The Deck

From the outside, Greenacres seemed like a picture-perfect place to grow up, with a park, school, and corner store stocked with sugary sweets and arcade games all within walking distance. For Christy Luna and her friends, weekends were spent roaming the neighborhood and playing outside barefoot. But this storybook community had darkness lurking just under the surface, and it reared its ugly head one May night in 1984. More than 40 years later, Christy’s friends are peeling back the layers and piecing together memories from their childhood, finding that what actually lay beneath was much darker than they ever could’ve imagined.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

In the winter of 1976, Lisa Staes was trying to figure out what exactly she wanted to do with her life. Like so many 20-year-olds, she’d just moved out of her parents’ house and started classes at a community college. She was embracing her independence as a young adult. But no one ever got to see how Lisa’s life would unfold. Because that same year she disappeared. It took nearly two years for investigators to figure out that Lisa had been murdered. But in the 49 years since, they’re still trying to uncover why, and, most importantly… who. And now more than ever, it’s a race against time.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

Donna Martin was stabbed and killed in her own home in south Florida back in 1999. And police believed that the man who may have killed her was the very same man who had turned Boca Raton into a hunting ground. But police have been unable to pin Donna’s murder on him. That suspect even went to prison for other crimes, but now he’s a free man. And police believe solving Donna’s murder could help save other women in Florida.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

In the Fall of 1977, Bob was just weeks into his freshman year at UW-Madison. He was a math whiz with a knack for computers and a big heart. At 18-years-old, there was no telling how far he’d go. But no one ever expected to be asking the question… Where did he go? Yet here we are almost half a century later, with that burning question and just a string of bizarre clues that leads many to believe an infamous serial killer could be to blame for his disappearance.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

If you’ve ever been alone and felt like you might be in trouble, maybe you called someone… made it known you were on the phone… made it clear someone else was listening. But chatting on her cell while walking up to her apartment in sunny South Florida during broad daylight, Gwen couldn’t have sensed her life was in danger. And even the friend on the other end of the line had no way of stopping the evil that was lurking just behind Gwen’s front door…

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

Kyle Seidel was a 34-year-old dad to three young kids when he went to pick up Chinese takeout the Friday night before Christmas in 2012. His wife expected him to be gone for only about 20 minutes… but Kyle never came home again. A violent encounter on his way to the restaurant cut his life short. For 12 years, Kyle’s family has been left to wonder why Kyle pulled into a bowling alley parking lot on the way to the restaurant, who he encountered there, and why they shot him. Investigators think they know who pulled the trigger, but they don’t know the why… they’re hoping that just one new piece of evidence could help them find answers and bring his killer, or killers, to justice.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2025

When George, Asia, and Lindsay were all fatally shot in the same house on a stormy Mississippi night in 2019, nobody in the area heard or saw anything. But in the days after the attack, rumors and conspiracy theories went wild. And more than five years later… detectives are still working to untangle them all.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2025

The last known people to see Sharon Jones alive around Thanksgiving weekend in 1987 have something in common. They all attended the same apartment party. And when the young woman showed up dead several days later…stories started swirling about what actually went down that night. More than 37 years later, her family’s still hearing remnants of these rumors…rumors they’re hoping someone out there can help them put to rest once and for all…

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

Dashaun “Dae Dae” Lawson was 26-years-old when he was fatally shot outside his mother’s apartment in the Hockanum Park apartment complex in East Hartford, Connecticut. Dae Dae was killed  just a few days before Christmas in 2017 and  left behind three children, all under the age of five. His family and the detectives working his case are confident that someone in their neighborhood must have seen or heard something that could help investigators figure out who killed Dae Dae, they just need them to finally come forward.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

When 29-year-old Susie went to a house party on her reservation, surrounded by friends and so close to home, she should’ve been safe. But when the mother of two left the party in a car with some younger men, things took a turn for the worse. Susie never made it home, and six months later, her remains were found in a nearby forest. The men Susie was last seen with became immediate suspects, but to this day, there just isn’t enough evidence to charge them with her murder… Or is there?

