Anthony Velasquez and his father, Manuel, are arrested by the LA County Sheriff's Cold Case Unit in connection with the deaths of 3 people over a 4-year period in the East LA area. Also in this episode, a tragic case from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Cold Case unit – the discovery of a newborn at a trash sorting facility. Detectives are trying to find the identity of Baby Jane Doe #45 and the mother who dumped her into a trash bin.
Steve speaks with DEA Agent Kyle Mori about 'El Mencho', the Kingpin behind one of the largest drug cartels in North America, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG. The cartel is behind most of the drug trafficking in Southern California. Detective Eric Ogaz with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department talks to Steve about Scott Echols, an 8-year-old boy who, in 1992, answered the door at his home late one night and was never seen again.
‘Man in a Box’ is a case from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Detective Art Alvarado tells us about the challenge to identify the ‘Man in a Box’ and try to figure out how the man ended up buried alive in a metal container along a dirt road. Also, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Theo Baljet tells us about the shooting death of a young man in 2020. No clues, no witnesses, no apparent motive.
For at least 16 years a man had been terrorizing girls and women in the city of Los Angeles. He would target them, rape or assault them, and then disappear. We speak with detectives Sharlene Johnson and Danetta Menifee from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division. They tell us about efforts past and present to find the man they say could have attacked at least 39 women, the youngest being 14 years old.
In 2010, Minerva Gonzalez walked her kids to school as usual. But, by the time her kids got home from school, Gonzalez had been beaten beyond recognition. Gonzalez’ home had been broken into twice before and Fontana Police say there had been a rash of ‘panty thefts’ from homes in the area. Also, we explore the tragic death of Diego Reza, an 18-year-old who was shot and killed while driving home from a 4th of July Party – it’s a case from the LA County Sheriff’s Department. And an update on the case of El Mencho, the head of the largest cartel in North America. Our first profile of El Mencho prompted a spike in calls to the DEA.
19-year-old Cesar Rodriguez had been an LA County Sheriff’s Explorer since he was 15 years old. On August 28th, 2011, Rodriguez and his friend Larry Villegas were gunned down following a party in Whittier – 2 weeks prior, Rodriguez had just applied to become a deputy. We also highlight the shooting death of Jason Cortez, a photographer who was visiting LA from Virginia when he was shot in the back while hiking in Debs Park in Montecito Heights.
In 2019, 19-year-old Erin Lavender and 17-year-old Dalelaja Hearn were in the city of Carson attending the memorial of a friend who had died from a drug overdose. They, along with 3 other friends, were sitting in the front of a car across the street from the memorial when 2 people in hoodies walked up and opened fire. Hearn and Lavender later died at a hospital. We also speak with the Fontana Police Department about the murder of Angel Martinez, an apartment building owner from Cypress who was killed in Southern California and buried in Arizona. The case from 1988 has a lot of players and no suspects.
In 2008, Mark Leonard was shot and killed in the parking lot of the car wash he and his wife owned in Compton, California. Detectives say it’s a possible drug cartel revenge hit. But Leonard had been out of the drug dealing business for years. His wife, who was pregnant with their child, helped him clean up his life, buy his own business, and welcome God into his life. Detectives say they know the ‘what and the ‘why’’, now they need to grab the ‘who’. Leonard was killed just a few hours before he was to watch his son, Kawhi, play in a high school basketball tournament. Kawhi would go on to play for the LA Clippers and become one of the finest players in the NBA.
January 15th, 1947, the body of Elizabeth Short was found mutilated. Someone had performed an hemicorporectomy, the act of cutting a body in half at a specific point of the body. The woman who first spotted the body in a vacant lot thought it was a mannequin, mostly because the skin color was so pale, a result of Short’s fluids and blood being completely drained from her body. In this episode we speak with Steve Hodel, a retired detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Not only is Hodel fascinated by the case, he also has a personal connection.
We speak with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Claudia Apolinar. In September of 2020, Apolinar and her partner were shot point blank range as they sat in their patrol SUV at a Metro station in Compton. While they were rushed to a hospital, the department’s homicide bureau immediately began working to find the shooter. It was one of the largest manhunts in the department’s history. We’ll talk about the investigation, and for the first time ever, deputy Apolinar speaks publicly about the shooting and about her road to recovery.
Steve does a recap of cases covered in Season 1 and previews Season 2 which begins April 2nd, 2022. Steve also takes phone calls.
