The Trail Went Cold - Episode 483 - Scott Hilbert and Steven Mylan

February 26, 2010. Broome, Australia. After spending the night out drinking with friends, 21-year old Josh Warneke starts to walk home, but he is soon found dead by the side of the road with a fatal head injury. Two-and-a-half years later, a young Aboriginal man named Gene Gibson is charged with Josh’s murder after confessing that he bludgeoned him to death with a metal pole, but since his confession is thrown out before trial, Gene winds up pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and is sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. However, since the police used a number of questionable tactics, the Western Australia Court of Appeal quashes Gene’s conviction in 2017 and he is released from prison, but there are no conclusive answers about who was responsible for Josh’s death. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel down under to Australia to explore one of their most controversial cases in recent memory. Special thanks to listener Kristy Ward for narrating the opening of this episode. Additional Reading: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/man-charged-over-josh-warneke-murder-in-wa/news-story/dc8a3f18b1a52a5bee11377b7cdaad82 https://ausit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CCC-Report-on-Operation-AvieMore.pdf https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/josh-warneke-murder-charge-dropped-after-police-bungle-20140709-zt195.html https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/12/gene-gibson-indigenous-man-jailed-over-josh-warnekes-death-has-conviction-overturned https://www.perthnow.com.au/wa/josh-warneke-murder-wrong-man-claims-in-botched-broome-probe-ng-768a62bb2b7fae75f05716b616861c0f https://www.perthnow.com.au/wa/john-warneke-case-gene-gibson-awarded-15m-over-wrongful-josh-warneke-conviction-ng-b88810298z https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/review-uncovers-crucial-error-in-josh-warneke-case-20200220-p542vt.html https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-29/josh-warneke-inquest-broome-tradie-death-explainer-wrap/104374868 https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/they-never-met-but-their-lives-are-now-intertwined-aboriginal-man-cleared-of-killing/rgzxutodr https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/warneke-inquest-end-aboriginal-interpreters-want-more-engagement/104409326 https://www.9news.com.au/national/josh-warneke-inquest-hearings-begin-in-broome-almost-15-years-after-wa-tradies-death/c8aa9ee0-ea02-4827-9567-d0f94ef744b7 https://thewest.com.au/news/regional/josh-warneke-inquest-broome-ambulance-officer-says-injuries-scene-not-consistent-with-hit-and-run-c-16080660 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-19/highly-unlikely-josh-warneke-hit-by-car-coronial-inquest-told/104367098 https://www.smh.com.au/national/coroner-s-initial-findings-at-josh-warneke-inquest-20240927-p5ke5m.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEQx80Typfs “The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/. “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 4, 2019. Fairview Park, Ohio. 40-year old Carnell Sledge and his 33-year old friend, Kate Brown, agree to meet up at the Rocky River Reservation in the Cleveland Metroparks and they each drive there in their respective vehicles. Within 15 minutes of their arrival, Carnell and Kate are both fatally shot in the head near a park bench and the perpetrator manages to flee the scene without anyone seeing or hearing anything. Investigators look into the backgrounds of both victims to see if anyone had a motive to harm them, but are unable to turn up any evidence to implicate anyone and the crime remains unsolved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a baffling double homicide known as the “Park Bench Murders”. If you have information about this case, please contact Cleveland Metroparks Police Department at (440) 331-5219, the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office at (216) 622-6842, or the Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County at (216) 252-7463. Additional Reading: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Kate_Brown_and_Nell_Sledge https://unsolved.com/gallery/park-bench-murders/ https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/06/parents-of-homicide-victim-carnell-sledge-did-not-know-woman-killed-with-him.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/06/parents-of-homicide-victim-carnell-sledge-did-not-know-woman-killed-with-him.html https://www.clevescene.com/news/four-years-later-officials-report-no-progress-in-metroparks-double-homicide-cold-case-but-fresh-hope-comes-with-national-coverage-42872823/ https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/they-didnt-deserve-to-die-this-way-sister-hopes-unsolved-mysteries-episode-can-help-find-sisters-killer https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/10/03/murder-metroparks-new-dark-side-podcast-goes-inside-unsolved-fairview-park-killings/ https://www.cleveland19.com/2025/06/04/trace-dna-found-metroparks-double-murder-scene-could-lead-suspect/ https://www.cleveland19.com/2025/05/30/possible-connection-between-5-year-old-double-murder-west-park-murder-suicide-metroparks/ https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/crime/cold-cases/families-kate-brown-carnell-sledge-statement-cleveland-metroparks-police-update-double-homicide-investigation/95-16545e66-98a0-4e17-9220-4c69d5b7b12e https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1fweqc9/ama_im_jeff_a_friend_of_carnell_sledge_here_to/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

