The Path Went Chilly

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Ray Gricar Pt. One May 15, 2025

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April 15, 2005. Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. After taking the day off work and leaving on a road trip, 59-year old Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar fails to return home and is reported missing. The following day, Ray’s abandoned car is discovered 60 miles away in the town of Lewisburg, parked across the street from an antiques mall. Over the course of the next several months, Ray’s county-issued work laptop and its hard drive are discovered in the nearby Susquehanna River, but the hard drive is too damaged to recover any data. A number of different theories are pushed forward, which include Ray disappeared voluntarily, completing suicide by jumping into the river, or becoming the victim of foul play, possibly in connection to the infamous Penn State child sex abuse scandal. However, there is no conclusive evidence pointing to any of these theories and Ray Gricar is never found. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Pennsylvania State Police at (814) 355-7545.
Support the show:
Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold
Patreon.com/julesandashley
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Gricar https://charleyproject.org/case/ray-frank-gricar
http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/05109/490420-85.stm
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/04/the-hunt-for-ray-gricar-15-years-of-clues-theories-and-the-search-for-answers.html
“The Serial Killer’s Apprentice: And 12 Other Stories of Cleveland’s Most Intriguing Unsolved Crimes” by Ray Gricar
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/07/utah_detainee_isnt_gricar_but.html
https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/15/us/ray-gricar-missing-prosecutor/index.html
https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2015/04/ten_years_later_ray_gricars_di.html
https://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/jerry-sandusky/article42806712.html
https://www.centredaily.com/news/article42828846.html
https://www.wearecentralpa.com/news/podcast-gives-new-insight-on-district-attorney-ray-gricars-disappearance-16-years-later/
https://www.northcentralpa.com/news/crime/no-answers-16-years-later-in-disappearance-of-centre-county-da-psp-says-case-still/article_8e33cc04-72d1-11eb-ab98-f30bcdaa197b.html

St. Louis Jane Doe/Hope Pt. Two May 08, 2025

Show notes

February 28, 1983. St. Louis, Missouri. The body of an African-American girl is found in the basement of an abandoned apartment building. She is believed to be between eight-to-eleven years old and has her hands tied behind her back and it turns out she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death before she was beheaded. Since the victim’s head is never recovered and she cannot be identified, she becomes known as the “St. Louis Jane Doe”. Over the years, investigators explore a number of different leads, but they are unable to determine the girl’s identity or figure out who was responsible for killing her. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore one of the most horrific and tragic stories you’ll ever find about the murder of an unidentified decedent, who has also been known by such as names as “Little Jane Doe” and “Precious Hope”.If you have information about this case, please contact the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at (314) 231-1212.
Support the Show:
Patreon.com/julesandashley
Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Jane_Doe
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/54ufmo.html
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/St._Louis_Jane_Doe_(1983)
“Our Precious Hope: St. Louis’ Little Jane Doe Revisited” Documentary

St. Louis Jane Doe/Hope Pt. One May 01, 2025

Show notes

February 28, 1983. St. Louis, Missouri. The body of an African-American girl is found in the basement of an abandoned apartment building. She is believed to be between eight-to-eleven years old and has her hands tied behind her back and it turns out she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death before she was beheaded. Since the victim’s head is never recovered and she cannot be identified, she becomes known as the “St. Louis Jane Doe”. Over the years, investigators explore a number of different leads, but they are unable to determine the girl’s identity or figure out who was responsible for killing her. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore one of the most horrific and tragic stories you’ll ever find about the murder of an unidentified decedent, who has also been known by such as names as “Little Jane Doe” and “Precious Hope”.If you have information about this case, please contact the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at (314) 231-1212.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Jane_Doe
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/54ufmo.html
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/St._Louis_Jane_Doe_(1983)
“Our Precious Hope: St. Louis’ Little Jane Doe Revisited” Documentary

Sharif Cousin Pt. Two Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

March 2, 1995. New Orleans, Louisiana. After leaving a restaurant with his date in the French Quarter, 25-year old Michael Gerardi is fatally gunned down by a trio of robbers. Weeks later, 16-year old Shareef Cousin is implicated in the crime and charged with first-degree murder. Even though Shareef seems to have an airtight alibi, Michael’s date identifies him as the shooter at trial. Shareef is found guilty and becomes one of the youngest people to ever be sentenced to death, but the verdict is surrounded with controversy. It turns out the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office committed egregious acts of prosecutorial misconduct, which included withholding exculpatory evidence, doctoring a tape-recorded interview, and illegally detaining defence witnesses. After nearly three years on death row, Shareef’s conviction is overturned, but Michael Gerardi’s real killers are never found. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we chronicle a senseless murder which led to one of the most outrageous miscarriages of justice you’ll ever find.
Support the show:
patreon.com/julesandashley
patreon.com/thetrailwentcold
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareef_Cousin
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3126
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138469,00.html

