# 4 Cold Cases That Were CRACKED With Forensic Science

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 14 Jul 2025, 19 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO2670469818.mp3

In this true crime episode, we unravel 4 horrifying cold cases finally solved after decades thanks to cutting-edge DNA technology and relentless detective work. First, we revisit the 1975 double homicide of 14-year-olds Darlene Zetterower and Barbara Schreiber in Hollywood, Florida. Abducted while hitchhiking, their brutal murders haunted investigators for nearly 50 years until advanced forensic testing linked violent offenders Robert Keebler and Larry Stein to the crime. Then, we shift to 1980s California, where the mysterious murders of Shannon Lloyd in 1987 and Renee Cuevas in 1989 went unsolved for decades. Through groundbreaking forensic genealogy, authorities identified serial predator Reuben Smith as the man behind both killings, unmasking a hidden trail of violence that spanned over a decade. If you're obsessed with solved cold cases, DNA breakthroughs, serial predator investigations, or forensic genealogy in true crime, this episode delivers it all. From unsolved mysteries to long-awaited justice, we explore the techniques that finally cracked these heartbreaking cases wide open. 👇 Support My Work: 🛍️ Merch: https://lazy-chill-zone-shop.fourthwall.com ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇 Youtube links: Lazy Chill True Crime Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dVJtzeHcJgd_Z0bHrJTHQ Lazy Chill History Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillHistory Lazy Chill Zone Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillZone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ 👇 Podcast links: ⚡True Crime Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/0klIz08pAr7wR4we0Ia4sk?si=68qZxCeAQkysXzMZrHE0Iw 🍏 True Crime Podcast on Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lazy-chill-true-crime/id1815534472 True crime podcast, cold case murders, DNA breakthrough, solved cold case, forensic genealogy, serial predator, unsolved mysteries, murder investigation, justice delayed, Shannon Lloyd, Renee Cuevas, Darlene Zetterower, Barbara Schreiber, 1975 murders, 1987 murder, solved decades later, law enforcement podcast, true crime 2025, Spotify true crime, Apple Podcasts cold cases

## Transcript

[0:00] On a warm June morning in 1975, a family out on a fishing trip
[0:04] near the Florida Everglades made a horrifying discovery.
[0:08] Lying side by side along a remote canal bank were the
[0:12] bodies of two teenage girls. They were identified as 14 year
[0:16] olds Darlene Zetterauer and Barbara Schreiber, inseparable
[0:21] best friends from Hollywood, FL, who had vanished just the day
[0:25] before. Witnesses last saw the girls the
[0:28] previous afternoon, happily climbing into a white van on a
[0:32] busy St. in Hollywood, likely hitchhiking as they often did.
[0:37] That ordinary summer outing turned tragic.
[0:41] By the next day, both teens had been subject to the worst form
[0:44] of assault imaginable and then shot.
[0:48] Their brutal slaying shocked the community and baffled
[0:51] investigators. For nearly 50 years, the case
[0:54] remained ice cold, A haunting mystery with no answers, until
[0:59] modern DNA technology and dogged police work finally brought the
[1:04] truth to light. Darlene Zetterauer and Barbara
[1:09] Schreiber were more like sisters than friends.
[1:12] Both had just finished 8th grade in June 1975 and we're looking
[1:17] forward to starting high school in the fall.
[1:20] That summer, the 14 year old girls spent their days together
[1:24] in Hollywood, a suburban city in Broward County.
[1:28] On June 18th, 1975, the girls set off to celebrate the
[1:33] carefree start of summer vacation.
[1:37] They plan to spend the night at another friend's house, a
[1:40] routine sleepover that should have been perfectly safe.
[1:43] The pair were seen sitting on a bench along Sterling Rd.
[1:47] laughing and talking. A white van pulled up to them
[1:51] and being typical teens of the era when hitch hiking and
[1:55] accepting rides was not uncommon, they hopped in without
[1:58] hesitation. That was the last time anyone
[2:02] saw Darlene and Barbara alive. When the girls didn't arrive at
[2:08] their friend's house or return home, their families grew
[2:11] concerned. The next morning, concern turned
[2:15] to tragedy. A fisherman and his family
[2:18] navigating a canal at the edge of the Everglades spotted
[2:21] something awful on the muddy bank.
[2:24] It was the two bodies of Darlene and Barbara, the girls.
[2:27] Bright futures had been brutally stolen in an instant, two
[2:32] families were destroyed and an entire community was gripped
[2:35] with fear. Broward County detectives
[2:40] launched an intensive investigation and
[2:42] unsurprisingly, they threw the full weight of the state into
[2:45] solving this disgusting crime. Dozens of officers, crime scene
[2:50] investigators and forensic experts poured their efforts
[2:54] into finding who had taken Darlene and Barbara's lives.