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2025

When 37-year-old Tessie went more than a month without contacting any of her six children, her mom had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. Her loved ones never thought over five years would go by without hearing from her. But here they are ... still in the same stagnant spot. Still wondering what really happened... still waiting for Tessie to come home.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2025

When a beloved mother and grandmother is found stabbed to death inside her own home in an affluent seaside community, detectives are immediately suspicious of her soon-to-be ex-husband. But when his alibi seemed to check out, they were compelled to look at less obvious alternatives. Was this a murder-for-hire plot, or could the killer be someone much closer to Carole than they’d previously assumed?

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2025

On July 2nd 2018, Jeff West, a 46-year-old father of four, got into an argument with his mom in the backyard of her house. In the heat of the moment, he apparently stormed off into the woods surrounding her property… and has never been seen again.

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2025

Agustin Chacon, 25, and Marshall McCarthy, 37, were both shot to death in their homes in the same Odessa, Texas, neighborhood on the same winter night in 1982. While Marshall’s case nearly had too many leads for investigators to chase, Agustin’s hardly had any. A language barrier between police and Agustin’s roommates made things even harder. Now, more than 40 years later, one cold case detective is working through the different challenges in each case as she tries to solve both of these men’s murders.

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2025

Thirty-eight-year-old, LaQuandra “Shavonne” Slater was known for being independent. Everyone who knew her said she was outspoken, knew how to take care of herself, and wasn’t one to be pushed around. So, it was all the more shocking when, in December of 2016, she disappeared without a trace.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2025

On September 27th 2008, 51-year-old My-Dung Tran boarded a bus from her home in Pensacola, Florida to Biloxi, Mississippi for a trip to the casinos. She planned to stay for a couple of weeks to gamble with friends in the area. But on October 4th, 2008, My-Dung got into a cab outside of a casino and was never seen or heard from again. In the 16 years since then, her case has remained a mystery to Biloxi police.

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2025

William Alvarado was 73 years old when he was found stabbed to death in his living room in Willimantic, Connecticut in 2016. For years, his case was ice cold. But just recently, it started heating up– all thanks to a tip that came in from a deck of cold case playing cards. Now, detectives are working around the clock to finally solve William’s murder – and they’re the closest they’ve ever been.

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2025

After a night out with a new love interest in May 1986, 25-year-old Debra Sue Moore was fatally stabbed steps outside her date’s apartment door. Police quickly zeroed in on her estranged husband as a suspect, but a string of attacks on several other women in the same area during the same week forced them to consider whether a serial predator could be to blame for Debra’s death.

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2025

When 32-year-old Javed Akhtar was fatally shot outside his convenience store in East Windsor, Connecticut, on a cold winter night in 2007, his wife, their two young children, and a community of loyal customers were desperate for answers. Police soon found the murder weapon, but solving the case wouldn’t be simple, and the investigation stalled for years. Now, after reviewing case files for this episode of The Deck, investigators are pursuing new leads on three suspects, including one man with a direct link to that gun.

Transcribed - Published: 18 December 2024

Three decades have passed since 29-year-old Deborah Perry was found shot to death on a rural cul-de-sac outside Columbia, South Carolina, and her killer has never been caught. As cold case investigators follow new leads, Deborah’s daughter wonders if a pair of flowered pants and men’s underwear her mother was found holding could be the key to cracking the case.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2024

On its face, this missing person’s case might appear to be a tragic tale of a young man experiencing some sort of mental break. But there are a lot of loose ends and strange occurrences that can’t fully be explained away by a young college grad simply taking off on his own.

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2024

There had been many times that Mark Marino hugged his oldest son goodbye and feared he might never see him again. After all, Dominic was an Air Force vet who’d been deployed overseas more than a few times. But this wasn’t one of those moments. 30-year-old Dominic was just heading home after a short visit with his dad, both sure they would see each other again soon. Now that hug is a scene Mark will play on a loop in his mind for the rest of his life.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2024

Nineteen-year-old John Phillips was found dead and surrounded by dozens of weapons in a Rhode Island parking lot on October 28, 1986. His death was ruled a suicide, and for 15 years, the case was considered closed. But in 2001, after taking a closer look at the case files, detectives realized something didn’t quite add up… Today, they’re still working to uncover exactly what… or who… brought John to his death that October day.

