Hell and Gone

On September 14, 2018, in Galesburg, Illinois, a 23-year-old graduate of Western Illinois University named Tyler Smith headed out to party with some friends. Tyler had dreams of becoming a police officer. He was super athletic, played football in high school, and after graduating from Western Illinois University, he applied to and was accepted into the police academy in San Jose, California. Tyler hoped to eventually possibly become a DEA agent or working with a K9 unit. He was starting his life and chasing his dream and it was happening. But Tyler also had been in the Army National Guard since 2013 and came back to Illinois to fulfill his commitment. Tyler and his friends went out drinking that night, and the next day, he was due to report for drills. But he never showed up. And twelve hours later, his body was found in the Cedar Fork Creek area, just two blocks from where he was last seen the night before. Since then, Tyler's family has been trying to find out what happened to him: did he fall, did he drown, or was he murdered? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 14, 2018, in Galesburg, Illinois, a 23-year-old graduate of Western Illinois University named Tyler Smith headed out to party with some friends. Tyler had dreams of becoming a police officer. He was super athletic, played football in high school, and after graduating from Western Illinois University, he applied to and was accepted into the police academy in San Jose, California. Tyler hoped to eventually possibly become a DEA agent or working with a K9 unit. He was starting his life and chasing his dream and it was happening. But Tyler also had been in the Army National Guard since 2013 and came back to Illinois to fulfill his commitment. Tyler and his friends went out drinking that night, and the next day, he was due to report for drills. But he never showed up. And twelve hours later, his body was found in the Cedar Fork Creek area, just two blocks from where he was last seen the night before. Since then, Tyler's family has been trying to find out what happened to him: did he fall, did he drown, or was he murdered? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was April 12, 1971, a 27-year-old woman named Pauline Storment was walking down South Duncan Avenue in Fayetteville, Arkansas, just a few blocks from her apartment. She didn't know someone was following her in the darkness. And then, while she was walking and just a few blocks from her apartment, her attacker came out of the darkness and attacked her, stabbing her eight times in a frenzied attack that lasted several minutes. It was a hot night so at 9:45 pm when Pauline started screaming a lot of people in the area heard her, and there were several witnesses. But her killer escaped into the night - and despite the police questioning tons of people, lots of theories being explored over the years an arrest, Pauline’s killer has never been found. If you have a case you’d like the Hell and Gone team to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Sunday October 17, 2021 in Los Angeles, a 39-year-old mother of one named Heidi Planck went to watch her 11-year-old son Bond play football. When Heidi left the game, she said that she would call her son later, but even though she ALWAYS talked to him every day she never called him. In fact Bond never talked to his mother again. Because that day, Heidi Planck vanished. If you have a case you’d like the Hell and Gone team to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been covering two cases in Arkansas: the murder of Gail Vaught, whose body was found on March 17, 1980, and Dennis Flowers. Police believe that Dennis was responsible for the execution style murders of Lee Dickson, a pharmacist who had become addicted to cocaine and started dealing it with Dennis, and Lee’s wife Karen Dickson who was eight months pregnant. A few days after the brutal double homicide, Dennis’ body was found under extremely mysterious circumstances, cause of death was listed as drowning in less than three feet of water and his manner death was ruled suicide. One of the questions that have come up in these cases and so many others is were these crime scenes as they appeared to be, or could they have been staged? This week Catherine Townsend speaks with investigator Arthur Steve Chancellor. who runs a company called Second Look Training and Forensic Consulting that provides investigative and forensic case consultation and training.You can find the company online at secondlooktraining.com or reach them at 919 360 3518. If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the morning of March 22, 1984, at around 6:30 am, police came to the one-story nondescript home in Fayetteville, Arkansas that belonged to a quiet unassuming 33-year-old pharmacist named Lee Dickson and his wife Karen. When police came to the Dickson home, they knocked, but Lee and Karen didn’t answer. Finally, their young son came to the door. He told the police that his mother was sleeping and that daddy went out. Police entered the home looking for his parents, and it didn’t take long to find their bodies. Lee was in the garage, lying face down. He had been shot point blank. Then the killer came for Karen. Police found her in the living room Police later discovered that she had also been shot multiple times, execution style. Karen was pregnant. What started as a family massacre turned out to have ties to another mysterious death of a man who drowned in under three feet of water. Later there would be allegations that Lee, this quiet local pharmacist, had been making backdoor deals with local criminals to provide the power players of Fayetteville with pharmaceutical grade cocaine. If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. Here is the link to the Coroner Talk podcast episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Townsend continues her investigation into the death of Gail Vaught. On the