For thirty years, someone terrorized Buffalo, New York. At least nine women attacked. Three murdered. The community lived in fear.

Then in 1994, after his most violent assault yet, the attacks suddenly stopped.

For twelve years: nothing. No reports. No victims. Complete silence.

Investigators wondered: Was he dead? In prison for something else? Had he moved away?

In September 2006, he came back. And this time, he made a mistake.

When a 45-year-old nurse went for her morning jog and never came home, he left behind a single droplet of evidence that would finally answer a question the community had been asking since 1990: Who killed Linda Yalem?

Linda was 22 years old, training for the New York City Marathon, when she was murdered on a bike path near the University at Buffalo. Her case went cold for sixteen years. But by 2007, DNA technology had evolved enough to do what was impossible in 1990. And when investigators connected that sweat droplet to Linda's murder, they uncovered something that stunned the community.

The killer had been hiding in plain sight the whole time.

He coached Little League. He went to church. Neighbors called him "Uncle Al." He'd lived in the same place for thirty years just miles from where he left Linda's body. He even registered to run in the memorial race held in her honor.

But here's the detail that haunts investigators most: In 1981, a rape victim followed her attacker to a parking lot and wrote down his license plate number. Police traced the car. Questioned the owner. And stopped investigating when he denied driving it that day.

He lied.

If they had pressed harder, three women would still be alive.

This episode also tells the story of Anthony Capozzi,a man who spent 22 years in prison for crimes he didn't commit, while the real killer remained free. How DNA finally proved his innocence. And why his case resulted in the largest wrongful conviction settlement in New York State history.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses sexual assault, murder, and wrongful conviction.

For complete sources and timeline: https://crimedecoded.com/episode-notes-6-2/

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

In 1987, bartender Sandra Lison was murdered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. DNA evidence excluded two brothers from the crime, but they were convicted anyway and spent 25 years in prison. Meanwhile, the real killer died free.

In 2024, a team of college students used investigative genetic genealogy to finally identify Sandra's killer: William Hendricks, a convicted rapist who had never been investigated. This is the story of how science aided police in freeing two innocent men and gave Sandra Lison the justice she waited 37 years to receive.

Robert and David Bintz are the third and fourth people in the United States to be exonerated through forensic genetic genealogy, the same technology that catches killers can also free the innocent.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses murder, sexual assault, and wrongful conviction.

For full sources and references, visit https://crimedecoded.com/episode-notes-5/

Subscribe to Crime Decoded for more stories about forensic science, genetic genealogy, and the cases they help solve.

CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode discusses the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of a child, as well as threats made toward minors. Listener discretion is advised.

THE CASE:

On April 1, 1988, Good Friday, eight-year-old April Tinsley walked a few blocks to pick up an umbrella from a friend's house in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

She never came back.

Three days later, her body was found in a ditch twenty miles away. DNA evidence was recovered, but the technology didn't exist to interpret it.

For thirty years, April's killer lived five miles from where he dumped her body—in the same trailer where he'd taken her.

Then he made a mistake.

He started leaving notes on little girls' bicycles., taunting residents and police. The notes contained used condoms. The DNA matched 1988. And in 2018, a genealogy database finally gave him a name.

FEATURING:

• The chilling barn message that taunted police for decades

• How a 7-year-old girl's bicycle held the key to solving the case

• The FBI profile that predicted exactly who he was

• A confession that came before detectives asked a single question

THE TWIST:

Detectives asked John Miller if he knew why they wanted to talk.

He didn't hesitate: "April Tinsley."

They hadn't mentioned her name.

CREDITS:

Research sources include Allen County Court records, WANE 15, Crime Watch Daily, and FBI case files.

Special thanks to Parabon NanoLabs and CeCe Moore for their forensic genetic genealogy work.

For complete sources and references, visit: ⁠https://crimedecoded.com/episode-notes-4/

RESOURCES:

If you've been affected by violence or abuse:

• National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: missingkids.org

ABOUT CRIME DECODED:

Crime Decoded explores forensic science, genetic genealogy, and the cases they help solve. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Contact: stacey@crimedecoded.com

© Crime Decoded Podcast

CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode discusses the murder of a young woman whose body remained unidentified for nearly four decades. Listener discretion is advised.

THE CASE:April 24, 1981. Three men moving furniture along a rural Ohio road spotted what they thought was a nice coat dumped in a ditch.

It wasn't just a coat.

Inside was a young woman, beaten and strangled, wearing a fringed buckskin jacket that would give her the only name she'd have for 37 years: Buckskin Girl.

Her fingerprints weren't in any database. Her face didn't match any missing persons reports. For nearly four decades, investigators couldn't answer the most basic question: Who was she?

Then a revolutionary nonprofit tried something that had never been done before, extracting DNA from a blood sample that had sat unrefrigerated for 37 years.

Every expert said it was impossible.

It took four hours to prove them wrong.

FEATURING:

• The DNA sample that "couldn't work"—and did
• How the DNA Doe Project's first case changed forensic science
• A mother who never changed her phone number for 37 years
• The father who died three months before learning his daughter's fate
• Why investigators believe she may have been killed by someone she trusted
• The new hair evidence that might finally catch her killer

THE TWIST:Marcia King was never reported missing. She was an adult who hitchhiked across America. Her family thought she was still out there, somewhere, living her life.

Her mother kept the same phone number for 37 years. Just in case Marcia called.

She never did. Because she couldn't.

