# Cold Cases With Crazy Twists | 241

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 27 May 2026, 59 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO8446750615.mp3

Super grateful to have you here watching and listening. Don't forget to drop a comment saying what you're doing while you watch or listen to the podcast. Also don't forget to hit that follow button. Episode 241 of the true crime podcast btw. 👇 Support My Work: ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ unsolved mysteries, true crime, cold cases, unsolved mysteries, missing persons, murder investigation, forensic evidence, serial killers, crime scene analysis, dark history, criminal psychology, real life horror, police investigations, DNA breakthroughs, forensic genealogy, crime documentaries, criminal profiling, mysterious disappearances, solved cases, justice system, law enforcement stories, cold case files, creepy mysteries, true crime storytelling, crime reconstruction, chilling cases, investigative reporting, modern forensics, victim advocacy, unidentified remains, crime scene forensics, cold cases, true crime, true crime solved, unsolved mysteries, too dark for netflix

## Transcript

[0:01] In June 1989, Joanne Rozelle spent an evening at the Meridian
[0:06] Lanes bowling alley in Oklahoma City with her ex-husband and
[0:10] children. After a heated argument with her
[0:13] ex inside, the 29 year old stepped outside around 11:30 to
[0:18] cool off and she never came back.
[0:22] Joanne left behind her car and even her shoes.
[0:25] She walked out barefoot, wearing an orange blouse with a bow on
[0:29] the back and blue jeans. Her family launched an immediate
[0:33] search for her, and when she didn't turn up, her grandmother
[0:36] reported her missing four days later.
[0:39] At the time, some locals wondered if she had left to
[0:42] start a new life or been held against her will by someone, but
[0:47] no answers emerged. Police circulated her
[0:51] description and appealed for tips, yet they had few leads and
[0:55] no evidence to explain her sudden disappearance.
[1:00] Over six months later, on January 5th, 1990, a survey crew
[1:05] discovered a human skull in a Creek bed near the town of Geary
[1:09] in Canadian County, a rural area West of Oklahoma City.
[1:14] Investigators searched the scene and recovered roughly half of a
[1:18] human skeleton scattered near the Creek.
[1:21] They also found some women's clothing and a gold ring with a
[1:24] heart-shaped design near the remains.
[1:27] Forensic examination determined the victim was a white female,
[1:32] likely in her 20s or 30s, and that she had died from blunt
[1:36] force trauma to the head. Investigators now had a brutal
[1:40] slaying on their hands, but they still didn't know the victim's
[1:44] name. The clothing at the scene
[1:46] couldn't be conclusively linked to any known missing person.
[1:51] Curiously, some items didn't match what Rozelle had been
[1:54] wearing when she vanished. Authorities even commissioned A
[1:58] forensic artist to create a clay reconstruction of the Jane Doe's
[2:02] face in hopes of recognition, but no identification followed.
[2:08] And as usual with these clay reconstructions, they're
[2:12] absolutely awful and look like something out of a low budget
[2:15] horror movie. The unknown woman was dubbed the
[2:19] Canadian County Jane Doe. Detectives chased numerous
[2:23] leads, but none yielded a name for the victim.
[2:27] With no breakthroughs, Joanne Rozelle's missing person case
[2:31] went cold in 2003. Her son had her declared legally
[2:35] dead in absentia, not knowing his mother's remains had
[2:38] actually been found years before.
[2:41] Meanwhile, the Canadian County Jane Doe investigation also
[2:44] stalled for decades. Early DNA testing attempts on
[2:49] the remains in the 1990s were unsuccessful, and hundreds of
[2:53] tips over the years brought no answers.
[2:56] The unidentified victims details were entered into national
[2:59] databases, but no match was made.
[3:05] IN2024A breakthrough finally arrived.
[3:09] Cold case investigators from Canadian County teamed up with a
[3:12] private forensic DNA laboratory. Using forensic genetic
[3:17] genealogy, they were able to tie the Canadian County Jane Doe to
[3:22] Joanne Rozelle in November 2025. Joanne's case has now been
[3:28] reopened as an active investigation after sitting
[3:31] virtually completely dormant for decades.
[3:34] The Canadian County Sheriff's Office has informed her family
[3:37] of the discovery and is actively pursuing new leads to find who
[3:42] was responsible for her death. Investigators noted that someone
[3:46] likely transported Joanne's body from Oklahoma City to that
[3:49] remote Creek, indicating A deliberate effort to hide the
[3:53] crime. They're re examining people in
[3:56] her life from 1989, including the ex-husband who was with her
[4:00] that night, for any possible involvement.
[4:06] Although investigators are naturally revisiting Joanne's
[4:09] ex-husband due to the argument at the bowling alley, there are
[4:12] legitimate reasons to question his involvement.
[4:16] His whereabouts that night were known and verified, and there's
[4:20] no evidence he left the area or traveled to the remote Creek bed
[4:23] in Canadian County where Joanne was ultimately found.
[4:27] The location of the remains suggests someone had both
[4:30] opportunity and mobility to transport a body more than an
[4:34] hour away. This is a window of time that
[4:37] doesn't clearly align with his confirmed timeline, assuming the
[4:41] details we know are correct. That said, of course, this
[4:45] doesn't necessarily rule out his involvement since more than one
[4:49] person can be in on a crime. I have to question whether
[4:54] Joanne was dating anyone at the time this occurred, and my
[4:58] reasoning for this is based on a piece of confirmed evidence she
[5:02] was wearing different clothing. To me, this suggests that she
[5:05] may have gone to a boyfriend's house, got changed, and
[5:10] something may have happened there.
[5:12] That said, this is purely speculative since we don't even
[5:17] have evidence to indicate she was dating someone at the time.
[5:21] At any rate, I hope to have an update on this case at some
[5:23] point in the near future, given that this major break in the
[5:27] case was recent. Imagine a killer so notorious,
[5:33] so feared, that the state upon his death, decided not just to
[5:38] bury him, but to disassemble him.
[5:42] Maddie Hapoya, Finland's most infamous serial predator of the
[5:46] 19th century, was confirmed to have killed only three people
[5:50] during his decades long rampage. Yet reasonable historical
[5:54] estimates suggest his true victim count could soar as high
[5:58] as 30. In 1895, after a life marked
[6:01] with brutal violence, he claimed his final victim inside a prison
[6:05] cell in Turku, Finland. But the story doesn't end there.
[6:10] In a chilling demonstration of state power, attempting to
[6:12] finally contain his defiance, his remains became institutional
[6:16] property. His physical relics, including
[6:20] patches of his skin, were collected for the prison
[6:23] administration museum, turning the notorious villain into an
[6:26] enduring macabre cultural artifact.