morning of Friday, October 17, 1980, a man was on his way to work, driving his truck down Highway 16 that runs between Siloam Springs, Arkansas near the Oklahoma border through the Ozark National Forest near Searcy when he saw something out of the corner of his eye down a small dirt road. It looked like a person lying in the road. The driver doubled back and saw to his horror that it was the body of a young woman, lying rolled over on her right side with her head and shoulders face down. She was very tall and had a flannel shirt on and a blue Michelin jacket that had been pulled over her face, her legs were slightly open, and she was naked from the waist down except for a pair of torn and filthy white socks. She started out being a Jane Doe. But soon, police ID’d the victim as 21-year-old Gail Vaught. Was she sexually assaulted? Could that crime scene have been staged? Could her death have connections to drug dealing or domestic violence or something else? If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the morning of Friday, October 17, 1980, a man was on his way to work, driving his truck down Highway 16 that runs between Siloam Springs, Arkansas near the Oklahoma border through the Ozark National Forest near Searcy when he saw something out of the corner of his eye down a small dirt road. It looked like a person lying in the road. The driver doubled back and saw to his horror that it was the body of a young woman, lying rolled over on her right side with her head and shoulders face down. She was very tall and had a flannel shirt on and a blue Michelin jacket that had been pulled over her face, her legs were slightly open, and she was naked from the waist down except for a pair of torn and filthy white socks. She started out being a Jane Doe. But soon, police ID’d the victim as 21-year-old Gail Vaught. Was she sexually assaulted? Could that crime scene have been staged? Could her death have connections to drug dealing or domestic violence or something else? If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 21, 2023, Dr. John Forsyth, a 49-year-old ER doctor, was due to work the evening shift at Mercy Hospital in Cassville, Missouri. He had already worked the overnight shift the day before and finished up at 7 am. After that he went to crash for a few hours before starting his next shift that night. This was a normal day for John. He had a habit of pulling long shifts and working between 80 and 100 hours per week. But John never showed up for work that night, and it wasn’t long before his family and colleagues realized that he had disappeared. John Forsyth was a hard working, well respected doctor and a father of eight children, but he also had a complicated personal life, one that he kept compartmentalized. One that involved an expensive divorce, a new fiancée, and a crypto company that he co-founded with his brother that had been involved in some shady dealings. What happened to Dr. Forsyth? Was he kidnapped by someone with bad intentions? Did he walk away on his own? Could he have been living a double life? If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was Thursday night, November 1, 2007, and 18-year-old Justin Gaines was getting ready for a night out with his friends at Wild Bill’s, a club in Duluth, Georgia. Justin was a freshman in college. He had just started at Gainesville State college, which was about an hour away from where his family was. Justin was 5 '11, 210 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair in a buzz cut. He was a handsome, clean cut, preppy guy. Justin didn’t take a wallet out with him that night, so he had no credit cards, just cash, a couple fake IDs, and his cell phone. He caught a ride with his friends to the club. But when they arrived, his friends didn’t want to pay the cover charge and left. Justin saw someone in line who he knew and was able to get in for free and went into the club on his own. He said that it was no problem. He would find a ride. This was something he did often. A while later, in the early morning hours of November 2, 2007, Justin walked out into that parking lot in Duluth, and no one ever saw him again. If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the evening of Sunday, September 14, 2014, 15-year-old Cassie Kay Compton went out for a pack of cigarettes down the road from her small white house in Stuttgart, Arkansas...and never came back. At least that’s the official story. We know a few things for sure: Cassie had been spending the weekend with a friend of hers named Hunter, and Cassie slept over there on Saturday night. Hunter’s mother has said that this was not out of the ordinary. In fact, Cassie spent a lot of time at her house because, she said, things were chaotic at Cassie’s house. Hunter drove her home on Sunday early evening and an hour later, she vanished. What really happened to Cassie Compton? And was she running from something at home? If you have a case for Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On February 15, 2024, 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, a fifth grade student at Creekside Elementary in Livingstone, Texas, never made it to the bus stop. And when she didn’t come home after school, her family knew that something was very wrong. Audrii lived with her dad, and on that property, there was someone else living there: a 42-year-old friend of the family’s who lived in a camper. And even though he had a very disturbing criminal record, this man was allowed to babysit for Audrii. Once Audrii went missing, people started taking a look at what was really going on behind the closed doors of this house in rural Texas. We talk about stranger danger, but with this case, sometimes the most terrifying people can be living inside our home. If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode continues the investigation into the disappearance of Ieshia Jackson. It was Halloween night 2020, and 22-year-old Ieshia was getting