# 3 True Crime Mysteries You Need To Know

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 18 Sep 2025, 25 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO6909942190.mp3

Join me as we discuss 3 true crime cases you need to know. 👇 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 👇 Support My Work: 🛍️ Merch: https://lazy-chill-zone-shop.fourthwall.com ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ 👇 Podcast links: ⚡History Video Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/7km5pLWpYWEj1mrPpEfRUr?si=0FHYnZf-Qs2FY1GyLevfig ⚡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 forensic science cold cases, doe case identification, unidentified remains solved, genetic genealogy cold cases, forensic breakthroughs in mysteries, solving john doe cases, jane doe forensic science, unidentified bodies identified, cold cases solved 2025, forensic genealogy success stories, missing persons solved by DNA, cold case identifications, forensic anthropology cold cases, doe cases forensic breakthroughs, unidentified remains solved by DNA, cold cases closed with forensics, forensic genealogy cold case files, mysteries solved with DNA, unidentified victims identified, forensic technology cold cases, john doe identified by DNA, jane doe identification 2025, solved unidentified persons, forensic DNA cold case investigations, unidentified cold cases solved, genetic genealogy identifications, forensic science mystery solutions, solving missing persons with DNA, forensic case breakthroughs, unidentified victims solved with science

## Transcript

[0:00] On a warm June day in 1976, a trio of fishermen on the Oswego
[0:04] River made a grisly catch. Instead of fish, they found a
[0:09] human body drifting toward the surface, bound to heavy cinder
[0:13] blocks beneath the murky water. It was a chilling scene, a young
[0:18] man, clearly the victim of foul play, deliberately weighted down
[0:23] as if someone intended for him never to be discovered.
[0:27] The clues that would be discovered would hint that this
[0:29] John Doe may have been mixed up in the chilling world of
[0:32] organized crime. The body was discovered in mid
[0:37] June 1976 in the town of Lysander, New York, just north
[0:42] of an area called Three Rivers. Local authorities determined the
[0:46] remains were a white male, approximately 25 to 35 years
[0:51] old, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 130 lbs.
[0:56] He had been in the water for an estimated 2 weeks, enough time
[1:00] that decomposition had set in and made immediate
[1:03] identification impossible. A length of rope was used to tie
[1:07] the body to two cinder blocks, anchoring it to the riverbed.
[1:13] Those blocks were traced to a nearby company, suggesting the
[1:16] perpetrator source them locally. The victim's head was wrapped in
[1:21] part of a light colored shirt, a grim sign of what likely befell
[1:24] him in his last moments. In other words, someone had
[1:28] suffocated him, likely using that very cloth, then tried to
[1:33] hide the crime by sinking his body in the river.
[1:37] Once the body was recovered, investigators noted distinctive
[1:41] physical features of the victim. He was a slender man with medium
[1:45] length brown hair and a prominent angular nose.
[1:49] He had a thin mustache or stubble of dark brown facial
[1:52] hair, as if he hadn't shaved for a few days.
[1:56] There were no tattoos, scars, or obvious identifying marks on the
[2:00] body. Despite the lack of
[2:05] identification, the victim's clothing and personal items
[2:08] provided intriguing clues. He was dressed in layered
[2:12] clothes, a beige cashmere V-neck sweater over a dark blue ribbed
[2:16] turtleneck. He wore blue jeans with a wide
[2:19] brown belt and brown leather designer boots.
[2:22] He also wore a particularly fine pair of underwear which was only
[2:26] available in a few department stores in New York State.
[2:31] Other personal effects compounded the mystery.
[2:35] He wore a gold neck chain with two interesting charms. 1 was an
[2:39] Italian mono cornuto, A horned hand symbol designed to ward off
[2:43] the evil eye, and the other was a tiny horn shaped cornicello,
[2:48] again worn for luck. The Italian charms hinted that
[2:52] the victim had a familial connection to Italy.
