1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,440 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,000 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,420 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages and is intended for a mature 4 00:00:22,420 --> 00:00:23,600 audience. 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:34,720 Listener discretion is advised. 6 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,200 Welcome back everyone. 7 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:37,200 Welcome back. 8 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,720 Yeah, welcome to Cold and Missing. 9 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,080 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin. 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,880 I am your other host, Eli Sulkowski. 11 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,920 We are a husband and wife duo bringing you the true crime. 12 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:58,680 The true crime and it's on your own time because you can listen whenever you want. 13 00:00:58,680 --> 00:00:59,680 That's it. 14 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:00,680 True crime on your own time. 15 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:01,680 Podcasts. 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:06,920 This has been an ad for podcasts. 17 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,120 This has been an ad for podcasts. 18 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,280 Stupid. 19 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,480 Okay so, uh, I don't remember what. 20 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:19,480 Oh no. 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,480 Last week was cold. 22 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,360 Last week was technically missing. 23 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:26,840 Damn it. 24 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,200 She is Jessica Kinsey who we talked about last week. 25 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,480 Every week I'm going to say, what was that last week? 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:33,480 I know. 27 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:34,480 And I'm going to get it wrong. 28 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:35,480 And it'll be this. 29 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,480 It'll be a whole bit. 30 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,040 No, E. You're wrong. 31 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,520 That's not what it is. 32 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,760 So we are on cold this week. 33 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:51,480 Alright, so we're going to be talking about the cold case, the murder of John William 34 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,400 Leonard Senior. 35 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,400 It's an old person again? 36 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,040 Well, he's 52 when this happens. 37 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,840 He's not an old guy. 38 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:00,840 Alright. 39 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:01,840 But he's just a senior. 40 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,440 He has a son also named after him. 41 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,340 So there's a junior and a senior. 42 00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:06,800 Not like a senior citizen. 43 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:07,800 Okay. 44 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,800 I wasn't like announcing his, his like seniority. 45 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:12,800 Senior citizen. 46 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:13,800 Yeah. 47 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:14,800 Just kidding. 48 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,800 He's just a regular guy. 49 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,200 He's a regular guy who is dead. 50 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,360 Oh, alright. 51 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,920 So we're going to be talking about John William Leonard Senior. 52 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:32,160 And this takes place September 8th, 1970. 53 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:41,740 And we are in the Black Hills Fall Resort Town or Resort area of Mountain Home, Pennsylvania. 54 00:02:41,740 --> 00:02:47,040 And this is all located within the Poconos, the Poconos Mountain Range there. 55 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:48,320 The Poconos! 56 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,000 The Poconos. 57 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:58,800 And if you are unfamiliar with Pennsylvania, as I was, the closest like major town is Scranton, 58 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,080 Pennsylvania, which I... 59 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:02,080 Scranton! 60 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,440 We're big office fans in this household. 61 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,680 So like, that's a very easy landmark for us. 62 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,640 So hopefully that helps you as well. 63 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:12,720 But yeah, we're going to be talking about John Leonard today. 64 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:18,880 And in 1970, John Leonard, he's a 52 year old father of five young children. 65 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:24,920 Him and his wife, Madeline, are separated, but John has custody of all the children and 66 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:28,800 Madeline lives out of town at this point. 67 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,800 Kevin is 16. 68 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:32,720 Johnny is 15. 69 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,520 Debbie and Lori, they're twins. 70 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:35,740 They are 13. 71 00:03:35,740 --> 00:03:37,300 And Timmy is 11. 72 00:03:37,300 --> 00:03:40,360 So those are the five kids. 73 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,360 And John is a World War II vet. 74 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:50,760 And actually during World War II, he was a prisoner of war of the Nazis for 22 months. 75 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,360 And he was only really... 76 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:53,360 Whoa! 77 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:54,760 Yeah. 78 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:55,760 He was a... 79 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,040 That's almost two years. 80 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:58,240 That's almost two years. 81 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,860 He actually was only released because the war ended. 82 00:04:01,860 --> 00:04:05,240 So he was in there until the end of the war. 83 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:06,240 Wow. 84 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:12,000 Everyone in all the articles I read, everyone talks about what a devoted father he was. 85 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,320 He put his children before everything. 86 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:19,000 And he was always baking bread, making soups, and washing the kids clothes. 87 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,720 That's how he was described. 88 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:21,720 Yeah. 89 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:23,200 I actually thought of you. 90 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:24,200 Big me energy. 91 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:25,200 Yeah. 92 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:26,200 Making your soups. 93 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:27,200 Yeah. 94 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,680 Just my little household business. 95 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,640 I like to keep a tidy home. 96 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:33,640 I like to... 97 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:34,640 Totally. 98 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:36,320 John did too. 99 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:38,320 He took them to church every Sunday. 100 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:43,620 And a community member, Mike Malik, is quoted as, he brought them up in the church. 101 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:45,640 Every Sunday, they were at mass. 102 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,480 Maybe not the best dressed kids in the world, but they always looked neat. 103 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:55,600 John was rather reserved in nature, not a big drinker, but would become, quote, very 104 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,380 talkative when he occasionally had a few drinks. 105 00:04:59,380 --> 00:05:05,400 And him and his children live in an apartment above a bar and a taxi garage, where John 106 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,960 also has been working as a cab driver for the last 18 years. 107 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:11,520 Oh, okay. 108 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,560 And this, his home, apartment, and workplace, all in one, work from home before work from 109 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:24,720 home, is located in Cresco, Pennsylvania, and along Route 30. 110 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,980 And from all the reports that I can tell, this bar and garage is owned by a man. 111 00:05:29,980 --> 00:05:32,720 His name is Don Mick, and he plays a big part in the story. 112 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:38,160 But apparently, the Mick family still owns and operates this location. 113 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:39,320 And when I did a Google map... 114 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:40,320 Like now, in 2022? 115 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,320 As of 2015. 116 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:46,960 I don't know if maybe COVID, if they still are operating. 117 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:55,400 So Tuesday, September 8th, 1970, around 2.15 in the afternoon, John and John Jr., his son, 118 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:01,280 are out running errands, and they stop at a grocery store to pick up 500 paper bags. 119 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:05,880 It's an interesting detail, and I feel like this woman knows the exact time she was in 120 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,340 there because it's like, that's 500 paper bags. 121 00:06:08,340 --> 00:06:10,760 That's just something you would remember. 122 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:12,720 What's the time of year? 123 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:13,720 September 8th. 124 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:19,480 And so he picks up the 500 paper bags and takes them back to the taxi garage. 125 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:21,980 It's called Mick's. 126 00:06:21,980 --> 00:06:26,920 And John said he would be back around 4.30 to pay for the bags. 127 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:28,600 So on his way back to the taxi garage... 128 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,800 What a time in the 70s, where you could be like, I'll be right... 129 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:32,800 I'll get you back in a sec. 130 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:33,800 Yeah, I'll be right back. 131 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:34,800 Yeah, run to your car. 132 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:35,800 Put it on my tab. 133 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:36,800 Yeah. 134 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,800 Put these 500 bags on my tab. 135 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,400 Thank you. 136 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:49,100 So on his way back to the taxi garage, John drops John Jr. off at a bus stop so he can 137 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:53,120 go to buy school clothes since school started the next day. 138 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,640 This is the day before school starts. 139 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:03,080 Around 2.40 that afternoon, John is back at Mick's Taxi Service, and they get a call requesting 140 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:10,280 service from Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania to Mountain Home, Pennsylvania. 141 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,360 The trip would be around five miles that was being requested. 142 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:21,320 So John gets in his 1966 Black Plymouth sedan and leaves Cresco, PA, where the garage is, 143 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,880 and heads towards Buck Hills Fall. 144 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,800 This is a two mile car ride, and when I looked it up on Google Maps today, it's only a seven 145 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:29,800 minute car ride. 146 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,200 So it's really quick to get there. 147 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,920 It's just like kind of a straight shot of a highway. 148 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:39,260 John's last radio contact with Don Mick is at 2.44. 149 00:07:39,260 --> 00:07:43,820 So that's roughly four minutes after he leaves the garage. 150 00:07:43,820 --> 00:07:48,360 He has a radio contact with his boss, Don Mick. 151 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:55,840 And that's the last time that John is heard from is at 2.44 p.m. on the radio. 152 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,840 Now here's where things start to get murky, as they always do. 153 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:06,600 But a lodge employee says he sees John driving toward the main building of the property. 154 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,840 It's called the Inn. 155 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:15,560 The same employee says that John stopped and picked up a white male with dark hair, wearing 156 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:22,880 a blue-green sport coat and horned rimmed glasses that had dark frames. 157 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:30,200 Initially, in the days after John's murder, the reports will say the man is in his early 158 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:31,200 to mid-20s. 159 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:39,040 But over time and as of 2022, the description shifts and police will say that he's between 160 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,400 the age of 30 and 40. 161 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:48,120 This man is also carrying a white shopping bag from the Globe Store in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 162 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,560 And this was like a big department store. 163 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:58,640 So think like a Macy's or a Sears, JCPenney at the time, big department store in Scranton. 164 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:05,480 Around 3 p.m., so this is roughly 15 minutes after John was last heard from, a part-time 165 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:11,920 police officer sees that same man standing outside of the cab. 166 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:16,880 Around 3.30, Don became worried when he couldn't get ahold of John. 167 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,360 So Don heads to the Inn to look for him. 168 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,800 And again, this is a very quick car ride. 169 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:31,360 So around 3.45, Don finds John dead in his car with four gunshot wounds. 170 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:38,720 John's car will be roughly 50 to 100 feet south of the main entrance to the Inn, but 171 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,000 was in a slightly secluded area. 172 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 So John will be pronounced dead at the scene. 173 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,760 And there is some variance about the gunshots. 174 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:55,120 Dr. Farrans, who reports him dead at the scene, told the newspapers that John had been shot 175 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:01,360 twice in the head with a.22 or a.32 at Point Blake Range. 176 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,880 John will ultimately have been shot four times. 177 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,920 And there's some varying reports of where those four shots exactly are. 178 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:15,000 So there's reports that all four are in the head, that three are in the head, one is in 179 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,880 the chest, two are in the head, two are in the neck. 180 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,800 Either way, some definitely get into his head for sure, at least two. 181 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:30,440 The doctor will also say that the shots had been fired at a close range and at an upward 182 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:32,720 angle. 183 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,380 And this will be confirmed because John will have powder burn marks on his collar. 184 00:10:37,380 --> 00:10:40,520 So like the gun was very close to him when it went off. 185 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:47,920 And the coroner estimates that the time of death is somewhere between 2.45 and 3 p.m. 186 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,120 So John's last contact was at 2.44. 187 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,760 So that in theory was minutes before he was killed. 188 00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:01,440 And then how John's body is found is also reported with some slight variations. 189 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:06,000 So one, he's slumped over the steering wheel. 190 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:11,440 The second report is that he sprawled across the front seat with his head against the driver 191 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:12,440 door. 192 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,320 The third report that I found was that he was in the back seat. 193 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:21,000 But there was only one report of that, that he was in the back seat. 194 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:27,080 Ultimately, the majority say that he was slumped over the steering wheel or he was sprawled 195 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:28,080 across the front seat. 196 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,160 Those are the majority of the reports. 197 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,960 The car was in a park position and the driver's window was down. 198 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,880 And the keys were in the ignition and switched to accessory. 199 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,320 No money was taken from the cab at all. 200 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:45,520 All the cab's cash was there and accounted for and his wallet was undisturbed. 201 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:49,440 So robbery is quickly ruled out as a motive for his killing. 202 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:54,600 And then Don Mick stated he found the cab close to the front entrance of the inn, but 203 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:59,640 added that an employee of the inn stationed just inside the front door said he neither 204 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,080 heard or saw anything. 205 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:06,120 And then a newspaper article has this quote that I'd like to read. 206 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:07,960 I thought it was really interesting. 207 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:13,880 So quote, a source close to the case who wished to stay anonymous said the killer was either 208 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,400 deranged, high on narcotics or out for instant revenge. 209 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:23,360 The source theorized that the killer placed the call to Mick's from a payphone requesting 210 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:29,920 a cab and then began walking down the drive from the inn or came up from the employee's 211 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:34,840 dorms to the base of the entrance of the drive and waited for his victim. 212 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,520 It's not surprising that no one at Buck Hill heard the shots. 213 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:42,680 Even though the front window of the cab was open, it could have been opened by the killer 214 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:45,920 after he had shot the driver. 215 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,880 This of course would have put him in the front seat next to the victim. 216 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:54,880 The killer could then get out of the car, walk across the drive and slip down over a 217 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:56,800 short wall and flee. 218 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,160 End quote, and that is from the Tribune. 219 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:06,600 Anne and Don Mick will take care of John's children until Madeline, their mother, can 220 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:07,920 arrive from out of town. 221 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:12,040 So they step up and take care of the kids like their own. 222 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,040 They don't get moved out of the house that they know. 223 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:16,800 They get to stay there. 224 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:23,120 And in later interviews with the children, like in 2015, they will talk about how thankful 225 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,320 they were to have like Don and Anne there and to be able to like have them during this 226 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:28,320 time. 227 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:30,720 Thursday, September 10th, 1970. 228 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:36,520 This is a story that I found in the newspaper that I can't make sense of. 229 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,200 And I don't know, I don't know what it's talking about here. 230 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:41,880 And I tried to find as much as I could. 231 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,640 So I just want to put it out there for our listeners and for you to hear and get your 232 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:48,240 thoughts on it. 233 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:53,040 Kevin goes down into the bar around noon where Anne Mick is working. 234 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,280 Kevin begins to look for something along the back of the bar. 235 00:13:56,280 --> 00:14:01,680 Kevin then says, quote, Anne, this isn't Don's writing, Kevin said, picking up a blue telephone 236 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:02,680 directory. 237 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:09,600 I thought it was Pops writing, Kevin said as he left the book at the back of the bar. 238 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:15,080 Kevin was either referring to a telephone number or a name written on the phone book. 239 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:20,880 And this is the same day that police will question all five of the children. 240 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:28,240 So I don't, I don't know, because it sounds like the handwriting on this telephone directory 241 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:34,440 is neither Don Mick's or his dad's. 242 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:39,840 Because he says, because Kevin says, I thought it was Pops writing. 243 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:46,220 So I, and I couldn't find any other mentions of this in any other newspapers of what this 244 00:14:46,220 --> 00:14:47,520 could be. 245 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,600 It's just kind of like written really quickly and then it goes into the children's interviews. 246 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:57,040 But yeah, I don't really know what this is, but I wanted to include it because it, it's 247 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,160 stuck with me and it's a piece that I can't quite figure out. 248 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:05,780 Friday, September 11th, the funeral for John is held and the wake and funeral ultimately 249 00:15:05,780 --> 00:15:07,720 lasts for three days altogether. 250 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,500 And each day the funeral is filled to capacity. 251 00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:18,360 And then the next week on September 17th, police establish a headquarters at the Buckhill 252 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,120 Falls in a vacant building to work on this case. 253 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:30,520 So around the time of John's murder, there are also two other murders that happen that 254 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,560 the media will talk about a lot. 255 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,360 And it's easy to see why. 256 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:40,300 In 1968, Alfred Lewis Barnes was found murdered in a field. 257 00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:45,040 He had been shot three times in the head and once in the hand. 258 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,640 So that was two years before John's murder. 259 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:56,440 And then 11 ish weeks after John's murder, 21 year old Gary Jennings was found murdered 260 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:58,180 in his parked car. 261 00:15:58,180 --> 00:16:01,560 He had been shot in the head four times. 262 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,020 So these all sound very similar. 263 00:16:04,020 --> 00:16:07,120 And even when I saw this, I started to get very peaked. 264 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:15,520 As I kind of investigated these two as well, Gary's murder will be solved in 1970. 265 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:21,040 His business partner is ultimately charged with murdering him. 266 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:24,440 And Alfred's won't be solved until 2015. 267 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,880 Oh, so just like seven years ago? 268 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:29,880 Yeah. 269 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:30,880 Wow. 270 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,180 The media will often mention these three murders together at the time. 271 00:16:33,180 --> 00:16:37,040 So if our listeners are doing any of their own research, they might see these names pop 272 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:38,040 up a little bit. 273 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:43,320 But even at the time, police will say that John and Gary are not connected, but they 274 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,720 never really comment on John and Alfred. 275 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:53,400 But ultimately, since Alfred's murder has been solved by a confession, this man confessed 276 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:57,680 in 2015, I would think they are also not related. 277 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:04,720 As far as John's murder goes, though, that's really all we hear from in 1970. 278 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,320 There's not many updates. 279 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:12,420 I checked at the yearly anniversaries, five-year anniversaries, and I couldn't find any newspaper 280 00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:14,200 articles around it. 281 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:23,680 However, just shy of two and a half years of John's murder, this is February 21st, 1973, 282 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:30,360 Madeline, John's wife, she has moved back to the area to care for the children. 283 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:35,880 And Madeline announces to her family that she was going to go for a drive because she 284 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,120 got a tip about John's murder. 285 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:42,400 But she doesn't tell anyone in the family where she's going, who she's going to talk 286 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:44,200 to, what the tip is. 287 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:45,200 No details. 288 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:46,200 Just that she- 289 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,660 But she does tell them it's a tip about John. 290 00:17:48,660 --> 00:17:49,660 It's a tip about John. 291 00:17:49,660 --> 00:17:50,660 Yeah. 292 00:17:50,660 --> 00:17:52,880 So that's Wednesday evening. 293 00:17:52,880 --> 00:18:00,320 So Thursday, the next day, February 22nd, at around 10 a.m., a passing motorist noticed 294 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:04,080 a car had driven into the woods and called it into police. 295 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:09,960 Police find Madeline and she is pronounced dead at the scene from a crushed neck. 296 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,560 Police rule her death as an accident and call it a one-car crash. 297 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,360 But her neck is crushed? 298 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,020 Her neck specifically? 299 00:18:20,020 --> 00:18:24,920 Basically in a newspaper report, it says her neck was crushed. 300 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:29,600 This is what police believe happened for the car crash. 301 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:36,440 I'm going to talk about a car crash here, so trigger warning. 302 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:41,720 So police believe it happened in the early morning of Thursday. 303 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:48,520 Madeline was traveling east along Route 940 in Paradise Township when she lost control 304 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:49,520 of the car. 305 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:55,120 The car traveled for 30 feet along the right berm of the highway. 306 00:18:55,120 --> 00:19:01,640 The vehicle then crossed east and westbound lanes of traffic before crashing into the 307 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,160 woods on the west side of the highway. 308 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:11,000 The car then crashes into and severs a large tree. 309 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,400 The car will continue for several more feet before stopping beneath another tree. 310 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:23,560 Altogether, the car will travel into the woods about 60 feet and it's very difficult to see 311 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,560 from the roadway. 312 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:33,760 So the car essentially zigzagged before it crashed, so that doesn't really make sense 313 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:34,760 to me. 314 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:42,240 So, yeah, it says that she was driving on the right side for about 30 feet, like on 315 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:46,280 the shoulder, the berm, which is like kind of a hill. 316 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:51,560 So she's like driving along that for 30 feet and then goes across the lanes of traffic 317 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:57,480 she was in, goes across the other lanes of traffic, and then goes into the woods on that 318 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,400 side, severs a large tree. 319 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,480 So she moves to the left or to the right? 320 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,520 Yeah, so she must move to the left if she's... 321 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:08,380 She's traveling eastbound. 322 00:20:08,380 --> 00:20:11,640 So yeah, she goes left across those lanes of traffic. 323 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,600 But first she goes all the way over to the shoulder on the east side and then crosses 324 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:18,220 all those lanes of traffic again. 325 00:20:18,220 --> 00:20:23,760 So she goes like one extreme to the other and then into the woods for 60 feet, severs 326 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:25,960 a large tree, but that doesn't stop. 327 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,080 It keeps going. 328 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:34,440 And like the question I have is just like, were her brakes cut? 329 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,420 Like did she not have any brakes? 330 00:20:36,420 --> 00:20:37,520 Did the brakes fail? 331 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:43,040 Like, because she is on a berm, which is like kind of a hill anyway, like that's going to 332 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:48,160 slow your car down if you take your foot off the gas. 333 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,600 Like that'll slow your car down before you zigzag into other traffic. 334 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:52,600 So is her foot... 335 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:57,840 But none of those things, even hitting a tree, wouldn't crush your neck. 336 00:20:57,840 --> 00:20:58,840 Yeah. 337 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,480 And then it all comes back to how did her neck get crushed? 338 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,160 Like how are they saying it in the car crash? 339 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:10,360 So yeah, the car crash thing is really nuts to me. 340 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:15,840 That she was coming back from a tip or going to a tip, we don't even really know if she 341 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:21,800 was traveling there still, if she was coming from, and we don't know who she met, what 342 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:22,800 it was about. 343 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:28,680 But yeah, so at this point, the kids in the span of two and a half years have lost both 344 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:29,680 their parents. 345 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:30,680 Wow. 346 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:38,720 So in 1999, Lori, this is John and Madeline's daughter, she writes a letter to state officials 347 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:44,960 and Monroe County DA, and she receives a response from them that they will update her with any 348 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,920 new information they have on her father's case. 349 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:53,840 But as of 2015, around 16 years later, they never heard from these people. 350 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:58,280 So roughly there have been no updates in the case. 351 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:03,800 In 2015, the family gives an interview for the Washington Times, and Lori is quoted as 352 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:08,300 saying quote, whoever killed our father took so much away from us. 353 00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:13,080 Our dad wasn't there to see any of us graduate high school or turn each year older. 354 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:17,520 He wasn't there to see us get our degrees or walk us down the aisles at our weddings. 355 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,340 He never got to meet his grandchildren or his great grandchildren. 356 00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:24,680 And it's a shame because they would have gotten to know firsthand for themselves what 357 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,240 a hero he was. 358 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,480 He was the best dad in the world. 359 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,520 Are you okay? 360 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,400 I didn't want them to know that I was crying. 361 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:35,640 It's okay. 362 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,640 It's really sweet. 363 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:40,600 Like it sounds like he was a really fabulous father. 364 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:46,340 So then the last update on this case actually comes in 2022. 365 00:22:46,340 --> 00:22:51,960 Police will release for the first time the composite sketch of the suspect seen standing 366 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,500 near and walking away from John's taxi. 367 00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:58,960 So we're going to post this on our Instagram to put it out there for everybody. 368 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:05,360 But this in 2022 is the first time the police release the composite sketch of this man that 369 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:06,360 was seen. 370 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:09,640 What the fuck were they doing in the seventies? 371 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:10,640 I don't know. 372 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,960 I don't know what they, I don't know why it didn't come out till the seventies. 373 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:18,000 Because even when you look at the picture, it's like, you can tell that it's aged and 374 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,520 dated and like, it looks like an old drawing. 375 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:22,520 Sure. 376 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,680 And I'll show it to you and our listeners, you can go to Instagram at cold and missing 377 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,080 and look at it there. 378 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,080 But then that's it. 379 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:36,920 So anyone with any info are encouraged to call the state police at Stroudsburg and their 380 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:42,800 phone number is 570-619-6480. 381 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:50,160 They specifically want to hear from servers and bartenders that worked at the inn August 382 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,680 and September of 1970. 383 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,880 That's almost 50 years ago. 384 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:56,400 That is 50 years. 385 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,120 That's over 50 years ago. 386 00:23:58,120 --> 00:23:59,120 Yeah. 387 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:00,720 That's 52 years ago. 388 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:01,720 Right? 389 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:02,720 Yeah. 390 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:03,720 Yeah. 391 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:10,680 So they want to talk to like the person like they're asking anyone who worked there in 392 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,360 the seventies, specifically the summer. 393 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:16,640 People are in their seventies or eighties. 394 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:17,640 Yeah. 395 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:18,640 Yeah. 396 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:24,680 Not that you aren't of sound mind in your seventies or eighties, but like, I can't tell 397 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,680 you what I did in August and September of this year. 398 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,680 Like I can't tell you what I did this morning. 399 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:31,680 Specifics? 400 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:32,680 No, get out of here. 401 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:38,000 The police, the detectives are very interested in talking to those people specifically. 402 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:46,160 And the sources for today's podcast is BRCTV 13, the morning call, the Washington times, 403 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:53,480 the Tribune, the Pocono record, the times leader, standard speaker, the times Tribune 404 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:56,080 and crime watch PA. 405 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,040 But that's, that's John Leonard. 406 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:00,120 Wow. 407 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:04,480 And I'm sure you heard me gasping while I was researching this case this week. 408 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:05,480 Yes, I did. 409 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:06,480 Yeah. 410 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,600 I ran into the kitchen multiple times thinking there was an intruder. 411 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:11,600 Yes. 412 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,640 But it was, it was when I found those other murders. 413 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:16,500 That was, that was one of the times I gasped. 414 00:25:16,500 --> 00:25:22,040 And then I also gasped when I found her car crash, Madeline's car crash. 415 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:30,120 I went, I said, she got in this car crash with this tip. 416 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:36,060 And even if it's not related to, to John's murder, it's like, was that maybe someone 417 00:25:36,060 --> 00:25:40,080 exploiting her just trying to get her. 418 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:46,360 And it's like the driving, the crushed neck with somebody following her on the road. 419 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:47,360 Yeah. 420 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:50,280 Like an accident like that. 421 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:57,400 I don't know the like interior of a car at the time, but like, I know that if someone 422 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:02,840 were to get into a car accident in that way, you would fling forward, you know? 423 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:08,920 So, and if you didn't have a seatbelt on, like maybe you would break your neck, but 424 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:16,320 like more than anything, either the airbag would go off or you would hit the windshield 425 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:18,320 or go through it. 426 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:19,320 Yeah. 427 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:20,320 And they didn't- 428 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:21,520 Depending on how fast it was going. 429 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,920 I don't think airbags were around in 1973. 430 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:25,920 Okay. 431 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:26,920 Yeah. 432 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:27,920 I don't. 433 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:28,920 I don't know. 434 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:29,920 I'm not an auto expert. 435 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:34,800 It doesn't make, I mean, even if, even if you hit a tree in that way, head on, your 436 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:41,040 neck wouldn't be crushed, it might break, but it would break from you flinging forward 437 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,560 and like your own body weight doing it. 438 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:45,560 Yeah. 439 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,600 If it had been reported that she had a broken neck, that would make sense. 440 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,960 I could like believe this story like more that she lost control of the car, but then 441 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,600 like I still have questions like, so she didn't break at all? 442 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,600 She didn't, like, why was she just pedaled to the metal? 443 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:01,600 No break? 444 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:02,600 Anyway. 445 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:03,600 Yeah. 446 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:04,600 And if her neck was crushed- 447 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:10,400 So if your neck breaks in an accident like that, other bruising will be on your body. 448 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:11,400 Totally. 449 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:16,160 Like, so, but crushed is like a really- 450 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,960 It's a interesting way to describe it. 451 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:26,840 Yeah, crushed means like broken bones, collapsed windpipe, like crushed I think of like flattened. 452 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:27,840 Yeah. 453 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:28,840 Yeah. 454 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:34,360 And don't know the full details of her crash, besides like what I read here. 455 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:40,400 So I don't know if they found her inside or outside of the car, like those kinds of things. 456 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:47,500 But crushed neck was reported as the only thing that I could find as her cause of death. 457 00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:52,760 That one's the one that gets me where I'm like, oh, like was this someone exploiting 458 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,520 her to get her away? 459 00:27:54,520 --> 00:28:00,040 I, yeah, I just, I have a lot of questions around that crash, but police wrap it up that 460 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,840 day more or less and call it an accident. 461 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:04,560 So wow. 462 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:08,920 Well I hope that this episode gets people talking about this again. 463 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,600 Maybe, maybe someone out there knows something. 464 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:12,600 Yeah. 465 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,800 And there is that recent composite sketch. 466 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:21,360 So like maybe your grandpa has this weird story about the 1970s, you know, that's like, 467 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:27,240 oh, grandpa and his funny story about shooting a man. 468 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,400 You know what I mean? 469 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:37,760 I mean, I'm just thinking like full, full disclosure, like my great, great, great somebody 470 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:44,440 like apparently shot a sheriff back in the day because he was sleeping with the sheriff's 471 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:45,440 wife. 472 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:50,840 Like, and it was like before my great grandma way back in the day. 473 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,360 So like, you know, these stories kind of get passed down through the lines of like, oh, 474 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:55,960 you know, do they though? 475 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:56,960 Do they? 476 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,760 I don't know what they do in everything. 477 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:05,760 Well we got loose lips. 478 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:10,760 If you like what you are listening to and are enjoying it, I encourage you to go over 479 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,920 to our Instagram. 480 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:19,480 Just search at cold and missing and we'll pop up there and we have links to everything 481 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:20,640 right there. 482 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,040 You can find us on all your favorite streaming platforms. 483 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,800 You can leave us a little review. 484 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:33,880 We got a new review this week and I ran in to where Eli was to announce it to him. 485 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,240 I was in the bathtub because I threw my back out. 486 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:43,320 Full disclosure, he was in the bathtub and I was like true rock fan one. 487 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:44,320 That is their name though. 488 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:45,320 So shout out if you're listening. 489 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,560 Like I was so excited. 490 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,440 Yeah. 491 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:56,080 From our Instagram, you can buy us a little coffee, which is just a way to tip us, which 492 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:01,960 goes directly back into the show of the costs of producing and podcasting. 493 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:04,520 And yeah, please subscribe. 494 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,680 Thanks for listening y'all. 495 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:08,680 Thank you so much for listening. 496 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:09,680 Have a great week. 497 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:26,480 Have a good week y'all.