Coffee and Cases Podcast

Eleven-year-old Shannon Paulk was excited to visit with her friends and neighbors in the Candlestick Mobile Home Park in Prattville, Alabama on August 16th, 2001 after spending much of the summer away with family. She wanted to see friends and visit neighbors’ animals. Many neighbors recall seeing or speaking with the friendly Shannon that morning. Then, Shannon was gone, and those same friends and neighbors are still searching for answers.  If you would like to learn more about Shannon’s case, consider listening to and following the Cold Truth Podcast. And please show your support by joining the Justice for Shannon Paulk Facebook group: Justice for Shannon Paulk Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/justiceforshannonpaulk/ Cold Truth Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cold-truth/id1504178675 Cold Truth YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/@ColdTruth If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 14, 1969, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Spence Field along the Appalachian Trail, six-year-old Dennis Martin vanished during a Father’s Day camping trip — and he has never been found. How does a child disappear in the span of just a few minutes while adults are only yards away? Were critical mistakes made in those first hours? And what do we make of the reported scream… and the sighting of a man carrying something red through the woods? More than fifty years later, Dennis Martin is still missing — and the mountains are still silent. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is something bittersweet about growing up. For the child, they step into new roles with new responsibilities. They learn to earn trust from the adults in their lives. In return, the adults have to let go just a little of the baby they have raised. They watch with tears in their eyes as some of the innocence of their child slips away into a teen and one day adult. It’s hard, but it is life. We never think it’ll be my child. That’s what made it so unbelievable for 12-year-old Sherry Marler’s mother and step-father to think that their “little farmer” had simply disappeared from their quaint, small town. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two-year old Ruben Felix had been at a family barbeque when he simply vanished. But single footprints, seemingly staged evidence, and hoax phone calls has left some of them wondering if Ruben’s disappearance were more than just a horrific accident. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Hamby was trying to come home. After months of fighting to get clean, after voluntarily entering detox, after choosing—again—to try—she stepped back into the Alabama winter…and disappeared. But Jessica’s story doesn’t begin the night she vanished. It begins six months earlier, when her friend Jeremy Abbott went missing and was later found hanging in the woods—exactly where Jessica told police his body would be. Why was she afraid to tell them? And why, after finally speaking up, did she leave the state for months? When Jessica returned, her phone began moving through Winston and Marion counties in the early morning hours of January 3, 2018—ending with one final message. What happened in those final hours? And how does a young mother simply vanish without a trace? Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Check out Secrets True Crime Podcast Season 3 for a DEEP dive on this case! https://www.secretstruecrime.com/episodes/season/3/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica was walking her family dog in a nearby park when she was hit by a van. Erica’s family has not seen her since that day and her body is still missing. And the suspects’ use of drugs, as well as their lies, have led to more wild goose chases than answers. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A century ago, a mysterious illness swept across the world—and instead of killing quickly, it stole something far stranger: movement, speech, and the ability to wake. Victims of encephalitis lethargica, the so-called “sleeping sickness,” became trapped inside their own bodies—some frozen mid-step, mid-sentence, or mid-bite, aware of everything but unable to respond. Millions were infected and many survivors were left as “living statues” for decades, until one experimental drug in the 1960s briefly awakened them—only for the miracle to fade and the darkness to return. In this episode, we follow the chilling rise and disappearance of the disease, the haunting patients of Beth Abraham Hospital, and the medical mystery that still has no definitive answer. Because the most unsettling part isn’t just what it did—it’s that we still don’t know why, or whether something like it could happen again. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, Kimberly Cain has been seeking closure for her sister Sabrina’s murder in 1974. Interestingly, since the discovery of Sabrina’s body, all eyes turned toward one perpetrator; unfortunately, all of the evidence against him was circumstantial.  Between questioned testimonies, missing guns, local rumors, missed opportunities in investigaton, will we ever know the truth? Please consider joining Kimberly’s Facebook group: #JusticeForSabrina Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1979, skeletal remains were discovered along the Alaska Highway near Tok—belonging to a man no one could name. He wore a black eye patch, carried a marble prosthetic eye in his pocket, and had been dead for more than a year before anyone noticed he was gone. Police knew who killed him, but the victim himself disappeared into history, leaving behind only fragments of a life and a question that has lasted nearly fifty years. Who was the man known as One-Eyed Jack—and how does someone vanish so completely that no one comes looking? This episode is about the quiet tragedy of a life lost without a name, and the search to give him one back. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January of 1984, seven-year-old Gary Grant Jr. walked out to play in Atlantic City, New Jersey—and never came home. His parents did everything right… and still, something went terribly wrong. What began as an ordinary day quickly became a nightmare that would fracture a family, a neighborhood, and an investigation for decades. This case is filled with whispered clues, troubling questions, and a justice system that never quite delivered answers. Who betrayed the trust of a child—and why has the truth remained out of reach for so long? Please consider supporting the pod by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content? Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