ready to go to a party. She lived in El Dorado, Arkansas just a short distance away from her mother, her younger brother, and the rest of her family, but because she had had a couple of break-ins at her new home, she was staying at her uncle’s. Ieshia and her mother were very close and normally spoke a few times per day. So by November 2, 2020 when Laquita had not heard from her daughter, she was getting worried. Laquita, her boyfriend, and her son jumped in the car and headed to Ieshia’s. When the family got there they could see immediately that something was very wrong. Laquita went in and found her daughter’s stuff there, including her wallet and cell phone. The place looked like she had just stepped out for five minutes. But Ieshia never came back home. If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was Halloween night 2020, and 22-year-old Ieshia Jackson was getting ready to go to a party. She lived in El Dorado, Arkansas just a short distance away from her mother, her younger brother, and the rest of her family, but because she had had a couple of break-ins at her new home, she was staying at her uncle’s. Ieshia and her mother were very close and normally spoke a few times per day. So by November 2, 2020 when Laquita had not heard from her daughter, she was getting worried. Laquita, her boyfriend, and her son jumped in the car and headed to Ieshia’s. When the family got there they could see immediately that something was very wrong. Laquita went in and found her daughter’s stuff there, including her wallet and cell phone. The place looked like she had just stepped out for five minutes. But Ieshia never came back home. If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine continues her investigation into the disappearance of Jason Lierl. In January of 2022, Jason Lierl was visiting friends in Madison County Arkansas when he disappeared off the face of the earth. Jason was last seen in Madison County, Arkansas. His abandoned car was found in the parking lot of a mall in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His car keys, motorcycle and other belongings were found in different places, spread across Arkansas and Missouri - but to this day, no trace of Jason has ever been found. What happened to Jason Lierl? If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In January of 2022, Jason Lierl was visiting friends in Madison County Arkansas when he disappeared off the face of the earth. Jason was last seen in Madison County, Arkansas. His abandoned car was found in the parking lot of a mall in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His car keys, motorcycle and other belongings were found in different places, spread across Arkansas and Missouri - but to this day, no trace of Jason has ever been found. What happened to Jason Lierl? If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometime between the evening of September 2 in the early morning hours of September 3, 1994, 35-year-old Billie Jean Phillips was brutally beaten to death at her home in Alabam, Arkansas. The case soon became the biggest story in Madison County, and there was a long list of potential suspects. But in 2002, there was an arrest in the Billie Jean Phillips murder case. One that would shock the community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Saturday September 3, 1994, a federal poultry inspector named Chic Philips was taking his seven-year-old son MacKenzie back to the home of his mother and Chic’s ex-wife, 35-year-old Billie Jean Philips. When they arrived, Billie Jean’s son ran inside the house and walked back to the bedroom he saw his mom lying on the floor a few feet from the bed with her head kind of propped up against a wall. She wasn’t moving. So the little boy ran outside to the car and told his dad, “Mommy fell painting”. Chic put his son back in his truck and walked in to see what he was talking about and that’s when he found his former wife’s body and realized his son thought the blood spattered all over her bedroom were paint. Of course, the house became a crime scene, and it wasn’t long before the whole town heard what happened. Billie Jean had been brutally murdered. There was a long list of suspects including a sheriff living a double life, the prosecutor and his son who were sleeping with the victim, and a tale of conspiracy theories, arson, meth, and murder in Arkansas. So what really happened to Billie Jean Phillips? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this season of Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows, we travel back to a pivotal moment in the history of this country, and we trace how, decades before Covid-19, a virus tore through some of our most vulnerable communities while the wider world looked away. We go to a pediatric ward in Harlem, a women’s prison in upstate New York, a drug market in the South Bronx, and the inner sanctum of the National Institutes of Health. And we meet people who demanded that they, and their illness, be seen: mothers and children, doctors and nurses, nuns and sex workers, and a woman who literally helped change the definition of AIDS. The first episode comes out on Jan. 18. Blindspot is a co-production of The HISTORY® Channel and WNYC Studios, in collaboration with The Nation Magazine. Cover photo by Donna Binder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elderly couple David and Mina Swan lived in a quiet neighborhood in Clearwater, Florida. But on Saturday September 29, 2018, a neighbor of theirs was concerned when their newspapers started piling up outside. The neighbor called Mina’s daughter, and the pair of them went inside the house. What they found was horrific. David and Mina were at the kitchen table slumped over in pools of blood. The police have admitted that they are stumped, and over three years later the case is still unsolved. Who would have killed David and Mina Swan? If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.