A Mother’s Relentless Pursuit of Justice: Krystal’s Story by Josephine Wentzel

Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime

4.4 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2024

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, is joined by Josephine Wentzel, mother of Krystal Mitchell, a young woman tragically murdered in 2016. Josephine shares her heart-wrenching journey to bring Krystal’s killer, Raymond McLeod, to justice. Despite systemic hurdles and relentless heartache, Josephine refused to let Crystal’s case go cold, leading a six-year search across borders. McLeod was captured in the Central American country after the U.S. Marshals Service received a tip that he was teaching English at school in the city of Sonsonate, El Salvador.

Josephine Wentzel is a former law enforcement officer. She became an advocate for justice following the murder of her daughter, Krystal Mitchell. Through years of relentless pursuit and public advocacy, she brought global awareness to Crystal's case, refusing to let her daughter’s killer, Raymond Mcleod, escape justice.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, you are not alone, and help is available. Please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org for resources, support, and guidance. Trained advocates are available 24/7 to provide confidential help. Don’t hesitate to reach out—support is just a call away.

Show Notes:

(0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum
(0:10) Sheryl gives a background of today’s episode dedicated to DV awareness month
(1:20) Sheryl introduces guest, Josephine, Krystal's mother to Zone 7
(1:30) Background of Krystal Mitchell
(7:45) Meeting McLeod - the deceptive charm
(11:30) Josephine shares her premonitions and concerns about Krystal’s safety
(14:00) The devastating confirmation of Krystal’s death
(17:45) Taking proactive measures in the search
(22:00) “When you minimize a Google map, the whole time I pictured that, that whole entire map on my hand, and I said, it's as big as my hand, and I can find every part.”
(28:40) Jack Donovan… the name Raymond McLeod went by
(37:30) Upcoming trial and hopes for justice
(38:30) “I've said it before and I'll say it again. He messed with the wrong mama.” -S.S
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you’re loving the show and want to help grow the show, please head over to Itunes and leave a rating and review!

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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

Social Links:

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Crystal Mitchell, a 30-year-old mother of two, was dating a 37-year-old former Marine,
0:16.0	bodybuilder and dad Raymond McLeo. On June 15th, Play 16th, they're visiting friends in San Diego on
0:26.8	Mission Gorge. They decide to go out for some drinks at a local bar while at the bar. Crystal and
0:34.3	Raymond get into some type of argument. Raymond slaps her.
0:39.3	Another man at the bar tries to intervene
0:41.9	and the two men get into a fight.
0:44.7	The couple left the bar and returned to the apartment
0:47.8	where they were staying at the 7600 block of Mission Gorge.
0:53.8	There is video from the elevator where Raymond put his hand around Crystal's throat and moves her toward the apartment.
1:03.4	The next day, Crystal was found inside the apartment's guest room dead. She had been strangled and beaten and
1:13.6	there was a trail of blood from the apartment to the elevator door. Raymond was nowhere
1:20.6	to be found. Please welcome a very special guest to Zone 7, Josephine Winsel, Crystal's Mama.
1:32.3	Listen, y'all, y'all heard those stories about mamas lifting cars off children, rushing into fires, jumping between a child and a bear.
1:45.7	Well, let me tell you about Josephine.
1:47.9	When Crystal's case went cold and nobody was looking for her, her mama looked for her without fear.
1:56.7	Here's the deal, Josephine.
1:58.9	You know how I feel about you and how I admire you and just there's not enough accolades I could say about how you are one of the most incredible people I've ever met.
2:11.3	But why don't we start and you just tell us about Crystal?
2:17.0	Well, Crystal was 30.
2:19.2	She had just turned 30 on May 21st.
2:23.1	She was killed in June 10th.
2:25.6	She was a beautiful woman inside out.
	...

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