[6:30] This unusual act solidified his status.
[6:34] Papoya was never just a criminal.
[6:36] He was a symbol whose myth had to be literally contained and
[6:39] displayed. Also, I know I have more than a
[6:42] few Finnish viewers so I apologize for my pronunciations,
[6:47] but your language is literally impossible for me to pronounce.
[6:53] Madi Hapoya was born in 1845 in Isoquiro, located in the
[6:58] tumultuous region of Southern Ostrobothnia, and grew up in the
[7:02] nearby area of Listaro. He was the son of a farmer.
[7:07] His early life unfolded within a unique and violent social
[7:10] environment known as the Puko Yunkarit or knife fighters.
[7:15] This phenomenon, which peaked between the 1820s and 1880s, was
[7:20] characterized by widespread brawling, theft, and antagonism
[7:25] toward authority. Criminologists have long
[7:29] understood that this violence stemmed from deep seated social
[7:33] frustration. Economic conditions in
[7:36] Ostrobothnia meant that land could not be endlessly
[7:39] distributed, creating a large population of younger, landless
[7:44] men who couldn't inherit their own farms.
[7:48] This frustration was often expressed through aggression,
[7:51] particularly at large, alcohol fueled social gatherings like
[7:55] weddings. Apoya quickly embraced the
[7:59] subculture, beginning his criminal trajectory as a brawler
[8:03] and notorious horse thief. Records show he non fatally
[8:09] wounded at least six men in knife fights.
[8:12] For Hepoya, violent acts weren't just opportunistic crimes, they
[8:17] were markers of identity and power in the community of knife
[8:22] fighters. The ultimate status symbol was
[8:25] to kill or wound another respected fighter.
[8:29] He openly sought recognition within this anti establishment
[8:32] framework, reportedly declaring himself the king of all these
[8:35] gangs. His first known homicide
[8:39] occurred on December 6th, 1867 when he fatally stabbed his
[8:44] drinking partner, Farmer Heike Impoten during a drunken
[8:48] altercation. For this slaying, Apoya received
[8:52] a 12 year sentence to hard labor at the Turku Penitentiary.
[8:56] The sentence began a cycle of imprisonment and defiance that
[8:59] define the rest of his life. From eighteen O 9 to 1917,
[9:06] Finland was controlled by the Russian Empire in a semi
[9:09] autonomous personal union known as the Grand Dutchie of Finland.
[9:14] The Grand Duke of Finland was the Russian Czar, but the
[9:17] day-to-day governing of the country was largely left to the
[9:21] populace of Sweden rather than being dictated from Russia.
[9:26] The repressive penal environment of 19th century Finland was
[9:30] inherited from the Russian authoritarian model.
[9:33] This was characterized by prisoners having virtually no
[9:37] rights and being worked to death in prison.
[9:40] This system would prove insufficient to contain Hapoya.
[9:44] Following his initial conviction, his defiance of
[9:47] authority only intensified. Over the subsequent decade.
[9:52] Hapoya became notorious for repeatedly escaping the Turku
[9:55] prison. He broke out four times and
[9:58] spent significant periods at large on each occasion.
[10:02] These continuous escapes were a direct, dramatic challenge to
[10:05] the rigid state structure. Weirdly, considering the crimes
[10:09] he committed, he became something of a folk hero in his
[10:13] own lifetime, with his opposition to authority seen as
[10:16] an expression of Finnish nationalism.
[10:20] Of course, his actions while free clearly showed that he was
[10:23] no freedom fighter standing up against the Russian behemoth.
[10:27] His exploits were heavily reported and sensationalized by
[10:31] the contemporary press. In August 1876, a Finnish farmer
[10:36] caught him robbing his lands and Hepoya beat him up and then shot
[10:39] him in the face. Later, in January 1879, Hepoya
[10:44] stabbed a farmer who attempted to place him under something
[10:47] like a citizen's arrest. His growing notoriety served as
[10:53] a psychological shield. The continuous cycle of
[10:56] escaping, committing new offenses, and evading capture
[11:00] generated widespread fear. The perception that Hepoya was
[11:04] unstoppable was so strong that even local populations often
[11:09] didn't dare report his wrongdoings to the authorities.
[11:13] People were afraid that if they turned him in that he'd simply
[11:16] escape and exact his revenge. Media coverage didn't help, as
[11:21] they portrayed Maddie Hapoya as something akin to a force of
[11:25] nature who couldn't be stopped. Hapoya's consistent failure to
[11:31] conform resulted in his eventual exile to Siberia for forced
[11:35] labor in the Imperial Russian version of a gulag.
[11:39] This period in the late 1880s marks the most obscure, yet
[11:43] likely the most prolific phase of his killing career, a phase
[11:47] that stretched his violence across the Russian imperial
[11:50] frontier. During his time in the Russian
[11:53] penal colonies, Papoya is linked to a chilling cluster of
[11:57] killings. These victims include an
[12:00] unidentified man in 1886, a Finnish convict known as Yaako
[12:05] in 1888, and two men killed in the Siberian city of Tomsk in
[12:09] 1889. Speaking of 1889, that was a
[12:14] really prolific year for Hepoya. In that year, he was seen
[12:18] hanging out with a Baltic German convict named Gustav Sep.
[12:23] After going for a walk with Hepoya, Sep was never seen
[12:26] again. However, since Sepoya never
[12:29] claimed to have killed him, some speculate that he helped Sep
[12:33] escape the prison in Finland. He generally was only violent to
[12:39] other knife fighters or to people he was trying to rob.
[12:42] Some have noted that the killings in Siberia appear to be
[12:46] more predatory, targeting other convicts and opportunistic
[12:50] victims in remote locations. These attacks in Siberia appear
[12:55] to have been done purely for the thrill of violence rather than
[12:58] for any other reason. This transition indicates a move
[13:02] toward calculated serial violence, exploiting the
[13:05] complete chaos and systemic lack of oversight inherent in the
[13:09] distant Russian penal colonies. Because of the vastness of the
[13:14] empire and extremely poor documentation, finding out the
[13:18] true number of victims during this time is considered an
[13:21] impossible task for historians. Papoya eventually found his way
[13:28] back to Finland, but his violent habits hadn't diminished.
[13:33] In October 1890, he committed what became arguably his most
[13:37] infamous documented crime, the strangulation of Maria Giamina
[13:42] Salo. This is his first known slaying
[13:45] of a woman, which many believe indicates that he had been
[13:48] committing these acts before and simply had never been caught.
[13:54] The Salo slaying immediately dominated the national press,
[13:58] and he was held in captivity pending trial.
