The Trail Went Cold - Episode 455 - The Lead Masks Case

August 20, 1966. Niteroi, Brazil. The bodies of a pair of electronics technicians, 34-year old Miguel Jose Viana and 32-year old Manuel Pereira da Cruz, are discovered on the top of Vintem Hill and they are carrying a pair of lead masks and some cryptic notes about ingesting capsules. Three days earlier, the two men had travelled to Niteroi from their homes in Campos dos Goytacazes over 260 kilometres away, but there is no direct evidence of foul play and the authorities are unable to determine their cause of death. There are a number of theories about what happened, including speculation that the two men’s deaths might be connected to UFO sightings from the area, but the whole situation is never satisfactorily explained and remains shrouded in mystery. For this year’s Halloween-themed episode, “The Trail Went Cold” is finally tackling one of the most bizarre unsolved mysteries of all time: the Lead Masks Case. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_masks_case https://pmig96.wordpress.com/2021/05/10/the-lead-masks-case/ "Flying Saucer Review" (March-April 1967) https://skeptoid.com/episodes/398 https://www.truecriminelle.com/the-lead-masks-case-bizarre-deaths-what-happened-on-vintem-hill/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoPHYQuAlnw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjqCQEjgzk4 “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

March 6, 1939. Fingringhoe, England. After purchasing some cigarettes at a local pub, 67-year old Ada Constance Kent seems to disappear and over the course of the next decade, numerous searches are performed of her empty cottage and they fail to turn up any trace of her. Ten years later, a human skeleton is discovered beneath some rubble in the cottage’s bedroom alongside an empty bottle of poison, and after a forensic examination is performed, there is some uncertainty about who the remains actually belong to. When an inquest is held, a coroner’s jury does eventually conclude that the skeleton is likely Ada Constance Kent, but since they are unable to determine her exact cause of death, they return an open verdict. Did Ada Constance Kent die inside her cottage and remain undiscovered for an entire decade? If not, then what actually happened to her? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel back to the United Kingdom to explore a truly bizarre mystery. Join us on Saturday, October 25 at 8:00pm ET for a Halloween-themed online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link. Additional Reading: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mvbtw https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Ada_Constance_Kent https://essexandsuffolksurnames.co.uk/the-fingringhoe-skeleton/ "Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in & Around Colchester" by Patrick Denney https://www.newspapers.com/image/1182993941/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/397806138/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/791699254/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/789295887 “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 31, 1963. Newcastle, England. 70-year old Katherine Lillian Armstrong fails to show up for choir practice at her church. The following morning, Lillian’s body is discovered near the bottom of the staircase in her house and she has been stabbed 28 times and strangled with one of her nylon stockings. Since there are no signs of forced entry, police suspect that Lillian willingly let her killer inside, but even though a massive investigation is launched, no compelling suspects are found and the motive for the crime remains unknown.  October 31, 1980. Bristol, England. 39-year old Derek Grain leaves his hotel and spends the night drinking at a pair of local nightclubs. After leaving one of the clubs during the early morning hours, Derek is later found dead in a pool of blood a quarter-mile away and it turns out he was kicked in the head and bludgeoned with a sand-filled traffic cone. Since money was stolen from Derek, it is theorized that he was the victim of a robbery gone wrong, but even though there are reported eyewitness sightings of someone being attacked by multiple people who fled the scene in a maroon Jaguar, the crime is never solved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel to the United Kingdom to explore a pair of unsolved murders which happened to take place on Halloween. Additional Reading: https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/articles/mystery-newcastles-unsolved-halloween-murder https://www.newspapers.com/image/876967689/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/876893608/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/804216277/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/804277720/ https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/derek-grains-unsolved-murder-true-4340 https://www.newspapers.com/image/908265262/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/876333334/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/877244013/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/876431763/ https://thetruecrimeenthusiast.co.uk/who-was-the-brandon-hill-park-murderer “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 19, 2006. Clayton, Missouri. 57-year old attorney Ernie Brasier is found shot to death inside a third-floor office of his law firm: Boggs, Boggs & Bates. Since Ernie was killed in an office belonging to another attorney, there is speculation that he may have been the victim of mistaken identity, but no evidence is found to support this theory. Over the next few years, there are a number of strange incidents involving other employees at the firm, including a bombing at the home of two of its partners, but they fail to shed any light on Ernie’s death and the crime remains unsolved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the bizarre murder of Ernie Brasier, which took place at a law firm which was described as being like something out of a John Grisham novel. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Clayton Police Department at (314) 645-3000 or the St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477) Additional Reading: https://www.komu.com/news/police-need-help-in-murder-case/article_8d7c83aa-2c7b-5c5e-b395-ce7a2a1f416d.html https://www.komu.com/news/lawyer-found-dead-in-office/article_43b3b252-760c-5008-84c2-c803ea292554.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/151872790/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/151995160/ https://www.riverfronttimes.com/the-unsolved-murder-of-ernie-brasier-a-clayton-attorneys-death-nearly-two-years-ago-continues-to-mystify-police-and-colleagues/ https://issuu.com/chsglobe/docs/april_globe_2022_1_/s/15434096 https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_mystery_second_lawyer_dies_at_young_age_slaying_of_third_unsolved https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bombs_explode_at_home_of_2_partners_in_law_firm_that_was_site_of_unsolved_m https://www.courthousenews.com/big-problem-at-the-law-office/ https://www.businessinsider.com/lawyer-fire-bombing-lawsuit-2012-9 https://patch.com/missouri/kirkwood/accused-of-bombing-ex-partners-home-kirkwood-lawyer-fights-back https://molawyersmedia.com/2013/06/19/st-louis-lawyers-settle-with-ex-partner-in-bombing-case/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 3, 2017. Dallas, Texas. After suffering a violent assault at the hands of a female acquaintance and her male companion, 27-year old Armani Morgan goes missing. Seven weeks later, Armani’s skull and five of his other bones are found in a vacant residential lot located near his residence and since the police are inclined to believe that he succumbed to a drug overdose, his cause of death is listed as “undetermined”. However, in the days prior to his disappearance, Armani had been repeatedly assaulted and harassed by this female acquaintance, who also allegedly fired a bullet through his living room window. While Armani’s loved ones suspect he was the victim of foul play and that three individuals were involved in the crime, his death is never reclassified as a “homicide”. At the direct request of his family, this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” will be exploring the controversial case of Armani Morgan. A petition has also been started to demand that the Dallas Police Department test evidence from Armani’s case and can be found at Change.org: https://www.change.org/p/demand-dallas-pd-test-armani-morgan-s-evidence-after-8-years If you have any information about this case, please contact the Dallas Police Department Special Investigations Unit at (214) 671-3677. Additional Reading: https://www.fox4news.com/news/nonprofit-billboard-draws-attention-dallas-cold-case-murder https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/armani-morgan-cold-case-billboard/3846479/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.  

September 11, 1987. Cowlitz County, Washington. The dismembered headless torso of a woman is discovered in the Lewis River and the same victim’s legs are soon found 30 miles away in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Thirteen days later, the body of an infant girl who is believed to be the woman’s daughter is discovered in the Cowlitz River, but since the identity of both victims cannot be determined, they remain Jane Does. In 2006, the decedents are finally identified as 24-year old Raj Narain, who originally hailed from Fiji, and her 14-month old American-born daughter, Kamnee. It turns out that Raj’s 30-year old husband, Ashok Narain, went missing around the same time the murders took place, but since he cannot be found, the crime is never solved. Did Ashok murder his wife and daughter, or were all they victims of an unknown third party? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the bizarre saga of the Narain family. If you have any information about this case, please contact the the Kelso Police Department at (360) 423-1270., the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office at (360) 577-3092 or the Eugene Police Department at (541) 682-5111. Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/ashok-kumar-narain https://www.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/09/after_20_years_dna_identifies.html https://www.seattlepi.com/news/slideshow/Without-a-Trace-5058.php https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Part-7-Records-often-are-as-hard-to-find-as-a-1107646.php https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/unmarked-graves-may-hold-his-sister-niece-1213531.php https://www.smh.com.au/national/o-sister-where-art-thou-20071116-gdrm21.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110822070624/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=178389 https://www.newspapers.com/image/577345367/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577345422/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577330965/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577345899/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1174283670/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577320223/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577394186/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577394202/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577107875/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/577107787/ https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1mrfr6q/in_1987_a_whole_family_would_vanish_from_eugene/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 4, 1998. New Haven, Connecticut. 21-year old Suzanne Jovin, a senior student at Yale University, leaves her apartment in order to return a set of keys to a building located on the Old Campus. Before she can return home, Suzanne is found murdered in a residential area located nearly two miles from the campus and it turns out she has been stabbed 17 times and had her throat slit. Suspicion soon turns towards a Yale lecturer named James Van de Velde, who was functioning as Suzanne’s senior thesis advisor, but he maintains his innocence and there is no evidence linking him to the crime. Over the years, a number of different leads emerge, including a promising alternate suspect who was a student at Yale, but the crime is never solved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the controversial murder of Suzanne Jovin. Special thanks to listener Karen Leabo for the narrating the opening of this episode. f you have any information about this case, please contact the top line for the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice’s Cold Case Task Force Unit at 1-866-623-8058. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Suzanne_Jovin https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1999/08/yale-murder199908 https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2008/07/16/investigators-seek-the-someone-jovin-referenced-in-hour-before-stabbing/ https://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/2184-new-leads-in-a-cold-case https://www.courant.com/2001/10/27/test-shows-dna-not-from-jovins-yale-adviser/ https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Tips-in-1998-slaying-of-Yale-student-Suzanne-11530105.php https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Jovin-murder-mystery-continues-20-years-later-13438017.php https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/Prosecutor-James-Van-de-Velde-no-longer-a-11435141.php https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-haven/investigators-ask-for-publics-help-in-solving-25-year-old-homicide-cold-case-in-new-haven/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvsLjCFNZdE “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.  

