upstream from the body.
So to me, it makes sense that the body would have been, you know, upstream at some point,
you know, unless the, you know, whoever did this cut the foot off or tried to dismember
the body.
I mean, who knows exactly how these two things happen, but certainly strange.
(13:37):
Yeah, for sure.
After recovering the remains from the drainage pipe, police were only able to speculate the
remains belong to a woman based on the victim's clothing.
But due to the advanced state of decomposition, determining the gender was essentially impossible.
Looking at the victim's clothing for answers, investigators from the coroner's office determined
(13:57):
that the Nike shoes originated from a 13,000 pair lot shipped in two separate containers
by Nike to a distribution site in Phoenix.
From there, the shoes were distributed to the shoe store lady foot locker around the
whole country.
So it's almost impossible to track that down to a single purchase.
Yeah.
But I mean, great effort.
I was going to say the fact that they were even able to, you know, tie it down to these
(14:20):
two shipments, it's just that once it reached Phoenix, then they kind of separated to the
entire country.
So yeah, makes it a lot harder.
Is there even lady foot lockers around anywhere?
I was just going to ask you, I don't think so.
I've not seen one.
Me either.
I remember them, but I don't think they exist anymore.
To assist in the investigations, authorities enlisted the expertise of an anthropologist.
(14:42):
Their role was pivotal in reconstructing the remains in hopes of determining the victim's
race, age, gender, height, weight, all that stuff.
Additionally, the anthropologist was tasked with uncovering the cause and manner of death.
As you can imagine, this process was quite time consuming.
So investigators turned to the public for help.
When the remains were taken to the coroner's office, they found several items in the pockets
(15:05):
of the black jacket.
Investigators found a brass colored clarion lipstick holder, two coins, a black cigarette
lighter and a house key from ACE hardware attached to a little purple clip style ring.
So this is where I have to give these investigators credit.
They published an article in the local newspaper featuring a picture of these items, hoping
(15:25):
that someone might recognize them and come forward with information.
It didn't take long before Barbara Corey came forward and identified the key and the keyring.
Barbara said when she saw the picture in the newspaper, she held up her own house key to
the key in the picture and thought maybe this might belong to her 19 year old daughter,
(15:46):
Brandi Sherry.
According to Barbara, the last time she saw Brandi was on February 14th around 730 in
the evening.
So at this time in February, Barbara was working the night shift so she was at home sleeping
around 730 when Brandi woke her up and asked her to borrow a sweater.
Brandi had plans to visit her boyfriend that evening at his house in South Hammond, but
(16:08):
Brandi didn't drive so Barbara wasn't really sure how Brandi was going to get there.
When Barbara left work that evening, she had no idea Brandi would never make it to her
boyfriend's house and had no idea it would be the last time Barbara ever saw Brandi again.
When Brandi didn't make it to her boyfriend's house, she became increasingly worried and
on February 16th, two days after Brandi was last seen, Barbara and her ex-husband, Lenny
(16:32):
Samala, reported Brandi missing.
When Brandi was 13 years old, Lenny reconnected with his daughter and spent the next six years
getting to know her.
After Brandi disappeared, Lenny and Barbara spent the day and night together looking for
Brandi, hoping to find her safe and bring her home.
It doesn't seem like Brandi's boyfriend was ever a suspect in Brandi's disappearance
(16:53):
and according to Barbara, her boyfriend called every day after she went missing, hoping for
good news, but that news never came.
So back to the newspaper article.
When Barbara saw the house key in the newspaper, she picked up the phone, she called the coroner's
office.
Lake County Coroner Thomas Philpott and the Hammond Police Department Detectives visited
Barbara at her home.
(17:13):
When they tested the key in Barbara's lock, it was confirmed, it fit perfectly, it unlocked
the house.
I just can't imagine what Barbara felt when the key opened her door.
Right?
Or even how she felt when she picked up the newspaper and saw that and recognized that
key ring and held her own key up to it and thought, you know, that's just how scary that
(17:37):
is for her, right?
I can't even imagine the emotions she was feeling.
I think that probably what would go through her head is, hey, that looks familiar.
It looks like my daughter's key.
Part of her probably hopes that it is so she can have answers because she's been missing
her daughter since February, but the other part is really hoping that it's not a match
so that there's still hope that Brandi would still be alive.