[14:01] Driven by a hunger for sensational content and
[14:04] capitalizing on global anxieties about urban crime, journalists
[14:09] quickly equated Hapoya to Jack the Ripper.
[14:12] Hapoya's final acts of violence occurred within the walls of the
[14:16] state institutions he had spent his life fighting.
[14:19] On October 10th, 1894, his criminal span concluded with a
[14:24] fatal attack on prison guard Yuho Rosted, whom Hapoya stabbed
[14:28] to death in 1895, just as he was about to be sentenced to life
[14:35] imprisonment with no possibility of parole, he decided to end it
[14:39] all. Some have interpreted this as a
[14:42] last defiant snub to the authority of the court.
[14:47] Maddie Hipoya was ultimately found guilty of only three
[14:50] slayings spanning the years from 1867 to 1894.
[14:55] However, the shadow cast by his exploit suggests that the
[14:59] official tally represents only a fraction of his true toll.
[15:03] A figure often repeated in folklore and historical accounts
[15:06] claims that Hapoya confessed to 18 killings.
[15:10] Critically, there are no documented details concerning
[15:14] this supposed confession, leading experts to regard the
[15:17] figure as unreliable. But here's the thing.
[15:22] Based upon a review of the limited records we have from his
[15:25] time in Siberia, many historians think that this number made-up
[15:30] to sound high, is actually too low.
[15:34] Despite the lack of firm evidence for the confession, the
[15:37] most credible historical estimates place his overall
[15:41] victim count much higher than the confirmed three.
[15:45] Many believe that he may have killed between 20 to 30 people
[15:48] over the course of his life. This broad estimate acknowledges
[15:52] the likelihood that unreported attacks, especially from his
[15:56] Siberian period, is extremely high.
[16:01] Anyway, to the surprise of no one, I'm not fluent in Finnish
[16:04] and I had to rely on translation software when looking at sources
[16:08] since there isn't much out there in English.
[16:11] It seems to me that Hapoya, despite his disturbing crimes,
[16:15] has a folkloric status, kind of like someone like Billy the Kid
[16:20] for us. If you're finish, it would be
[16:22] great if you could confirm or deny this, since the language
[16:26] barrier and limited English sources made it difficult for me
[16:29] to figure this out. It's nearly impossible to
[16:35] imagine a lethal, state sponsored geopolitical conflict
[16:38] erupting in the tranquil academic environment of Japan.
[16:42] Yet that's precisely what happened 37 miles northeast of
[16:46] Tokyo in the summer of 1991. The setting was the University
[16:52] of Tsukuba campus, and the victim was Professor Hitoshi
[16:56] Igarashi. The professor's death was a
[16:59] deliberate, violent consequence of a clash that originated
[17:03] thousands of miles away. It transformed an academic
[17:06] dispute over literature into an international incident of
[17:10] assassination. Igarashi, a professor of Islamic
[17:15] culture, had committed the singular fatal act of
[17:18] translating Salman Rushdie's profoundly controversial novel
[17:22] The Satanic Verses into Japanese.
[17:26] His killing, carried out on July 11th, 1991, starkly demonstrated
[17:31] that the religious decree or fatwa issued by Ayatollah
[17:36] Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran two years earlier was very real.
[17:41] The decree explicitly called for the death of the author and
[17:44] anyone quote involved in its publication.
[17:48] Igorashi's assassination proved that the lethal contract was
[17:52] global and extended to countries which possessed relative
[17:55] geopolitical distance from the epicenter of the controversy.
[18:00] If a scholar in a secure, culturally distinct democracy
[18:03] could be targeted, the message to every publisher, bookseller
[18:08] and translator across the world was unmistakable.
[18:12] To this day, the person responsible for the slaying of
[18:15] Professor Igarashi still remains at large.
[18:18] And given Japan's statute of limitations as it then existed,
[18:22] the crime can't be prosecuted. Hitoshi Igarashi, born in 1947,
[18:30] was no casual observer of Islamic civilization.
[18:34] He was an internationally acclaimed expert in Arabic and
[18:37] Persian literature and history. His entire career was dedicated
[18:42] to bridging cultural understanding and intellectual
[18:45] dialogue between Japan and the Islamic world.
[18:48] His rigorous academic background included completing his doctoral
[18:52] program in Islamic art at the University of Tokyo.
[18:57] This was followed by service as a Research Fellow at the Royal
[19:00] Academy of Iran, a position he held until the Iranian
[19:04] Revolution in 1979. As an associate professor at
[19:08] Sukuba University, his scholarship resulted in
[19:11] insightful books on Islamic history alongside significant
[19:15] translation projects. The decision to translate The
[19:20] Satanic Verses was 1. Taken with full knowledge of the
[19:23] profound risks, it's reported that five other translators had
[19:27] already refused the task, demonstrating the immediate fear
[19:31] the fatwa had instilled in the Japanese literary community.
[19:36] Igarashi, however, stepped forward, transforming the purely
[19:40] academic act of translation into an explicit defense of freedom
[19:44] of thought. He understood the potential
[19:47] danger, acknowledging that he was indeed one of the targets
[19:51] identified by the fatwa's chilling logic.
[19:55] Despite this awareness, he declined the offer of security
[19:59] protection extended by the police, adhering to an almost
[20:02] stoic conviction. He even publicly remarked that
[20:06] scholars shouldn't be preoccupied with the potential
[20:09] negative outcomes of their work. The origins of the violence lay
[20:15] in the February 14th, 1989 decree issued by Iran's then
[20:19] Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
[20:23] This legal order condemned Salman Rushdie and anyone
[20:27] responsible for the publication or distribution of his book.
[20:32] Crucially, the threat evolved from a general indictment into a
[20:35] monetized, systematic campaign of violence.
[20:39] While the original fatwa didn't explicitly name translators, a
[20:43] state sponsored Iranian foundation promised financial
[20:47] support for anyone who acted on it.
[20:50] Igarashi's slaying on July 11th, 1991 occurred just eight days
[20:55] after a separate attack across the world.
[20:58] Ettore Capriolo, the novel's Italian translator, had been
[21:03] stabbed and seriously wounded in his apartment in Milan on July
[21:07] 3rd, 1991. These sequential near
[21:12] simultaneous attacks on 2 academic targets on separate
[21:15] continents confirmed that the Iranian decree had dramatically
[21:19] expanded its operational scope. It had moved beyond the high
[21:23] profile author into the logistical chain of publishing
[21:27] and translation. Professor Igarashi's body was
[21:31] discovered on the morning of July 12th, 1991, in a building
[21:36] on the University of Tsukuba's campus, lying near the staircase
[21:40] in the hallway outside his office.
