REOPENED: The Heartland Killer

Cold Case Files

A&E / PodcastOne

True Crime, Society & Culture

3.8 • 8.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 1980s, a suspected serial killer preyed on women in small towns located on the banks of the Mississippi River until the murders abruptly ceased and went unsolved. In 2006, 26 years later, a cold case detective and producer on the set of "Cold Case Files" unknowingly began to connect the dots that would crack the case while discussing the murder of Deborah Sheppard, a Southern Illinois University student whose death had remained a mystery since 1982.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault.
0:04.1	Listener discretion is advised.
0:11.6	I had unanswered questions.
0:13.7	Even though I knew she was gone, I didn't believe it.
0:16.4	It was Easter weekend, and we were planning to go and see Deppra.
0:20.7	We were looking forward to that Easter
0:23.1	egg hunt just being together instead. It was 25 years before we knew what happened to Debra.
0:31.5	There are 120,000 unsolved murders in America. Each one is a cold case. Only one percent are ever solved.
0:40.5	This is one of those rare stories.
0:49.1	It's April 8, 1982 in Carbondale, Illinois, and the Easter holiday is approaching.
0:55.0	23-year-old Deborah Shepard returns to her ground floor apartment at the Regal Apartments on Graham Street after classes at Southern Illinois University.
1:04.0	Her boyfriend, Randy, invites her to go see a movie, but it's already late, almost 11 p.m. and Deborah wants an early night because she has a busy
1:12.8	day tomorrow. The following morning, Deborah's family is going to be visiting from Chicago and we'll be
1:18.7	picking her up early. Easter is important to the Shepherd family. They like to get together each
1:24.5	year to celebrate with a large meal and an Easter egg hunt.
1:28.3	Deborah's sister Bridget is looking forward to seeing her.
1:31.5	They haven't been able to spend much time together since Deborah moved to Carbondale's study.
1:35.5	We couldn't wait to get Deborah.
1:36.8	We were really looking forward to celebrating, enjoying Easter,
1:41.5	knowing that her graduation was just a few weeks away.
1:47.0	Deborah turns down the movie invitation.
1:49.4	She tells Randy that she needs to clean up the apartment before her parents and sisters
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 14 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from A&E / PodcastOne, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of A&E / PodcastOne and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.