June 6, 1978. Jericho, Vermont. Michael Reapp, the husband of 32-year old Grace Reapp, claims he returned home from work and discovered that Grace and their five-year old daughter, Gracie Reapp, had disappeared, though he alleges Grace left behind a note stating that they ran off voluntarily. Eighteen years later, Michael himself goes missing after police announce that Grace and Gracie’s disappearances have been reclassified as a homicide investigation and a search is being performed of their former property. While Michael is eventually indicted on two counts of murders, he winds up dead before he can be arrested or stand trial, so no trace of Grace or Gracie is ever found. Was Michael Reapp actually responsible for killing his wife and daughter? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a convoluted missing persons case containing a number of surprising twists and turns. If you happen to have any information about this case, please contact the Vermont State Police at (802) 524-5993 Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/grace-marie-canto-reapp https://charleyproject.org/case/grace-noel-reapp https://www.newspapers.com/image/203304327/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/203304377/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/202452571/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/202452843/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/203304915/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/203304981/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/863479135/ https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2001/06/07/clues-to-missing-woman-sought/51004169007/ https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/vt-police-say-man-wanted-in-1978-murders-is-dead/article_20bee1b7-8322-507f-a632-20ffaf6ebd3c.html https://www.hngn.com/articles/46885/20141023/hngn-true-crime-feature-where-are-brian-reapps-mother-and-sister-crime-contributor-jon-leiberman-reports-on-the-36-year-old-jericho-vt-double-murder-mystery.htm “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

November 21, 1997. Powhattan, Kansas. 28-year old Jodie Bordeaux, who happens to be seven months pregnant, is spending the evening with her husband at their rural farmhouse when several bullets from a semi-automatic rifle are fired into the residence. A bullet strikes Jodie in the head and kills her instantly and her unborn baby daughter, Jordan Shay, also dies. There is speculation that Jodie’s murder might be connected to a conflict from her managerial job at a casino on the Kickapoo Reservation, as a troublesome employee had been fired there under her watch. However, even though investigators have at least three potential suspects in mind, there is not enough to implicate anyone in the crime, so it remains unsolved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the unsolved homicide of a pregnant woman. In addition, we will be briefly discussing the unsolved murder of 21-year old Amanda Aldridge, who was also shot to death inside her home in Calhoun, Louisiana in April 2020. If you have information on the murder of Jodie Bordeaux, please contact the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at (785) 742-7125 or the Kansas City Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-572-7463. If you have information on the murder of Amanda Aldridge, please contact the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office at (318) 324-2669 or Crime Stoppers at North Delta at (318) 388-CASH (2274). Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/jodie-bordeaux/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jodie_Bordeaux https://www.kansas.gov/kbi/mostwanted/mw_bordeaux.shtml https://ictnews.org/archive/after-three-years-still-no-justice-for-jodie/ https://ictnews.org/archive/unsolved-mysteries-explores-kickapoo-double-murder/ https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2015/04/18/family-unsolved-homicide-victim-wants-justice/16631823007/ https://www.myarklamiss.com/crime/arklamiss-mostwanted/five-years-since-murder-of-pregnant-woman-in-calhoun/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

July 17, 2002. Butler County, Pennsylvania. After spending the night partying and drinking, 15-year old Scott Fosnaught and his 15-year old best friend, Shawn Baur, leave a friend’s house in order to walk back home during the early morning hours. Shortly thereafter, their bodies are discovered by the side of a rural road and Scott’s injuries seem to indicate that he was the victim of a hit-and-run by a vehicle. However, Shawn only has some fatal head wounds and a crushed skull, but since he has no injuries beneath his shoulders, it appears that he was killed in another fashion. This makes the boys’ families suspect that their deaths were not an accident, but no suspects are ever identified and the truth about what happened remains unknown. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the baffling unexplained deaths of two teenage boys. In addition, we will also discuss the unsolved 1992 murder of David Hurley, who was shot to death in an apparent road rage incident in neighbouring Allegheny County. If you have information about the deaths of Scott Fosnaught and Shawn Baur, please contact the Pennsylvania State Police at (724) 284-8100 or Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (1-800-472-8477). if you have information on the murder of David Hurley, please contact the Allegheny County Police Department at (412) 473-1200 or 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477). Additional Reading: https://archive.triblive.com/news/hit-run-driver-suspected-in-death-of-2-teens/ https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/state-police-butler-county-cold-case-reward/ https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/20-years-since-deaths-of-shawn-baur-and-scott-fosnaught-butler-county/ https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/mother-still-looking-answers-21-years-after-son-friend-killed-rural-butler-county-road/MA3EVNH2N5DHDOE5BMVPLBTAPQ/ https://www.butlereagle.com/20220721/mystery-still-surrounds-deaths-of-two-seneca-valley-teens/ https://www.post-gazette.com/local/north/2017/07/17/shawn-baur-scott-fosnaught-cold-case-butler-county-cashdollar-road-forward-township/stories/201707170148 https://www.pennlive.com/news/2023/12/accident-or-murder-police-families-still-baffled-by-2002-deaths-of-boys-on-rural-western-pa-road.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/90299670/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1079296828/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/David_Hurley https://unsolved.com/gallery/david-hurley/ https://archive.triblive.com/news/new-leads-emerge-when-old-case-featured-on-tv/ http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=218248 “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.