[21:43] The autopsy determined that the fatal attack had occurred late
[21:46] the previous night, sometime after 10 on July 11th.
[21:51] The nature of the assault was particularly brutal.
[21:54] The professor had been stabbed repeatedly in the face and arms
[21:58] by an unknown assailant. These defensive wounds and the
[22:01] targeting of the face suggest an attack intended not just to
[22:05] kill, but to viciously silence and perhaps even disfigure the
[22:09] victim. The immediate investigation by
[22:13] Japanese authorities found no clear clues and failed to
[22:16] apprehend the perpetrator. However, a remarkable piece of
[22:20] evidence was found on Igarashi's office desk.
[22:24] It was a quick poem that disturbingly said that he would
[22:27] be assassinated and that his body would be found near the
[22:30] staircase. Despite the immediate worldwide
[22:35] notoriety of the case and the clear link to the geopolitical
[22:38] controversy, Igarashi's slaying remains officially unsolved.
[22:43] The Japanese police were unable to identify, charge or convict
[22:48] the individual responsible for the fatal stabbing, allowing the
[22:52] perpetrator to remain at large for years.
[22:55] The failure of the domestic legal process was sealed in 2006
[23:00] when, 15 years after the crime, the statute of limitations for
[23:05] the stabbing expired. Under Japanese law, this
[23:10] formally terminated the possibility of domestic
[23:12] prosecution for the attack. Some have speculated that Iran's
[23:18] Revolutionary Guard may have targeted Igarashi directly,
[23:21] though there's no direct evidence that this is the case.
[23:24] Others have speculated that it was someone either motivated by
[23:28] fanaticism or perhaps by Iran's promise to provide payment and
[23:32] support for anyone who committed such an attack.
[23:36] Still others have speculated that the translation may not
[23:39] have been the cause of the attack at all, but rather a
[23:42] smokescreen used by someone with a personal grudge against him.
[23:47] Igarashi had been publicly attacked previously over the
[23:50] translation, and it does remain a possibility that someone with
[23:54] an axe to grind saw this as the ideal opportunity to make a
[23:58] move. If this was the case, it worked,
[24:03] since the Japanese police dedicated all their resources
[24:06] into the theory that this was the result of the fatwa.
[24:09] At any rate, if the person responsible wants to come forth
[24:13] and admit to the crime now, they're free to do so with no
[24:17] criminal repercussions due to Japan's statute of limitation
[24:21] laws. It was an ordinary day in May
[24:27] 1989 when construction workers in Bullhead City, AZ, made a
[24:32] chilling discovery. As they dug A trench for utility
[24:36] lines on a vacant lot, their backhoe struck something
[24:39] unexpected, A shallow grave containing human skeletal
[24:44] remains. They had unknowingly stumbled
[24:47] upon a decades old mystery that still haunts the community, the
[24:51] unsolved slaying of a young woman dubbed Castleberry Cate by
[24:55] investigators. Investigators soon determined
[25:00] the skeletal remains belong to a female around 17 to 19 years
[25:04] old. The body had been concealed on
[25:07] an undeveloped stretch of Castleberry Lane, near the
[25:10] intersection with Riverside Drive, in a then remote part of
[25:14] the city. Based on the condition of the
[25:17] bones, forensic experts estimated she had been killed
[25:21] sometime between 1979 and 1987. The cause of death was
[25:27] officially ruled A homicide, though the details of why
[25:30] investigators came to this conclusion aren't publicly
[25:34] available. At that time, Bullhead City was
[25:38] expanding rapidly, but the Castleberry Lane lot was still
[25:42] empty desert on the outskirts of town.
[25:45] This isolation meant that whoever buried the victim likely
[25:48] did so without any neighbors around to notice.
[25:52] After years exposed to the elements.
[25:54] Any other evidence, such as footprints or tire tracks, had
[25:58] long since been erased. With no identification on the
[26:02] remains and no immediate clues at the scene, the mystery of who
[26:07] this young woman was and who cut her life short was just
[26:11] beginning. Authorities determined the
[26:15] victim was likely a white female between 17 and 19 years old,
[26:20] standing about 5 feet 7 inches tall.
[26:23] Her hair was dark to medium brown and approximately 12
[26:27] inches long, with evidence that she had bleached it at some
[26:30] point. Due to the remains being
[26:33] skeletal, eye color and weight could not be determined, though
[26:37] from the skeleton it was clear that she was never severely
[26:40] overweight nor severely underweight.
[26:43] Forensic artists even created a facial reconstruction to
[26:47] illustrate how Castleberry Kate might have looked in life.
[26:51] The hope was that someone would recognize her face and come
[26:56] forward with a name or a clue. The nickname itself was inspired
[27:01] by the street name of the discovery site, and it quickly
[27:04] became how investigators and locals referred to this unknown
[27:08] girl. Personally, I think these sort
[27:11] of nicknames do a lot to humanize a Jane or John Doe
[27:13] case, and I think this is a practice that should be adopted
[27:17] more widely. One striking detail was the
[27:21] extensive dental work she had undergone.
[27:24] Two of the young woman's upper teeth were missing prior to her
[27:27] death, replaced by a partial denture plate.
[27:31] This is an unusual feature for a teenager that might be a key to
[27:34] identifying her. This suggests she had access to
[27:38] good dental care in life, and indeed her dental records were
[27:42] catalogued so authorities could compare them against those of
[27:45] missing persons. But back to that first point, it
[27:50] also seemingly paradoxically suggests that at some point in
[27:54] her life, she may have had very poor dental care.
[27:58] While I haven't seen anything to confirm this, perhaps she
[28:01] suffered neglect at the hands of her biological parents and then
[28:05] others stepped in. Investigators also noted the
[28:10] personal items found with the remains, though most of these
[28:13] haven't been disclosed. That said, it's recorded that
[28:17] there were women's clothing and very importantly a purse, though
[28:21] the contents again haven't been revealed.
[28:24] Notably, one thing which was revealed is that she wore a
[28:29] distinctive owl shaped earring. Unfortunately, I can't show you
[28:34] this since there's no image of it in the databases.
[28:40] From the start, local authorities gave this case
[28:42] significant attention, but progress was painfully slow.
[28:47] No witnesses came forward, which isn't surprising given that the
[28:51] lot was isolated desert scrubland back then.
[28:54] And given the passage of time, detectives checked missing
[28:58] persons reports in Arizona and across the country, looking for
[29:02] anyone who matched Casselberry Kate's description and
[29:05] distinctive dental profile. Over the years, at least 20
[29:09] potential matches were compared and ruled out, including several
[29:13] teenagers who vanished in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
[29:19] For example, Tara Calico from New Mexico was considered a
[29:22] possible match, but investigators concluded she
[29:25] wasn't Castleberry, Kate. In the decade since the
[29:30] discovery, forensic technology has advanced dramatically.
