The Torso Murders Part 2: San Jacinto County

The Torso Murders Part 2: San Jacinto County

Author: TTC Productions October 27, 2025 Duration: 31:47
Three years after a suitcase containing a man’s torso surfaced in the Rio Grande near El Paso, another horror emerged—this time in the pine woods of East Texas. On February 3, 1962, two brothers seining minnows in a roadside ditch off U.S. Highway 59 north of Cleveland discovered two cardboard boxes wired together and packed with cement. Inside was the severed torso of a woman. Her head, arms, and legs were missing.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Lewis Woodruff and Constable Collis Everitt called in the Texas Rangers and Houston pathologist Dr. Joseph Jachimczyk. The autopsy revealed crude dismemberment, a missing heart, and faint teeth marks on the torso. Nine pieces of women’s clothing surrounded the body, all stripped of laundry tags. Every clue, as few as there were, pointed toward Houston.

Investigators chased leads across Texas and beyond.

Between the 1959 discovery in El Paso and the 1962 killing in San Jacinto County lay nearly eight hundred miles, three years, and two nameless victims—each drained of blood, each missing a heart. The phantom butcher once dubbed “Mack the Knifer” disappeared without a trace, leaving the questions of who they were and why they died buried with them.

If you have any information about the 1962 San Jacinto Torso Case, please call the sheriff’s office there at (936) 653-4367.

Sources: The El Paso Times, The El Paso Herald-Post, The Houston Post, The Houston Chronicle, The Sarasota Journal, The Fort Lauderdale News

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com

Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast 

#SanJacintoCounty #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.

The stories that haunt a community often linger long after the headlines fade, waiting for someone to listen. Gone Cold-Texas True Crime is a podcast dedicated to those unresolved narratives, focusing specifically on the vast and complex landscape of Texas. Each episode delves into a different mystery, from long-unsolved homicides and disappearances that have left families searching for decades to other enigmatic cases that have stubbornly resisted explanation. The sheer size and diverse history of Texas provide a unique backdrop for these investigations, where details can be as sprawling as the state itself. Produced by TTC Productions, this series approaches each case with a focus on the facts and the human stories at their core, avoiding sensationalism in favor of thoughtful examination. When you listen, you’ll hear a detailed recounting of events, often including what is known about the individuals involved and the investigative paths that were followed, all while considering the questions that remain unanswered. This podcast serves as an audio record for cases that deserve renewed attention, exploring the lingering impact on communities and the hope that new information might still emerge. It’s for those drawn to the intricacies of real-life mysteries and the understanding that some of the most compelling stories are those without an ending.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Gone Cold - Texas True Crime
Podcast Episodes
Presenting DNA: ID [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:38
If you like highly detailed and thoroughly researched podcasts, you will love DNA ID. The show has over 100 episodes available to binge on right now.One of those episodes, episode 122, covers the case of Patricia Stichle…
The Forgotten: The Dallas/Fort Worth ‘80s Murders Part 7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:46
Before the murders of Catherine Davis, Cindy Heller, Angela Ewert, and Sarah Kashka, all of whose cases were connected in some way to Fort Worth’s west and southwest sides, a series of murders took place that haunted the…
The Slaying of Judy Herron and the Kidnapping of Amy McNeil [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:20
In November of 1984, a brutal and shocking murder rocked the otherwise crime-free and exclusive Colleyville subdivision Tara Plantation. Judy Herron was a 37-year-old stay at home parent and was attacked and slain not lo…
Angela Ewert: The Dallas/Fort Worth ‘80s Murders Part 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:50
In early December 1984, not long after the disappearances of 23-year-olds Catherine Davis and Cindy Heller, 21-year-old Angela Ewert spent an evening getting sized for an engagement ring. After leaving her fiance’s house…
The Murders of Regina Grover & David Larson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:19
A few days before Christmas in 1984, 26-year-old David Dale Larson and 21-year-old Regina Suzanne Grover went out for a dinner date at The Keg Restaurant and Bar off Camp Bowie in Fort Worth, Texas. Service industry work…
Mary Till: The Dallas/Fort Worth ‘80s Murders Part 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:51
In August of 1983, twenty-seven-year-old Mary Till left her Arlington apartment to head to work in Dallas. She never made it. For month, Mary’s parents agonized over their daughter’s disappearance. In early January of 19…
Cindy Heller: The Dallas/Fort Worth ‘80s Murders Part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:34
Less than a month after the disappearance of Catherine Davis, another 23-year-old woman vanished without a trace. In late October 1984, Cindy Heller stopped to help a stranded motorist. As genuinely friendly and caring a…
Catherine Davis: The Dallas/Fort Worth ‘80s Murders Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:26
Catherine Davis came to Texas in 1979 from Oxford, Mississippi. Chasing a career in modeling and fashion, she first landed in Dallas but followed a boy to Fort Worth in 1982. In late September 1984, the twenty-three-year…
Sarah Kashka: The Dallas/Fort Worth ‘80s Murders Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:00
In December of 1984, fifteen-year-old Sarah Kashka travelled to Fort Worth from Denton to visit her best friend and hit a party. The party didn’t happen, and Sarah and her friend parted ways, each with their boyfriends.…