59. The Champion Family Murders

In March 2020, just as COVID-19 embarked on its path of destruction, 27 year old Navajo woman, Pepita Redhair, disappeared from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pepita had been in a relationship with a man who had become abusive. There was more than one occasion on which police were called to the home that Pepita shared with her boyfriend for domestic disturbances, and just weeks before she disappeared, Pepita was hospitalized as an assault victim. Four years after she disappeared, and Pepita Redhair is still missing. Pepita's family has participated in numerous MMIW / MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) rallies in order to bring awareness to her disappearance. If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Pepita Redhair, please contact the Albuquerque Police Department at: (505) 242-2677   _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "Navajo Nightmare." Disappeared. Season 10, Episode 3. • "A Daughter Stolen." Never Seen Again. Season 4, Episode 9. • "Family seeks help in finding missing loved one..." • "Amid attention on Petito case, Native mother seeks justice..." • "Mother continues to search for missing daughter..." • "Missing woman's family has been searching for answers..."

Terrance Williams was working to rebuild his life in Naples, Florida after moving there with his mother. But on January 12th, 2004, a chance — and unfortunate — encounter with a Collier County Sheriff's Deputy altered the course of not only Terrance's life and the lives of his loved ones, but also the lives and realities of another family who had experienced the very same thing. In October 2003, three months before Terrance disappeared, a man named Felipe Santos also had the misfortune of interacting with a Collier County Sheriff's Deputy during a traffic incident. That deputy's name? Steve Calkins.  Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos were both last seen being put into the back of Deputy Steve Calkins' patrol car, never to be seen again.    _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "Crime and Punishment." Disappeared. Season 5, Episode 3. • "Driven Away" & "In The Arms of the Law." Never Seen Again. Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2. • "The Deputy and the Disappeared." The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. Season 2, Episode 6. • "The Deputy and the Disappeared." Thomas Lake. CNN.

On April 26th, 2009, shoppers at a local department store in Snellville, Georgia could never have imagined that as they walked to their cars, shopping bags in hand, they would hear a horrifying scream... followed by the pop of a single gunshot. A woman was shot in the parking lot of a busy shopping center as her infant son cried for her from inside of her vehicle. The woman was 25 year old Heather Strube. As the suspect fled, panic ensued. Though there were multiple witnesses to the crime who were able to describe the suspect, even investigators could not have predicted who the shooter would turn out to be. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "It Looks Like You." See No Evil. Season 6, Episode 12. • "The Man Who Got Away." American Monster. Season 8, Episode 10. • "Who Killed Heather Strube?" Killer Motive.

Logan Schiendelman was 19 years old when he disappeared from his hometown of Tumwater, Washington on May 19th, 2016. The following day, his car was found wrecked and abandoned on I-5... but Logan was nowhere to be found. In fact, he wasn't officially reported missing until three days after his car was discovered and impounded. To this day, Logan Schiendelman is still missing. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "Last Words." Disappeared. Season 9, Episode 2. • "Dateline: Missing in America." • Hide and Seek Podcast

In Spring 2002, 39 year old Dana Pastori put in her two week notice at her job and told her coworkers that she was packing up to leave New Orleans. But the next day, Dana suddenly just... stopped showing up to work. When coworkers became concerned about her sudden disappearance, Dana's boyfriend informed them that Dana had been involved in an accident and would be in the hospital for the foreseeable future. But then, his story took several twists and turns, until Dana's family and friends had all been told different accounts about what became of the free-spirited mother of two. Years later, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005 and uncovered the truth of Dana's fate. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "Hard Life in the Big Easy." Disappeared. Season 5, Episode 16. • "Man convicted of murdering girlfriend in mummy case." • Louisiana v John Morgan | Justia • State v Morgan | Leagle • "Who most often abducts kids?"

