1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780
The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.

2
00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400
All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

3
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160
Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.

4
00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560
Listener discretion is advised.

5
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280
I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.

6
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680
And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.

7
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,480
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.

8
00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:36,640
Hello everyone and welcome back.

9
00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:37,640
Welcome back everyone.

10
00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,240
I am Eli.

11
00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:40,920
And I'm Ali.

12
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,200
And in case you didn't hear it in the intro, this is Cold and Missing.

13
00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:48,200
Yeah, we are on episode 50 today, my love.

14
00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:49,200
50?

15
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:50,200
That's shocking.

16
00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,120
I can't believe it's already at 50.

17
00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:53,120
Episode 50?

18
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,800
It is a... it's a cold case.

19
00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:57,800
Mm-hmm.

20
00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:58,800
Yeah.

21
00:00:58,800 --> 00:00:59,800
Like last week.

22
00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:00,800
Alrighty.

23
00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,320
Um, well, should we just usher right into it?

24
00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:06,240
Yeah, let's get into it.

25
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:07,240
Let's do it.

26
00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:12,960
So just as a content warning at the top, this case does involve sexual assault.

27
00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:17,320
And just in case you're new here or maybe haven't listened to all our past episodes,

28
00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:22,760
the reason why I don't leave out any details that I find is because you never know what

29
00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,620
a suspect has said over the years.

30
00:01:24,620 --> 00:01:26,680
What will jog someone's memory?

31
00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,720
Maybe what someone has said while they're drunk or maybe what somebody has said while

32
00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:32,040
they're asleep.

33
00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:37,040
So I try to give all the details because it's all information.

34
00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:43,400
So today we are covering the cold case of Roberta Elam or Sister Robin.

35
00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:49,440
And this takes place in June of 1977 in Wheeling, West Virginia.

36
00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,560
But first a little bit about Roberta.

37
00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,360
Roberta was a postulate nun who also went by Sister Robin.

38
00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:01,280
From everything I could find, it does appear that her family called her Robin as well.

39
00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,320
So that's what I'll call her throughout the podcast today.

40
00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,040
In 1977, Robin is 26 years old.

41
00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:14,560
She was born August 23rd, 1950, and she would be 72 years old today and turning 73 later

42
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,160
this month.

43
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:20,320
Sister Robin was someone who was extremely interested in social justice.

44
00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:25,200
She had gotten a master's in religious studies at Fordham University in New York City, where

45
00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,000
she met one of her best friends, Sister Kathleen.

46
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,000
The two of them teamed up and worked on adult education in rural West Virginia.

47
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,400
Sister Robin, as I already mentioned, was in the process of becoming a nun.

48
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,440
She had joined the year prior and she was on track to take her temporary vows in one

49
00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:43,440
year.

50
00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,300
Robin did not live with the Sisters of St. Joseph at the convent.

51
00:02:47,300 --> 00:02:50,120
She drove an orange convertible Fiat.

52
00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:54,960
She loved to go jogging and hiking as forms of exercise and wrote poetry.

53
00:02:54,960 --> 00:03:01,080
One person said, quote, I knew her as a beautiful human being, giving unselfishly of herself

54
00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,640
in the service of God, end quote.

55
00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:07,560
And now the timeline of events.

56
00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:14,760
On Sunday, June 12th, 1977, Sister Robin arrives at the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph

57
00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,400
to participate in an eight-day silent retreat.

58
00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,200
Before entering her silent period of reflection, she told her good friend Sister Kathleen that

59
00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:27,840
she needed to talk to her about something important, but was worried that Kathleen would

60
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,400
think she's crazy.

61
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:35,080
The two never got a chance to talk before Robin entered her silent retreat that evening.

62
00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:41,800
The next day, Monday, June 13th, 1977, Sister Robin was seen early in the morning grabbing

63
00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:43,600
an apple from the kitchen.

64
00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,580
She was not wearing a habit, but was dressed in jeans and a blouse.

65
00:03:47,580 --> 00:03:50,840
She was headed outside for a day of prayer and reflection.

66
00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,240
The convent is located inside Oglebay Park.

67
00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,000
Inside the park, there's a golf course that sits just east of the convent.

68
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,320
You could see the golfers from the grounds.

