Today’s episode is rated a 2 on our Serious Crime Scale—but stick with me, because that scale is a little unconventional this time. While this story leans more toward human interest, the case at its center—the one that made national headlines—would have easily been rated a 5. That’s because today, we’re diving into the incredible story of a college student who used genetic genealogy to crack a decades-old cold case. It’s a fascinating look at the power of advanced DNA technology and the real impact it can have in solving crimes. Listen now to hear the full story.

This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). It was December 2007 when 21-year-old Marshall University student Leah Hickman vanished without a trace in Huntington, West Virginia. As her family and friends desperately searched the city, police launched an investigation into her mysterious disappearance. But one week later, the search came to a devastating end – Leah’s body was discovered hidden in a crawl space beneath her apartment building. Nearly two decades later, her killer remains unknown, and justice has yet to be served. Listen now to hear the full story.

This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). You may remember hearing something in the media from back in August of 2016 about a college student who attacked and killed a Florida couple in their garage. And, when police arrived to the scene, they found the student literally eating one of the victim’s faces. Now, at the time, there was a massive media frenzy that suggested the student, 19-year-old Austin Harrouff, had been high on bath salts or some other hallucinogenic drug that resulted in the bizarre, zombie-like attack. But y’all, there is SO much more to the story than that. Listen now to dive into it.