Shareef Cousin Pt. One Apr 17, 2025

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Crystal Champagne Pt. Two Apr 10, 2025

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July 19, 1996. Westwego, Louisiana. After leaving her apartment to walk to a supermarket, 14-year old Crystal Champagne fails to return and is found strangled to death in a wooded area the following evening. When Crystal’s 22-year old step-cousin, Damon Thibodeaux, is interrogated by police, he confesses to her murder and is subsequently convicted and sentenced to death. However, Damon maintains that his confession was coerced and none of the physical evidence from the crime matches him, so after 16 years of incarceration, Damon’s conviction is vacated and he is released from death row. But who was actually responsible for the death of Crystal Champagne? On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we explore the tragic story of an horrific murder which led to a wrongful conviction.
Patreon.com/Julesandashley
Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold
Additional Reading:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/damon-thibodeaux-last-chance/
https://innocenceproject.org/cases/damon-thibodeaux/
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/la-supreme-court/1325303.html
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4004 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/07/dna-testing-frees-man-death-row
https://www.startribune.com/life-after-death-row-damon-thibodeaux-s-resurrection/318969021/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/louisiana-death-row-inmate-damon-thibodeaux-is-exonerated-with-dna-evidence/2012/09/28/26e30012-0997-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html
https://www.startribune.com/damon-thibodeaux-escaped-death-row-for-a-crime-he-didn-t-commit-but-died-of-covid-19/600096179/

Crystal Champagne Pt. One Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

Rhonda Hinson Pt. Two Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

"December 23, 1981. Burke County, North Carolina. After leaving an office Christmas party, 19-year old Rhonda Hinson begins her drive home, but her car is soon discovered in a ditch on Mineral Springs Mountain Road about a half-mile from her residence. Rhonda’s body is lying outside the vehicle and it turns out she was fatally shot by someone who fired a bullet which passed through the car’s trunk and the driver’s seat before it penetrated her heart. An eyewitness reports having seen an unidentified man near the vehicle’s driver’s side door shortly before Rhonda’s body was discovered, but he cannot be identified. Years later, new information surfaces to suggest that Rhonda’s death may have been caused by someone from her personal life, but the crime is never solved. For our next series of episodes on “The Path Went Chilly”, Jules and Robin discuss the unsolved murder of Rhonda Hinson. For more information about the case, we highly recommend you check out Larry Griffin’s extensive 89-part series of articles in The Wilkes Record:
https://thewilkesrecord.com/the-killing-of-rhonda-hinson-part-89,-the-conclusion-p1824-149.htm
We originally covered Rhonda Hinson’s murder way back on Episode#4 of “The Trail Went Cold”, but we have since learned a lot of new information about the crime which has compelled us to look at everything in a different light. On this month’s exclusive bonus episode, we present our very first edition of “The Trail Revisited” in which we will perform an all-new fresh examination into this case"

Rhonda Hinson Pt. One Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

Marie Blee Pt. Two Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

November 21, 1979. Craig, Colorado. After spending the evening at a dance, 15-year old Marie Blee heads to a party at a mobile home park, but never returns home. Two days later, Marie’s parents receive an anonymous phone call demanding a $5,000 ransom for her return. The caller is soon revealed to be 18-year old Monty Doolin, who drove Marie to the party, but he denies any involvement in her disappearance. Over the next few decades, investigators would receive contradictory accounts from several eyewitnesses about what might have happened to Marie on the night she went missing. They eventually name three persons of interest, but Marie is never found. This week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly” chronicles a very frustrating cold case about a missing teenage girl in which the full truth has yet to be uncovered.
Support the show:
patreon.com/julesandashley
patreon.com/thetrailwentcold
Family Friendly True Crime Podcasts:
https://podcast.feedspot.com/family_friendly_true_crime_podcasts/
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/marie-ann-blee
http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2009/11/15/high-school-blee-vanishes-from-party-craig/943/
http://extras.denverpost.com/news/news0601b.htm
https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/suspect-in-marie-blee-cold-case-arrested-on-suspicion-of-kidnapping-a-different-routt-county-teenager-more-than-30-years-ago/
https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/crime-courts/judge-dismisses-class-1-felony-kidnapping-case/

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