[29:34] Early DNA testing on the skeletal remains was attempted,
[29:38] but the degraded samples did not initially yield a usable
[29:41] profile. For years, investigators had
[29:44] only dental records and physical clues to work with.
[29:48] Recently, however, there was a breakthrough.
[29:52] ADNA profile was finally generated from the remains,
[29:55] offering a new Ave. to pursue by 2025.
[30:00] The case was taken on by a nonprofit organization that uses
[30:05] genetic genealogy to identify unknown victims.
[30:09] Experts are now analyzing Castleberry Cates DNA, comparing
[30:14] it against genealogy databases to trace her family lineage in
[30:18] hopes of uncovering her real name.
[30:21] This cutting edge effort has given investigators renewed hope
[30:25] that after nearly 36 years, they might soon learn who Casselberry
[30:29] Kate truly was. What strikes me most about the
[30:34] case of Casselberry Kate isn't just the isolation of the grave,
[30:38] but the poignant contradictions in the evidence left behind.
[30:42] As I noted earlier, the moniker itself does heavy lifting here.
[30:47] Giving her a name, even a temporary one derived from a
[30:51] street sign, forces us to see the teenager, not just the case
[30:56] number. She was found in Mojave County,
[30:59] and there's an alternative reality out there where she's
[31:03] simply catalogued as Mojave Jane Doe.
[31:06] In an era where these victims rely on a compelling story to
[31:09] generate interest, so a nonprofit will jump in and
[31:13] identify the person, the Castleberry Kate name is huge.
[31:18] Anyway, I'm rambling a bit there, but I think it needs to
[31:20] be said. The dental evidence also
[31:24] presents a heartbreaking paradox that I can't shake.
[31:27] To have multiple upper teeth missing by age 19 suggests a
[31:31] history of trauma, malnutrition, or severe neglect.
[31:37] Yet the existence of a partial denture proves that at some
[31:41] later point, someone cared enough and had the funds to fix
[31:46] it. It paints a picture of a life
[31:49] that was perhaps turning a corner, possibly thanks to the
[31:52] intervention of guardians or grandparents, before it was
[31:56] cruelly interrupted. Then there's the owl earring.
[32:00] It's deeply frustrating that we can't see the design, as that
[32:04] specific piece of jewelry could have triggered a memory.
[32:08] For instance, maybe a jeweler would have recognized it, or
[32:11] maybe someone would have said, oh hey, that's my friend's owl
[32:14] earring. Haven't heard from her in a
[32:16] number of years. There's also a clear potential
[32:19] pitfall here in relation to genetic genealogy.
[32:23] And yeah, I'm fully aware many of you like to joke that I think
[32:26] that this is a magical technique, but there are
[32:29] limitations. If she was adopted, this would
[32:33] create a significant extra hurdle since her genetic
[32:36] relatives would likely have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
[32:40] It's also possible she could have been a traveller from
[32:42] Europe where they have different privacy laws concerning this
[32:46] sort of thing. Anyway, hopefully science can
[32:50] finally give her name back and finish the story that this cruel
[32:53] perpetrator tried to use the desert to erase.
[32:57] Hey friends, it's Jimmy here with a reminder to hit the like
[33:00] and subscribe buttons and drop a quick comment before we get
[33:03] started. Also, don't forget to tap that
[33:06] notification bell and turn on all notifications, since this is
[33:10] the only way to ensure you'll find out about my new content.
[33:16] The greatest mystery in modern British history doesn't involve
[33:19] complex espionage or an elaborate heist.
[33:22] Instead, it began with a British Lord, a heavy lead pipe, and
[33:26] Sandra Rivet, an unfortunate nanny caught up in a dispute
[33:30] which she had no part in. Imagine the scene, a man who was
[33:36] a peer of the realm vanishing overnight from the heart of
[33:39] London, leaving behind an act of horrifying evil.
[33:44] This was the fate of Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of
[33:48] Lucan, better known to the world and to history as Lord Lucan.
[33:55] He was a dashing, charismatic aristocrat, a fixture of high
[33:59] society, so effortlessly suave he was reportedly considered for
[34:04] the role of James Bond. Yet on the night of November
[34:09] 7th, 1974, that gilded image dissolved into a terrifying
[34:14] reality. Lukens high social standing and
[34:18] the brutality of the crime instantly guaranteed the
[34:21] scandal's status as a global phenomenon.
[34:24] What followed was an intense and unsuccessful manhunt, followed
[34:29] by decades of rampant speculation.
[34:33] The mystery of Lord Lukan endures.
[34:34] Not because the facts are scarce, but because the truth
[34:38] remains trapped between the evidence and the tantalizing
[34:41] possibility of a high society conspiracy.
[34:46] To understand the disappearance, we must first look at the man
[34:50] behind it all. Richard John Bingham, who held
[34:53] the title of Lord Lucan, had a typical aristocratic upbringing,
[34:58] attending Eton College and serving briefly with the
[35:01] legendary Coldstream Guards. Following his military service,
[35:06] he became a banker in London. However, he quickly gave up this
[35:11] career to dedicate himself fully to high stakes gambling.
[35:16] He became an early and persistent member of the
[35:18] exclusive group of wealthy gamblers at the Claremont Club,
[35:22] where his expensive tastes were well known.
[35:25] Despite adopting the nickname Lucky Lucan, his luck was
[35:29] decidedly finite and the name became ironic.
[35:33] His losses were crushing and he ran up immense gambling debts,
[35:38] sometimes losing amounts as high as £10,000, forcing his uncle to
[35:43] intervene to cover his creditors.
[35:46] While he continued to live the high life in both Britain and
[35:49] the United States for a few years, the reality of his
[35:52] financial insolvency eventually caught up with him.
[35:58] His personal life was similarly troubled.
[36:01] Lukens marriage to Veronica Duncan, which began in 1963,
[36:06] soon became characterized as grimly unhappy.
[36:10] Veronica struggled with mental health issues including anxiety
[36:14] and post Natal depression following the births of their
[36:17] three children. By late 1972, the relationship
[36:22] had collapsed and Lukan moved out of the family home at 46
[36:27] Lower Belgrave St. Keep that address in mind
[36:31] because it's going to come up again.
[36:34] This separation sparked an intensely bitter and public
[36:37] custody battle over their children.