(17:59):
Exactly.
So now that the detectives had their biggest lead in the case to identify the remains,
they were able to positively identify the victim as Brandi Sherry and they did this
by reviewing Brandi's dental records.
In addition to making a positive identification, the anthropologist was able to reconstruct
the remains and determined that the cause of death was massive blunt force trauma and
(18:21):
ruled the manner of death was homicide.
Brandi's body was found just one day shy of what would have been her 20th birthday.
At the time of her disappearance, Brandi was working at Baw's Hot Dog in Hammond, Indiana.
Brandi was described as a good girl with no known enemies.
She was Barbara's only daughter.
In one newspaper article, Barbara says, in one way, it's a consolation.
(18:46):
I know where she is now.
You cannot imagine not knowing where your child is.
She's been missing so long, the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months.
So I think we've talked about this in past episodes also, the not knowing, right?
How hard it is to find out that something horrible happened to a loved one, right?
(19:07):
They're deceased, they're no longer with us.
But you at least have some answers at that point.
When you look at some of these families that go weeks to months to years and sometimes
never get those answers, they never find their loved one, how heartbreaking that is.
I couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child.
(19:31):
But like you said, just the pain of not knowing that you've lost a child and hoping there's
always a glimmer of hope inside you that your child will return.
That's what Barbara experienced from February all the way through, you know, probably August
at that point, you know, at least September, just hoping, hey, you know, I hope Brandy
(19:51):
comes home.
But she never did.
And it's also worth mentioning Brandy only lived about three and a half miles from that
drain pipe.
And the drain pipe is about 16 and a half miles from Mr. Soft Car Wash.
These locations are relatively close to each other.
If you look at it on the map, they're all in the same neighborhood vicinity of that
metropolitan city.
(20:12):
After the identification of Brandy's body, divers combed the river and drain pipe as
far as 30 feet into the ground, looking for more clues only to find more bone fragments
and bracelets presumed to belong to Brandy.
The investigation failed to identify any suspects in the case.
And it also failed to bridge a connection between the photograph that was at the car
wash and Brandy's murder.
(20:34):
But that was that photograph determined to be Brandy, though?
It was not.
They never had any connection.
It's just such a strange moment in time for that photograph to be found.
So I think it kind of begs the question then, was this possibly like a serial killer?
I mean, is there I mean, we have a picture of another female bound.
(20:56):
You know, we don't know if she's dead or alive in the photo.
And then Brandy's body is found in the same area, like you said, in that vicinity.
So is there someone going around killing these young women?
Right.
I mean, it's it's completely possible.
It's possible that that picture could be Brandy.
I think that they would have figured that out.
(21:16):
Right.
But you know, one of the detectives in the newspaper said, you know, this this photograph
could be 10 years old or more.
So they never could bridge any connection between the photograph and Brandy's homicide.
But I just think it's super weird that it's found just on the cusp of the discovery of
(21:36):
Brandy's body in the river.
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, remember, this is 1994.
You know, there's no surveillance cameras probably on Nevada Street.
So they're not able to develop a suspect based or even a vehicle, because even if they did
have any surveillance camera, it's going to be the CCTVs with the tape that over, you
(21:56):
know, records over and over and over again.
And who knows what their investigative efforts were in 1994.
Certainly DNA was was not as advanced as it is now.
Maybe there's something that they could do.
I'm guessing not because of the decomposition level of the body.
But you know, I don't think that this case is ever going to get solved unless somebody
(22:19):
comes forward and says something because somebody out there knows something.
Exactly.
Yeah, you're right.
Like, you know, for one, we don't know how she was getting from her house to her boyfriend's
house if she was walking.
Obviously there's no ring cameras.
There's, you know, nothing catching her her walk from her house to her boyfriend's house.
(22:40):
And yeah, I think this is one of those cases that we won't get answers to unless somebody
does come forward.
Because like you said, somebody out there doesn't know something.
Whoever did this obviously knows or has told somebody something.
So yeah, I mean, if you think about it, Brandy's mom mentions that she didn't drive.
(23:01):
But she also mentions in another newspaper article that, you know, she had plenty of
friends.
And the other interesting thing that I didn't mention yet was Lenny is quoted in the newspaper
as saying that in his search for Brandy, you know, he and he and Barbara went out every
night, you know, spent so much time just looking for their child, never could find her.