69
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,600
The grounds were peaceful and it was not uncommon for the Sisters of St. Joseph to walk the

70
00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,120
grounds and to sit in prayer.

71
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,480
Sister Robin was wrestling with her decision to continue in her choice to become a nun,

72
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:17,080
and those who knew her believed she was spending this time in prayer and meditation to reflect

73
00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:18,080
on this.

74
00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,700
At 1.30 in the afternoon, a caretaker was driving around the property when he noticed

75
00:04:22,700 --> 00:04:26,440
an overturned bench on the top of a hill near the mother house.

76
00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:31,600
He drove to it and finds a white knapsack on the ground with a prayer book inside.

77
00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,720
As he continues to look around, he finds Sister Robin's partially nude body about 50 feet

78
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,500
from the bench and 75 feet from the mother house.

79
00:04:40,500 --> 00:04:43,280
She was found in the bushes near a fence line.

80
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:47,480
Police are immediately called and the investigation begins.

81
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:52,760
Bloodhounds are brought out to search that day the surrounding area where Sister Robin's

82
00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:54,600
body had been found.

83
00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,040
It was on top of a grassy knoll.

84
00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,880
To the east is the golf course and to the west was an open pasture behind a strip of

85
00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,160
trees.

86
00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:07,640
Police search the golf course and nearby farms but don't find anything pertaining to the

87
00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:08,880
case.

88
00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,120
All of Sister Robin's clothes were found at the scene.

89
00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:17,000
Nothing was missing and she was still wearing several articles of clothing.

90
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,600
She had bruising on her neck, throat, and legs which led investigators to believe that

91
00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,040
she was sexually assaulted, which is later confirmed in the autopsy.

92
00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:31,240
Nobody at the convent heard anything and nobody at the golf course reported hearing anything

93
00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:32,240
either.

94
00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:39,040
Tuesday, June 14th, 1977, the day after the murder, Sister Robin's autopsy is done where

95
00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,680
it confirms, like I mentioned before, that she was sexually assaulted and the cause of

96
00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,080
death was strangulation.

97
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,120
Police believe the assailant used his bare hands because thumbprints were left around

98
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:51,420
her throat.

99
00:05:51,420 --> 00:05:56,440
Police believe the attack happened around 10.30 in the morning, about three hours before

100
00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:57,880
she was found.

101
00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,680
They believe that Sister Robin was sitting in prayer or meditation when she was caught

102
00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,180
by surprise.

103
00:06:03,180 --> 00:06:07,560
She did not have any defensive wounds, which led investigators to believe that she had

104
00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,300
been taken by surprise.

105
00:06:09,300 --> 00:06:14,380
They believed she was dragged from the bench to the spot where her body was found.

106
00:06:14,380 --> 00:06:19,040
Investigators send blood, hair, and fingerprints from the scene to a lab in hopes of being

107
00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,640
able to get an identification of the suspect.

108
00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,000
Nobody really knows how the nuns are feeling at this time.

109
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:31,240
All statements are coming through Frank Sweeney of the Catholic Diocese and he said this of

110
00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:32,240
the nuns, quote,

111
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,200
They're just plain too upset.

112
00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,400
It's only been 48 hours.

113
00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,920
I've denied that request again and again from reporters.

114
00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:40,920
End quote.

115
00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:46,920
Wednesday, June 15th, 1977, so just two days after the murder.

116
00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,960
Police have two leads that they're chasing down.

117
00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,280
Wheeling, West Virginia sits right between Ohio and Pennsylvania.

118
00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:56,840
Both states are extremely close.

119
00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:02,800
In Pennsylvania, four other women and girls between the ages of 16 and 21 had been sexually

120
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:04,600
assaulted and murdered.

121
00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,160
Three had been strangled and one had been beaten.

122
00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:12,560
Police compare notes and ultimately walk away feeling that these cases are not connected.

123
00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:17,680
Detective Norman Sayers with the Ohio County Sheriff, which is the county that Wheeling,

124
00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,280
West Virginia is in where Sister Robin was found.

125
00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:22,720
Detective Norman says, quote,

126
00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,680
I feel they have their murderer and we have ours.

127
00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:26,680
End quote.

