True Crime Unwind

Donald Allison - Lenado, CO | From John Doe to Donald Allison: Unmasking the Lenado Man

Episode 60: Donald Allison - Lenado, CO | From John Doe to Donald Allison: Unmasking the Lenado Man A man dumped in the Rocky Mountains, a pocketful of clues, and a name that was lost for decades. Who killed him, and why did nobody notice he was gone? Episode Summary On August 18, 1979, mushroom hunters exploring a remote forest road near Lenado, Colorado, discovered the body of an unidentified man hidden beneath tree branches down a steep embankment. He had been shot twice with a .22 caliber firearm and left in the wilderness. Investigators found maps, a wristwatch, a novel by Ernest Hemingway, and other personal belongings, but nothing that could tell them who he was. The victim became known simply as "Lenado Man." For years, investigators chased leads that went nowhere. A forensic sketch was distributed throughout Colorado. Detectives preserved fingerprints and evidence, hoping future technology would provide answers. Rumors circulated that the killing may have been drug-related or execution-style, but no suspects were ever identified, and the case eventually grew cold. Then, in 2012, everything changed. After 33 years, advances in technology and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) finally connected the unidentified victim to a missing man named Donald Theodore Allison. Fingerprint comparisons confirmed the match, giving investigators something they had lacked for decades: a name. But while Donald's identity was finally restored, his killer was never found. More than forty years after his murder, investigators still don't know who shot Donald Allison, why he was killed, whether he was murdered at the scene or dumped there afterward, or who may have been with him in the days leading up to his death. If you have any information regarding the murder of Donald Theodore Allison, please contact the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office at (970) 920-5300. Connect With Us: • Instagram: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://instagram.com/truecrime.unwind] • TikTok: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://tiktok.com/@truecrimeunwind] • Facebook @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://www.facebook.com/share/12CJEsLf12u/?mibextid=LQQJ4d] Support the Show: • Rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify • Share with fellow true crime fans • Tag us while you listen and let us know your theories!

Jeff McQueen, Dante Crump, Kaireem Meeks, and Jonté Clark - Saugerties, NY | Before there was Mackenzie Shirilla, there was Meredith McSpirit

Episode 59: Jeff McQueen, Dante Crump, Kaireem Meeks, and Jonté Clark - Saugerties, NY | Before there was Mackenzie Shirilla, there was Meredith McSpirit The Netflix documentary The Crash has reignited conversations about the controversial case of Mackenzie Shirilla. But years before that case made headlines, another devastating crash left four young men dead, one young woman alive, and a community searching for answers that never seemed to come. Episode Summary In August 2015, Jeff McQueen, Dante Crump, Kaireem Meeks Jr., and Jonté Clark were heading home from work at the Saugerties HITS Horse Show when tragedy struck. The car they were riding in left the roadway, traveled down a private dirt road, plunged down a 110-foot embankment, struck a house, and came to rest upside down. All four young men were killed. The driver, 19-year-old Meredith McSpirit, survived. What followed was a years-long controversy filled with conflicting statements, questions about possible impairment, rumors, lawsuits, and a grand jury decision that left many family members and community members outraged. Investigators found no evidence of mechanical failure and ultimately cleared McSpirit of criminal wrongdoing, but for many, that decision only created more questions than answers. This week, Kinsley and Mercedes take a deep dive into the lives of the four young men whose stories are too often overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the crash. We examine the investigation, Meredith McSpirit’s changing accounts of what happened, the evidence that was considered, and why this case continues to spark debate more than a decade later. Because before there was Mackenzie Shirilla, there was Meredith McSpirit. If you have any information, please contact the Saugerties Police Department at (845) 246-9800 [tel:(845) 246-9800] To sign the Change.org petition for Meredith to receive harsher punishment, click here [https://c.org/qDRBNFt4nb]. Connect With Us: • Instagram: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://instagram.com/truecrime.unwind] • TikTok: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://tiktok.com/@truecrimeunwind] • Facebook @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://www.facebook.com/share/12CJEsLf12u/?mibextid=LQQJ4d] Support the Show: • Rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify • Share with fellow true crime fans • Tag us while you listen and let us know your theories!

Jennifer Harris - Bonham, Texas | Missing evidence, a missing mother, and a murder that left a town with more questions than answers

Episode 58: Jennifer Harris - Bonham, Texas | Missing evidence, a missing mother, and a murder that left a town with more questions than answers A young mother vanishes after a night out. Days later, she’s found murdered. But as investigators begin putting the pieces together, questions start piling up. Missing evidence. Conflicting stories. Gaps in the investigation. More than twenty years later, Jennifer Harris’s case is still unsolved. Episode Summary: In 2002, 28-year-old Jennifer Harris disappeared from Bonham, Texas, after a night out. Days later, her body was discovered in a remote area, launching an investigation that would leave behind more questions than answers. Over the years, concerns surrounding missing evidence, investigative issues, complicated relationships, and shifting theories have continued to follow Jennifer’s case. Who was Jennifer beyond the headlines? What was happening in her life leading up to her murder? And how did a case with suspects, interviews, and potential leads still end without justice? This week, we take a closer look at Jennifer’s life, the events surrounding her death, the investigation that followed, and the unanswered questions that remain more than two decades later. Because Jennifer Harris was more than a case file. She was a daughter, a mother, and someone who deserved to come home. Connect With Us: • Instagram: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://instagram.com/truecrime.unwind] • TikTok: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://tiktok.com/@truecrimeunwind] • Facebook @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://www.facebook.com/share/12CJEsLf12u/?mibextid=LQQJ4d] Support the Show: • Rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify • Share with fellow true crime fans • Tag us while you listen and let us know your theories!

MYSTERIOUS DEATH: Tom Brown - Canadian, TX

Episode 57: MYSTERIOUS DEATH: Tom Brown - Canadian, TX | Suicide, Murder or Cover up? The night before Thanksgiving in 2016, 18-year-old Tom Brown left to hang out with friends in the tiny town of Canadian, Texas, and never came home. What followed was a years-long mystery involving scattered evidence, investigative errors, shocking theories, and a case that raises more questions than it answers. Episode Summary Tom Brown was the kind of person everyone knew in Canadian, Texas. Funny, kind, and involved in football, theater, church, and student leadership, the 18-year-old senior had big plans for his future, including a dream of working in sports broadcasting. But on November 23, 2016, the night before Thanksgiving, Tom disappeared after leaving friends and stopping for gas on his way home. Hours later, his abandoned vehicle was discovered near a water treatment plant just miles from home, but Tom was gone. Over the next several years, investigators uncovered a baffling trail of evidence: a backpack found miles away, a cell phone discovered nearly a year later in suspicious condition, scattered belongings, conflicting witness statements, and partial remains eventually identified as Tom. Despite thousands of investigative hours, forensic testing, and years of scrutiny, officials initially could not determine whether Tom’s death was homicide, suicide, or an accident. Then came explosive claims, controversy surrounding the investigation, allegations of cover-ups, and later findings that shifted the direction of the case entirely. In this episode, Kinsley and Mercedes unravel the timeline, the investigation failures, competing theories, and the unsettling questions that continue to haunt one of Texas’s most perplexing mysteries. If you have any information, please contact the Texas Attorney General Criminal Investigation Division: (512) 463-2100 or Klein Investigations: (409) 729-8798 Encourage the Texas Attorney General to reopen Tom’s case and classify it as a homicide. The more noise we make, the harder it is to ignore. Connect With Us: • Instagram: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://instagram.com/truecrime.unwind] • TikTok: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://tiktok.com/@truecrimeunwind] • Facebook @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://www.facebook.com/share/12CJEsLf12u/?mibextid=LQQJ4d] Support the Show: • Rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify • Share with fellow true crime fans • Tag us while you listen and let us know your theories!

MURDERED: Carlos Medina - Kodiak, AK

Episode 56: MURDERED: Carlos Medina - Kodiak, AK Kodiak, Alaska: A place where the American Dream turned into a nightmare. When beloved restaurateur and community leader Carlos Medina was found murdered on Pillar Mountain, it shocked the city’s growing immigrant community and left investigators with more questions than answers. 30 years later, the case remains unsolved. Dive into the mystery that refuses to rest and uncover why justice has yet to be served. Episode Summary In the spring of 1993, Carlos Medina was thriving in Kodiak, Alaska. An immigrant from the Philippines who arrived with little, he worked his way from the cannery floor to owning a popular restaurant and becoming a respected leader in the city’s large Filipino community. He was a husband, father of three, and poised to run for city council. Then, Carlos vanished. His bloodstained truck was found near Pillar Mountain, and searchers soon discovered his body, a brutal killing that remains the only unsolved homicide in Kodiak Police Department history. In this episode, we explore who Carlos was, what happened in the days leading up to his disappearance, why investigators have never solved the case, and how his death rocked a community where Filipinos made up a rapidly growing share of the population. We discuss the theories ranging from robbery to family involvement and the persistent efforts of his brother, Jerry, to find justice more than three decades later. If you have information about the murder of Carlos Medina, please contact the Kodiak Police Department or Alaska State Troopers at (907) 269‑5511. Even the smallest detail could help bring answers and closure. Connect With Us: • Instagram: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://instagram.com/truecrime.unwind] • TikTok: @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://tiktok.com/@truecrimeunwind] • Facebook @TrueCrimeUnwind [https://www.facebook.com/share/12CJEsLf12u/?mibextid=LQQJ4d] Support the Show: • Rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify • Share with fellow true crime fans • Tag us while you listen and let us know your theories!