(23:23):
But but Lenny says, you know, these search efforts that Barbara and I did took me to
places I never knew existed.
I met some really wonderful people that was friends with Brandy and I met some people
that are I think he quotes it as being like a darker part of society.
So it doesn't necessarily mean that anybody close to Brandy killed her.
(23:47):
But I think it's it's interesting that the close proximity of the recovery of her body
to her house, I mean, three and a half miles is not very far to venture from your house.
Right.
Especially in a metropolitan area.
It's pretty easy to get around on foot, you know, with buses, public transportation and
things in that type, even in 1994.
(24:10):
But I think the close proximity says something to me.
It just kind of makes me think this is probably a crime of opportunity.
And she probably left with every intention of making it to her boyfriend's house.
But maybe somebody saw her after she left the house and who knows what happened from
there.
Right.
(24:31):
I wonder, do you know how far her house was from her boyfriend's?
I mean, was it some something that would be like an easy walk or?
Well, assuming that Hammond is the same size today as it was back in 1994, which is probably
not the case.
It's probably bigger now.
So today, the city area is about 23 and a half square miles.
(24:51):
So I'm assuming that it's probably the same in 1994 or pretty close to it.
Certainly that's an area that Brandi could cover on foot and with the help of public
transportation, don't you think?
Yeah.
I mean, who knows within that area where her boyfriend lived or how far away he was.
But the only thing that I was able to find in my research was that he lived in South
(25:13):
Hammond.
She's on the north side of Hammond.
So across the city.
But this is a suburb area.
So you know, she has friends that could give her a ride.
She could have been walking to the bus stop.
She might not have even made it very far from her home.
I mean, obviously she didn't.
Yeah.
Somewhere in that area, I think was a crime scene that police just were unaware of.
(25:37):
And by the time her body was discovered, the crime scene's obviously gone.
So there's not a lot of information for them to go on with this.
Yeah.
No, absolutely not.
I mean, by the time she goes missing in February, her body's not found for several months.
And it's been in water this whole time.
So yeah, there's not going to be a lot of evidence to go off of.
(25:59):
And she woke her mom up around 730 that night to borrow a sweater.
So she left some time after that, and this is in February.
So you know, it's probably dark and she's making this walk.
So you're right.
Somebody could have seen an opportunity and took advantage.
And the other interesting thing that came across my mind when I was reading about all
(26:22):
the articles of clothing that were found on her.
I don't know if police deliberately left out underwear, but they never mentioned any type
of underwear that she was wearing other than the floral pattern bra.
So either she wasn't wearing any underwear, the underwear was removed and kept as maybe
a trophy or souvenir.
(26:44):
Or they kept that secret to protect something in the investigation.
Who knows?
But if that does exist and it is in evidence, that is definitely something you would want
to test.
Oh, for sure.
Despite the passage of time, Brandy's memory can only stay alive through her family and
her friends and through the efforts of the detectives to try to make a break in the case.
(27:05):
In the pursuit of understanding every detail matters, right?
Absolutely.
And if you have any information about the murder of Brandy Sherry, you are encouraged
to contact the Hammond Police Department at 219-853-6300.
And I really hope someone listening knows something because I mean, I don't know if
(27:30):
Brandy's mom is still living, but I'm sure she has other family members out there that
would really like to have answers and Brandy deserves justice.
Yeah, I think it's interesting.
This is the year 2024.
This case happened exactly 30 years ago.
We are so close to July 25th.
(27:51):
Yeah.
Wow.
That's crazy that 1994 has already been 30 years.
Yeah.
30 years since I lost my rat tail.
Oh my gosh.
I'm kidding.
All right.
Well, thank you for tuning into this episode of Mysteries and Mimosa's.
Your support means the world to us.
Please consider following us, leaving us a five star review and sharing our podcast with
your family and friends.
(28:12):
One more thing, head on over to mysteriesandmimosa.net.
I have the website updated for Brandy's case.
There you'll see some newspaper clippings, a couple of pictures of the drainage pipe
and the location there in Hammond, Indiana.
As we conclude, let's raise our glasses in honor of Brandy Sherry and everyone in her
family who misses her every day.
Cheers.
(28:33):
Cheers.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.