Transcribed - Published: 20 November 2024

It seems like more than just a coincidence that this couple is on that particular face of cards, because by all accounts, Debbie was Alfonso’s queen. They’d only been together a few years or so, but according to both families, Alfonso always took care of his people. When he did choose to settle down, he was loyal to that one person. He was Debbie’s protector. But in the darkness of winter more than twenty years ago… not even he could save them.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2024

Randa was last seen on February 10th, 2009 at her apartment complex. By the next morning, she had disappeared without a trace, leaving a close-knit family of ten to unravel the mystery. Fifteen years later, detectives are still trying to find her and figure out what happened that fateful night… and who might be responsible.

Transcribed - Published: 6 November 2024

When duck hunters discovered human remains in an area called Saltair near The Great Salt Lake in Utah in the fall of 2000, investigators began the difficult task of trying to learn the real name of the woman they called “Saltair Sally". It took 12 years for the remains to be identified as those of Nikole “Niki” Bakoles, a 20-year-old mom originally from Washington state. Now, nearly another 12 years have passed, and investigators are still trying to figure out what happened to Niki and who left her by that lake.

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2024

At just 30 years old, Elisa had already lived a lifetime of ups and downs. She often found herself experiencing homelessness while battling her own personal demons. All the while struggling to be a mother to five children. Despite her difficulties, Elisa’s family felt she would come out on the other side. The problem is she never got that chance.

Transcribed - Published: 23 October 2024

When 23-year-old Anne Paetz went out for cigarettes after midnight on July 2nd, 1999, no one in her family thought much of it. But while out, she crossed paths with the wrong person, and never made it back home. The next morning, Anne was found dead on the side of the highway. Nearly 25 years later, her family is still desperate for answers.

Transcribed - Published: 16 October 2024

When Patricia “Patti” Barrett got on a bus from Dallas to Salt Lake City in 1978, her family had no way of knowing they’d never see her again. For over 30 years they were left wondering what happened to Patti, until 2012, when, with the help of Patti’s daughter and DNA testing, Salt Lake County detectives were able to connect her to the remains of a 1978 Jane Doe. Nearly 12 years have passed since that identification, and investigators are still trying to figure out what happened to Patti, and who’s responsible for her death.

Transcribed - Published: 9 October 2024

Our card this season is Ada Haradine, the 3 of Clubs from Indiana.

Transcribed - Published: 4 October 2024

Jay Durnil, 11, was last seen on April 29th, 1976 biking to the Elkhorn River in his family’s neighborhood near Waterloo, Nebraska. Jay’s dog Tex returned home that night but Jay was never seen alive again. Jay’s case was handled as an accidental drowning until his body surfaced in a different river 21 days later, with clear signs that he’d been murdered.

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2024

Back in October of 2023, we were contacted by one of Alice Griego’s son, Frankie, about covering his mother’s case. He was a listener of The Deck and had previously heard us cover cases in Utah. Unknown to him, our reporting team had already flagged his mother’s case as one we needed to take a closer look at. Not just because it was unsolved, but because we felt it had never received the full coverage it deserved. And we are confident someone out there knows the truth. Maybe it’s time for that someone to come forward…

Transcribed - Published: 25 September 2024

In the summer of 2017, Brianna was at a crossroads in her life. At the young age of 24, she was recently divorced from her husband and now living with an allegedly abusive boyfriend, all while battling some personal demons. So, on July 15th, when Brianna mysteriously disappeared, some people might assume she just walked away from it all and left her troubles behind. The Flint Township Police in Michigan are not those people. And seven years on, they’re still looking for Brianna and whoever took her…

Transcribed - Published: 18 September 2024

When an 11-year-old went missing from a quiet Nebraska suburb in 1986, an entire task force got to work searching for him. But as days passed by, their hopes for a safe return dwindled, and the unimaginable was confirmed a week after the disappearance. It’s been 38 years since Richard Chadek III was taken in broad daylight… but that doesn’t mean the leads have all dried up.

Transcribed - Published: 11 September 2024

This is The Deck Investigates Season One, episodes 13-18.

Transcribed - Published: 4 September 2024

This is The Deck Investigates Season One, episodes 7-12.

Transcribed - Published: 4 September 2024

This is The Deck Investigates Season One, episodes 1-6.

Transcribed - Published: 4 September 2024

When 19-year-old Jeannette left the little rented house she shared with her husband Matt in Odessa, Texas on the evening of September 13th, 1982, he had every reason to believe she’d be back in no time. What he couldn’t have known was that a silent countdown started the moment she walked out the door... and that every passing minute brought him one step closer to a life he never planned. One where he would be left to raise their 11-day-old daughter all on his own.

