Like a Puzzle

Like a Puzzle

Author: NonStop Local March 21, 2022 Duration: 26:09
It was Fall of 2003. A suspect broke into a woman's home near the Washington State University campus armed with a knife and firearm. He went on to assault and rape her. Several weeks later, Pullman Police responded again to an eerily similar attack in another residence less than a half-mile away. Investigators had a terrified community, and nothing more than a sketch to try to find the rapist. It would take nearly 19 years, and the use of forensic genetic genealogy, but in March of 2022 they finally made an arrest. This episode has in-depth interviews with both the detective on the case and the founder of the organization who helped finally crack it.

Beyond the headlines of the daily news cycle lie stories that have lingered for years, sometimes decades, in the shadows of the Inland Northwest. Help Me Hayley: Cold Case Files is a podcast that brings those stories back into the light. Guided by NonStop Local journalist Hayley Guenthner, this series digs into the details of Spokane's most notorious and often forgotten unsolved crimes. Hayley's experience isn't just from a script; when she's not anchoring weekend newscasts, she's on the ground producing investigative pieces and covering crime across the region. That firsthand perspective shapes every episode. Listeners will hear a careful examination of the facts, the timelines that don't add up, and the lingering questions that haunt families and investigators alike. This isn't about sensationalism; it's about a persistent search for clarity. Each case is presented with a journalist's rigor and a local's understanding, piecing together historical records, past reporting, and the human impact that remains fresh. The goal is to give voice to stories that deserve answers, exploring the complexities of investigations that have grown cold and remembering the lives at the center of them all. Tune in for a thoughtful, deep dive into the region's past, one unresolved mystery at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 56

Help Me Hayley: Cold Case Files
Podcast Episodes
Nothing Good Happens after Midnight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:05
The year was 1984. Debbi Finnern, 30, left all she knew in Omaha, Nebraska behind when she moved to Spokane. Her family believes just a few months after she arrived, she was murdered. Debbi's body was found with multiple…
How can dumping a murdered body be a misdemeanor? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:24
Heather Higgins vanished in 2010 from Spokane. Her body has never been found. In 2012, the dismembered remains of another Spokane woman, Kala Williams, were discovered dumped in a heavily wooded area. The families say ev…
The House on Heroy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:44
No one has seen 27-year-old Courtney Holden since the summer of 2018. Her adoptive mother and adoptive brother were arrested for stealing her funds and identity. But are they guilty of far more than that?
Murder, Love and Money [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:40
The story begins in Kootenai County, Idaho in the mid-1990s. That's when Christopher Loesch's grandfather was shot to death. In 1998, Christopher's grandmother was also murdered. It would take years, and revelations unco…
The Devil's in the Details [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:45
The wheels of justice have turned at a slow and very painful pace for a Spokane rape survivor. Her attacker broke more than a dozen bones in her body, sexually assaulted her, and left her to suffocate in a tied plastic b…
The Yates Effect [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:22
The late 90's in Spokane was one of the darkest time periods in our history. A serial killer was among us. But Robert Yates wasn't the only killer targetting Spokane women. The family of murder victim Margaret Anselmo kn…
The Evidence Room [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:00
In August of 1977, the bones of 19-year-old Robert Lee were found scattered in a rural wooded area in Stevens County. Evidence in his homicide was scarce. Because of that, prosecutors held his remains in the evidence roo…
Off Ramsey Road [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:03
A day at the North Idaho State Fair ended in a mystery that is yet to unravel decades later.
Into the Woods [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:10
In July of 2017, 50-year-old Marty Lang seemingly vanished into thin air. He made it to his rural property outside of Newport after work and set down his lunchbox. It was found about a foot or two from the driver’s side…
The Note [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:47
It was a cool June night in 2005. Spokane man Steven Allison was walking home from hanging out with his brother. He was found so badly beaten, a shoe print was visible on his face. Could a threatening note found in his r…