[2:57] In an effort to identify the victim, investigators collected
[3:01] as much forensic information as possible.
[3:04] Fingerprints were unfortunately not available due to the
[3:07] condition of the remains, but dental records were obtained.
[3:11] They showed the man had extensive dental work, including
[3:15] many fillings and crowns, indicating he had seen a dentist
[3:19] regularly in his life. At a much later date, his DNA
[3:23] profile was also secured and entered into databases, though
[3:27] no match has ever been found to a missing person or family
[3:30] member as of yet. With the trail turning cold, law
[3:36] enforcement sought the public's help.
[3:38] A disturbing forensic facial reconstruction was commissioned
[3:42] to put a face to the victim's remains, using the skull to
[3:45] approximate his features. The clay reconstruction depicted
[3:49] a Caucasian male with a long, thin nose and medium length
[3:53] brown hair, consistent with the medical examiner's findings.
[3:58] Hoping someone might recognize this face, investigators
[4:01] circulated images of the reconstruction in newspapers and
[4:05] law enforcement bulletins. Unsurprisingly, this depiction,
[4:10] which bears more in common with one of those disturbing Austrian
[4:13] or Bavarian Alpine demon masks, didn't solve this case.
[4:20] With this case being unsolved for half a century, despite such
[4:25] distinctive identifying features, a number of theories
[4:29] have proliferated about this case.
[4:32] One prevalent idea centers on the method of disposal.
[4:35] Tying a body to cinder blocks and dumping it in a river is a
[4:39] method reminiscent of an organized crime hit.
[4:44] And this isn't just online sleuths claiming this either,
[4:48] but rather this has been the main focus of the investigation.
[4:52] The presence of Italian good luck charms on the victim
[4:55] further fuels this line of thought.
[4:57] It's an enticing theory that paints the John Doe as possibly
[5:01] a mob associate or victim of a gang hit.
[5:04] However, no direct evidence has ever emerged linking him to
[5:08] known organized crime, and law enforcement has not confirmed
[5:12] any Mafia connection. The Mafia theory remains
[5:16] speculative, born from the circumstances more than from
[5:19] concrete proof. Another theory suggests that
[5:24] this man was involved in the Mafia in perhaps a much less
[5:28] direct way. Under this theory, he may have
[5:31] invited the vampire into his home, so to speak, by taking out
[5:34] a loan from someone associated with a criminal organization.
[5:38] He may have been unable to pay the exorbitant interest rate, or
[5:42] he may have simply refused to pay directly, leading to him
[5:46] being found in a river. Another theory is that the John
[5:52] Doe wasn't local at all, but a traveller or transient who met a
[5:56] deadly fate far from home. Under this theory, he may have
[6:00] been an Italian tourist who had embarked on a tour across
[6:04] America. During the 1970s.
[6:07] It was common for young people to hitchhike, and in a grim
[6:11] twist, this openness led to many people being targeted by serial
[6:15] predators. However, the authorities appear
[6:19] to consider this to be a much less likely scenario.
[6:23] Though this may just be based on simple statistics and
[6:26] demographics, there were way more Italian Americans and
[6:30] Italian immigrants in New York State than Italian hitch hikers
[6:33] in the 70s. Another plausible angle is that
[6:38] the Onondaga County John Doe originated in Canada in the
[6:43] 1970s Southern Ontario, especially Hamilton and the
[6:48] Montreal region across the border in Quebec had significant
[6:52] mafia activity. He could have been in America on
[6:55] a job for one of these mafia families.
[6:58] If the victim was Canadian, that could help explain why he never
[7:02] appeared in American missing persons files.
[7:07] Ultimately, the case will be cracked whenever the local cold
[7:10] case team decides to send his genetic information away for
[7:13] genealogical testing. Until that time, the Onondaga
[7:18] County John Doe will remain a complete unknown and the person
[7:22] or group who did this to him will keep getting away with it.
[7:30] Hey everyone, Jimmy here, just reminding you to hit the like
[7:34] button and the notification bell and turn on all notifications.