German Luis Clerici ("Jersey" to his friends) disappeared in January of 2010. Days later, his body was found in a rural Kansas culvert. His shoes were clean. His wallet was still on him. His car was missing. And for more than a decade, no one could explain what happened. In April 2021, Coffee & Cases became the only podcast to ever cover Jersey’s case — just months before new information surfaced and investigators reopened the investigation. That fresh look led to arrests, court proceedings, and finally, long-awaited answers. In this update episode, Allison revisits Jersey’s story to share what has been uncovered since that original episode aired: what happened inside the house where he was last seen, how evidence was concealed, how investigators were misled, and what the court documents now reveal about the choices made after his death. This episode also explores the questions that still remain — and what justice looks like when the truth arrives years late, but at last, arrives. Listeners are encouraged to listen to our April 22nd, 2021 episode on German Luis Clerici (reposted just last week for your convenience) for full context before listening to this update. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Urciuoli, Jr. went out the night of January 24th, 2001 to play pool after receiving a page from someone. He told family that he’d only be out an hour or two before returning home, but Tony, Jr. never returned. Two days after Tony Urciuoli, Jr. disappeared, a relative found his car, which was abandoned, free of fingerprints, and provided no further clues. Today, 25 years later, we are still no closer to answers. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a sunny June afternoon in 1983, four-year-old Nyleen Kay Marshall disappeared during a family picnic in the Elkhorn Mountains of Montana. Other children last saw her talking to an unknown man in a purple jogging suit who told her to “follow the shadow.” What followed was one of the largest search efforts in Montana history—and decades of chilling letters from someone claiming to have kidnapped and raised her. This case would later intersect with the recovery of another missing child, adding a haunting twist no one expected. More than forty years later, Nyleen’s story remains unsolved—and deeply unsettling. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

His wallet. His shoes. His car. The location of his body. These are the clues that keep us wondering who could have killed German Luis Clerici... and why? Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content?! Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to ⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases⁠ to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sleepy town of Ina, Illinois was rocked in the aftermath of one of the most heinous family homicides in American history. The Dardeen family murder was gruesome-- brutal beatings, unimaginable crimes, and mutilation. It was a crime claimed to have been the work of serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells, but was his confession of the murders just a sadistic lie? If you would like to join Coffee and Cases Patreon to support the show and listen to bonus content, please go to ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 2000, a single mother named Jodi Foster moved with her young daughter into an apartment on Parmac Road in Chico, California—unaware that the unit had a dark and unfinished past. As unexplained disturbances escalated into terrifying dreams and a child’s repeated visions of a woman called “Myliz,” Jodi would eventually uncover a chilling connection to the 1976 disappearance of Marie Elizabeth Spannhake. Decades earlier, Spannhake vanished after walking home from a flea market. Could the haunting of Apartment 14 be tied to a crime never solved—and a voice that refused to be silenced? This episode explores the intersection of memory, place, and justice in one of California’s cold cases. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A young mother was working the night shift at Thornton’s gas station in the small town of Versailles, Kentucky, but it was a shift from which she would never return home. Thirty-five years later, the family of Valeri Brooks is still fighting for coverage and still praying for answers. If you would like to join Coffee and Cases Patreon to support the show and listen to bonus content, please go to ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From hitchhiking all the way to Canada and back down to Mexico, to couch-surfing her way to Florida, to starting her own rock band, Kelley Brannon was the definition of a free spirit. But when this free-spirited soul left a voicemail message on her boyfriend’s cellphone that she was “getting in a car,” no one thought that over a year later she still wouldn’t be back home.  Please consider joining the Facebook group Kelley Brannon-Missing Discussion Group. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content? Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could it really be the case that Michelle Von Emster had survived cancer and escaped a stalker, only to be the victim of a fatal shark attack? This week, Allison and Maggie delve into the theories and questions surrounding this case and why perhaps Michelle’s official cause of death deserves another look. Please consider supporting the pod by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content? Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Lynn Bradley’s case has taken on new life in recent months, thanks to a powerful documentary that unearthed never-before-heard testimony, new witness statements, and deeply unsettling details from the ship’s staff. Since its release, major news outlets have reported additional revelations, and new tips have begun to reach the Bradley family—some of which may shift long-standing theories about what really happened on March 24, 1998. In this updated episode, we revisit the timeline with fresh eyes and walk you through every new detail that has emerged. If there was ever a moment to re-examine Amy’s disappearance, it’s now. Welcome to Part 1. Please also consider supporting Coffee and Cases by joining us over on our Patreon page! Are you up-to-date on all our regular content? Be a part of the C & C Fam by going to ⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases⁠ to register! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices