144: The Salem Witch Trials

32 years ago, much-loved mum Vera Anderson received a phone call that resulted in her leaving her home at 10pm on a Saturday night and driving to a quiet, deserted area. Hours later, she would be found murdered in her car, in what appeared to be a hit. Despite extensive investigation, authorities have never found any motive, any reason as to why someone might want Vera dead.

FROM THE VAULT: In November 2010, 13 year old Yara Gambirasio disappeared after gymnastics in Lombardy, Italy. What followed was one of the most intensive police investigations ever seen in Italy, and eventually, her killer was captured. 

In 2015, 21 year old Lauren Agee went to a weekend festival with her friends but little did she know she wouldn't be returning home. There's been lots of speculation over the years as to what happened to Lauren, law enforcement wrote it off as an accident but her family has never accepted that, because as you'll come to see they didn't actually investigate the case...

FROM THE VAULT: From 1974-1975, a number of murders and assaults took place in San Fransisco, all targeted at gay men. The police took little to no interest in investigating the plights of the queer community, so to this day, the so-called Doodler killer goes unidentified.

Today's episode is featuring a number of updates on cases I've covered in the past, small and big! We have a murderer being found in the Colonial Parkway case, movements in the Redhead murders, the Amelia Earhart plane potentially being found, and as always, plenty of Doe identifications and updates.

FROM THE VAULT: Rebecca Schaeffer was an up-and-coming American actress with a bright life ahead of her, when it was tragically ripped away at age 21. Her murder would bring to light gaps in the law around stalking, leading to questions as to how this was allowed to happen in the first place.

In 1983 a transient man called Henry Lee Lucas was arrested for the murder of an elderly woman called Kate Rich and as he stood in court for his crimes he asks 'what about the rest of the people I killed?' Beginning a frenzy throughout law enforcement across the country. He would go on to confess to over 600 murders, but how many people did Henry Lee Lucas REALLY kill?

FROM THE VAULT: In 1992, 14 year old Misty Copsey went missing from Puyallup, Washington after visiting a fair with her best friend. Despite many clues pointing in multiple directions, there's never been any trace of her found.

In August 1979, a resident of Tok, Alaska found a decomposed body at the side of a quiet country road. Investigators were soon able to pin down his killer, but One Eyed Jack, as he would come to be known, has never been identified. 

FROM THE VAULT - For centuries we've seen multiple different iterations of women being accused of witchcraft, of having too much power, men screaming how they must be stopped; the most famous of which is the Salem witch trials. But do you know the full story?