[7:38] Also, don't forget to hit that share button and send this video
[7:42] to two people you know. I'm constantly working on
[7:45] putting out new content, and the best way you can ensure that
[7:48] continues is by clicking that share button and helping the
[7:52] audience grow. On a cold evening in December
[7:58] 2017, a high school auditorium in Bailey, Co buzzed with
[8:03] anticipation for a concert. 17 year old Maggie Long was
[8:08] supposed to be there, helping manage the event and even
[8:11] bringing homemade cookies for the audience.
[8:14] But as the opening act began, Maggie was nowhere to be found.
[8:18] Instead, just a few miles away, firefighters were battling a
[8:23] blaze at her family's home, a fire that would reveal A
[8:27] horrific crime and leave a community in shock.
[8:32] This is the story of Maggie Long slaying an unsolved case that
[8:36] has perplexed investigators and fueled numerous theories in the
[8:40] years since That fateful night. December 1st, 2017 began like
[8:48] any other day for Maggie Long, a senior at Platte Canyon High
[8:51] School. That afternoon, she left school
[8:55] briefly to head home, intending to change clothes and pick up
[8:59] some cookies for the concert she was helping organize.
[9:01] At the school, Maggie was known as a responsible and involved
[9:06] student, so when she failed to return to the concert, those who
[9:11] knew her immediately sensed something was wrong.
[9:14] Her older sister, Connie, later said she had a gut feeling
[9:18] something was wrong since Maggie would never just skip out on an
[9:21] event she was managing. As time passed with no sign of
[9:25] Maggie, Connie tried calling her phone but got no answer.
[9:31] Growing increasingly anxious, she drove toward their family's
[9:35] rural property. When Connie arrived around 7:20
[9:38] PM, she was met with a scene of chaos.
[9:42] The long house was engulfed in flames and emergency vehicles
[9:46] swarmed the driveway. Firefighters kept the family
[9:50] back as they fought the blaze, and it wasn't until hours later
[9:54] that authorities confirmed their worst fear.
[9:59] Around 7:00 PM on December 1st, a 911 caller reported a fire and
[10:04] disturbance at the long residence outside Bailey.
[10:08] Firefighters arrived to find the house engulfed in flames.
[10:12] After the blaze was extinguished, responders
[10:15] discovered Maggie's remains in the charred house and it was
[10:19] immediately clear her death was no accident.
[10:22] Investigators determined that Maggie had been brutally
[10:25] attacked and that the fire was deliberately set to cover up the
[10:28] crime. In fact, investigators
[10:31] discovered multiple ignition points in the house, showing the
[10:35] perpetrators determination to erase evidence.
[10:38] Evidence at the scene showed she had struggled with her
[10:41] assailants before being overpowered and horrifyingly,
[10:45] she was set on fire while still alive.
[10:47] According to the coroner's findings, the perpetrators also
[10:53] stole a number of items from the home, including numerous weapons
[10:56] and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
[10:59] They also made off with a small safe that they apparently were
[11:02] unable to crack on sight. This suggested the intruders
[11:06] targeted the longhouse expecting to find valuables and weapons,
[11:10] and they were willing to use extreme violence to get away
[11:14] with their loot. Despite a multi agency task
[11:19] force, months passed with no arrests or major breakthroughs.
[11:23] Early on, authorities released composite sketches of three male
[11:28] suspects seen around the long property that day, but so far
[11:33] none have been identified. Investigators tracked down
[11:38] numerous tips and persons of interest, including some local
[11:41] individuals with troubled or violent histories, but every
[11:45] lead eventually went nowhere. Then an unexpected lead emerged
[11:50] from 700 miles away in Missouri in mid 2018.
[11:55] A similar case in Missouri, where a young woman was attacked
[11:59] and set on fire during a burglary, caught investigators
[12:03] attention as a possible connection.