And there's this: her father uploaded his family tree to Ancestry before he died, a "note in a bottle" asking what happened to his daughter. He died three months before she was identified. That note helped solve the case. He found her. He just didn't live to know it.

UNSOLVED:Marcia King's murder remains unsolved. Investigators believe she may have been killed by a traveling companion—someone she trusted. The absence of her shoes, the overkill violence, the careful positioning of her body all suggest someone who knew her.

In 2020, hair samples from the crime scene were sent for cutting-edge DNA analysis. If any belonged to someone Marcia was with in her final hours, there may finally be a lead.

CREDITS:Research sources include Miami County Sheriff's Office records, Dayton Daily News, DNA Doe Project documentation, and CBS News.

Special thanks to the DNA Doe Project, Dr. Elizabeth Murray, and the volunteers who gave Marcia her name back.

For complete sources and references, visit: https://crimedecoded.com/episode-notes-3/

RESOURCES:If you have information about Marcia King's murder, contact:

• Miami County Sheriff's Office: 937-440-3990
• Anonymous tips accepted
• www.miamicountyohio.gov/sheriff

ABOUT CRIME DECODED:Crime Decoded explores forensic science, genetic genealogy, and the cases they help solve. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Contact: stacey@crimedecoded.com

© Crime Decoded Podcast

CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode discusses the abduction and murder of a young woman. Listener discretion is advised.

THE CASE:

On February 15, 1974, Mary Schlais left her Uptown Minneapolis apartment with a cardboard sign that read "Madison." She was hitchhiking to an art show in Chicago, her regular mode of travel.

She never made it past Wisconsin.

Three hours later, a witness driving with his dog saw a man throw a woman's body into a snowy ditch. He watched the man try to cover her with snow, then flee. Mary had been stabbed more than fifteen times.

The killer left something behind: a blue and orange stocking cap.

For fifty years, that hat sat in evidence storage. For decades, investigators believed they were hunting the I-5 Killer. They were wrong.

In 2024, a college forensic genealogy team cracked the case—despite the killer being adopted, which scrambled every family tree they tried to build.

When confronted with the DNA, an 84-year-old man in an assisted living facility started talking.

FEATURING:

• A brilliant artist who spoke three languages and dreamed of showing her work in Chicago

• The eyewitness who saw the killer but couldn't stop him

• Why the I-5 Killer theory was wrong for thirty years

• How adoption nearly derailed the genetic genealogy investigation

• A confession that came fifty years too late

THE TWIST:

The DNA match was confirmed on November 4, 2024—what would have been Mary's 76th birthday. As if she'd been waiting all that time.

CREDITS:

Research sources include Dunn County Court records, KARE 11, CBS Minnesota, and Forum News Service.

Special thanks to Ramapo College's IGG Center for their forensic genetic genealogy work.

For complete sources and references, visit our show notes.

RESOURCES:

If you've been affected by violence:

• National Victim Assistance Hotline: 1-800-FYI-CALL

ABOUT CRIME DECODED:

Crime Decoded explores forensic science, genetic genealogy, and the cases they help solve. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Contact: stacey@crimedecoded.com

© Crime Decoded Podcast

A teenage girl leaves a shopping mall just days before Christmas. She never makes it home.

In 1979, Michelle Martinko was brutally murdered in the parking lot of Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For decades, the case remained unsolved, leaving behind unanswered questions and quiet speculation.

In this episode of Crime Decoded, we examine how a case that went cold for nearly forty years was ultimately solved and why the evidence was there all along.

This episode focuses on investigative process, forensic breakthroughs, and the long arc of justice.

Disclaimers, extended case notes, sources, and timelines are available via the show link here.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

CASE FACTS AND TIMELINE:

- Dunn County Circuit Court records (2024-2025)

- Dunn County Sheriff's Office press conferences (November 2024)

- KARE 11 News coverage and Lou Raguse interviews (November 2024 - March 2025)

- CBS Minnesota reporting (2011, 2017, 2024, 2025)

- WEAU reporting (November 2024, March 2025)

- Forum News Service investigation (May 2025)

VICTIM INFORMATION:

- Family statements at sentencing (March 2025)

- CBS Minnesota Cold Case feature (2011)

- "Aren't You the Girl?" podcast (Episode 2: Mary Schlais)

OFFENDER BACKGROUND:

- Forum News Service court records investigation

- Minnesota State Reformatory records (1959-1963)

- California court records (1969)

- San Quentin prison records

GENETIC GENEALOGY:

- Ramapo College IGG Center

- Dunn County Sheriff's Office press conference (November 11, 2024)

RANDALL WOODFIELD FALSE LEAD:

- CBS Minnesota reporting (2011)

- Dunn County Sheriff's Office statements

PARANORMAL FOLKLORE:

- Chad Lewis, "The Wisconsin Road Guide to Haunted Locations"

- "Aren't You the Girl?" podcast documentation

- Local accounts documented in various sources

QUOTE ATTRIBUTIONS:

- Sheriff Kevin Bygd quotes: WEAU, KARE 11 (November 2024)

- Jon Keith Miller quotes: KARE 11 Lou Raguse interviews (November 2024 - March 2025)

- Nina Mary Schlais quotes: CBS Minnesota, WEAU (March 2025)

- Prosecutor Andrea Amidon Nodolf quotes: WEAU sentencing coverage (March 2025)

- Detective Craig Koser quotes: CBS Minnesota (2011)

- Mary Dodge quotes: CBS Minnesota (November 2024)

- Dan Westlund quotes: CBS Minnesota (November 2024)

- Don Schlais quotes: CBS Minnesota (2011, 2017)