183. Little Girls Lost: The Lyon Sisters

 It is a parent’s worst nightmare. The abduction of a child is more than traumatic but what if two of your children simply disappeared. That is precisely what happened on March 25, 1975, when  12-year-old Sheila Lyon and her little sister, 10-year-old Katherine departed from their home to walk ½ mile to the local shopping mall in Wheaton, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC.  The girls made it to the mall but never made it home, they would never be seen again.  This case has many twists and turns, but a dogged investigator and his team refused to give up. This is the story of The Lyon Sisters.

 

Join Jen and Cam on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled “Little Girls Lost: The Lyon Sisters.”

 

Listener discretion by the remarkably talented Edward October from @octoberpodVHS             

 

 

All music is by our fabulous executive producer Nico @wetalkofdreams                                                                                     

 

A big thanks to Mark Bowden and his book The Last Stone which did a great job telling the story of Katie and Sheila Lyon. Get it wherever you get your books or on Amazon as a Kindle or Audible edition. 

 

 

Sources: 

Bowden, Mark (April 2, 2019). The Last Stone. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, an imprint of Grove/Atlantic. ISBN 9780802147301.

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stone-Masterpiece-Criminal-Interrogation/dp/0802147305

‘Who Killed the Lyon Sisters” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13370308/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/04/01/feature/the-lyon-sisters-had-vanished-40-years-earlier-but-this-cold-case-team-didnt-give-up-on-them/

https://wtop.com/local/2017/03/the-investigation-continues-lyon-sisters/

http://wtop.com/local/2015/07/after-indictment-new-information-expected-in-lyon-sisters-disappearance/slide/1/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lyon-sisters-case-lloyd-lee-welch-pleads-guilty-to-1975-murders-of-2-maryland-girls/

http://wset.com/news/local/man-pleads-guilty-to-murdering-lyon-sisters-in-1975

https://web.archive.org/web/20071001001513/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/143626632.html?dids=143626632:143626632&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=May+23%2C+1975&author=By+Deborah+Sue+YaegerWashington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=B1&desc=Md.+Guardsmen+to+Join+Hunt+for+Lyon+Sisters

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/investigators-prepare-announcement-in-1975-missing-girls-case/2015/07/14/2ca2e68c-2a2f-11e5-a250-42bd812efc09_story.html

 

https://streetcarsuburbs.news/lloyd-lee-welch-jr-pleads-guilty-to-1975-murder-of-the-lyon-sisters/

https://wset.com/archive/where-are-the-lyon-sisters-a-closer-look-at-lloyd-welch-jr

https://www.distractify.com/p/lloyd-lee-welch-jr-now

https://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Only-On-WDBJ7-Welch-relative-explains-her-familys-side-of-the-story-in-Lyon-Sisters-case-390366592.html

https://wtop.com/local/2016/07/cousin-100-percent-sure-lloyd-welch-murdered-lyon-sisters/

https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Crime-draws-unwanted-attention-to-remote-Virginia-mountain-445438523.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/19/missing-maryland-sisters-delaware-sex-offender/5601455/

https://newsadvance.com/news/local/it-wasnt-just-the-lyon-sisters-he-harmed-lloyd-welch-pleads-guilty-in-two-child/article_faca21fa-9ef5-11e7-b4cf-97a3cdb56f46.html

https://www.fbi.gov/baltimore/press-releases/2014/person-of-interest-named-in-kidnapping-of-lyon-sisters-others-victims-sought

https://www.wsls.com/news/2017/09/12/lloyd-lee-welch-pleads-guilty-in-lyon-sisters-murder-case/

https://www.somdnews.com/recorder/crime_and_courts/sentenced-child-sex-abusers-request-to-serve-time-on-home-detention-denied/article_cfe998cc-c1e7-5663-98cc-7edbc3a7cbb2.html

https://thebaynet.com/montgomery-man-sentenced-in-calvert-sex-abuse-case-html/

182. Romana Wilson, MMIWG and the Highway of Tears

 Situated in the middle of a wild and beautiful outdoor playground, the town of

Smithers, British Columbia, Canada, rests at the foot of the luminous Hudson Bay

Mountain. The town is located halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert along

the 450-mile evergreen-lined Highway 16. Currently, most of the inhabitants of Smithers

are of European descent. The First Nations people, notably the Wet’suwet’en, called this land home for thousands of years. Now there are only about 8% of the current population are First Nations people.