[12:07] The two men arrested in Missouri were in their 20s, which led
[12:10] Colorado detectives to investigate whether they had
[12:13] ever been in Colorado around the time of Maggie's death.
[12:18] Ultimately, however, no solid link between the Missouri
[12:21] criminals and Maggie's slaying could be established.
[12:27] From the outset, investigators believed Maggie's slaying was a
[12:31] burglary gone wrong. In their estimation, this was
[12:35] essentially A botched robbery that turned deadly.
[12:38] The item stolen and the apparent focus on the family safe
[12:42] suggested the intruders specifically targeted the long
[12:45] home for its valuables. They believe that Maggie's
[12:49] unexpected arrival likely provoked the violent
[12:52] confrontation. However, in 2021, the FBI
[12:59] announced a very different possible motive.
[13:02] Maggie may have been targeted for a very different reason.
[13:06] Her case was reclassified and agents began investigating
[13:09] whether bias against Maggie's Asian American background played
[13:13] a significant role in this crime.
[13:17] This shift brought additional federal resources to the case
[13:20] and raised the question of whether the extreme cruelty of
[13:23] the attack was driven by this factor.
[13:27] Now, I can't really comment on this much further since the
[13:30] authorities haven't released any evidence whatsoever as to why
[13:33] they have come to this potential conclusion.
[13:36] However, in general, when the FBI comes out and makes a
[13:40] statement like this, they have a very strong reason to believe
[13:44] that's the case. As of now, Maggie Long slaying
[13:49] is still unsolved, standing as one of Colorado's most haunting
[13:53] cold cases. Nevertheless, neither her family
[13:57] nor law enforcement have given up.
[13:59] The reward for information leading to an arrest now stands
[14:03] at $75,000, contributed by the Long family and multiple
[14:09] agencies involved in the investigation.
[14:12] Further, given the potential motivation for this attack, the
[14:16] authorities are investigating similar crimes both in Colorado
[14:20] and across the nation. Anyway.
[14:25] Whether the motive was robbery or something much more sinister,
[14:28] this case is incredibly disturbing and the perpetrators
[14:32] need to be brought to justice as soon as possible.
[14:35] Unfortunately, Maggie's case hasn't gotten the attention it
[14:38] deserves. So if you're in a position to
[14:40] signal booster case, get out there and do it.
[14:43] With cold cases like these, the only way they seem to get solved
[14:48] is by ongoing and unrelenting attention to the case.
[14:55] On July 14th, 1882, a man named James Yost was hauling wood
[15:00] through the dry grasslands of West Turkey Creek Canyon in
[15:03] Arizona Territory when his dog started acting strangely.
[15:08] Nearing a peculiar cluster of five large oak trees that grew
[15:11] in a semicircle from a single root, Yost saw what he first
[15:15] took to be a man sleeping. But the dog's nervous snorting
[15:19] told a different story, and upon investigation, Yost found the
[15:23] lifeless body of one of the West's most notorious outlaws,
[15:27] Johnny Ringo. He was seated on a large Flat
[15:31] Rock within the embrace of the oaks, his back against a tree in
[15:35] an almost peaceful pose. But the scene was anything but
[15:39] peaceful. A single bullet had entered his
[15:42] right temple and exited the top of his head.
[15:45] His weapon was still in his hand and it looked very clear what
[15:49] happened. But as time went on, this clear
[15:52] cut scene became one of the Old West's greatest mysteries.
[15:58] Ringo was barefoot, his feet wrapped in makeshift bindings
[16:02] torn from his own undershirt. His horse, with his boots still
[16:06] tied to the saddle, wouldn't be found for another 11 days, 2
[16:10] miles away. He wore 2 cartridge belts, but
[16:14] the one for his revolver was buckled upside down, an
[16:17] inexplicable mistake for a seasoned veteran of the Old
[16:20] West. Most disturbing of all was a
[16:23] small clean cut at the base of his scalp, as if someone had
[16:27] taken a piece of his head to prove that the deed was done.