[36:41] The subsequent court ruling in 1974 proved devastating to the
[36:45] Earl. Despite doctors testifying that
[36:49] Lady Lucan was suffering from depression, the judge ultimately
[36:52] granted her full custody, restricting Lucan to visitation
[36:56] every other weekend. This total loss of control over
[37:00] his family, coupled with immense financial strain from his debts
[37:04] and the legal obligation to support his estranged family,
[37:08] sent him spiraling. He entered into a state of
[37:11] furious obsession, and slowly but surely, he became a
[37:15] dangerous stalker. He began to spy on his wife and
[37:19] record their telephone conversations, fixated solely on
[37:22] regaining custody. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this
[37:27] disturbingly obsessive behavior manifested itself into a very
[37:31] dark plot. Lucan had convinced himself that
[37:35] his wife was the primary source of all his troubles.
[37:39] Friends admitted they had conversations with Lucan in
[37:41] which he explicitly expressed a desire to eliminate her.
[37:45] For him, removing Veronica from the chess board was a horrific
[37:50] solution that he believed would allow him to get his children
[37:54] back and regain control of his house and finances.
[37:58] So he started planning. But like many plans, this one
[38:02] wouldn't work out quite how he imagined it.
[38:07] The carefully premeditated plan unravelled almost the moment it
[38:10] began, derailed by a routine of aristocratic household
[38:14] management. Lucan was waiting in the
[38:17] basement kitchen of 46 Lower Belgrave St. expecting to find
[38:21] his wife alone as he understood the family nanny, Sandra Rivet,
[38:27] had her usual night off. However, Rivet was unexpectedly
[38:32] covering for another employee in the household that evening and
[38:36] was somewhere that other employee wouldn't have been.
[38:40] When Sandra went downstairs to the kitchen around 9:00 PM, she
[38:44] encountered the Earl in the darkness, which totally made him
[38:48] change his course. Rivet was bludgeoned to death
[38:51] with a piece of lead piping wrapped in surgical tape.
[38:55] Sandra Rivet, a mother herself, was only 30 years old.
[39:00] When Lady Lucan went downstairs to investigate why the nanny
[39:04] hadn't brought up tea, she was ambushed at the top of the
[39:07] basement stairs. She was viciously attacked, but
[39:12] she managed to struggle free, possibly by pretending that she
[39:16] would turn over everything to him.
[39:20] Wounded and covered in blood, Lady Lucan fled frantically from
[39:24] the house and burst into the nearby Plumber's Arms Pub Around
[39:27] 10 that night. She was screaming for help,
[39:31] identifying her own husband as the assailant and declaring that
[39:35] he had slain Sandra. The alarm was raised
[39:38] immediately. Lucan, recognizing that his
[39:42] catastrophic failure meant imminent exposure and arrest,
[39:46] began his brief flight. He first telephoned his mother,
[39:50] requesting that she collect the children from the house.
[39:54] He then drove a borrowed Ford Corsair to the home of his
[39:57] friends Susan and Ian Maxwell Scott in Uckfield, East Sussex,
[40:03] arriving around 1:15 that morning.
[40:07] During his time at the house, he composed several notes which
[40:11] revealed his conflicted state of mind.
[40:14] He wrote 2 letters to his brother-in-law, William Shand,
[40:19] attempting to set up a flimsy cover story that he had
[40:22] surprised an intruder attacking his wife and fled in panic.
[40:27] Crucially, he wrote a separate note to his friend Michael Stoop
[40:32] alluding to a quote traumatic night of unbelievable
[40:35] circumstances. He asked Stoop to tell his
[40:39] children that Lucan had known him and cared only for them.
[40:43] The despairing finality of this letter suggested a man accepting
[40:46] his fate, overriding the attempt at a formal cover up contained
[40:51] in the other letters. Unusually, the Scots waited a
[40:55] highly suspicious 2 days before they contacted the authorities.
[41:01] Lukens car was discovered abandoned in New Haven, 16 miles
[41:05] from Uckfield, two days after the attack.
[41:08] Witnesses stated the car had been parked there sometime
[41:11] between 4:00 and 8:00 on the morning after the time gap
[41:15] between his 1:15 AM departure from Uckfield, and the car's
[41:19] placement has been subject to intensive speculation.
[41:23] The interior of the car was found stained with Type AB
[41:26] blood, potentially consistent with a mixture of blood from
[41:30] both Lady Lucan and Sandra Rivett.
[41:33] Most damningly, investigators found the final incontrovertible
[41:37] piece of evidence in the trunk. There was a piece of lead piping
[41:42] identical to the weapon used in the attack, alongside a full
[41:46] bottle of vodka. The overwhelming forensic and
[41:50] testimonial evidence led to an immediate warrant for the arrest
[41:54] of this now disgraced member of the House of Lords.
[41:59] Unusually, the chief detective on the case immediately publicly
[42:03] expressed doubt that Lord Lucan drove the vehicle to New Haven.
[42:08] Instead, he suggested that an accomplice may have placed the
[42:11] vehicle there, for reasons which I'll get to in a moment.
[42:17] Despite the vanishing, legal proceedings continued.
[42:21] In 1975, the inquest jury convening in Lucan's absence
[42:26] formerly found him guilty for his killing of Sandra.
[42:30] This was an event of profound gravity, marking the first time
[42:34] a member of the House of Lords had been convicted of such a
[42:37] severe crime since 1760. And as a quick aside since I
[42:42] can't help myself, in that case a member of the House of Lords
[42:46] killed his Butler in cold blood. His peers in the House of Lords
[42:50] who worked with him and knew him and his family sentenced him to
[42:54] death in an effort to quell the uproar and preserve aristocratic
[42:58] power. Lukens disappearance immediately
[43:02] splintered into two dominant opposing theories.
[43:06] He ended himself or there was a high society escape.
[43:10] Notably, there's also a bizarre fringe theory involving A
[43:14] framing adding further complexity, which I'll discuss
[43:18] briefly as well. Just for completeness sake.
[43:21] The strongest evidence that he voluntarily ended his own life
[43:25] rests on the logic of the situation and the physical
[43:28] trail. Lukan was exposed, financially
[43:32] destroyed and facing public condemnation.
[43:36] Self destruction offered a definitive escape from justice.
[43:40] Further, Lukan must have been aware that any trial would
[43:43] threaten the ongoing privilege of the ancient aristocracy.
[43:47] After all, this was a clear case of a powerful and influential
[43:51] Lord who slew an innocent common woman in cold blood.