And even though the entire area of the Bulkley Valley is untamed, wild, and

peacefully scenic, there is another, darker side of the valley. All along Highway 16 are

billboards with the following warning: Girls Don’t Hitchhike on the Highway of Tears.

Killer on the Loose.

Ramona Wilson was sixteen and a member of the Gitxsan nation.  She was looking forward to going to a dance with several of her friends on a cool and calm evening in June of 1994, but she never made it to the dance. She simply vanished into the inky-blue twilight.

Unfortunately, she's not the only one.

Join Cam & Jen as we discuss Ramona Wilson, MMIWG, and the Highway of Tears.

If you have any info about Ramona Wilson or any of the other  women mentioned in this episode, please call the British Columbia Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Promo from Murder in My Family

Thanks to the OTCP team

Listener Discretion by Edward @OctoberpodVHS. 

You can find him on all your podcast apps or at https://www.youtube.com/c/octoberpodhomevideo

Producer and theme music by Nico Vettese

wetalkofdreams.com

Researched and written by Lauretta Allen

Sources:

https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/mmiw/profiles/ramona-lisa-wilson

https://zeph456.medium.com/who-killed-ramona-wilson-650858327d16

https://thehueandcry.com/ramona-wilson

https://www.todayinbc.com/news/ramona-wilson-memorial-walk-twenty-five-years-but-still-no-closure/

https://hazlitt.net/feature/death-and-afterlife-ramona-wilson

http://www.justicefornativewomen.com/2016/05/the-unsolved-murder-of-ramona-wilson.html?m=1

https://www.interior-news.com/news/ramona-wilson-parade-marks-26th-anniversary-of-teens-disappearance/

https://www.interior-news.com/news/ramona-wilson-memorial-walk-twenty-five-years-but-still-no-closure/

https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/mmiw/profiles/ramona-lisa-wilson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsZkus8Rsmg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTW67EMWHu4&t=931s

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141655028/ramona-lisa-wilson

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cc-afn/wilson-ramona-eng.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Tears

https://www.cftktv.com/27th-annual-ramona-wilson-memorial-walk-held-in-smithers-1.5470349

https://about.rogers.com/news-ideas/working-together-to-support-safe-passage-along-the-highway-of-tears-for-indigenous-women-like-ramona-lisa-wilson/

https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/20181128_MMIWG_Prince_George_B._Wilson_Statement_Vol_602_Public.pdf

https://globalnews.ca/news/1447495/bc-crimestoppers-the-case-of-missing-16-year-old-ramona-wilson-of-smithers/

https://www.tv-eh.com/2016/09/16/taken-highway-of-tears-ramona-wilson-and-alberta-williams/

https://www.wcls.org/book-buzz-highway-of-tears/

https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/indigenous-women-bc-canada-en.pdf

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508837116/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508837781/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508830047/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508833476/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508835887/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/496224219/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508830833/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508828579/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/329086169/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/329121381/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508829563/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/496224157/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/325310472/?terms=Ramona%20Wilson&match=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDALk_yImmE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1pDbpXR21M

 https://www.thehueandcry.com/delphine...

 https://unidentified.wikia.org/wiki/D...

 http://www.justicefornativewomen.com/...

 https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered...

 http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/707df...

 https://missingkids.ca/en/missing-chi...

 https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/m...

 https://rcccmcc.com/2020/01/08/delphi...

 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca...

 https://unidentified.wikia.org/wiki/C...

 https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered...

 http://www.justicefornativewomen.com/...

 http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3474d...