[16:33] To understand how Johnny Ringo ended up under those oaks, you
[16:37] have to understand the man. He was born in Indiana in 1850.
[16:42] His life was defined by a profound early trauma.
[16:47] At the age of 14, while his family migrated W, he witnessed
[16:52] his father accidentally take a shotgun blast directly to the
[16:55] face. The family was forced to bury
[16:58] him on a hillside along the trail and move on, with little
[17:02] time to contemplate whether this was really an accident or not.
[17:07] This gruesome event created a dark psychological echo that
[17:11] would reverberate throughout Ringo's own life.
[17:16] In the years that followed, Ringo cultivated the persona of
[17:20] a refined, educated gentleman outlaw, a man who could quote
[17:24] Shakespeare and carried a small library of classic books.
[17:28] Many who knew him described him as a reserved, college educated
[17:32] man, though the truth was more complex.
[17:36] While well read, Ringo had very little in the way of formal
[17:39] schooling. This intellectual image was a
[17:42] performance, a charming mask for a disturbed and violent man who
[17:47] wanted to be known for something other than his willingness to
[17:49] blast his Roscoe. His outlaw career began in
[17:55] earnest in Texas, where he got his start committing some cold
[17:59] blooded slayings. After the heat got too hot under
[18:02] the Texas sun, he decided it was best to move on.
[18:07] After drifting to Arizona, he fell in with the loose
[18:10] confederation of rustlers known as the Cochise County Cowboys in
[18:16] Tombstone. His reputation for a foul temper
[18:19] was cemented by incidents like shooting a man simply for
[18:22] refusing a shot of whiskey in favor of beer.
[18:28] Ringo was not present for the famous showdown at the OK
[18:31] Corral, but in its aftermath, he became a chief antagonist of the
[18:36] IRP faction. He openly challenged Wyatt Earp
[18:39] and Doc Holiday to a fight on the streets of Tombstone, a
[18:43] confrontation that was only stopped when a constable
[18:46] intervened. The Irps, in turn, suspected
[18:50] Ringo was involved in the ambush that crippled Virgil Earp and
[18:53] the slaying of Morgan Earp. When Wyatt Earp began his
[18:57] infamous vendetta ride, Ringo, despite being an absolute
[19:02] psychopath, was deputized by the Sheriff of Tombstone to hunt him
[19:06] down. Faced with the scene in Turkey
[19:11] Creek Canyon, a coroner's jury quickly reached a verdict.
[19:16] They looked at the scene and figured that this was the work
[19:18] of one man, Johnny Ringo himself.
[19:22] This ruling was supported by a considerable amount of anecdotal
[19:26] evidence. The story about the so-called
[19:29] accident his dad had during the family's westward travels was
[19:32] well known and suggested a potential family history of this
[19:36] sort of event. In the months before his death,
[19:40] Ringo was reportedly in a deep state of despair.
[19:43] The herb vendetta had decimated the ranks of his friends and
[19:46] allies. Further, he had recently visited
[19:50] his family in California and had been met with a cool reception
[19:54] and politely told he wasn't welcome to stay there, leaving
[19:59] him feeling rejected. The freewheeling, lawless world
[20:03] he knew was vanishing, and he seemed to be vanishing with it.
[20:10] His final days were spent in a prolonged drunken stupor.
[20:14] He left Tombstone after the 4th of July celebrations with
[20:18] several bottles of booze. And was last seen by a sheriff's
[20:21] deputy who noted that he was falling off his horse.
[20:25] More telling were Ringo's own premonitions.
[20:28] He had told a newspaper editor just weeks earlier that he only
[20:31] had a few weeks left at best. And he implied that this event
[20:35] could be caused by either himself or by his enemies.
[20:41] Despite the official ruling, the strange clues at the scene have
[20:44] fueled speculation of a slaying for over a century.
[20:48] Several suspects have been named, their motives rooted in
[20:52] the legendary feuds of Tombstone, AZ.