[43:56] The car was abandoned in New Haven, a port town, and the
[44:00] final letter to Stoop possessed the unmistakable tone of a
[44:04] farewell. His friends publicly went on
[44:08] record saying they believed he had taken a motorboat into the
[44:11] English Channel and smashed it up on the rocks, drowning in the
[44:15] process. Some investigators believe this
[44:18] as well, though no evidence was ever found to prove such a
[44:22] theory. There was no body, there was no
[44:26] smashed up boat, there was nothing whatsoever, only the
[44:30] vast void of the English Channel.
[44:35] The possibility of escape, however, has captivated the
[44:38] public imagination for decades, largely fueled by Lukens
[44:42] powerful circle of friends. Lucan was a privileged member of
[44:46] the Claremont Set, a group of wealthy and influential figures
[44:51] who were suspected of facilitating his flight.
[44:55] Police investigations quickly ran into a frustrating wall of
[44:58] silence, suggesting powerful figures were actively hindering
[45:02] the hunt. The Claremont Set included
[45:05] prominent figures such as casino owner John Aspinall and
[45:09] businessman Sir James Goldsmith, both of whom were strongly
[45:12] suspected of helping Lukan evade justice.
[45:17] The most interesting claim for Lukan's survival emerged years
[45:21] later, though it must be clear that this claim is an allegation
[45:24] at present. A woman who had worked for
[45:27] Aspinall claimed in 2012 that she was instructed to book
[45:31] flights for Lukan's two eldest children to Africa.
[45:36] These flights, specifically to Kenya and Gabon, occurred
[45:39] between 1979 and 1981. Her instructions were to
[45:45] facilitate arrangements for quote John Bingham, also known
[45:49] as Lord Lucan, to see his children.
[45:52] However, there's a weird twist here.
[45:55] These were arranged as safari trips by Aspinall as a kind
[45:59] gesture to the children of his departed friend.
[46:02] She never claimed that the children themselves had actually
[46:05] been there to see their dad, rather they were there to be
[46:08] watched. She claimed the purpose was for
[46:11] Lukan to secretly observe his children during safaris without
[46:15] their knowledge. Lord Lukan did have a history of
[46:19] stalking and making secret observations, so if this is
[46:24] true, I guess old habits die hard.
[46:28] This account, if true, suggests Aspinall and Goldsmith
[46:31] maintained prolonged regular contact with the fugitive for at
[46:35] least seven years after the attack.
[46:38] But as you may have noticed, I've been saying if this is true
[46:42] a lot, and the fact is that there's been absolutely no
[46:45] evidence produced to support these allegations.
[46:51] This belief in Lucan's exile has fueled continuous international
[46:55] sightings in locations ranging from Portugal to Australia to
[46:59] various parts of Africa. In 2020, Sandra Rivet's son Neil
[47:04] Berryman championed the assertion that Lucan was living
[47:08] as an elderly Buddhist monk in a commune near Brisbane,
[47:11] Australia. This monk was subject to some
[47:14] pretty intense speculation for two years, and for reasons that
[47:18] will soon become obvious, I'm not going to show his picture
[47:22] here. In 2022, the man agreed to
[47:25] cooperate with British investigators who use DNA
[47:28] testing to rule him out. A final, highly controversial
[47:33] counter narrative suggests that Lady Lucan herself was the
[47:36] killer and framed her husband. Proponents of this theory point
[47:40] to the fact that a small amount of Lady Lucan's blood, as well
[47:44] as rivets, was present at the scene.
[47:48] Lady Lucan claimed that this was because her psychotic husband,
[47:51] who was lurking in the basement, tried to bludgeon her as well, a
[47:55] narrative that most people accept as valid.
[47:59] Furthermore, a medical doctor testifying at the inquest
[48:04] conceded that while highly unlikely, it was possible that
[48:08] Lady Lucan's head injuries could have been self-inflicted.
[48:12] This theory holds that Lord Lucan, the guy who was stalking
[48:16] and harassing his wife and family, took the fall for a
[48:19] crime committed by Lady Lucan. Personally, I don't think this
[48:24] theory has the air of reality at all, and I suspect it was just
[48:29] whipped up to sell a book or move tabloids from news stands.
[48:35] As time has gone on, I think it's clear that it's more and
[48:39] more likely that Lord Lucan died on November 8th, 1974.
[48:44] The British courts eventually acknowledged this as a reality,
[48:48] granting the family probate over his estate in 1999.
[48:53] He was declared officially dead in 2016, clearing the way for
[48:57] his son to become the 8th Earl of Lucan.
[49:03] It's the deepest, darkest hour of a Minnesota spring night.
[49:08] You're on the phone with your teenage son, whose car got stuck
[49:11] in a ditch, guiding him to safety, convinced he's just
[49:15] minutes away. 47 minutes into that anxious conversation, mid
[49:21] sentence, your son suddenly screams out an expletive.
[49:25] The line goes dead and the silence that follows is so
[49:28] absolute it eclipses all the noise and distress that came
[49:31] before it. This is the chilling climax of a
[49:35] real life disappearance that has baffled investigators for over a
[49:38] decade and a half. It's the case of the mysterious
[49:42] disappearance of Brandon Swanson.
[49:46] Brandon Swanson was by all measures, an intelligent,
[49:50] dependable and much loved young man.
[49:54] Born in Marshall, MN in 1989, he grew up in a close knit family
[49:59] environment in an area known for its tranquil agricultural
[50:04] setting. The night of May 13th, 2008 was
[50:08] supposed to be a triumph. He just completed his
[50:12] certificate in Renewable Energy and Wind Turbines at a local
[50:16] junior college. He was excitedly looking forward
[50:20] to moving over 250 miles away to attend Iowa Western College,
[50:25] embarking on the next step in his education.
[50:29] That night, Brandon had stayed in Canby, where his college
[50:33] campus was located, to celebrate the end of the academic year
[50:37] with friends. He attended a few small
[50:40] gatherings and was seen consuming alcohol, but friends
[50:44] indicated that he didn't appear visibly intoxicated.
[50:48] He departed for the 30 mile drive home to Marshall sometime
[50:51] between 12:00 and 12:30 AM. His parents have since confirmed
[50:56] that when he called them later, his speech was coherent and not
[51:00] slurred at all. The drive home was along a
[51:03] familiar route, Hwy. 68, which he took daily shortly after
[51:09] midnight. Sometime before 2:00 AM,
[51:12] Brandon's journey ended prematurely.
[51:15] His green Chevy Lumina slid off a gravel road and got stuck in
[51:19] the approach to a farmer's field.
[51:22] The car wasn't wrecked, but at that moment, it made little
[51:25] difference. Brandon, uninjured, called his
[51:29] parents, Annette and Brian, for help.