128
00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,760
Police are also interested in talking with construction crews that had recently been

129
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,800
in the area salvaging telephone poles.

130
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,440
The nuns had heard the men using obscene language and making rude jokes.

131
00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:42,840
One man had made comments to Sister Robin and she had words with him.

132
00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,280
She was still upset about it in the evening, the Friday before her murder, when she was

133
00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,480
telling the nuns about the man with the quote filthy mouth at dinner.

134
00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,780
Investigators also make a small mention that they're looking for a car that was parked

135
00:07:55,780 --> 00:07:58,900
about a mile from the convent at the time of the murder.

136
00:07:58,900 --> 00:08:01,060
No details around the make or model.

137
00:08:01,060 --> 00:08:05,520
The news at this time is really dominated about the potential serial killer link with

138
00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:07,640
the cases in Pennsylvania.

139
00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,120
Gun permits in the area skyrocket around this time.

140
00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,020
Police will talk to everyone that was at the golf course that day and take blood samples

141
00:08:15,020 --> 00:08:19,380
from everyone that they talked to, from golfers to priests.

142
00:08:19,380 --> 00:08:23,240
That evening, Sister Robin's funeral is held at the convent.

143
00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:28,320
Father Keenan Ryan presided over the surface where he said, we stand numb and drained.

144
00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,360
Our faith is battered by endless whys.

145
00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,780
During the service, a letter that Sister Robin had written to a friend was read.

146
00:08:35,780 --> 00:08:40,840
Sister Robin said quote, I have a sincere desire to be drawn closer to the Lord.

147
00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,800
This has been a grace-filled year for me, a call to reconciliation for me with God,

148
00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:47,720
myself and others.

149
00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:49,120
End quote.

150
00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:54,000
Sister Robin is laid to rest in Mount Calvary Cemetery in a section that's reserved just

151
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,520
for nuns.

152
00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:01,480
On Thursday, June 16th, the same week of the murder, police continue to interview the men

153
00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:06,160
that had been at the convent working on salvaging telephone poles.

154
00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,520
Police tracked down four of the men and questioned them, but they're all released.

155
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:17,100
By that Friday, June 17th, the convent hires private security to patrol the grounds.

156
00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:21,480
Police say that this is a tough case because no one heard or saw anything.

157
00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,680
They're not ruling out that Sister Robin may have known her attacker, but they have

158
00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:28,620
no leads or suspects at this time.

159
00:09:28,620 --> 00:09:35,480
On July 13th, 1977, so this would be one month after the murder, police plead with the public

160
00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,280
for more information.

161
00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:42,540
Police say quote, we feel that possibly someone in the area may have seen an automobile or

162
00:09:42,540 --> 00:09:47,240
a person that they didn't think at the time was significant, but at this time may be to

163
00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:48,240
us.

164
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,660
Police still don't have any suspects in the case.

165
00:09:50,660 --> 00:09:56,240
On August 17th, so this is just over two months since the murder, police say that they have

166
00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,240
a person of interest that they're trying to locate.

167
00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:04,120
The man was seen near Oglebay Park the day Sister Robin was murdered driving a blue or

168
00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:10,440
gray mid-60s Chevy Impala with religious and coal mining bumper stickers.

169
00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:16,840
The man is described as a white male between 30 and 40 years old, dark hair, large eyes,

170
00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,240
standing between 5'10 and six foot.

171
00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:24,840
The man has bushy eyebrows and a few days of beard growth the day that Robin was murdered.

172
00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:29,120
Corporal Shade with the state police says quote, we have had this information since about the

173
00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,080
second or third day after the murder.

174
00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:36,480
Then we came up with another witness just last week to verify the vehicle was in the

175
00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:37,680
area.

176
00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:39,040
End quote.

177
00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:44,000
About two weeks later on August 31st, police release a sketch of the man.

178
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,820
The sketch comes from two witnesses.

179
00:10:46,820 --> 00:10:51,800
One of the witnesses was driving by and saw the man get out of his car and walk across

180
00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:56,120
the embankment below where Sister Robin's body was found.

181
00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:01,920
Police say that this man was seen near the convent eight or nine months earlier as well.

182
00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,880
A few days later on September 2nd, a man is caught trying to hop a train and railroad

183
00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:08,720
police arrest him.