[3:00] A friend of the girls later recalled seeing the two get into
[3:03] the van and even remembered being invited along, an offer
[3:06] she declined. This confirmed with certainty
[3:09] that the girls were lured into the vehicle.
[3:13] This eyewitness account confirmed that the girls were
[3:15] likely lured by someone they thought they could trust, but it
[3:19] still didn't reveal the culprit's identity.
[3:22] The Broward Sheriff's Office canvassed the area, appealed for
[3:26] tips, and even examined other crimes for connections.
[3:30] Yet the trail soon went cold. At the time, South Florida was
[3:37] in the grip of what the media dubbed the flat tire slayings.
[3:41] This is a string of unsolved attacks on young women in 1975
[3:45] and 76, many of whose bodies were found near canals.
[3:50] Darlene and Barbara's slayings fit the pattern in some ways,
[3:53] and authorities wondered if a serial predator might be praying
[3:57] on women and girls in the area. The theory was that a predator
[4:01] was cruising local roads, possibly deflating victims tires
[4:05] or offering rides, then attacking and dumping bodies by
[4:09] remote waterways. Fear spread through the
[4:12] community and parents warned their children to be extra
[4:16] cautious. However, no definitive link or
[4:20] suspect emerged at the time. As months turned into years, the
[4:25] case of Darlene and Barbara remained unsolved.
[4:29] Eventually it was filed as a cold case.
[4:31] Evidence stored away leads exhausted and no justice for two
[4:36] innocent teenagers. In 2019, the department
[4:42] established A dedicated cold case unit to re examine unsolved
[4:46] cases like this one. Investigators carefully reviewed
[4:50] the old evidence with fresh eyes.
[4:52] Crucially, the girls clothing from 1975 had been preserved and
[4:58] it held the key to a breakthrough.
[5:00] Technology had advanced dramatically since the 1970s.
[5:05] What was impossible back then was now routine, and the
[5:08] authorities turn to advanced DNA profiling techniques.
[5:14] The cold case team decided to test the evidence using a
[5:17] specialized DNA extraction device called an MVAC, which can
[5:21] collect minute genetic material even from decades old fabric.
[5:26] In 2022, the crime lab scientists applied this new
[5:30] technique on Darlene's blouse, painstakingly vacuuming for any
[5:35] biological traces left by the perp.
[5:38] The work paid off, and from the tiny DNA fragments recovered,
[5:43] analysts developed a full DNA profile of an unknown man.
[5:47] It was a Eureka moment. After nearly 50 years, they
[5:51] finally had a genetic fingerprint of one of the
[5:53] perpetrators. Using criminal DNA databases and
[5:59] genealogical research, the profile was soon matched to a
[6:03] name. Robert Clark Keebler emerged as
[6:06] the prime suspect. Keebler was a convicted felon
[6:10] with a long record of violence, including armed robbery and
[6:13] indecent assaults spanning from California to South Florida.
[6:17] Astonishingly, despite his disturbing rap sheet, he had
[6:22] never been on the radar for the 1975 slayings until the DNA hit
[6:27] connected him to the crime. By the time of this discovery,
[6:31] however, Keebler was beyond the reach of law enforcement.
[6:34] He had died in 2019 of natural causes.
[6:38] Still, this revelation brought a surge of energy to the
[6:42] investigation and a measure of solace that the mystery was at
[6:46] last unraveling. The genetic testing revealed
[6:51] another disturbing twist. Though the cops had always
[6:54] thought there could have been two men involved in the crime,
[6:57] based on the testimony of witnesses, it turned out that
[7:01] they were correct. By 2025, the cops announced that
[7:07] a second suspect had been identified, Larry Stein.
[7:11] Like Keebler, Stein had a history of serious crime, and he
[7:16] was actually an associate of Keebler's during the 1970s.
[7:20] Back in 1975, both men were in their early 20s and already had
[7:25] rap sheets full of violence. Investigators discovered that
[7:29] Stein and Keebler's criminal records included burglaries,
[7:33] assaults, even prior instances of abducting women in Florida
[7:37] and beyond. They were exactly the type of
[7:40] predators who could commit such a heinous act.
[7:43] Tragically, but perhaps thankfully, Stein would also
[7:47] never face justice in a courtroom.
[7:50] He had died in 2005 at the age of 50, his life ending long
[7:55] before the DNA evidence could tie him to this crime.
[8:00] With Keebler and Stein identified as the culprits, the
[8:04] Broward Sheriff's Office finally declared the case solved.
[8:08] Advancements in DNA testing and solid detective work had brought
[8:12] definitive answers in the slayings of Darlene Zetterauer
[8:16] and Barbara Schreiber. Importantly, investigators don't
[8:22] believe that Keebler and Stein were responsible for any of the
[8:26] other flat tire slayings in the area.