[51:33] The initial interaction was centered on a massive
[51:36] geographical error. Brandon was convinced he was
[51:39] just 10 minutes away from their home near the small town of
[51:43] Linde, which lies about 7 miles southwest of his home in
[51:47] Marshall. Annette and Brian immediately
[51:50] drove their pickup truck toward Linde.
[51:52] They attempted to use their headlights to signal Brandon,
[51:56] and they could hear Brandon flashing his own lights on the
[51:58] other end of the line, but the impenetrable rural darkness
[52:02] swallowed their efforts. It wasn't until police analyzed
[52:06] cell tower data much later that same day that the catastrophic
[52:10] truth emerged. Brandon hadn't been anywhere
[52:13] near Lind. His phone calls had pinged off a
[52:17] tower near Taunton and Porter, a desolate agricultural area
[52:21] roughly 25 miles northwest of where he thought he was.
[52:25] This was in fact, in the opposite direction from Marshall
[52:28] completely. This navigational failure is
[52:33] central to the entire case. Brandon, throughout the 47
[52:37] minute conversation, continued to believe he was close to Lind.
[52:42] Eventually, driven by frustration, Brandon told his
[52:45] father that he was abandoning the car and would walk toward
[52:49] lights he could see in the distance.
[52:51] Believing them to be Lind, he instructed his father to drive
[52:56] his mom home and then meet him at a local landmark near Lind.
[53:02] The subsequent 47 minutes saw Brandon walking while
[53:05] maintaining phone contact with his father, Brian.
[53:09] Brandon left the road, taking shortcuts across open fields,
[53:14] trying to save time by traversing fences and moving
[53:17] toward the distant lights. It was during this time that he
[53:22] mentioned the surrounding environment to his father,
[53:25] saying that he was hearing the distinct sound of running water.
[53:30] This sound likely marked his proximity to the Yellow Medicine
[53:33] River, which snakes through the farmland where his car was
[53:36] actually found. As Brandon walked, the situation
[53:40] grew more precarious due to both environmental factors and a
[53:45] specific personal vulnerability. The temperature in the early
[53:50] morning hours of May 14th was dropping quickly, falling to a
[53:54] frigid 39°. Exposure was becoming a
[53:58] significant threat. Compounding this, Brandon had
[54:02] extremely poor eyesight and always wore glasses, which he
[54:06] tragically left behind in the car.
[54:09] His eyesight was so bad in his left eye that it affected his
[54:13] depth perception when not wearing glasses.
[54:17] Walking across unlit, uneven, and unfamiliar rural terrain
[54:23] with compromise depth perception dramatically increased his risk
[54:27] of tripping or misjudging a steep drop off.
[54:32] The continuous communication with his father was abruptly and
[54:36] terrifyingly severed at approximately 2:30 AM, 47
[54:41] minutes into the call. Brian was listening as Brandon
[54:45] suddenly shouted an expletive. And then nothing.
[54:50] The connection didn't immediately drop.
[54:53] Instead, there was an immediate, unnatural silence.
[54:58] It was a truly deafening silence.
[55:01] Brandon's mother, Annette, later recounted that they didn't
[55:05] instantly hang up, but called out his name several times,
[55:09] hoping he could still hear them or retrieve the phone if it was
[55:13] nearby. The frantic parents continued
[55:16] their search but, unable to find him, notified the police around
[55:20] six that morning. Here, the case encountered its
[55:24] first systemic failure. The local authorities initially
[55:28] advised the Swansons to wait, explaining that missing adults
[55:32] often return on their own. Given the circumstances, this
[55:36] seems to be a wildly inappropriate response.
[55:40] Worse yet, it wasn't until the cops actually got involved that
[55:44] Brandon's true location was noted.
[55:49] The discovery of Brandon's Chevy Lumina finally established the
[55:52] correct search area. This vast, flat agricultural
[55:56] landscape quickly became the focus of intense efforts.
[56:00] Utilizing helicopters, ground crews, and canine units, the
[56:05] dogs provided the most compelling trajectory of
[56:08] Brandon's final known movements. The search dog successfully
[56:12] tracked his scent for several miles, following field roads and
[56:16] ultimately paralleling the winding course of the Yellow
[56:19] Medicine River. This corroborates Brandon's own
[56:23] account to his father that he was walking through fields and
[56:26] hearing flowing water. The scent trail eventually went
[56:30] cold, precisely at the riverbank, and the dogs were
[56:33] unable to pick up the trail on the far side.
[56:37] The Yellow Medicine River, though generally not considered
[56:40] lethal, was swollen and deep in some sections in mid-May 2008,
[56:45] reaching depths up to 10 feet. The most compelling argument,
[56:51] according to investigators, is that Brandon died from
[56:54] accidental drowning or exposure following an accidental fall
[56:58] into the Yellow Medicine River. The key supporting facts are the
[57:03] canine trail ending at the water and Brandon's comment about
[57:06] hearing running water. His compromised vision in the
[57:10] dark, treacherous terrain made falling into a steep, slick
[57:13] riverbank or a deep drainage ditch quite likely.
[57:18] If the fall was quick, the subsequent silence might be
[57:21] explained by the phone being lost or damaged in mud or
[57:24] Stillwater, or simply muffling the sounds of submersion.
[57:28] Furthermore, if he exited the water, the subsequent rapid
[57:33] onset of hypothermia in the 39° weather would explain his
[57:38] failure to be found in subsequent organized searches.
[57:41] That said, it appears unlikely that he got out, since the flat
[57:46] terrain would have made it hard to conceal his body.
[57:50] While this is the theory that investigators prefer, personally
[57:54] I think the next theory is more likely, and I'll explain why.
[58:00] The secondary accidental theory centers on an unseen vertical
[58:04] hazard. Brandon was crossing old,
[58:07] established farmland, which sometimes features unmarked
[58:11] narrow, deep wells. His exclamation could be
[58:15] interpreted as a sudden recognition of an unavoidable
[58:18] immediate drop. In my view, this scenario best
[58:23] explains the instantaneous disappearance and the permanent
[58:26] removal of Brandon from the landscape, as these hazards can
[58:30] be deep and completely cover a body.
[58:33] But of course, with this scenario, I have to contend with
[58:36] the fact that it doesn't really line up neatly with the sniffer
[58:39] dog evidence. Notably, there is a theory of
[58:43] foul play as well, and investigators haven't fully
[58:47] ruled it out. Under this theory, someone
[58:50] assaulted him from the shadows for some unknown purpose.
[58:54] For what it's worth, the authorities have also come out
[58:57] and said that it's a low crime area where nothing criminal ever
[59:01] happens. In the end, Brandon Swanson's
[59:06] case remains a truly chilling unsolved mystery, and all I can
[59:10] say for certain is that I don't believe he met with foul play.

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