[20:57] The most famous and cinematic theory is that Wyatt Earp,
[21:01] perhaps accompanied by Doc Holiday, secretly rode back into
[21:05] Arizona to fill Ringo full of lead and complete his vendetta.
[21:10] Earp himself helped craft this narrative in his later years,
[21:14] even providing his biographer with a detailed account of a
[21:17] supposed duel. This story provides A satisfying
[21:21] dramatic conclusion to the Earp Cowboy War, pitting the two
[21:25] factions champions against each other in a final showdown.
[21:30] However, this theory completely falls apart under factual
[21:33] scrutiny since Ringo died in July 1882.
[21:37] Earp and his posse had fled Arizona as wanted men four
[21:41] months earlier in March. Doc Holiday, the other supposed
[21:45] participant, attended court in Colorado the same day as Ringo
[21:50] perished. Wyatt Earp himself was
[21:53] documented to be in Colorado as well during this period, though
[21:56] his whereabouts are less ironclad.
[21:59] Further dispelling this account is the fact that both of these
[22:03] men were wanted outlaws in Arizona at the time, with
[22:07] substantial bounties on their heads.
[22:10] The consensus from historians is now that Wyatt Earp simply
[22:14] fabricated this event while he was building his own legend in
[22:18] the early 20th century. A far more plausible suspect was
[22:24] a man Ringo considered a friend, a very bad hombre named
[22:27] Buckskin. Frank Leslie Buckskin was a
[22:30] bartender, a scout, and a known psychopath who was in essence, a
[22:36] serial predator before the terminology had been coined.
[22:39] The evidence against him is compelling.
[22:42] In November 1882, Leslie got into an argument with one of
[22:46] Ringo's good friends, a fellow outlaw named Billy Claiborne, to
[22:51] defend his honor. Buckskin promptly eliminated
[22:54] Claiborne, with some accounts having him finishing off the man
[22:57] in cold blood. Even after he posed no threat,
[23:01] Claiborne's dying words to those around him made it clear that he
[23:05] had seen Buckskin shoot Ringo. Years later, while serving a
[23:11] sentence for slaying his wife, Buckskin reportedly confessed to
[23:15] a prison guard that he had in fact eliminated Ringo.
[23:20] According to this account, Buckskin, Claiborne, and Ringo
[23:23] were in the Turkey Creek area when the men got into an
[23:26] argument. Buckskin claimed he shot in
[23:29] self-defense, but this is a guy with a lot of bodies to his
[23:33] name, including completely innocent people, so take that
[23:37] with a grain of salt. A final, often overlooked
[23:42] suspect is a gambler named Michael O'Rourke.
[23:45] In 1881, O'Rourke eliminated a man in a nearby town over a
[23:50] minor disagreement, and an angry mob formed up to hunt him down.
[23:56] Johnny Ringo was amongst the members of this mob, and Wyatt
[24:00] Earp ended up stepping in to save O'rourke's life.
[24:04] Under this theory, this gambler saved by Earp may have done a
[24:08] favor for him by taking out Johnny Ringo.
[24:12] While the motive is clear, the most persuasive evidence is what
[24:16] happened after Ringo's death. 1 of Ringo's closest friends later
[24:20] haunted down and slew Michael O'Rourke.
[24:23] According to some, this can be seen as a verdict delivered by
[24:27] way of Old W Frontier Justice. In the end, the death of Johnny
[24:34] Ringo remains an unsolvable case.
[24:36] The official verdict is supported by his psychological
[24:39] state, but contradicted by the bizarre physical evidence and
[24:42] circumstantial evidence. While the theory blaming Wyatt
[24:46] Earp directly is a fiction, the cases against Frank Leslie and
[24:50] Michael O'Rourke have significant circumstantial
[24:53] evidence in their favor. However, unless we have some
[24:56] unlikely new evidence that surfaces, such as a journal
[25:00] entry with a very direct confession that matches the
[25:03] evidence, the truth will remain an unsolved mystery.

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