Forensic Tales
Not all stories have happy endings... A weekly true crime podcast with a forensic twist. Each episode features real stories highlighting how forensic science was used. From fingerprinting to criminal profiling to familial DNA, we have every investigative angle covered.
Episodes
October 27, 2025 • 36 mins
#304 - In 1981, 31-year-old single mother Linda Slaten was found murdered in her Lakeland, Florida apartment. Her sons were asleep just down the hall. For decades, detectives chased every lead — a violent ex-husband, a mysterious boyfriend, even a convicted predator who once lived next door. But the trail always went cold.
Nearly forty years later, a revolutionary forensic tool — genetic genealogy — finally revealed the truth. And...
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October 20, 2025 • 42 mins
In January 1984, 29-year-old Teresa Solecki walked to a payphone in Vista, California, to make a quick call to her sister. She never came back. Hours later, her body was discovered along a remote stretch of Gopher Canyon Road—brutally beaten and strangled.
For decades, investigators held onto the evidence: a bite mark, a drag trail, and an unknown male’s DNA. But without modern technology, Teresa’s case went cold. It would take 35...
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October 13, 2025 • 37 mins
In June 1991, 70-year-old grandmother Dorothy Donovan was found brutally murdered inside her farmhouse in Harrington, Delaware. The crime stunned the small town—and suspicion immediately turned to the person who discovered her body: her own son.
Charles Holden told investigators a strange and terrifying story about a violent hitchhiker he’d picked up earlier that night, a man who threatened him with a screwdriver and chased him th...
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October 6, 2025 • 40 mins
On New Year’s Eve 1989, Mansfield, Ohio was rocked by the disappearance of Noreen Boyle. Her husband, prominent neurosurgeon Dr. John Boyle, insisted she had walked out after an argument. But Noreen’s son, 11-year-old Collier, told a very different story—a scream in the night, suspicious behavior from his father, and threats to stay silent.
When investigators dug deeper—literally—they uncovered the truth buried beneath the floor o...
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September 29, 2025 • 41 mins
For our 300th episode of Forensic Tales, we’re tackling one of the most infamous and puzzling unsolved cases in American history—the Zodiac Killer. Between 1968 and 1969, a mysterious figure terrorized Northern California with a string of murders, chilling phone calls, and cryptic letters sent to local newspapers. Despite decades of investigation, the Zodiac’s identity remains one of the greatest mysteries in true crime.
In this m...
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September 22, 2025 • 33 mins
#299 - In June 1983, 37-year-old Noelle Russo was found beaten to death and left naked in a patch of weeds behind a real estate office in Rohnert Park, California. For decades, her case went cold—suspects were interviewed, rumors circulated, but without forensic evidence, detectives had nowhere to go.
Nearly forty years later, modern DNA testing finally identified a suspect: a man who had been on investigators’ radar since the ver...
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September 15, 2025 • 43 mins
In 2014, Florida State law professor Dan Markel was shot in his driveway in what prosecutors called a calculated murder-for-hire plot. Over the years, three people—including Donna Adelson’s son, Charlie—were convicted for their roles. But investigators always believed the real mastermind was Donna herself.
In September 2025, after nearly a decade of speculation, Donna Adelson finally stood trial. Prosecutors leaned on phone record...
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September 8, 2025 • 37 mins
In February 1996, 36-year-old Jasmine “Jazzie” Porter was found dead in her Bronx apartment while her five-year-old son was left to survive alone for days. For more than two decades, her case went unsolved—until a cold case detective uncovered long-preserved evidence that changed everything. A DNA match pointed to a man with a violent past, already convicted of killing another woman years earlier. The case is still pending, with no...
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September 1, 2025 • 43 mins
In July 2002, the body of 15-year-old Katie Hamlin was discovered in a remote area of Cherokee County, Georgia. She had been brutally murdered, and her killer attempted to erase every trace of evidence by setting her on fire.
What followed was a years-long investigation that left a quiet community shaken. Police quickly focused on two suspects who pointed fingers at each other, but with crucial forensic evidence destroyed, the cas...
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August 25, 2025 • 38 mins
#295 - In December 1988, a road crew in rural Ware County, Georgia, discovered an abandoned television console on the side of Duncan Bridge Road. Inside was a black suitcase. Inside that suitcase, a duffel bag. And inside the bag — the body of a little girl.
