Doe ID: Ada Fritz

Episode 98 Krista Martin

In October 1989, Krista Martin was found bludgeoned and raped in her apartment in Wichita, Kansas.  Krista was a very social young woman with lots of friends and quite a bit of drama in her life – none of which led to her murder.  Police investigated thoroughly, but were stumped for years.  Krista’s case went cold until the WPD reopened it in 2020 with a focus on the DNA evidence.  Like most of DNA: ID’s cases, this case never would have been solved without forensic genealogy – but in this case, the genealogical analysis uncovered a misattributed parentage event, and left one family relieved and thankful to have answers, and one family in complete denial and anger. We still don’t know what happened between Krista and Paul Hart on that day in 1989. But we do know the he lived just six houses away from Krista, and that he killed her.

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Episode 97 Doe ID: Ada Fritz

In May, 1976,  a group of boys fishing along Sessions Creek in Grand Bay, Alabama when they found what appeared to be a mannequin in the water. Closer examination told them that it was the dead body of an older woman, and they ran to get help. Police retrieved the dead woman from the water and found that she had been shot in the head. She carried no ID, and her hands and dentures were missing. Police were not able to match her to any specific women that were missing and she was cremated and her ashes place into a mass grave. That might have been the end of ever finding out who the dead woman was had it not been for a crucial piece of luck and old evidence from the case that was re-examined. Police eventually were able to get a DNA profile from the dead woman, and genealogy determined that she was Ada Fritz who seemed to drop from sight not long before her body was found. While police couldn't prove who killed her, they had a good guess. They believed that a Mississippi man named Henderson James Williams was responsible. In 1994 he had been convicted of killing his mother, whose body was found in water off Hall Road in Grand Bay. The details of both crimes were very similar. Although police have yet to prove Henderson Williams is responsible for Ada's death, they were happy to give her her name back. It's Ada Fritz, and this is her story. 

Christina Castiglione Part 2 of 2

This is part 2 of the Christina Castiglione case; if you have not listened to part 1 yet, stop now and go back and listen to that part first. 

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Episode 96 Christina Castiglione Part 1 of 2

Christina Castiglione was last seen walking along Five Mile Road in Redford Township, MI.  The date was March 19^th, 1983, and it was about 8:30 p.m. Her boyfriend waited for her at a store up ahead, but she never showed.  In the distance of about a half mile, she vanished.  Her half nude, strangled body was found a week later, miles away in a state-owned recreation area.  Her murder immediately called to mind another murder, almost exactly one year earlier.  Kim Louiselle was last seen looking for a ride home in Livonia, MI, on March 20^th, 1982. She, too, vanished seemingly into thin air. Her body was found a month later, nude and strangled in a different state-owned recreation area. The two cases were always considered to be connected, but two murders proved no easier to solve than one, and decades passed. Not until forensic genealogy solved Christina’s case were answers also found in Kim’s case.  The same man had killed both women, and when police dug into his past, they discovered some extremely disturbing information about who Charles Shaw was.

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Episode 95 Doe ID: Eileen Truppner

In 1998, an unidentified victim of a brutal rape and murder who was left for dead was found by chance by a boater in a grassy area in southwest Broward County off of U.S. 27 in the state of Florida. The dead woman carried no identification, and did not match any missing women in the area. Attempts to ID her initially failed, although police suspected that she may be the victim of a serial predator in that area who had fled the United States. Years later, when DNA evidence was re-examined in  an effort to ID the victim through genealogy, police caught a break. The genealogy determined that the victim was Eileen Truppner;  a down on her luck woman who had bounced around the area prior to her death. But the re-examination of DNA that led to Eileen's identity, also led to that of her killer; Lucious Boyd, who turned out to be a different predator than the one police initially suspected. Boyd is on death row for his other crimes, and a case is currently being built against him in Eileen's case.

This Florida Jane Doe finally has her name back, it's Eileen Truppner, and this is her story. 

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Episode 94 Rachael Johnson Part 2 of 2 

This is part 2 of the Rachael Johnson case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, go back and listen to that part first. 

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Episode 94 Rachael Johnson Part 1 of 2

In 1991, a woman was found lying in the street near Akron, Ohio, half naked and set ablaze.  She was quickly identified as Rachael Johnson, a young single mother who had last been seen walking in the parking lot of a local convenience store.  A thorough investigation by Akron police looked at everyone Rachael knew even remotely – investigators were certain that she knew her killer.  They were right, but it was not until decades later that forensic genealogy pointed them to someone they had never considered – someone who Rachael’s family knew all too well.

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Episode 93 DOE: ID Robert Mullins

On November 1st, 1991, hunters in Circleville, Ohio discovered unidentified human remains in a shallow grave near a private farm. Based on the size of the remains, the authorities thought that they belonged to a young woman. They also found evidence that the Doe's head had been moved with some kind of toothed saw, possibly indicating a homicide. After searching for missing women who might be a match for the Doe, police came up empty, and the case went cold. Over the years, various teams and experts worked with the remains, and the DNA gathered from them, and eventually discovered that the Jane Doe they had was actually a John Doe; the victim was a male. Eventually, DNA & genealogy led the authorities to ID the remains as belonging to Robert A. Mullins who was reported missing by his family. He had disappeared in Ohio in late 1988, or early 1989 when he was 21. Now the investigators knew who their victim was, but the search to find out the circumstances of his death, and who was involved, goes on. 

The case remains an open homicide investigation with the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Lt. Jonathan Strawser at (740) 474-2176.

This Doe finally has his name back; it's Robert Mullins, and this is his story. 

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In 2024 , for the second year in a row, DNA: ID has been invited to be on podcast row at the Crimecon true crime convention. Stop by and say hi to host Jessica Bettencourt, pick up some goodies, and enter for a chance to win some DNA ID swag. 

Crimecon 2024 is happening at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN May 31st to June 2nd, 2024. DNA: ID listeners can save 10% on their  standard Crimecon badges at checkout when they use code: DNAID (all one word). Don't delay because badges and hotel accommodations are going quickly. Hope to see you there! 

Episode 92 Pam Cahanes and Kathy Hicks Part 3 of 3

This is part 3 of 3 in the case of Pam Cahanes and Kathy Hicks. If you have not listened to parts 1 & 2 yet, stop now and go back and listen to those parts first. 

This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh home delivery meal kits. Go to HelloFresh.com/dnafree  and use code dnafree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. 

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