July 11, 2006. Snohomish County, Washington. 56-year old Mary Cooper and her 27-year old daughter, Susanna Stodden, leave their homes in Seattle in order to go hiking on the Pinnacle Lake Trail over 60 miles away. Later that day, Mary and Susanna’s bodies are found alongside the trail after they have both been shot in the head and even though some of their clothing was removed, neither of them were sexually assaulted. For years, Mary’s husband is looked at as a potential suspect before he is officially ruled out, but even though a partial male DNA profile is eventually found under Susanna’s fingernails, it has not been matched to anyone. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a double homicide known as the “Pinnacle Lake Murders” which has gone unsolved for nearly 20 years. In addition, we’ll also discuss the unsolved murders of 25-year old Patricia Dixon and her five-year old daughter, Amanda Dixon, who also lived in the Seattle area and were both shot to death inside their motel room in Anaheim, California during a vacation to Disneyland in March 1984. If you have have any information about the murders of Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden, please contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office at (425) 388-3845. If you have any information about the murders of Patricia and Amanda Dixon, please contact the Anaheim Police Department at (714) 765-1900. Additional Reading: https://www.newspapers.com/image/1031381492/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1031411442/ https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Slain-hikers-were-avid-about-outdoors-1208909.php https://www.heraldnet.com/2016/07/10/murder-case-is-cold-but-memory-still-burns/ https://www.heraldnet.com/2007/07/10/a-year-later-no-suspects-in-slaying-of-2-hikers/ https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/one-mans-relentless-search-for-killer-in-its-18th-year/281-5d26dcb4-a3e5-4bcf-b8e4-dba203f30a2e https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/man-cleared-as-suspect-more-than-10-years-after-wife-daughter-murdered-on-hiking-trail https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20061013/hikerdeath13m/trail-killings-hundreds-of-tips-leading-nowhere https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/unsolved/19-years-snohomish-county-trail-murders-unsolved-northwest-mary-cooper-susanna-stodden/281-358cebaf-b8d9-48b1-ae7c-7b1893eaa107 https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/mary-cooper-susanna-stodden-unsolved-snohomish-county-murder/281-cf04d027-bb9e-4332-8572-f528fdff87b3 https://podcasts.happyscribe.com/the-deck/mary-cooper-susanna-stodden-ace-of-hearts-washington https://www.wta.org/news/magazine/magazine/1207.pdf https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/29/Suspect-sought-in-mother-and-daughter-murders-near-Disneyland/5791449384400/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/401262837/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/808583079/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1076995204/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

July 26, 1988. Jackson, Mississippi. After getting into an argument with her mother, seven-year old Daffany Tullos leaves her grandparents’ residence and is last seen walking down the street by neighbours before she disappears. Suspicion turns towards Ernest Lee Epps, the boyfriend of Daffany’s mother, who was charged with sexual battery for allegedly molesting Daffany and released from jail on bond the same day she went missing. However, there is no evidence to implicate Ernest and even though a shirt belonging to Daffany is found in a neighbour’s yard a year-and-a-half later, no trace of her is ever found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a missing children’s case which has gone unsolved for nearly 38 years. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Jackson Police Department at (601) 960-1234. Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/daffany-sherika-tullos https://www.newspapers.com/image/184041774/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/184088100/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/181320487/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1039872199/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/183694584/ https://www.wlbt.com/story/11276708/jackson-police-re-open-cold-case-from-1988/ https://www.wlbt.com/story/36360572/3-on-your-side-investigates-the-disappearance-of-daffany-tullos/ https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2018/07/26/30-years-later-daffany-tullos-family-still-believes-she-found/807547002/ https://www.wjtv.com/news/in-depth-reports/missing-daffany-tullos-last-seen-in-jackson-in-1988/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 13, 1976. Fairfield, Maine. The daughter of 31-year old Pauline Rourke kisses her sleeping mother goodbye before leaving for school, but when she returns home later that day, Pauline has vanished without a trace. Suspicion turns towards Pauline’s live-in friend, Albert Pat Cochran, who frequently fought with her and had developed an odd obsession with the recent murder of another woman from the area named Janet Baxter. Two decades later, Pat is charged and convicted of Janet’s murder, but even though he is suspected of being responsible for Pauline’s disappearance, there is not enough evidence to implicate him and Pauline is never found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an unsolved missing persons case involving a victim who has not been seen in nearly 50 years. If you happen to have any information about this case, please contact the Maine State Police at (207) 624-7143. Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/pauline-rourke https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/investigation-traffic/major-crime-units/unsolved/missing-persons/rourke-pauline https://www.newspapers.com/image/849371494/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/856346628/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/665025806/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/855868439/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/856276259/ https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/06/28/man-serving-life-sentence-for-oakland-womans-murder-dies-at-hospital/ https://www.fosters.com/story/news/2017/06/29/police-link-recently-deceased-killer-to-1976-disappearance/20405251007/ https://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/30/a-daughters-enduring-lament-her-remains-are-out-there/ https://www.wabi.tv/content/news/State-Police-Searching-Smithfield-Area-Wells-For-Remains-Of-Missing-Woman-444463513.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/1147332553/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/309356419/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/829806532/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/830077499/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.