The episode you're about to hear was recorded in 2018, and it was originally the final episode of the WVU Co-Ed

murders. In 2022, we released three updates, including a new search for Meriden Karen's heads and the introduction of new suspects, accompanied by multiple personal witness testimony.

So even though you'll hear the narration refer to this as the final episode, keep in mind that there are now three more episodes to hear after this one.

With that, here's the original final episode of Appalachian Mysterious Season 1, the WVU Co-Ed murders.

Last time on Meriden Karen, we heard the story of Don Shade, an undercover officer who could not let the case go.

Jeff began investigating the Co-Ed murders with Detective Richard Hall. Their public calls for help led to a long forgotten machete and a search of the culvert where it had been found.

Eventually, a tip led them to the apartment of Ronnie Bird, a suspicious man known for torturing animals.

In this, the final episode, we talked to a forensic pathologist about the state of the bodies, several characters from parade of horribles come back into play.

Jeff reveals the identity of his top suspect and Sarah offers an alternative theory.

And finally, we hear how the case may soon be solved.

Some names in this episode have been changed and as always, listener discretion is advised.

From Chromatic Media, in the heart of Morgantown, West Virginia, this is Meriden Karen, the WVU Co-Ed murders.

As we prepare to finish this story, let me take a moment to say that it has been so fulfilling to me as a compulsive documentarian to see the history of this case spread throughout the region, especially to those who had never heard the tale.

Since the podcast was released, it has managed to find its way into the curriculum of classes at George Mason University, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and right here in Morgantown at WVU.

My name is Kelly Ears, and I actually worked as a crime scene tech in Asheville, North Carolina for their police department.

And then I came up here and I teach primarily police officers and other forensic professionals in crime scene, but I also sometimes teach some courses for the academic students in the undergraduate and graduate programs.

For one of those WVU courses that Kelly teaches when she's not instructing police officers, she invited Sarah, Jeff, and I to go over the case with her students, which involved one day in the classroom, and another day on a Morgantown walking tour, tracing the steps of Meriden Karen the night they disappeared.

We convened a long university avenue where she introduced Jeff and Sarah as the hosts of the tour and then me.

And then Kendall, I guess, is going to be the creepy guy in the back taking pictures and recording everything.

Before walking through the city, we talked about whether the students had ever heard of the story before the podcast, and we found that a few actually had.

There's still no day to go stories or.

No, I just think they just try and like just carry you.

...