Episode 233: Joann and Alex Katrinak | The Disappearance: Part I

Episode 233: Joann and Alex Katrinak | The Disappearance: Part I

Author: True Crime Couple June 14, 2026 Duration: 1:40:00

In the quiet borough of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, the days leading up to Christmas in 1994 should have been filled with the familiar comforts of the season. Instead, an unsettling silence settled over a neighborhood when a young mother and her infant son seemingly vanished without a trace. Their home held troubling clues, their car would soon be found abandoned nearby, and a community accustomed to knowing its neighbors suddenly found itself gripped by fear and uncertainty.

As investigators searched for answers, rumors spread through the ornamented streets and suspicion seemed to fall in every direction. What happened inside that small Pennsylvania town would become one of the region's most haunting mysteries: a case marked by compulsion, secrets, and a trail of evidence that only seemed to raise more questions. Tonight, we follow the twists and turns of an investigation that would captivate the Lehigh Valley for years, and uncover a story far darker than anyone could have imagined.

Trigger warning: This case involves violence against a child under one.

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Sources:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1201?utm
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/mcall/name/andrew-katrinak-obituary?id=18087919
https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/superior-court/2017/1919-eda-2016.html
https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/socialhistory-crime-punishment/chpt/lindbergh-law#_
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/lindbergh-law
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6931475/joann_marie-katrinak
https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/tag/alex-katrinak/
https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/superior-court/2017/1919-eda-2016.html
Mal, Tammy. Convenient Suspect. Chicago Review Press, 2017.


There's a unique dynamic that happens when two people who share a life also share a deep fascination with the darker corners of human nature. True Crime Couple is exactly that: a raw, unfiltered conversation between partners navigating the complex and often unsettling world of true crime together. This isn't a scripted lecture or a detached narration; it's the sound of two people trying to make sense of the senseless, often disagreeing, and always bringing their personal relationship into the analysis. You'll hear genuine reactions, personal debates, and the kind of tangential discussions that only happen when you're deeply comfortable with your co-host. The podcast delves into cases both infamous and obscure, but the real focus is on the human impact-the ripple effects on families, communities, and our own perceptions of safety and justice. It’s a documentary of sorts on how these stories affect us, recorded in real time from our living room. Listening feels like being part of a very specific, ongoing conversation where the case details are just the starting point for a deeper exploration of fear, morality, and the bonds that hold us together even when discussing the darkest subjects. We’re the True Crime Couple, and this is how we process the unthinkable, together.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

True Crime Couple
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