[8:28] Despite initial speculation decades ago, those other cases
[8:33] remain officially unsolved and likely unrelated, at least
[8:36] according to the authorities. The 1975 double slaying of
[8:41] Darlene and Barbara appears to have been an isolated,
[8:45] opportunistic crime committed by two individuals who crossed
[8:49] paths with the girls on that fateful day.
[8:52] Detectives suspect the men may have targeted the teens simply
[8:56] because they were there and willing to accept a ride.
[9:00] While the cops couldn't be sure why the crime was committed, the
[9:03] primary motive seemed to be the Commission of an indecent
[9:06] assault. The slayings were simply a way
[9:09] for these two sick men to cover up their messed up crimes.
[9:16] Hey everyone, it's Jimmy here with a quick reminder to like,
[9:19] subscribe and share this video and also hit that notification
[9:23] bell. Anyway, let's get back to
[9:25] business. For over 3 decades, a mystery
[9:31] haunted the city of Garden Grove, CA.
[9:34] On a quiet night in May 1987, 23 year old Shannon Lloyd was found
[9:40] brutally slain in the house where she rented a room.
[9:44] The discovery of her lifeless body, evidence of a violent
[9:48] struggle and a life cut short, sent shock waves through the
[9:52] community and left police puzzled and desperate for
[9:56] answers. Who would do this to a young
[9:58] mother in her own home? And would the perpetrator ever
[10:02] be brought to justice? Those questions lingered for
[10:05] decades until a remarkable breakthrough in forensic science
[10:09] finally cracked the case wide open.
[10:14] Shannon was a mother to a young son and had a steady boyfriend
[10:18] who often visited her. She lived in a rented room on
[10:21] Donna Lane in Garden Grove, an Orange County suburb where she
[10:25] was striving to build a good life for herself and her kid.
[10:29] By all accounts, Shannon was a devoted mother who was just
[10:33] trying her best, making the violent end to her life all the
[10:37] more heartbreaking. Late on May 21st, 1987, the
[10:43] unthinkable happened. Shannon's roommate, a 70 year
[10:47] old man who shared the house, found her slain shortly before
[10:50] midnight. Panic ensued as he rushed to a
[10:54] neighbor's home to call the police and report the horror he
[10:57] had discovered. When officers arrived, they
[11:01] found a grim scene. Shannon had been indecently
[11:05] assaulted and strangled to death in her own room.
[11:08] There were no obvious signs of forced entry and nothing of
[11:12] value appeared to be missing, which immediately deepened the
[11:16] mystery. It seemed that Shannon had
[11:19] either willingly let her perpetrator into the house, or
[11:22] perhaps knew the person who did this to her.
[11:25] Crucially, in 1987, forensic DNA analysis was still in its
[11:30] infancy, so investigators didn't have today's powerful genetic
[11:34] tools at their disposal. With limited technology and no
[11:38] eyewitnesses, they had to rely on traditional detective work,
[11:43] which unfortunately yielded no answers at the time.
[11:48] Detectives worked tirelessly in the aftermath of the ACT.
[11:52] They canvassed the neighborhood and interviewed everyone who
[11:54] knew Shannon, from her boyfriend to local acquaintances.
[11:59] Neighbors told police that while Shannon was mostly friendly and
[12:02] kind, there had been occasional visitors who raised eyebrows.
[12:07] One neighbor mentioned that some rough looking men would
[12:09] occasionally stop by. On a few occasions, police had
[12:13] even been called to the house prior to the attack, though the
[12:17] reasons for those visits remained unclear, at least to
[12:20] the public. All of these details gave
[12:23] investigators leads to chase, but none led to an immediate
[12:28] suspect. Despite the thorough
[12:31] investigation, the case frustratingly remained unsolved.
[12:35] Within a short time, it went cold.
[12:38] A terrifying predator was on the loose and no one knew who he was
[12:42] or if he would strike again. Then in 1989, another tragedy
[12:50] struck in Orange County that would later prove to be
[12:52] connected. On February 19th, 1989, the body
[12:58] of 27 year old Renee Cuevas was discovered along a road near the
[13:02] now closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine.
[13:07] Renee had been slain under strikingly similar
[13:09] circumstances. Like Shannon's case, Renee's
[13:13] also went unsolved, but investigators took note of the
[13:16] eerie resemblance between the two crimes.
[13:21] It wasn't until 2003 that a crucial clue finally linked the
[13:25] two slayings. Forensic scientists at the
[13:29] Orange County Crime Lab re examined DNA evidence from both
[13:33] crime scenes and made a startling discovery.
