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In December 1996, 32-year-old Sharon McLane was brutally murdered inside her Bedford, Texas apartment. Two years later, her friend John Earl Nolley was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison. The case appeared closed.
But questions never completely disappeared.
Years after Nolley’s conviction, attorneys with the Innocence Project and Tarrant County’s Conviction Integrity Unit uncovered troubling problems with the original prosecution, including undisclosed evidence, unreliable jailhouse informant testimony, and forensic findings that cast doubt on the verdict.
Early in the case, Paul Dennis Reid, a violent serial killer later convicted of seven murders in Tennessee and suspected in several others, emerged as an alternate suspect. But police discounted him despite many witnesses placing him at Sharon’s apartment complex around the time of the murder, among other things.
In the final chapter of Sharon McLane’s story, we examine Reid’s murder convictions, the evidence that pointed away from Nolley, and the extraordinary review that ultimately led to Nolley’s release after nearly two decades behind bars.
While John Earl Nolley eventually regained his freedom, Sharon McLane’s murder remains unsolved, leaving behind one lingering question that has never been definitively answered:
Who killed Sharon McLane?
Part three of three.
If you have any information about the murder of Sharon Lucretia McLane, please call the Bedford police at (817) 952-2127.
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#JusticeForSharonMcLane #BedfordTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In December of 1996, 32-year-old Sharon McLane was found brutally murdered inside her Bedford, Texas apartment, stabbed and slashed more than fifty times in a crime that shocked the Mid-Cities area between Dallas and Fort Worth. Police quickly focused on Sharon’s acquaintance, John Earl Nolley, and within months he was arrested, charged, and eventually convicted of her murder. But while investigators in Texas built their case against Nolley, another terrifying series of murders was unfolding hundreds of miles away in Tennessee.
As Nashville-area detectives investigated what became known as the “Fast Food Murders,” authorities began connecting multiple brutal restaurant killings tied to a violent drifter and former fast-food employee named Paul Dennis Reid Jr. The murders stretched from Captain D’s in Donelson to a McDonald’s in Hermitage and eventually to the abduction and murder of two Baskin-Robbins employees in Clarksville. The crimes shared disturbing similarities: restaurant workers targeted during opening or closing shifts, robbery mixed with extreme violence, and victims executed by firearm or repeatedly stabbed.
As Reid’s history and alleged crimes came to light, Sharon McLane’s defense attorneys began noticing troubling overlaps between the Tennessee murders and Sharon’s killing in Bedford. Witnesses reportedly placed Reid at Sharon’s apartment complex around the time investigators believed she was murdered. Others claimed Reid had previously been seen at Sharon’s workplace. Hair recovered from Sharon’s clothing reportedly did not belong to either Sharon or John Nolley, and witnesses later described Reid appearing with cuts on his hands shortly after the murder.
The rise and fall of Paul Dennis Reid was at the expense of several lives, the horrifying Tennessee fast-food murders. And his arrest cast a shadow over the prosecution of John Earl Nolley. As investigators in Tennessee connected Reid to one of the region’s most infamous murder sprees, questions continued to linger in Texas about whether Sharon McLane’s killer had truly been identified, or whether another violent predator had passed through the Metroplex before the violence escalated elsewhere.
Part two of three.
If you have any information about the murder of Sharon Lucretia McLane, please call the Bedford police at (817) 952-2127.
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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#JusticeForSharonMcLane #BedfordTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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In December 1996, 32-year-old Sharon McLane was murdered inside her home in Bedford, a brutal crime that immediately shook family, friends, and investigators.
As detectives began piecing together Sharon’s final hours, questions quickly emerged. Who would want to hurt her? Was this a crime of opportunity, or did someone Sharon knew walk through that door?
Sharon’s her life, her relationships, and the circumstances leading up to the night she was killed were vague. As investigators work to establish a timeline, early evidence and witness statements begin to paint a troubling picture, one that suggests Sharon’s killer may not have been a stranger at all.
This is the beginning of a case that would raise serious questions, uncover conflicting accounts, and leave those closest to Sharon searching for the truth.
Part one of three.
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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#JusticeForSharonMcLane #BedfordTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In May 2018, what should have been a peaceful getaway to a secluded ranch in Emory ended in one of the most suspicious deaths in recent Texas memory. When 57-year-old obstetrician and surgeon Dr. George Basil Chronis traveled from Illinois to his 79-acre property in Rains County, he planned to hunt, relax, and finalize a new caretaker arrangement for his land. Instead, within hours of arriving, George discovered signs that someone had been living inside his bunkhouse without permission.