184
00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:13,800
The arresting officers realize that he has a resemblance to the sketch that had recently

185
00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,240
been released by police so they turned him over for questioning.

186
00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,840
Ultimately this man is not charged.

187
00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:25,240
And then the next update comes about a year later in 1978.

188
00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,640
Police are looking to see if Edward Surratt was connected to the murders.

189
00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:34,560
Surratt is a convicted murderer and rapist who has only been charged with one murder

190
00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:39,640
in 1978 but he has confessed to multiple murders.

191
00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:44,920
Police in Ohio and Pennsylvania have closed cases putting him as the murderer but he has

192
00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:50,100
not been officially charged in these cases since he's already serving two life sentences

193
00:11:50,100 --> 00:11:51,200
in Florida.

194
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,560
Police weren't interested in pursuing charges against him.

195
00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:59,720
There's a report in the paper around this time that police feel confident that Surratt

196
00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:04,640
is involved in the case but a few days later they walk that back and say they don't have

197
00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:09,200
any evidence of it, that they're just searching out all options and they kind of blame the

198
00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:10,560
reporter.

199
00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:17,320
As of 2023, Edward Surratt has never been formally linked to Sister Robin's murder.

200
00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,520
And then the next big update comes in 2001.

201
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,240
This is 24 years after the murder.

202
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:29,800
With advances in DNA, investigators were able to generate a DNA sample from the crime scene

203
00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,560
that they believe is the killer's DNA.

204
00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:38,080
In 2002, they're able to eliminate a longtime suspect through DNA.

205
00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:44,160
And they don't say who the suspect is but I suspect that that could be Edward Surratt

206
00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,120
that they eliminated in 2001.

207
00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:52,640
In 2005, so that's 28 years after the murder, the case is reopened.

208
00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:58,000
Police believe at this time that everyone that knew Sister Robin has been eliminated

209
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,680
and that the killer was a stranger to her.

210
00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:05,580
Police reveal that they have been able to eliminate 23 people through DNA.

211
00:13:05,580 --> 00:13:10,680
And all of those 23 people knew Sister Robin personally.

212
00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:16,600
And then the last update that I could find on the case comes in 2019.

213
00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,480
So that's 42 years after the murder.

214
00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:26,200
And this comes from a TV show involving Detective Paul Holes called The DNA of Murder with Paul

215
00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:27,460
Holes.

216
00:13:27,460 --> 00:13:32,780
And in this hour long special, he takes a look at the case and he specifically zeros

217
00:13:32,780 --> 00:13:37,500
in on a suspect that was eliminated early in the investigation.

218
00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:40,120
His name is John Shoplak.

219
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:45,280
According to police reports, he was eliminated because his blood type on his military records

220
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,180
did not match the blood type that the police were looking for.

221
00:13:49,180 --> 00:13:53,420
According to Paul Holes, military records used to have a high error rate for blood types

222
00:13:53,420 --> 00:13:57,160
because of outdated technology that they were using.

223
00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:03,340
Back in 1977, Shoplak's ex-girlfriend told police that he had tried to choke her before

224
00:14:03,340 --> 00:14:07,360
and that they broke up one month prior to the murders.

225
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:13,200
Shoplak also knew details about the crime scene that had not been made public before.

226
00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:18,360
One of those details was that Sister Robin was on her period at the time of the murder.

227
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:24,040
And Shoplak had told a friend that he murdered a nun and according to police reports, the

228
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:30,180
friend said that she was quote, either a virgin or was coming on the rag because he had blood

229
00:14:30,180 --> 00:14:32,380
on him, end quote.

230
00:14:32,380 --> 00:14:40,200
Shoplak does have other violent crimes against him, but he died in August of 2019.

231
00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:45,680
And at the last update, police were trying to obtain tissue samples from a recent hospital

232
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:47,600
stay to compare DNA.

233
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:52,400
But as of 2023, there have been no updates on the case.

234
00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:58,960
So we don't know if they ever were able to get those tissue samples to compare DNA or

235
00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,740
if they were able to get tissue samples.

236
00:15:01,740 --> 00:15:05,360
There has been no update on if they have been tested yet.

237
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:10,160
And that is truly the last update I could find for Sister Robin.

