Unsolved: The Golden Years Murders with Brew Crime

Our good friends, Mike and JT from Brew Crime, join us for November's unsolved crossover. Today, JT tells us about a terrifying six-year murder spree (1990-1996) targeted at least thirteen vulnerable elderly women in Richmond's West End, creating widespread panic. The case was officially pinned on one killer, but the narrative quickly fell apart: the series was split by a two-year hiatus and featured a pronounced shift from the stabbing homicides of six Black women to the homicides of seven White women. The case was hastily "closed" for the Phase II victims through the highly disputed confession of a diagnosed schizophrenic with zero forensic links to the crime scenes, leaving the initial wave of brutal stabbings completely unresolved. The official resolution is rooted in systemic failure and alleged racial bias, ensuring the actual killer, or killers, walked free. Source for the Episode Associated Press. (1996, April 25). Pattern Sought in Richmond Killings. The Roanoke Times. https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1996/rt9604/960425/04250042.htm Cases Solved Using Forensic Genetic Genealogy: How DNA Profiles Crack Cold Cases. (n.d.). Genomelink. Retrieved November 3, 2025, from https://genomelink.io/blog/cases-solved-using-forensic-genetic-genealogy-how-dna-profiles-crack-cold-cases Leslie Burchart. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Burchart Perpetrator typologies and behavioral patterns in strangulation homicides: A Smallest Space Analysis. (n.d.). PMC. Retrieved November 3, 2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12046104 The Golden Years Murders. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Years_Murders https://richmondstandard.com/richmond/2025/02/26/richmond-city-council-honors-black-nine-guardians-of-justice/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices