Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders

Latest Episodes:

Update: Is this the face of the Fairmount Park Rapist? Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

The Philadelphia Police Department has released a new composite picture of the suspect known as the “Fairmount Park Rapist” based on his genetic profile. It’s the first time the department has used the technology. Parabon NanoLabs used DNA collected at the crime scenes to create a composite of the suspect, using genetic markers.

You can look at the photo on social media or on kywnewsradio.com --

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It’s been 18 years since the serial rapist’s first attack, and still no arrests.

Read Kristen's article about the DNA composite on kywnewsradio.com :

https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/news/local/philadelphia-police-release-dna-composite-fairmount-park-rapist

Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

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9-11 special: The investigators who helped bring victims back to their families Sep 10, 2021

Show notes

September 11th is a day America will never forget. What began as a ‘bright blue day’, quickly turned into a generationally traumatic event -- the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in US history. While the nation watched in horror, first responders and investigators jumped in, trying to pick up the pieces and give the victims back to their loved ones.

Two of those people were from the Philadelphia region. Veteran Philadelphia police officer Jon Taggart works in the Crime Scene Unit. He travelled to Ground Zero with a small team and they spent weeks collecting the remains of victims and locating pieces of the planes.

Dr. Bridget McLaughlin is a dentist in New Jersey. She was one of dozens of dentists who assisted the New York Medical Examiner’s office in identifying 9-11 victims through dental records.

Stay in touch with Gone Cold by following us online:

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Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders is a true crime podcast about unsolved murders and cold cases in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The show is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick) at KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia.

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Rebecca Park - Philadelphia, 2003: The hunt for the Fairmount Park rapist Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

In July of 2003, a woman driving through Fairmount Park called 911 after hearing a bloodcurdling scream. Police followed her back to the spot where she first heard the scream and then walked into the woods. There, they found the body of med student Rebecca Park. She had been raped and murdered while out for a jog.

It's been nearly two decades since Rebecca Park was murdered. Philadelphia Police have never stopped hunting for the man who killed her, known only as the Fairmount Park rapist.

Contact the Philadelphia Police Department online at https://www.phillypolice.com/

Stay in touch with Gone Cold by following the podcast:

Twitter: @gonecoldphilly ( https://twitter.com/gonecoldphilly )

Instagram: @gonecoldphilly ( https://www.instagram.com/gonecoldphilly/ ) Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GoneColdPhilly

Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders is a true crime podcast about unsolved murders and cold cases around Philadelphia. The show is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick) at KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia. Subscribe to Gone Cold wherever you get your podcasts.

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Bonus episode: How genealogy identified Publicker Jane Doe Apr 30, 2021

Show notes

The young woman known only as Publicker Jane Doe for more than three decades was identified as Lisa Todd earlier this year. It was a triumph of investigative work and genealogy, and it was also the first time that we here at Gone Cold worked on a story -- and then saw a major update happen in the story.

On this bonus episode, Gone Cold's Kristen Johanson and Tom Rickert talk about what that was like. Then, you'll hear the full interview with Kristen, Bensalem Police Detective Chris McMullin, and Yolanda McClary, the longtime investigator who led the team that used genealogy and DNA to name Lisa Todd.

Part 1: What Happened to Publicker Jane Doe? LISTEN: https://bit.ly/3t2E60I

Part 2: What Happened to Jeanette Tambe? LISTEN: https://bit.ly/3sZ5CMw

Part 3: Update: Naming Publicker Jane Doe LISTEN: https://bit.ly/3xz2fzi

Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly

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Update: Naming Publicker Jane Doe Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

This is an update to the episode "What happened to Publicker Jane Doe," from November of 2020. Make sure you listen to that episode before starting this one.

The remains of a young woman were found on the property of the abandoned Publicker distillery in Bensalem in January of 1988. For more than 30 years, she was known only as Publicker Jane Doe. Bensalem Police Detective Chris McMullin has spent much of his career trying to find out her name. And then earlier this year, it happened. Through the efforts of the Bensalem Police Department and their law enforcement partners, the scientists at Bode Technology, and the incredible work of the DNA genealogy team lead by Yolanda McClary – we now know that Publicker Jane Doe is Lisa Todd. This episode is about how the remains of Lisa Todd were identified, and what it means for everyone who has been invested in this case that Publicker Jane Doe has a name.

Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly

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What Happened to Shelton Hayes? Philadelphia, PA, 2018 Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

On March 15th, 2018, Shelton Hayes was shot and killed in his mother's house in Northwest Philadelphia. Shelton's mother, Rhonda, was upstairs. He was 39 years old. He was a son, a brother, and a father.

If you know what happened to Shelton Hayes, please call Philadelphia Police. The tip line is 215-686-tips, or send an email to tips@phillypolice.com

Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://twitter.com/GoneColdPhilly >

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://www.instagram.com/gonecoldphilly/?hl=en >

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What Happened to Michael Ewer? Lansdale, PA, 2005 Jan 31, 2021

Show notes

On the morning of October 20th, 2005, a man was cutting the grass around Memorial Park in Lansdale, PA. The 10-acre park has a veterans memorial wall, tennis courts, and a baseball field with a dugout. After he drove by the dugout a few times and looked inside, he knew that something horrible had happened.

More than 15 years after the murder of Michael Ewer, Lansdale Police Chief Mike Trail and Montgomery County Detective Jim McGowan are still going to work every day looking for his killer.

Do you know anything about what happened to Michael Ewer? There's a $5,000 reward for information. Contact Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3368, or call Lansdale Police at 215-368-1801.

What Happened To is a series from Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders, a KYW Newsradio Original Podcast. Gone Cold is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://twitter.com/GoneColdPhilly >

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://www.instagram.com/gonecoldphilly/?hl=en >

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What Happened to Jeanette Tambe? Buena Vista, New Jersey, 1986 (Publicker Jane Doe: Part 2) Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

On August 8, 1986, a couple drove from Philadelphia to Buena Vista, New Jersey to check on a home they were building. They pulled into the driveway, walked around the property, and found something horrible: the mangled body of a woman, wrists shackled, in the blood soaked yard.

This story started in the last episode, "What Happened to Publicker Jane Doe?" When Bensalem Police Detective Chris McMullin was trying to find the identity of the murder victim known only as Publicker Jane Doe, one of the leads he followed was the disappearance of a young woman named Jeanette Tambe. After a lot of boots on the ground police work and DNA analysis, he found something he wasn't expecting, and ended up helping to unravel another mystery that had gone unsolved for decades.

If you know anything about the murder of Jeanette Tambe, please send an email to ColdCase@NJSP.org.

Thank you to Detective Sergeant Joseph Itri and Detective Taylor Bonner with the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit, and Bensalem Police Detective Chris McMullin.

What Happened To is a series from Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders, a KYW Newsradio Original Podcast. Gone Cold is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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What Happened to Publicker Jane Doe? Bensalem, PA, 1988 Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

In January of 1988 a young girl's remains were found near the old Publicker Distillery in Bucks County, PA. She was pregnant when she died. For more than 30 years, her name has remained a mystery.

Bensalem Police Detective Chris McMullin has followed leads in the case that have taken him across state lines and even across the country in his mission to find two things: Who was the girl known as Publicker Jane Doe? And who killed her?

If you have information about who Jane Doe may be, call Detective Chris McMullin at the Bensalem Police Department: 215-633-3700.

Or, you can leave an anonymous tip here: https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/bensalempd/15488/submit-tip

What Happened To is a series from Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders, a KYW Newsradio Original Podcast. Gone Cold is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://twitter.com/GoneColdPhilly >

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://www.instagram.com/gonecoldphilly/?hl=en >

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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What Happened to Melvin Dunn? Philadelphia, 2020 Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

It was the Thursday after Mother's Day. A group of teenagers on Park Avenue in Philadelphia saw something large, wrapped in blankets on the back seat of a white Pontiac.

A few days earlier, Melvin Dunn's family sent out a desperate plea for help. Melvin had missed Mother's Day for the first time ever, and they couldn't find him.

If you have any information about what happened to Melvin Dunn, contact the Philadelphia Police Department.

Leave an anonymous tip at 215-686-8477, or send an email to tips@phillypolice.com

What Happened To is a new series from Gone Cold: Philadelphia Unsolved Murders, a KYW Newsradio Original Podcast. Gone Cold is made by Kristen Johanson (@KristenJohanson) and Tom Rickert (@teerick).

Follow the show on Twitter: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://twitter.com/GoneColdPhilly >

Instagram: @GoneColdPhilly <link = https://www.instagram.com/gonecoldphilly/?hl=en >

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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