For decades, no one knew her name. She was remembered only as “Christmas Doe.”
Thirty-four years later, advances in forensic genealogy finally gave her identity back. Now, in...
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August 18, 2025 • 42 mins
#294 - In 1989, 37-year-old Patricia Meehan crashed head-on into another car on a Montana highway. She calmly stepped out, stared at the other driver—and walked away into the night. She was never seen again… or was she?
Over the years, thousands claimed to spot her across the country, yet not a single sighting was confirmed. Was it amnesia, a planned disappearance, death in the wilderness, or something darker? Decades later, her f...
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August 11, 2025 • 40 mins
#293 - In the early 1970s, two young women from Stanford University—Leslie Perlov and Janet Taylor—were strangled and left in remote areas just miles apart. Despite extensive investigations, both cases remained unsolved for decades.
Nearly 50 years later, a stunning breakthrough in forensic genealogy revealed their killer: John Getreu, a seemingly ordinary man with a violent past. Hidden behind the mask of a family man and communi...
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August 4, 2025 • 35 mins
#292 - In 1974, 19-year-old Arlis Perry was brutally murdered inside Stanford University’s Memorial Church. Her body was discovered posed in a ritualistic manner, surrounded by religious objects—fueling decades of rumors about satanic cults and ritual sacrifice. Despite the collection of physical evidence, the case would remain unsolved for over 40 years.
Arlis’s murder became one of Northern California’s most haunting cold cases....
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July 28, 2025 • 35 mins
#291 - In 2005, chemist Geetha Angara vanished during her shift at a New Jersey water treatment plant. A day later, her body was found floating inside one of the facility’s massive water tanks—along with more questions than answers. Was it a tragic accident? Or a calculated murder perfectly concealed by the very environment she worked to protect?
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July 21, 2025 • 43 mins
#290 - On a cold December night in 2014, first responders in Courtland, Mississippi, arrived at the scene of a car fire—only to discover something far more horrifying. Nineteen-year-old Jessica Chambers was found walking down a rural road, covered in burns and barely clinging to life. Before succumbing to her injuries, she tried to name her attacker. But what exactly did she say? And why has her case remained unsolved for nearly a ...
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July 14, 2025 • 46 mins
#289 - Torrey Pines State Beach in California is a place where many come to find peace. But for two young women, it became the backdrop of unspeakable tragedy.
In August 1978, police officers responded to the beach, where they found the body of 15-year-old Barbara Nantais lying on the sand. She had been strangled and beaten to death, and one of her breasts had been severed.
Her boyfriend was also discovered nearby, suffering from...
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July 7, 2025 • 39 mins
#288 - It was Valentine’s Day, 1988, in Wales. While couples exchanged roses and love notes, in a small flat above a betting shop, a young woman lay brutally murdered. Her name was Lynette White. She was just 20 years old.
What followed her death wasn’t just a murder investigation—it was a legal and forensic nightmare. Five innocent men were accused, imprisoned, and publicly vilified for a crime they didn’t commit. And it would ta...
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June 30, 2025 • 44 mins
#287 - Imagine waking up to find your entire world shattered—and being told you’re the one who destroyed it. In 1997, Phoenix, Arizona, was rocked by a gruesome and baffling crime. Yarmila Falater, a devoted wife and mother, was found stabbed over 40 times and drowned in her own backyard pool. The suspect? Her husband, Scott Falater—a devout Mormon with no history of violence, who claimed he had no memory of the attack. His defense...
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June 23, 2025 • 66 mins
#286 - In January 2022, Boston police officer John O’Keefe was found dead in the snow outside the home of another police officer. The case quickly captured national attention—not just because of the tragedy itself, but because of the woman accused of killing him: Karen Read.
If you’ve been following Forensic Tales, you might remember that we covered the full story of this case in a previous episode—walking through the timeline, th...
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June 16, 2025 • 47 mins
#285 - It was supposed to be a fun night.A group of moms—neighbors and friends—gathered for an adult slumber party. Alcohol, games, laughter… the kind of night where you let loose, take off your responsibilities, and just be yourself.
But by the next morning, one of them was dead.
Her name was Tamla Horsford. A 40-year-old mother of five.She was found face down in the backyard of the home where the party took place—cold, lifeless...
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