[13:36] The DNA profile from Shannon Lloyd's perpetrator matched the
[13:40] person who had slain Renee. In other words, the same unknown
[13:44] man had committed both crimes. This revelation meant a serial
[13:49] predator had been at large in Orange County since the late
[13:53] 1980s, responsible for taking two young women's lives.
[13:59] Armed with this knowledge, authorities finally had a trail
[14:02] to follow, but the perp's identity was still a mystery.
[14:07] The DNA profile was uploaded to the national Criminal Database,
[14:11] but it didn't match any known offender at the time.
[14:14] The case remained cold, but investigators were now more
[14:18] determined than ever, knowing that solving either woman's
[14:21] slaying would solve both. By the late 2010's, a
[14:28] revolutionary investigative tool emerged in forensic science,
[14:32] genetic genealogy. This technique gained national
[14:36] fame in 2018 for helping identify the original Night
[14:40] Stalker, proving that even decades old DNA could lead to a
[14:44] name by tracing family trees. In 202134 years after Shannon's
[14:50] life was taken, Orange County's Investigative Genealogy Unit
[14:55] turned its attention to the DNA from her case.
[14:59] Using advanced DNA analysis and family tree mapping, they
[15:03] identified a possible suspect, Reuben Smith.
[15:09] The name meant nothing to the original detectives, but it was
[15:12] about to unravel the whole mystery.
[15:15] Smith had lived in Orange County in the 1980s, not far from where
[15:19] the slayings occurred, before eventually moving to Nevada.
[15:24] Digging into his past, detectives discovered he had a
[15:27] history of violence. In July 1998, more than a decade
[15:33] after Shannon's slaying, Ruben Smith was arrested in Las Vegas
[15:37] for attempting to end the life of a woman after an indecent
[15:40] assault. That victim heroically fought
[15:43] off her attacker and survived, later recalling the evil she
[15:48] sensed in him and how she knew she had to fight for her life.
[15:53] Although Smith was charged for that 1998 attack, the case never
[15:57] went to trial. The charges were eventually
[16:00] dismissed and he walked free. However, during that arrest, Las
[16:06] Vegas authorities collected ADNA sample from Smith, a sample that
[16:11] would turn out to be the key to solving Shannon's case.
[16:14] And as expected, this would of course crack Renee's case open
[16:17] as well. While it never ended up in any
[16:20] databases, it was stored by the Las Vegas cops.
[16:26] Once Smith's name surfaced through genetic genealogy,
[16:29] investigators pulled his 1998 DNA sample from storage and
[16:33] compared it to the DNA from the crime scenes.
[16:36] It was a perfect match, conclusively tying Reuben Smith
[16:40] to both slayings. The mystery of who ended the
[16:44] life of Shannon Lloyd was solved.
[16:47] It was the same man who had eluded justice all those years
[16:50] while leaving a trail of violence from Orange County to
[16:53] Las Vegas. Reuben Smith would never face a
[16:58] jury for his crimes, and given the platform we're on, let's
[17:02] just say that he carried out the penalty for a capital offence on
[17:05] himself in July 1999. His grim end meant he escaped
[17:10] justice before anyone realized the full enormity of what he had
[17:13] done. For the families of Shannon
[17:16] Lloyd and Renee Cuevas, learning the identity was a bittersweet
[17:20] revelation. On one hand, they finally knew
[17:24] who was responsible and that he could never hurt anyone else.
[17:29] On the other, Smith's death meant there would be no criminal
[17:32] trial, no opportunity to see him held accountable in court.
[17:39] Still, the resolution brought a measure of closure that had been
[17:43] denied for so long. Shannon's brother expressed
[17:46] gratitude for the detectives and forensic experts who never gave
[17:50] up on his sister's case, and he took comfort that the truth was
[17:54] finally known. Likewise, Renee Cuevas relatives
[17:58] thanked law enforcement for their persistence and said that
[18:01] knowing the perpetrators name brought some peace to their
[18:04] family. Investigators have also begun
[18:08] looking into the possibility that Smith had other victims
[18:11] during his years in California and Nevada, an open question
[18:15] they continue to pursue. Right now, though, no other
[18:20] crimes have been confirmed, though the authorities have
[18:23] confirmed they are investigating him as a potential serial
[18:26] perpetrator. That said, I find it difficult
[18:32] to believe that Reuben Smith struck twice in the late 80s,
[18:35] then attempted to do the same thing in 1998 with no attacks in
[18:39] between. Generally, these sorts of
[18:42] predators are emboldened when they get away with it to the
[18:46] level that Smith did. Notably, he wasn't even a
[18:49] suspect in the case of Shannon or Renee and had never been
[18:53] interviewed or taken in for questioning further.
[18:58] It's somewhat suspicious that he took the approach that he did in
[19:01] 1999 unless he thought there was credible evidence out there that
[19:06] could turn up further victims.

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