Madison Scott, known as Maddy to family and friends, was 20 years old when she attended a party at Hogsback Lake, about 15 miles south of her hometown of Vanderhoof, British Columbia, Canada. Maddy's original plan was to camp overnight with a friend from high school that she had recently reconnected with. But when the party got too rowdy and her friend ended up with a minor injury, Maddy was left to camp alone when her friend decided to leave the party with her new boyfriend instead. In fact, no one who attended the party that night stayed to camp overnight, leaving Maddy alone in the woods after the festivities died down. When her friend returned to the campsite the next morning to help Maddy pack up her camping gear, Maddy was nowhere to be found. Maddy's truck was left behind, locked, with all of her belongings inside, and her tent was flattened. The only things missing from the scene were Maddy's cellphone, truck keys... and Maddy herself. After two days without hearing from their daughter, the Scott family notified the RCMP and reported Maddy missing. For 12 years, the family was left in limbo, grappling with unfathomable levels of uncertainty. That was until everything took a breathtaking turn, 12 years to the day that Madison Scott was reported missing. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "The Vanishing of Madison Scott." YouTube Documentary. • "Highway of Tears." 48 Hours. CBS. Season 26, Episode 7. • "Remains of Madison Scott found 12 years after..." • What Happened to Madison Scott?

In late October 2014, gunshots rang out amid the backdrop of a farm owned by a prominent local family in Cadiz, Kentucky. Those gunshots would lead to the horrifying discovery of three members of the Champion family, lifeless in their own home. While three members of the family had been murdered, one member of the family managed to escape the house alive. And he certainly had a tale to tell for investigators. Lindsey, Joy, and Emily Champion lost their lives in an unspeakable act of violence. So then... how did Ryan Champion survive the brutality? _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "Trigg County Remembers Champion Family.." • "Man accused of murdering 4 people..." • "Prosecutor: son plotted Kentucky family killings..." • "Friend of alleged Kentucky killer indicted..." • "Questions linger in Kentucky shooting..." • "Kentucky man to serve life in prison..." • "Family confronts Ryan Champion..." • "KY man who orchestrated his family's killings..." • Ryan Champion Local News Interview • Lisa Champion Victim Impact Statement • Loren Champion Victim Impact Statement • Crime Watch Daily • Ryan Champion Jailhouse Interview • "No Son of Mine." Devil in Suburbia. Season 1, Episode 5.

On the night of April 11th, 2008, 34 year old mother of four, Susan Casey, went out for the evening with her new boyfriend. But the next morning, when Susie's children realized that their mother had not returned home, they tried calling her multiple times. And when they received no response, they alerted the rest of their family that something was wrong. The investigation into Susan Casey's disappearance spanned a total of five years, from the moment she vanished, to the moment the perpetrator received a life sentence. And in the years between, Susie's family faced two more unfathomable tragedies. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "Footprint in the Dust." Dateline. Season 24, Episode 1. • "Seen at Susan's." See No Evil. Season 4, Episode 2. • "Good People, Badlands." True Crime with Aphrodite Jones. Season 4, Episode 2. • "Ex-husband of slain Montana woman arrested in Arizona."

On the evening of December 11th, 2012, friends of 23 year old Julia Niswender were frantic, attempting to gain entry into her bedroom after learning that no one had heard from her in two days. When they received no response and could not access Julia's bedroom, Ypsilanti, Michigan police were called to conduct a welfare check. When police entered Julia's bathroom, they discovered her nude body partially submerged in water. Julia Niswender had been murdered nearly two full days before she was found. The investigation into the murder of the aspiring broadcast journalist took a few astonishing turns, and has been the topic of much debate over the last decade. But today, Julia Niswender's case remains unsolved. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "TV Dreams Cut Short." Still A Mystery. Season 2, Episode 6. • "Family mourns Julia Niswender..." • "Family of slain EMU Student..." • "Who Killed Julia Niswender?" • "Cold Case Spotlight: Julia Niswender..." • "Documents detail suspicions of stepfather..." • "Turnquist acquitted..." • Explore With Us: Part 1 and Part 2 • Jay is 4 Justice Podcast Interview with Julia's grandfather

On May 30th, 2017, 32 year old Dorian Bluford took a one way flight from his longtime home of Houston, Texas, all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee. He was ecstatic to be starting a new chapter in his life. But less than six hours after arriving in Knoxville and meeting up with a mysterious man, Dorian was murdered. His case remains unsolved. _________________________ Patreon Request a Case YouTube Channel Goodpods: Leave a review! Podchaser: Leave a review! Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi _________________________ Sources: • "He was stabbed to death hours after coming to Knoxville..." • "New Beginnings, Violent Endings." Still A Mystery. Season 3, Episode 8.