When a Boston woman travels to Philadelphia, she’s excited to explore the city while her husband attends a work conference. After disappearing without a trace, her remains are later inexplicably found in distant North Carolina woods, with evidence of foul play—leaving investigators with a profoundly puzzling mystery in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Judy Smith was 50 years old when she disappeared from Philadelphia, where she’d planned to spend the day sightseeing. She had traveled there with her husband, who was attending a work conference.Months after she disappeared from Philadelphia, Judy’s remains were discovered more than 600 miles (965 km) away in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest. How and why she came to be there is unknown.Pictured: Judy with her husband Jeff. After her disappearance, Jeff distributed 9,000 missing person posters throughout the East Coast and hired 3 private investigators. At the time of Judy’s disappearance, they’d been married for 5 months.North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest lies in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and contains rugged terrain, as pictured. Photo by Ken Thomas.Serial killer Gary Michael Hilton (aka the “National Forest Killer”) is widely considered to be a potential suspect in Judy’s murder, although investigators have not been able to link him definitively to her case.Serial killer Gary Michael Hilton was involved in the production of “Deadly Run”, a 1995 z-list horror movie. The main character–a successful, wealthy and handsome serial killer–embodies who Hilton wished to be.
When a high-ranking Alabama corrections officer breaks a violent convict out of jail, she stuns everyone who ever knew her, along with the American public. After 11 days on the run, she takes her own life during a high-speed chase. In the wake of her suicide, many wonder why she’d willingly give up everything—her family, her reputation, her hard-earned retirement and her home—for a few days with a long-time felon facing capital murder charges. We explore these questions along with Vikki White’s shocking choices and brief career as a fugitive in this bonus episode of Last Seen Alive.
This bonus episode is available now exclusively for our Patreon subscribers. Thank you for the support!Your support on Patreon helps us to continue producing our regular episodes, and the full-length monthly bonus episodes are our thank you to you.
When an Atlanta woman goes for a late-night walk in a popular park, she’s killed in one of the most shockingly-violent assaults the city has ever seen. Investigators work to identify a killer whose actions reveal a truly twisted psyche in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Katie Janness was a loving dog owner. Her dogs are seen with her in most family photos.This surveillance footage still shows Katie walking toward the entrance to Piedmont Park along with her dog, Bowie. This is the last known image of her.Here, Katie is seen with her dog, Bowie, who was murdered along with her in Piedmont Park.Katie Janness was 40 years old when she was murdered in an act of profound depravity in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. She was a devoted partner to her longtime girlfriend, an animal lover, amateur musician and song writer, and professional bartender. She is missed by many who knew and loved her.Although there were no cameras inside Piedmont Park, cameras on street corners outside the park revealed a number of pedestrian bypassers who police say may have witnessed something related to Katie’s murder.
When a Colorado man advertises for a new roommate, he unwittingly attracts the attention of a profoundly sadistic murderer. Investigators attempt to identify the most difficult kind of killer to catch in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Oakey “Al” Kite was 53 years old when he was tortured and murdered in his home in Aurora, CO. His killer’s true name and whereabouts are unknown.Al’s killer left these items soaking in a sink full of bleach, which destroyed the DNA evidence he’d left when he’d touched them.Pictured: Al’s killer at an ATM shortly after the murder.Pictured: Al’s killer at an ATM shortly after he was murdered.Parabon Labs used DNA left at the crime scene to create this snapshot of Al’s killer.Al was widely known as a kind, caring and gentle person. He is mourned by many who knew him, including his girlfriend, stepdaughter and former spouse, from whom he had divorced amicably.
It’s hard to catch a killer who never stops moving. So hard, in fact, that the FBI created a task force dedicated to finding and stopping serial killers who all share a single profession. We explore the connection between the open road and serial murder in this subscribers-only bonus episode of Last Seen Alive.
This bonus episode is available now for our Patreon supporters!
When a well-known mycologist disappears while on a routine mushroom-foraging trip, a search and rescue mission is launched in the Washington woodlands. After it becomes apparent that she’s nowhere to be found, investigators consider the possibility of foul play in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
When a Georgia woman attends a casual girls’ night in with other moms from her son’s football team, the last thing her family expects is for her to never come home. The party host and other guests say she must have fallen to her death while they all slept, but the physical evidence contradicts their story in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Tamla Horsford is pictured with her husband, Leander Horsford, who survived her along with their six children. Her death was a shock to them all.Tamla was well-known for enthusiastically supporting her children in all their endeavors. She even brought her own megaphone to her son’s football games.Tamla and Leander are pictured together on their wedding day. They were married for many years and raised six children together. They were looking forward to the arrival of their first grandchild whenever Tamla was killed.Pictured: the balcony that some allege Tamla fell off of, to her death. It’s unknown how or why she might have made it over the railing of her own volition. Pictured: yellow flags mark where Tamla’s body was found in a prone position. The positioning of her body was consistent with her having been unconscious or deceased already at the time of her alleged fall.Pictured: the view from the balcony to the ground below, where Tamla’s body was found.Pictured: the home Tamla was invited to for an adult sleepover. Everyone but her left alive.Pictured: the back of the home where Tamla died, including the balcony that some claim she fell from.Pictured: the staircase leading down from the balcony some claim Tamla fell from.Pictured: an investigator’s sketch of the scene where Tamla’s body was found.