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/495090395/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/508815339/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/466826757/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/559123191/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/496935874/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/496928980/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/505740277/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/325472797/?terms=Delphine%20Nikal&match=1

https://thehueandcry.com/delphine-nikal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDALk_yImmE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1pDbpXR21M

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithers,_British_Columbia#Education,_health_&_emergency_services

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Smithers,+BC,+Canada/@55.0577103,-128.84505,7.75z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x547509629c5d2717:0xa65b2375f04cb24f!2sSmithers,+BC,+Canada!3b1!8m2!3d54.782355!4d-127.1685541!3m4!1s0x547509629c5d2717:0xa65b2375f04cb24f!8m2!3d54.782355!4d-127.1685541

https://tourismsmithers.com/plan-your-visit/about-smithers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Tears

http://www.scsa.ca/programs/other-services/smithers-and-district-transit

https://globalnews.ca/news/1447495/bc-crimestoppers-the-case-of-missing-16-year-old-ramona-wilson-of-smithers/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_and_murdered_Indigenous_women#Controversies_and_Findings_of_the_2015_Report

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Delphine_Nikal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Pana

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/325435693/?terms=Nicole%20Hoar&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/486346607/?terms=Nicole%20Hoar&match=1

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141655028/ramona-lisa-wilson

http://dyingwords.net/tag/project-e-pana/

https://www.merrittherald.com/arrest-made-in-1978-murder-of-merritt-girl-3/

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Highway_of_Tears#/google_vignette

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=540570367761798

181. The Missing Girls: Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis

 It is  Jan. 9, 2002, in Oregon City, Oregon, 12-year-old Ashley Pond left her home to walk to the bus stop for Gardiner Middle School. Ashley was hurrying as she was going to be late and miss the bus stop, which was located approximately 10 minutes from her home. Ashley was popular in school but what she loved most was dance. She was on the school’s dance team, The Fallen Angels. The team would be rehearsing that day for the big competition they had coming up. Since she was late, Ashley started running as she didn’t want to miss school.  Little did her loved ones know that she would never get to the bus or arrive at school. Ashley simply disappeared, and she would not be the only one.

Join Jen and Cam on this episode of ‘Our True Crime Podcast’ entitled The Missing Girls: Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis.

Listener Discretion by @octoberpodVHS                                             

Music and EP by @wetalkofdreams                          

Sources: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXnb_6jvg3c

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Miranda_Gaddis_and_Ashley_Pond

https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/503896-402986-potential-news-for-convicted-murderers-in-weaver-family

https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/ward_f_weaver_born_1963_8641619

https://thecinemaholic.com/ashley-pond-and-miranda-gaddis-murders-where-is-ward-weaver-now/

https://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/2014/02/ward_weaver_iii_like_his_fathe.html

http://thetribonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=26369

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jun/28/science/sci-weaver28

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/step-by-step-in-oregon-killer-case/

http://articles.latimes.com/2002/mar/14/news/mn-32788

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2216310.stm

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2014/06/prosecutors_to_present_case_ag.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20110707161918/http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2007/05/07/news/news03.txt

O'Neal, Linda; Watson, Rick; Tennyson, Philip (2007). The Missing Girls: A Shocking True Story of Abduction and Murder. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-94161-1.

SPECIAL: Our Precious Hope Revisited: St. Louis' Little Jane Doe

 Back in 2018, we covered this case with our first episode of The 12 Nightmares before Christmas. It is the most infamous unsolved murder in the state of Missouri. The case is open, and the child's identity is still unknown.

It was February 1983 when two men enter the basement of 5635 Clemens Avenue, a derelict and vacant apartment building in northwest St. Louis, and stumble upon a grisly scene that would haunt the authorities and the community for years. 

The 40th year anniversary is upon us, and a St. Louis local is fighting to get St Louis’ Jane Doe, known as Precious Hope, not only her name but the justice she deserves. 

Listen now on this special Our True Crime Podcast episode as we speak to Edrar ‘Bird’ Sosa, director of the documentary “Our Previous Hope Revisited: St Louis’ Jane Doe,” which is premiering on Amazon Prime on September 15, 2022. 

IMDB info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21662982/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

180. Hell Ride: The Murder of Hannah Cornelius

****Content Warning**** Sexual Assault****

Cape Town, South Africa: In the early hours of May 27, 2017, Hannah Cornelius drove her friend Cheslin Marsh home after a night out. Before Cheslin could say goodbye, four men hijacked the car at knifepoint and kidnapped the two Stellenbosch University students. 

Cheslin was beaten with bricks and left to die. The gang members brutally assaulted Hannah and then murdered her in a senseless, brutal, and barbaric attack.

The gang members would then go on a crime spree in Hannah's car until the police finally caught them.

Please join Cam and Jen as we discuss Hell Ride: Hannah Cornelius. 