238
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:16,500
So if you know anything about the murder of Sister Robin Elam in June of 1977, please call

239
00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:29,860
the West Virginia State Police at 304-746-2100 or the Wheeling Police at 304-234-3665.

240
00:15:29,860 --> 00:15:36,640
And the sources for the timeline today come from, and it's a long list, Daily News, The

241
00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:41,400
News, Latrobe Bulletin, The Morning Call, The Herald News, The Record, The Pittsburgh

242
00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:46,440
Press, The Raleigh Register, The Tribune, The Morning Herald, Tyrone Daily Herald, York

243
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:51,560
Daily Record, The Daily American, The Bee, The Daily Courier, The Courier News, The Times

244
00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:56,440
Tribune, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The Miami Herald, The Evening Standard, Buckley Post

245
00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:02,760
Herald, Ashbury Park Press, Evening Herald, The Oil City Derrick, and the TV show, The

246
00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,320
DNA of Murder with Paul Holes.

247
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:10,240
So that is the case of Sister Robin, Roberta Elam.

248
00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:17,840
I feel like there was quite a bit of information actually about this case in kind of in contrast

249
00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,000
to other cases.

250
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,600
I guess I just like felt like the answer is in there.

251
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:30,020
And maybe that's because we cover missing person cases half of the time where generally

252
00:16:30,020 --> 00:16:31,880
there is less information available.

253
00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,640
And that makes sense because it's a missing persons case.

254
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:41,960
But this one I've found myself not really having a lot of questions.

255
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:47,600
You know, there were other nuns at the convent that day and she was pretty close to the mother

256
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,920
house but the golf course was also full that day.

257
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:58,060
So she was alone and she was in a secluded area that the nun said was a quiet and peaceful

258
00:16:58,060 --> 00:17:01,900
spot that a lot of them would spend time at.

259
00:17:01,900 --> 00:17:05,840
But it is strange that nobody heard anything from the attack.

260
00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:10,640
And that's something the investigators come back to again and again is that nobody heard

261
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:16,200
anything in the middle of the day, even though there were people around even in a secluded

262
00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:17,200
spot.

263
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,700
That's one thing that was surprising.

264
00:17:19,700 --> 00:17:27,200
I think what filled in the blank for me is that so I went to a Catholic college and there

265
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,660
we shared our campus with a convent.

266
00:17:30,660 --> 00:17:39,320
So I went to school with folks who were in our nuns and usually at least the kind of

267
00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:44,680
like Catholic religious, I went to a liberal arts college but it was Catholic.

268
00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:48,280
I feel like it sounds like I went for religious studies.

269
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,240
I went for theater.

270
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:58,440
But usually those schools are small and it's almost as if they're like plopped into the

271
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:01,760
middle of a forest type area.

272
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:10,000
Like we had a creek slash like little river running through our entire campus that like,

273
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,960
you know, past my dorm went like through to the convent.

274
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:18,680
And I think I may maybe have mentioned this on a podcast before but like someone fell

275
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:23,120
in and died one year and someone was like unfortunately like attacked and like result

276
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:26,400
it resulted in death in that area.

277
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:27,920
And no one heard anything.

278
00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:29,680
No one was in the middle of the day.

279
00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:35,040
There's a lot of sounds coming from that area like rustling maybe because my brain edited

280
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:44,040
and like filled in the area of what I'm imagining and where they were in West Virginia.

281
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:45,320
I just looked it up really quickly.

282
00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:52,520
It was like pretty similar to where I was as far as like foliage and everything similar.

283
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:59,840
So like again, I'm like, yeah, it's odd that no one heard it but my brain is like it's

284
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,120
possible for sure.

285
00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:08,640
One question that I had as I was looking into this case is from the beginning the police

286
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:15,200
say that they send blood into a lab and from this they are able to develop a blood type

287
00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,040
that they believe is the killers and this is what they use to eliminate a lot of people.

288
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:24,880
I mentioned that they collect blood from priests to golfers to eliminate people based off blood

289
00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:30,020
type which is kind of the very early DNA tactics that they used.

290
00:19:30,020 --> 00:19:34,720
So my question would like if I got to sit down with the police and ask anything I wanted

291
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:42,640
would just be where did that blood come from, from the attacker, from the suspect because

292
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,480
she didn't have any defensive wounds on her.