Case #1: On November 4th, 1969 at 7:40 AM, 14-year-old Janasul ‘Jan’ Roseana Marsh was found face down near a home in Lynwood. Detectives say she was strangled with a polo shirt. Jan had a reputation of hanging with the wrong crowd, including older men. At one point there were more than 20 persons of interest, including a few women. What made this case even more complicated is the Lynwood Police Department disbanded in 1977 and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department picked up the case, forcing a transfer of boxes of evidence and files, a lot of which were misplaced. Case #2: 19-year-old Michelle Diaz had 2 jobs and had applied to Arizona State University to pursue a medical career. On November 21, 2020, Diaz was shot and killed in front of a home on 106th Street in Unincorporated Los Angeles. Investigators say there were many witnesses, but none are willing to come forward.
Nemesio Osegura-Cervantes, also known as, “El Mencho” is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), considered the largest drug cartel in the world. Officials say the CJNG is responsible for more than one third of all the illegal drugs entering the United States and has a huge footprint on illicit drugs coming into Southern California. DEA Agent Kyle Mori has been tracking El Mencho for years and gives us an update on the progress his team has made. He also tells us about the connection between El Mencho and the LA-area. Plus, we recap the bizarre moment when Unsolved was on the radar of people in El Mencho’s hometown of Zapopan in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.
As part of our Crime Fighter Series, we talk with United States Forest Service Captain and Arson Investigator Russel Tuttle. Tuttle is a 16-year veteran of the United States Forest Service, who has received numerous awards for his work and outstanding performance. Captain Tuttle walks us through the 2014 “Colby Fire” that burned 2,000+ acres in the Angeles National Forest. Tuttle talks about how they were able to determine the cause and origin of the fire, and eventually how they found the people responsible for igniting it. Tuttle also made it possible for Steve to attend the annual Wildfire Arson Investigation School at an undisclosed location in Riverside County – a first for a journalist. The federal program teaches forensic techniques to the next generation of arson investigators. Keep an eye out for that future episode.
Sergeant Pete Hish joins the show to discuss efforts to prevent and stop cybercrime. Hish works in the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s Fraud and Cybercrimes Bureau. Hish not only outlines some interesting cases he also offers some advice on how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of cybercrime. Hish also talks about the tools he uses to track hackers and those who target the vulnerable. He also talks about Satoshi, the black Labrador trained to sniff out electronics. Toshi, as he’s known, was sworn in as a deputy with the department and Sgt. Hish is his handler.
In this episode we revisit all the cases from the fourth season including that of a 14-year-old girl who was murdered inside her home in East Los Angeles, the young woman found inside a trunk in Pomona, and a case out of Lynwood dating back to 1969. We also welcomed some new detectives to the program from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Pomona Police Department. If you have a case for us to consider, email the team at: unsolved@iheartmedia.com. All of the episodes of Unsolved with Steve Gregory are available on the iheartradio app.
In this season opener we speak with Mike Fratantoni of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Information Bureau. Fratantoni is also the curator of the department’s museum housed in the ground floor of the historic Hall of Justice. Fratantoni tells us about the beginning of the department in 1850 and walks us through the history of the department including the creation of the Homicide Detail in 1921, which became the Bureau of Investigation in 1934, and eventually evolved into the Homicide Bureau in 1950. Fratantoni also tells us about the ‘Vigilance Committee’ which was made up of townspeople who held secret court and carried out private executions.
On May 4th, 2006, at around 10:00 PM 60-year-old Security Guard Frutoso Anguiano was on duty at the Northgate Gonzalez Market on 831 Hacienda Boulevard in La Puente, CA. As the store was about to close Anguiano went to the rear of the store and up to a second floor break room where he was met by four Hispanic men. Anguiano was handcuffed and stabbed fifty-two times. Surveillance video shows the four men mingling around the store prior to closing and then disappearing into the back. The video didn’t show the murder but caught the men coming down the stairs wearing masks and holding the gun they had taken from Anguiano. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Cold Case Detective Shaun McCarthy tells us his working theory on the attack and how DNA might lead him to one of the men who lives in another state.
Terry Rasmussen’s killing spree has been widely covered by news media outlets and true crime shows but they leave out an unsolved piece to a sick and twisted puzzle. Pete Headley recently retired from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department where he was an investigator with the Crimes Against Children Unit. Headley breaks down Rasmussen’s path but also gives insight on a case of a missing mother and children from the Anaheim, CA area. When you hear Headley’s theory about Rasmussen you can tell why he thinks the Killer Con Man probably had something to do with the family’s disappearance and probable murder. Click on the bonus episode to learn about the forensic science involved in tracking and identifying Rasmussen and his innocent victims.
Retired San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Headley worked as an investigator with the department’s Crimes Against Children Unit. He was closely involved in the ongoing case of ‘Lisa’, the girl who was abducted, abused, and victimized by Terry Rasmussen. In the previous episode, #503, Headley gives an overview of Rasmussen’s killing spree across the country, including Southern California. In this bonus episode, Headley talks about forensic science, genealogy, and groundbreaking advancements in DNA that helped to not only identify victims but get some answers to questions asked long ago.