By sunrise the next morning, the bunkhouse was engulfed in flames, and George was dead.
Initially ruled accidental, inconsistencies in the investigation, missing evidence, unexplained ligature marks, and the absence of smoke in George’s lungs led his family to believe something far darker had happened. For years, his widow Connie fought for answers while investigators, forensic experts, and even outside medical examiners raised serious questions about the original findings.
In 2023, after multiple independent reviews, George Chronis’s death was officially reclassified as homicide.
If you have any information about the murder of Dr. George Chronis, please contact The Lake Country Crime Stoppers at (903)885-2020.
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#JusticeForDrGeorgeChronis #RainsCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In August of 1988, twenty-four-year-old Linda Flora was found brutally murdered inside her modest home on Coulson Street in northeast Houston. At first, investigators feared her thirteen-month-old son, Sam McClain Jr., known to family as Baby Sam, had been abducted.
But hours into processing the crime scene, officers made a discovery so disturbing it would leave even the most seasoned detectives shaken. Baby Sam’s body was found hidden in the home.
What followed was one of the most horrific homicide investigations in Houston history.
As detectives dug deeper, they uncovered evidence suggesting Linda may have been attacked in her sleep, and that Baby Sam may have suffered unimaginable torture before his death. Despite exhaustive interviews, polygraphs, forensic testing, and decades of follow-up investigation, no arrests have ever been made.
More than thirty years later, the murders of Linda Flora and Baby Sam McClain remain one of Houston’s most haunting unsolved cases.
If you have any information about the murders of Linda Flora and Baby Sam McClain, please contact the Houston Police Department Cold Case Squad at (713) 308-3618. You can also leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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#Houston #HTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In the spring of 1997, seven-year-old DaNydia “Nee-Nee” Thompson vanished just steps away from her elementary school in Killeen, Texas. What began as a confusing absence quickly escalated into a full-scale search involving family, volunteers, soldiers from nearby Fort Hood, and law enforcement across Central Texas.
Witnesses reported seeing a man call DaNydia by name before carrying her away in broad daylight. Despite thousands of tips and an intensive search effort, no trace of her was found, until eight days later, when her remains were discovered in a rural ditch outside the city.
Nearly three decades later, DaNydia’s case remains unsolved.
Investigators believe they may know who is responsible, but the key to justice may still lie with someone who has yet to come forward.
If you have any information about the abduction and murder of DaNydia Betty-Jacqueline Thompson, please contact Bell County Crime Stoppers at 254-526-8477.
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#JusticeForDanydiaThompson #ChildAbduction #Killeen #KilleenTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In 1971, 19-year-old Myrtle Anne Etheridge vanished from her Plano apartment complex while doing laundry; barefoot, in the cold, and gone within minutes. Days later, her body was found in a remote drainage area, bound and stabbed, left in a place meant to hide her. Her killer has never been identified.
Four years later and a thousand miles away, her cousin, Paula Diane Etheridge, disappeared under eerily similar circumstances. Also last seen doing laundry, Paula was abducted in broad daylight in Okeechobee, Florida. Witnesses later described seeing a violent struggle inside a moving car.
Unlike Anne’s, Paula’s case didn’t stay unsolved.
Investigators quickly focused on David Ross Delap, a local man with a violent past who moved in the same circles as Paula. After hours of questioning and mounting evidence, Delap led authorities to Paula’s body. He was convicted of her murder and sentenced to death not once, but twice.
Two women from the same family and the same generation.
Both taken while doing something routine.
One case solved and one case forgotten by the public.
If you have any information about the murder of Myrtle Anne Etheridge, please contact the Plano Police Department Crimes Against Persons Unit at (972) 941-2148.
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#JusticeForMyrtleAnneEtheridge #Plano #Dallas #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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After the murder of Giti Hariri in May 1988, her closest friend, Wendy Aldrich, struggled to move forward. What began as grief quickly turned into something deeper, drawing her back again and again to the cemetery, to the model home, and to the unanswered questions surrounding her friend’s death.
But Wendy wasn’t the only one watching.
Giti’s husband, Behrooz Juneghani, became convinced Wendy was responsible for the murder. He secretly monitored her visits, planted recording devices at the gravesite, and even hired a private investigator to get close to her, none of it producing evidence, but all of it adding tension to an already fractured story.
Then, on July 31, 1988, Wendy disappeared.
She was last seen buying flowers and a balloon before heading to Giti’s grave. She never returned home. Days later, her car was found abandoned more than 100 miles away at Lake Livingston State Park, her belongings still inside, but no sign of Wendy.
What followed only deepened the mystery.
Strange phone calls to her apartment. Accusations without evidence. A growing list of unanswered questions.
Nearly two months later, partial remains discovered at Lake Somerville were believed to be Wendy’s. Without a full body, investigators could not determine how she died, leaving her case, like Giti’s, without resolution.
Two women. Close friends. Killed within months of each other.
And decades later, no clear answers tying their deaths together, or separating them.
Their stories remain linked not by proof, but by the same unresolved question: what really happened in the summer of 1988?
Part 2 of 2.
If you have any information about the murder of Wendy Aldrich, please contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-8477.
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#JusticeForWendy Aldrich #Houston #HarrisCounty #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In the 1980s, Texas was expanding fast, and real estate agents were often left working alone, opening doors for strangers in empty homes. Across the state, a quiet pattern began to form: women in the industry attacked and killed during routine showings, each case treated as isolated, none connected in time.
From the brutal 1981 murder of Virginia “Ginger” Freeman in Brazos County to the 1983 execution-style killings at a Houston real estate office, to the 1987 murder of Betty Jo Hudson in Galveston and the stabbing of Esther Darlene Collins in west Harris County, the list of victims continued to grow.
By the end of the decade, another name was added.
Giti Hariri, a 27-year-old Iranian immigrant and chemical engineering graduate, was working alone in a model home in northwest Harris County when she was stabbed to death on May 11, 1988. The scene showed no forced entry, no clear motive, and only a missing purse. Despite early investigative efforts, her case quickly went cold.
At the center of Giti’s life was her closest friend, Wendy Aldrich, a bond that began as college roommates and endured through years of change, relocation, and adulthood. In the aftermath of Giti’s murder, Wendy’s grief became all-consuming, pulling her deeper into the place where her friend had died.
What began as loss would soon become something far more unsettling.
Because Giti’s story doesn’t end with her death.
And neither does Wendy’s.
Part 1 of 2.
If you have any information about the murder of Giti Harari, please contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-8477.
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#Houston #HarrisCounty #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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As the search for 8-year-old Kim Nguyen continued a week after his disappearance, the Garland Police still coordinated the efforts but had begun concentrating on the investigation. After releasing a lead that likely would have borne better results had it been released the day Kim went missing, the very day the information was made public in fact, the unthinkable happened. The boy’s body was found many miles away in the neighboring city of Mesquite. The cops never got close to making an arrest. Part 2 of 2.
If you have any information about the 1993 kidnapping and murder of 8-year-old Kim Nguyen, please call the Garland Police at (972) 485-4840
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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Dallas Morning News, and WFAA Channel 8 News were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForKimNuyen #Garland #GarlandTX #Dallas #DallasTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Kidnapping #Abduction #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder
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On July 18th, 1993, 8-year-old Kim Nguyen woke up in a good, particularly playful mood. After wrestling around with his older brother some, Kim entered the living room of the Nguyen Family home in Garland, Texas and flipped on the television. When his father came to check on him at about 7 AM, however, there was no trace of the little boy, not inside the house or outside. They called the police and informed them that Kim was gone and that there was a detail that might make finding him more difficult than a lot of children. Kim was autistic and chose not to verbally communicate the vast majority of the time. Word got around the boy’s working-class neighborhood fast, and lots of folks showed up to help search. But after the first several days, no sign of the boy could be found. Almost no sign.
If you have any information about the 1993 kidnapping and murder of 8-year-old Kim Nguyen, please call the Garland Police at (972) 485-4840
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Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using @gonecoldpodcast and on YouTube at: youtube.com/c/gonecoldpodcast
Dallas Morning News, and WFAA Channel 8 News were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForKimNguyen #Garland #GarlandTX #Dallas #DallasTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Kidnapping #Abduction #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder
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The 1994 trial of Michael Nawee Blair for the abduction and murder of 7-year-old Ashley Nicole Estell was fought hard by both sides. Though the prosecution came out victorious, and justice seemed to have been served upon Blair’s conviction, it was stripped away years later, when the decision was overturned. Is Michael Blair truly innocent and one of the other two strong suspects responsible for the heinous and unforgivable act? Or did Blair get away with Ashley’s slaying? Even though justice has yet to be realized, Ashley’s legacy had undoubtedly lived on and helped prevent pother children from falling victim to depraved people who might mean them harm.
If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Ashley Nicole Estell, please contact Texas Crime stoppers by calling 713-222-TIPS, that’s 713-222-8477. You can remain completely anonymous
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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CrimeInCharlotte.com, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Plano Star-Courier were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForAshleyEstell #TrueCrime #Plano #PlanoTX #Dallas #DallasTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder
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While the Plano Police investigated the abduction and death of 7-year-old Ashley Estell, a strange man with a pertinent criminal history made himself a suspect. Unbeknownst to the grieving and angry residents of the suburb city, along with the rest of North Texas, the cops were building a case against 23-year-old Dallas carpet cleaner and convicted child molester Michael Nawee Blair. When the arrest came 6 days after Ashley was slain, residents were shocked – but upon learning of the man’s disturbing criminal past and his early release from prison, the public’s shock turned to outrage and a campaign against the practices of the Texas justice system got underway. Part 2 of 3.
If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Ashley Nicole Estell, please contact Texas Crime stoppers by calling 713-222-TIPS, that’s 713-222-8477. You can remain completely anonymous
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, KXAS TV, and Robert Riggs’ WFAA Channel 8 News Reporting were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForAshleyEstell #TrueCrime #Plano #PlanoTX #Dallas #DallasTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder
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The abduction and murder of 7-year-old Ashley Nicole Estell sent shockwaves through Plano, Texas, a Dallas suburban outlier. Crime in the community in 1993 was extremely rare, particularly crime of such violence against a child as the one against Ashley. It changed everything in Plano, and the shockwaves were felt throughout the North Texas Region if not the entire state. The investigation, at first, was going nowhere and the public feared for the safety of their children. Part 1 of 2.
If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Ashley Nicole Estell, please contact Texas Crime stoppers by calling 713-222-TIPS, or 713-222-8477
You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast
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The Austin Minnesota Daily Herald, The Dallas Morning News, and Robert Riggs’ WFAA Channel 8 News Reporting were used as sources for this episode.
#JusticeForAshleyEstell #TrueCrime #Plano #PlanoTX #Dallas #DallasTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder
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On May 27, 1995, 41-year-old Carolyn Kolas left her Midland home for one of her regular morning walks and never returned. A few hours later, her body was found in an alley off West Ohio Avenue, just blocks from home. She had been brutally attacked in a case that shocked Midland, not only for its violence, but because Carolyn had been taken while doing something so ordinary and so familiar. It left an entire neighborhood unsettled.
Carolyn was a wife, a mother of two, a student, and a woman in the middle of changing her life. After serious health concerns, she had quit smoking, lost a significant amount of weight, and committed herself to a strict walking routine while working toward becoming a certified nurse’s aide. But as investigators searched for the person who killed her, the case grew more complicated. Early attention focused on the possibility of a stranger attack. Later, police publicly identified her husband, Daniel Kolas, as their prime suspect. Still, despite reward offers, grand jury review, and years of unanswered questions, no one was ever charged.
Three decades later, Carolyn Kolas’s murder remains unsolved, a case shaped by missing evidence, shifting suspicion, and the lingering hope that someone, somewhere, still holds the piece that could finally bring answers.
If you have any information about the murder of Carolyn Glynn Kolas, please contact Midland Crime Stoppers at (432)694-8477.
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#JusticeForCarolynKolas #Midland #MidlandCounty #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In January 1989, 43-year-old Thomas Charles Hammerton was found stabbed to death on a quiet street in Houston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, near the city’s Montrose district. Hammerton had moved to Houston from Youngstown, Ohio, seeking a place where he could live more openly and freely in one of the city’s most vibrant LGBTQ+ communities.
But his murder came at a time when organized skinhead groups and hate-motivated violence were spreading across the United States. In Houston, reports of harassment and attacks by neo-Nazi skinheads had already begun to surface in Montrose and surrounding neighborhoods.
Investigators eventually identified a self-described skinhead as a prime suspect during a narcotics raid that uncovered drugs and multiple knives believed to be consistent with the weapon used in the killing. Despite the discovery, no homicide charges were ever filed.
Nearly four decades later, the murder of Thomas Charles Hammerton remains unsolved.
If you have any information about the murder of Thomas Charles Hammerton, please call Texas Crime Stoppers at (800) 252-8477.
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#JusticeForThomasHammerton #Houston #HarrisCounty #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast
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In November 1986, 24-year-old June Carpenter Gilkerson left her Midland home to meet a probationer she supervised at the Midland County Restitution Center. She never returned.
Her blue Honda Civic was found abandoned at a Best Western near Interstate 20, purse and belongings still inside. Evidence quickly pointed to probationer David Russell Alderink and Midland library custodian Kenneth Wayne Parker, who had discussed abducting women for profit.
Alderink later admitted helping set up June’s abduction, claiming Parker carried out the attack. Investigators uncovered physical evidence, contradictory alibis, and recorded conversations between the men. Though June’s body was never recovered, Parker was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to kidnap and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Alderink received 20 years after pleading guilty to aggravated kidnapping.