293
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:52,320
So was she able to scratch him or and draw blood that way?

294
00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:56,760
I'm really curious as to where that blood came from.

295
00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:01,800
And you know, she was strangled so there wasn't a knife situation that we know of.

296
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:06,720
Yeah, I'm like, did he like fall and like brambles or something and you got it off of

297
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,440
yeah, I just like don't understand.

298
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:15,560
Yeah, I'm very curious and I couldn't find any explanation of where that came from.

299
00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:21,040
I saw one big newspaper report that it was on the bench, but they were also talking about

300
00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:24,560
the fingerprints so they might just be saying fingerprints from the bench.

301
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:30,760
But yeah, I that's one question I have is just where did his blood come from?

302
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:38,160
But as for you know, the future and where this case is headed, police feel very confident

303
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,800
that they can still solve this case and they can still close it out.

304
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:47,680
They have the DNA of the killer they believe it's been entered into CODIS.

305
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:48,680
No other hits.

306
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,400
They've sent it to other laboratories.

307
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,480
What does CODIS stand for?

308
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,640
CODIS stands for the Combined DNA Index System.

309
00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:59,800
Interesting.

310
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,800
So if you commit a certain crime, your DNA goes into CODIS.

311
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:09,120
But there are crimes where DNA is collected that don't go into CODIS.

312
00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:16,320
So police have even sent this DNA profile to labs asking them to run it against DNA

313
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,760
they just have there that hasn't been uploaded into CODIS.

314
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:25,360
So they've really moved this DNA around and they're trying to get the case solved.

315
00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:30,440
But they they think that there is still information out there that somebody knows something.

316
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:31,800
That's all we have for now.

317
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,400
That's all we have for now.

318
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:38,520
Yeah, but police are hopeful that this case can be solved.

319
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:46,280
Once again, if you know anything about the murder of Sister Robin Ilam in June of 1977,

320
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:55,840
please call the West Virginia State Police at 304-746-2100 or the Wheeling Police at

321
00:21:55,840 --> 00:22:01,280
304-234-3665.

322
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:02,860
While we still got your ear.

323
00:22:02,860 --> 00:22:09,480
If you could please, we love when you leave written reviews, go into your Apple podcast,

324
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:11,440
leave us a written review.

325
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:13,400
Five stars, please.

326
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:14,400
We love it.

327
00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:20,280
If you don't have Apple podcasts or access to it, you can always go on our website, coldandmissing.com

328
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:21,960
and leave a review there.

329
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,760
A lovely written review and it'll be on our website forever.

330
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,660
Yeah, you can visit our website.

331
00:22:28,660 --> 00:22:35,360
And for accessibility needs, we have transcripts if you are deaf and or hard of hearing and

332
00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:39,200
or know someone who is, you could check out our website.

333
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:40,200
Yeah.

334
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,000
And of course you can follow us on Instagram or on YouTube.

335
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,480
We're also on YouTube.

336
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,440
Instagram at coldandmissing.

337
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,520
And YouTube at coldandmissing.

338
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:54,080
And there's lots of conversations happening there in the comment sections.

339
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:59,660
We post pictures every week, so we'll have photos of Sister Robin this week, just highlighting

340
00:22:59,660 --> 00:23:01,580
her case and getting it back out there.

341
00:23:01,580 --> 00:23:04,520
So follow us if you don't already.

342
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:06,080
You'll get all the good updates.

343
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,840
And we also during our stories, we just have other missing people reports and true crime

344
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,880
news that comes up that we like to repost in our stories.

345
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:20,400
So yeah, including updates on past episodes, folks, stories we've covered before.

346
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,040
So come check us out.

347
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:23,560
Yeah, lots of good content.

348
00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,320
So again, Instagram cold and missing.

349
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:27,520
I think that's everything.

350
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,440
So thank you for listening.

351
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:30,440
I'm Allie.

352
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,880
I'm Eli episode 50.

353
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,960
Episode 50 of cold and missing.

354
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:36,220
Stay safe, y'all.

355
00:23:36,220 --> 00:23:53,800
Have a great week and stay safe, y'all.