December Newsletter: The Unsolved Cases of 2024
Welcome to the last newsletter of 2024. Thank you for being here and reading the updates across the year.
There’s a bit of a departure in this edition. I’m going to look back at the year and the unsolved cases that I’ve analyzed. Some are cases from this year, some go way back and can be classed as cold cases.
At the time of writing, they are all unsolved.
January
The unsolved murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier is a story I’ve been invested in for a long time, especially the words of the main suspect Ian Bailey. In January, I looked at Bailey’s reaction to the case review which was happening.
There were a lot of rumors circulating about the cold case review at the time. These rumors came thick and fast, but seemed to stop when Ian Bailey died. I fear now he is no longer with us, we may never know just what happened to Sophie.
When Bailey died, I did a deep dive into his final interview.
February
I looked at the case of missing Mount Dora mother, Nicole Baldwin, through the words of her daughter and one of the searchers Terri. The analysis raised questions about how unexpected Nicole’s disappearance was. Nicole has been missing for over a year now and investigators are still asking for information that could help them find here.
March
In South Africa, the disappearance of Joslin Smith made major headlines. The six year old went missing near Cape Town. Her mother Kelly and Kelly’s boyfriend are facing charges of selling her to fund their drug habits.
March was the first time this year that I looked at the case of Elizabeth, Liz, Barraza. Liz was brutally shot on her drive early one morning. Lots of internet sleuths pointed the finger at her husband Sergio. Sergio has a lot to say about what happened in media interviews, however the first analysis I carried out looked at his response to the police on the morning of Liz’s murder.
Later in the year Segio spoke to Nancy Grace about the case. She pushed him pretty hard. What did I make of his answers?
April
Sebastian Rogers was 15 years old at the time he went missing. As I write he still hasn’t been found. I looked at the case a couple of times this year, starting with his mother and stepdad, the Proudfoots.
Later on in the year, I looked at the words of Sebastian’s natural father, Seth Rogers. Seth is seen as suspicious by many. What did I make of him?
June
Was the Karen Read trial the biggest true crime story of the year? Maybe! Over the summer, I spent time breaking down the testimony given at her trail where she faced charges of killing her boyfriend John O’Keefe. It’s safe to say I didn’t think a lot of many of the witnesses called.
Also in June, I looked at an interview with Don and Candus Wells, parents of missing girl Summer Wells. This one was pretty grim, I did not like they way to spoke about their daughter at all.
July
Is the JonBenet Ramsey case the biggest cold case we can think of? It certainly still has people hooked nearly 30 years after her murder.
I looked at the 911 call made by JonBenet’s mother Patsy. Was she calling in an emergency or selling a story?
In the 911 call, Patsy mentions the ransom note. Who wrote that? There’s a lot of speculation. What did I make of it?
With the release of a new Netflix documentary on the case, John Ramsey, JonBenet’s father gave some new interviews. Did he come across as innocent or is he hiding something?
August
Ellen Greenberg died in 2011 and her death was ruled self-inflicted. Investigation over. But not for her family or friends. So much of what they observed doesn’t add up, including the 911 call made by her fiancee Sam.
Later in the year, her fiancé, broke his long long silence. Did he have anything of note to say?
October
I’d heard of the Missy Beavers story before but never any of the details. Missy was killed early one morning while setting up a class in a church. Like with Sergio Barraza, interest turned to her husband. Did his interview soon after the murder raise alarm bells?
December
And I finished the year off with a good old fashion mystery. Who is The Watcher, an anonymous letter writer who sent terrifying messages to a couple who’d just bought a home.
What to do in 2025? Are there any unsolved cases I should dive into? Let me know by reply or in the comments.
A quick reminder that these cases were all unsolved at the time of writing. At the time you read this, that may have changed.
See you next year.