**Jen apologizes in advance if she pronounced anything incorrectly.  She really tried!

A HUGE thank you to Nicole from True Crime South Africa for helping us get the court documents.

Thanks to the OTCP team

Listener Discretion by Edward @OctoberpodVHS. You can find him on all your podcast apps or at https://www.youtube.com/c/octoberpodhomevideo

Producer and theme music by Nico Vettese

wetalkofdreams.com

Researched and written by Lauretta Allen

Sources:

The foundation was set up in Hannah’s name by her mother, Anna.

https://hcfoundation.org.za/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USfgKniVtWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zUD-60cW-E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_PUy_jZNMY

https://www.news24.com/News24/breaking-life-sentences-for-3-found-guilty-of-hannah-cornelius-rape-murder-20181112

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hannah+Cornelius+murder%3A+All+we+know+after+kidnapped+student+is...-a0560179357

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/crime/hannah-cornelius-death-killers-documentary-26623496

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUOHEN3cvoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_PUy_jZNMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8KmB2MiU6g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E3cEMDCbRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orBfyTErUCM

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194232581/hannah-cornelius

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6w0Fl2OtIY

https://www.news24.com/News24/breaking-life-sentences-for-3-found-guilty-of-hannah-cornelius-rape-murder-20181112

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-10-10-hannah-corneliuss-last-hours-by-one-of-the-men-accused-of-killing-her/

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-10-17-hannah-murder-thumbprint-on-condom-comes-to-light/

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-10-22-how-a-cold-drink-bottle-could-provide-crucial-evidence-in-the-hannah-cornelius-case/

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-10-24-i-admit-it-all-weeping-hannah-murder-accused-confesses-after-graphic-testimony/

https://www.instagram.com/_hannahcor/?hl=en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_Gang#:~:text=The%20Numbers%20Gang%20is%20a,in%20most%20South%20African%20prisons.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/8xpnqb/portraits-of-south-africas-bloodiest-prison-gang-the-number

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj2UWcTSRwU

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/crime/hannah-cornelius-death-killers-documentary-26623496?fbclid=IwAR0dH_XTVtD3ayGXaRt2boCo24HVn6RLF87qmJnj9aAIF4hX45kIhNXu27w

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-10-18-honour-the-dead-understand-their-last-moments-face-the-horror/

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-03-26-drowning-of-mother-of-slain-maties-student-hannah-cornelius-an-accident/

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Scarborough+Beach/@-28.9560094,16.8057487,5.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x1dcc14f91029e049:0x17d9a8e039f9a58a!8m2!3d-34.1995929!4d18.371973

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town

https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Town/The-people

https://tears.org.za/    Organization that Hannah volunteered with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9zHTuG1paQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zelxeuLM0xk

https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/za/matroosfontein/FACT/date/2018-3-25

http://www.sun.ac.za/english/alumni/Pages/default.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_(racial_term)

https://dsae.co.za/entry/kaffertjie/e03577#:~:text=1972%20G.J.%20Broekhuysen%20in%20Std%20Encycl.%20of%20Sn,An%20insulting%20term%20for%20a%20young%20black%20boy.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kraaifontein,+Cape+Town,+South+Africa/@-33.8775127,18.6095283,11.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x1dcc53fc0609e907:0x15ea5ff10f6470d3!8m2!3d-33.8472657!4d18.7174437

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xhosa_people

https://www.news24.com/News24/dna-confirms-unknown-suspect-in-hannah-cornelius-rape-murder-20181018

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6366637/Father-gang-rape-victim-Hannah-Cornelius-faces-killers-court.html

https://www.news24.com/News24/hannah-cornelius-accused-found-guilty-on-all-charges-20181107

https://blogs.sun.ac.za/irene/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellenbosch#:~:text=To%20the%20south%20is%20Stellenbosch,1%2C590%20m%20(5%2C220%20ft).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_South_Africa

***The Court Transcript from the Trial***

https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/dna-of-hannahcornelius-killers-found-in-used-condoms-at-crime-scene-17597970

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/hannah-cornelius-geraldo-parsons-tattoos/

https://thenumbersgang.weebly.com/

https://theconversation.com/heres-how-some-of-cape-towns-gangsters-got-out-and-stayed-out-170485