Description

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]! Host Aliza stumbles across a story that stopped her mid-scroll: college students at the University of Texas at Arlington just solved a 34-year-old murder. Their class project led to an arrest in a case that had stumped detectives since 1991. But this isn't just about one remarkable group of students... it's about how regular people are revolutionizing cold case investigations.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The UTA Breakthrough: How 15 criminology students spent 100+ hours reviewing 500+ files from Cynthia Gonzalez's 1991 murder. The suspect? A friend who told police she was "glad" the victim was dead but couldn't be charged for 34 years due to lack of evidence.
• Michelle McNamara & The Golden State Killer: A true crime writer became obsessed with California's most prolific serial killer. She coined the name "Golden State Killer," worked with online communities, hired researchers, and kept the case alive.
• Reddit Solves Mysteries: Meet Grateful Doe (Jason Callahan), a hitchhiker killed in 1995 who remained unidentified for 20 years until Redditor Layla Betts started a subreddit. Plus: Linda Pagano's case cracked by sleuthing Redditors digging through cemetery records.
• The DNA Revolution: Genetic genealogy has solved hundreds of cold cases. It caught the Golden State Killer and is solving more cases from the 1970s. But there are serious privacy concerns! Your third cousin's crime could be solved using YOUR DNA test.
• Recent DNA Wins: Mary K. Schlais (murdered 1974, solved 2024). Danielle Houchins (1996 Montana case). Melonie White (Vegas Justice League funded testing). Leslie Preer (cleared innocent husband after 23 years). Baby Garnet (newborn found in latrine, mother identified via consumer DNA test).
• The Warning: Boston Marathon bombing showed what happens when internet sleuths get it wrong. Amateur investigation without oversight destroys lives.
• What It Means: Fresh eyes see what experienced investigators miss. Students have time professionals don't. Communities bring different skills. Technology advances. These breakthroughs mean everything: answers after decades of nothing.

In Aliza's Ears:

• And That's Why We Drink
• The First Degree
• Morbid
• Murder, Mystery & Makeup
• My Favorite Murder
• Sinisterhood
• Up and Vanished
• Wine & Crime

The Bottom Line: You don't need a badge to make a difference. College students, true crime writers, Reddit communities, and people taking ancestry tests for fun are helping solve murders that seemed impossible to crack. Over 600 cold cases solved via genetic genealogy. First-semester students getting arrests. Families finally getting closure after 30, 40, 50 years. But with great power comes great responsibility—work WITH law enforcement, respect victims, focus on truth not fame. The UTA model could revolutionize how we handle cold cases nationwide.

TOPICS MENTIONED: UTA cold case program, Cynthia Gonzalez, Janie Perkins, Jessica Roberts, Arlington Police Department, Professor Patricia Eddings, Detective Anthony Stafford, Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, Paul Holes, Patton Oswalt, Grateful Doe, Jason Callahan, Layla Betts, Linda Pagano, Reddit investigations, Boston Marathon bombing, genetic genealogy, GEDmatch, FamilyTreeDNA, CODIS, Mary K. Schlais, Jon Miller, Danielle Houchins, Paul Hutchinson, Melonie White, Vegas Justice League, Baby Garnet, Leslie Preer, Eugene Gligor, Othram, DNA testing, 23andMe, Ancestry, forensic genealogy, cold cases, citizen investigators, crowdsourced investigation, Uncovered.com, Washington State DNA funding, Colorado DNA retesting, privacy concerns, wrongful convictions, victim advocacy, true crime

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