Nearly four decades later, June Gilkerson has never been found.
If you have any information about the disappearance of June Gilkerson, please contact the Midland Police Department at (432) 685-7108.
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In February 1999, fifteen-year-old Sonya Christene Wallace left her mother’s home in Rockdale, Texas to walk four blocks to the post office. She left around 5:30 p.m.
She never came back.
Initially labeled a runaway by local authorities, Sonya’s disappearance received little urgency. Her family insisted that something was wrong. Weeks passed without answers.
On March 14, 1999, a rancher discovered the body of a teenage girl beneath a bridge in southeastern Williamson County, close to the Lee County line. The remains were badly decomposed. DNA testing later confirmed it was Sonya Wallace.
Her death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Investigators believed Sonya was killed elsewhere and her body transported to the creek bed where she was found, approximately 25 miles from where she disappeared. Evidence collected included her clothing and soda bottles from the scene. Detectives stated early on they believed Sonya likely knew her killer.
A previous case involving two young men who had been arrested months earlier in connection with inappropriate contact with Sonya surfaced during the investigation. One was incarcerated at the time of her death. The other had been released from jail just eleven days before she vanished. No arrests were ever made in Sonya’s murder.
Over the years, investigators conducted between 150 and 200 interviews. Crime Stoppers rewards were offered. Sonya’s father created a website dedicated to her memory, hoping someone would come forward.
In 2017, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office established a Cold Case Unit. Sonya’s case was reopened and reexamined from the beginning. Detectives retested evidence using modern DNA techniques and reinterviewed hundreds of people connected to her life. Investigators now believe she may have been planning to meet someone the night she disappeared, and they have stated there is no evidence she ever reached the post office.
More than two and a half decades later, Sonya Wallace’s murder remains unsolved.
If you have information about the murder of Sonya Christene Wallace, please call the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit at (512) 943-5204.
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On the night of January 28, 2006, 28-year-old Amber Lyn Smith was last seen at her home in the 1300 block of Aldama Street in Seguin, Texas. She was gone, but her purse, identification, and vehicle were still there. Her two young sons, just four years old and one month old, were asleep inside.
Amber’s disappearance launched one of the largest searches in Guadalupe County history. Local police, Texas Rangers, DPS Crime Lab personnel, K-9 units, volunteers, and later Texas EquuSearch combed fields and vacant properties in and around Seguin. Helicopters, drones, mounted teams, and sonar-equipped boats were used. No sign of Amber was found.
On February 16, 2006, a Texas Department of Transportation worker discovered a badly decomposed body beneath a bridge at FM 725 and Grove Lane, roughly ten miles from Amber’s home. Distinctive tattoos helped confirm the remains were hers. The autopsy listed the cause of death as undetermined due to decomposition, but investigators stated she had not arrived there on her own. In March 2006, a justice of the peace ruled her death a homicide.
No one has ever been charged. Nearly two decades later, the case remains open.
If you have any information about the murder of Amber Lyn Smith in Seguin, please contact Texas Crime Stoppers at (800) 252-8477.
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On Christmas Eve 2015, 71-year-old Schertz businessman Henry Manuel Gutierrez, Jr. was found shot multiple times inside his home along FM 3009, near the yard of his company, Bexar Waste. His son discovered him seated in a recliner, partially covered by a blanket, in what investigators described as an execution-style killing.
Henry was in the midst of negotiating the multimillion-dollar sale of Bexar Waste to Republic Services at the time of his death. His estate was valued at approximately $14.6 million. An active civil lawsuit alleging a handshake agreement over future sale proceeds added financial tension to an already complex landscape.
The home appeared rummaged through. Missing items included cash, his wallet, several Christmas gift cards, a distinctive sterling silver ring, and his white Ford Expedition, later recovered in San Marcos without usable forensic evidence. Some of the stolen gift cards surfaced in Houston days later.
Investigators collected shell casings, an unknown fingerprint, and DNA, but no public forensic link has tied any suspect to the crime. Questions arose about the early handling of the scene and the delayed involvement of the Texas Rangers.
Over the years, police interviewed roughly 100 individuals connected to Henry’s business and personal life. Persons of interest have been identified but not publicly named.
In 2022, the case was officially designated a cold case. In 2024, authorities announced a new person of interest developed through renewed investigation efforts. As of the tenth anniversary in 2025, no arrests have been made, and a reward remains active.
If you have any information about the murder of Henry Manuel Gutierrez Jr., please call the Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers at (877) 403-8477.
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