Transcribed - Published: 28 August 2024

For 18 years, no one has been able to figure out who killed Mary Cooper and her daughter Susanna Stodden while they were out for a scenic mother-daughter hike in the beautiful mountains of Washington state. No one understands why either. Their deaths and the evidence left behind continue to perplex detectives in Snohomish County.

Transcribed - Published: 21 August 2024

For 13-year-old Becca, the summer break before her freshman year of high school was supposed to be a time for a fresh start. Gaining some new-found independence… maturing into a young woman… But because of the brutal actions of a predator, Becca will forever remain a girl, frozen in time… stuck in the summer of 2003.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2024

26-year-old Eula, who most people knew as Kay, was a strong and independent woman. She lived her life to the fullest – working hard and playing harder. But in the summer of 1970, that would all change when someone took her life, and that someone is still out there…

Transcribed - Published: 7 August 2024

The stories we cover on this show have made me more aware than ever how even the smallest of choices and chance encounters can change the course of a person’s life. A last-minute decision, or even a shift in schedule, can have a positive impact… or… result in dire consequences. And in the wee morning hours on June 24th, 1983… something out of Tina Milford’s control placed the young mother on the same path as a predator…

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2024

I’ve been telling victims’ stories for 6½ years now. I’ve been a consumer of them for even longer. And in all that time, few stories have haunted me the way Dana’s has. Her killer was bold, so confident police would never catch him, that he taunted them. And for nearly 30 years, he’s been able to get away with it. But I think that’s coming to an end. Because even though it seems like he tried to do everything he could to erase himself from Dana’s apartment and her life, it looks like he didn’t cover all his tracks. He may have just left something behind that could finally give him away.

Transcribed - Published: 24 July 2024

Almost 30 years ago, Ana Bell Juarez disappeared in January 1997. But the exact details about her vanishing have never been fully divulged with detectives. Even today, as Detective Gonzales gets closer to finding out the truth… there’s still so many questions swirling around Odessa, Texas.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2024

Maria was spending what seemed like an average day with her two children when a masked intruder burst through the door and changed everyone in that home’s life. In just a matter of minutes, Maria, a single mom, was abducted and left for dead less than a mile from where her children were still hiding. It’s been two years, so the evidence is fresh and the leads are hot. But it’s going to take the right person coming forward to solve this case.

Transcribed - Published: 10 July 2024

16-year-old Sarah was not your typical teen. She was a multisport high school athlete who participated in basketball, softball, and track. She was a pretty darn good chess player, too. But in June of 2005, somebody took all that Sarah loved away from her. And they took Sarah away from everyone who loved her. 19 years later, the police are still trying to catch her killer, and they need your help.

Transcribed - Published: 10 July 2024

If you look at a picture of 25-year-old Domaine Richards, one thing stands out – his smile. A smile that could be infectious, but all the light Domaine had to bring to the world was taken away in November of 2007, and almost 17 years later, while police have at least one suspect they've been circling, they still need help bringing Domaine's case to a close.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2024

54-year-old Joe was a true “country guy", living a simple life in Anderson, South Carolina in 2012. He was a husband, father, provider, and handyman. It didn’t take much to make him happy. All he needed in life was his family, his work shed, and an ice-cold beer. Why someone would want to gun him down inside his own home remains a mystery, even over a decade after his death. To this day, Joe’s widow has never remarried. She’s still living at their same little house, with Joe’s picture hanging up on the wall, waiting for the day when justice will finally prevail.

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2024

Bobby Ray Jones had just moved back to Walton County, Florida, in the late summer of 1971. It was a rebirth-of-sorts for this 33-year-old man. After getting caught up in a love affair and running off to Alabama, he had only recently returned to the sunshine state to try and reconcile with his wife. And seemingly, he was on track to do just that. He had already found a new job and a place to stay. Things were starting to turn around. So much so, that on September 29th, he even told his “mama” she had no reason to worry about him… and that he didn’t have “an enemy in the world.” But the very next morning, Bobby Ray was murdered…

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2024

Linda "Lulu Ree" Ceasar's story is not all that different from so many others. She was a victim of her circumstances, and then she was a victim again when, in the summer of 1983, her life was taken in the most brutal of ways. Over 40 years later, the police still need help to close her case.

Transcribed - Published: 5 June 2024