If you know anything about the death of Tamla Horsford, please contact the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office at 770-781-2222 AND / OR the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 404-244-2600.
If you wish to write to the Forsyth County Sheriff, you may reach him via letter at:
After years of looking forward to someday carving out the time to create bonus content, we’re finally on Patreon! We’re the only true crime podcast written, researched and hosted by a professional Crime Analyst. Our mission is to bring compelling cases to others interested in true crime while shining a light on unresolved homicides and missing persons—whether dead or alive—who are still waiting to be found.
Each of our regular episodes explores an unsolved case, and these will always be free for everyone. We created this podcast in order to spread the word about each case to as many people as possible, in hopes that this will result in listeners reporting potentially valuable tips to investigators.
However! We know there are many other aspects of true crime and criminal investigations that fascinate our listeners. We joined Patreon in order to share original, insightful bonus content that will entertain and inform our most dedicated listeners. If you enjoy Last Seen Alive and like the idea of broadening your knowledge of true crime and criminal investigations, this is for you. Your monthly support will give you access to a monthly bonus content episode, and will help to fund the ongoing production of the regular case-based episodes you know and love.
In our first-ever bonus episode, a serial killer exposes the dark underside of Golden Age Hollywood, and a savvy homicide detective believes that law enforcement needs a way to track serial offenders by analyzing crime scenes, behavior patterns and other factors, all in one place. Decades later, his idea is realized and the FBI appoints him as the first director of ViCAP, or the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.
We explore ViCAP and the serial killings that inspired it in the very first bonus episode of Last Seen Alive.
When a North Carolina woman asks a friend for a ride to the hospital, she expects to be home in time for an appointment the next morning. Instead, she disappears and an intense investigation uncovers an array of strange possibilities—but no concrete answers—in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Jamie Fraley was 22 years old when she went missing from her hometown of Gastonia, NC on April 8th, 2008. Family photo.Jamie was ill with a case of stomach flu when she went missing. An unidentified male friend or acquaintance arrived to give her a ride to the hospital, and she was never heard from again. Family photo.Jamie’s father-in-law to be was her neighbor and had given her a ride to the hospital earlier in the day. He has a history of violence against women, including murder, and is considered a suspect in Jamie’s disappearance. He is deceased.After Jamie’s disappearance, a worker found her phone on the side of the road at the intersection of New Hope Rd and Hudson Blvd, approx. 1.5 miles from Jamie’s home. It’s believed to have been thrown from a moving vehicle.Jamie is pictured with her mother in an undated childhood photo. Jamie enjoyed a close relationship with her mother, who has been pursuing justice for her daughter since 2008.Danny Hembree Jr is a convicted serial murderer who killed women in Gastonia. He targeted women who struggled with substance abuse. Although Jamie did not use drugs, her future father-in-law–Ricky Simonds Sr–did. This podcast episode explores the possibility of Hembree’s involvement, but it’s only a theory. Hembree has never been named a suspect by law enforcement.
When a kindergartener is abducted while waiting for the school bus, hundreds of searchers scour small-town North Carolina and discover that their worst fears have come true. The murder of a beloved child haunts a community and remains an ongoing investigation in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Brittany Locklear was 5 years old whenever she was abducted and murdered on January 7, 1998. An unidentified man grabbed her from where she waited at her school bus stop and sped away.Although she was both the youngest and the smallest in her kindergarten class, Brittany was known for her loving and outgoing nature.Pictured: Brittany in an undated family photo with her mother, Connie, who has been campaigning for justice in regards to her beloved daughter’s death since 1998.Pictured: the driveway that leads to the then-home of the Locklear family. Brittany was abducted while she was waiting at its end for the school bus. A neighbor / mother witnessed the abduction. Image from Google Maps.
Sources used to research Brittany’s case for this episode:
If you know anything about the murder of Brittany Locklear, please contact the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office at 910-875-5111.
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UNSOLVED DISAPPEARNCE: TONEE TURNER
Tonee Turner, a gifted artist, was 22 years old whenever she disappeared from Pittsburgh, PA on 12/30/2019.Tonee was last seen by the bus driver dropping her off at this bus stop (pictured) near her home. Image from Google Maps.On the day of her disappearance, some of Tonee’s belongings were found on the pedestrian walkway of the Homestead Grays Bridge (pictured). Image from Google Maps.The (bridge) location where Tonee’s belongings were found is >2 miles from her home. Tonee did not own a vehicle. How her belongings came to be abandoned there is unknown.Tonee is a gifted artist who taught ceramics to children at a local library. She was actively involved with her family and community, and is very missed.This mural displayed in Tonee’s neighborhood demonstrates how much she is loved and missed.
Sources used to research Tonee’s case for this episode:
If you know anything about the disappearance of Tonee Turner, please call the Pittsburgh Police Department’s Missing Persons Investigation Division at 412-232-7141.
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