Unsolved
66 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★ - 761 ratingsMore often than we’d like to believe, people get away with murder. As cases grow cold, cops retire. Witnesses die. Evidence disappears. Unsolved, a true crime podcast series from USA TODAY and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, guides listeners through these real-life mysteries, uncovering new clues along the way.
Season four of Unsolved delves into the disappearance of Alexis Patterson, a 7-year-old girl who disappeared on her way to school in 2002. At first, there was a massive search and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories and false leads and cases of mistaken identity. Still, her mom has never given up hope that Alexis will come home again someday.
Season three of Unsolved tells the story of Father Alfred Kunz, whose throat was slit inside St. Michael School in 1998. Some believe his death was linked to his battles against evil. Others believe his all-too-human flaws were to blame.
Season two of Unsolved, released in 2017, examines the case of toddler Michelle Manders, who vanished from her bedroom in the middle of the night in 1981. Did she wander alone into the darkness? Or was she kidnapped?
Season one of Unsolved, released in 2015, explores the circumstances surrounding the death of 14-year-old John Zera, who disappeared from Franklin High School in 1976. The seven episodes follow investigators through decades of dead ends as they hold on to hope of finding the killer.
Subscribe to Unsolved on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio or wherever you get your podcasts. For more information on the series, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved.
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Episodes
S4 Ep8: Be careful what you wish for
June 21, 2023 09:00 - 37 minutesAfter more than 20 years of turning us down, the Milwaukee Police finally release more than 10,000 pages of records on their investigation of Alexis’ case. Some of the contents are completely unexpected.
S4 Ep7: A DNA discovery
June 14, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutesAfter a three-year delay in reporting due to the pandemic, we ask the experts to evaluate the DNA profiles of Alexis' mother and the woman in Ohio to figure out, once and for all, whether the two are related.
S4 Ep6: The road trip
June 07, 2023 09:00 - 33 minutesTwo reporters travel to Ohio to see if they can get to the bottom of the claims that a young woman there is Alexis Patterson.
S4 Ep5: A package from Ohio
May 31, 2023 09:00 - 28 minutesFourteen years after Alexis disappeared, a man from Ohio comes forward to say he believes his estranged wife might be the missing girl.
S4 Ep4: A double life
May 24, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutesSome witnesses say they saw a red truck outside Alexis' school around the time she vanished. Could it have belonged to a serial killer?
S4 Ep3: Where would she have gone?
May 17, 2023 09:00 - 32 minutesPolice come up with the theory that Alexis ran away after her mom tells them about an argument over cupcakes.
S4 Ep2: A guilty man walked free
May 10, 2023 09:00 - 34 minutesAlexis’ stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, has a troubled history with police. That is enough to raise their suspicions after she disappears.
S4 Ep1: She never made it to school
May 03, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutesDespite Milwaukee’s history of segregation and distrust between Black residents and police, the whole city comes together to search for 7-year-old Alexis Patterson, who disappeared somewhere in the 242 steps between her home and school.
S4: Coming May 3: Season 4
April 19, 2023 12:16 - 3 minutesAlexis Patterson’s walk home from school was just 242 steps. But on May 3, 2002, the 7-year-old never made it. The story of Alexis’ disappearance started with a massive search and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories and false leads and cases of mistaken identity. Still, her mom has never given up hope that Alexis will come home again someday.
S4: We're working on season 4
May 17, 2022 20:17 - 3 minutesI’m working on a new investigation about missing children of color, and one of them is going to be the focus of Season 4.
S3 Ep11: Bonus episode: Unsolved Live
April 24, 2019 10:30 - 28 minutesStill have questions about the murder of Father Alfred Kunz? Want to hear more about what was going on behind the scenes of the podcast and of the investigation? Kunz's good friend Peter Kelly and retired detective Dawn Johnson joined host Gina Barton at a live event, where they provided some answers.
11: Bonus episode: Unsolved Live
April 24, 2019 10:30 - 29 minutesStill have questions about the murder of Father Alfred Kunz? Want to hear more about what was going on behind the scenes of the podcast and of the investigation? Kunz's good friend Peter Kelly and retired detective Dawn Johnson joined host Gina Barton at a live event, where they provided some answers.
10: 'Forgive offenses'
March 27, 2019 10:00 - 37 minutesTwenty years after Kunz’s murder, members of his former parish gathered at Mass to pray for his soul. Police, who had launched a social media campaign in connection with the anniversary, scanned the crowd for their suspects.
S3 Ep10: 'Forgive offenses'
March 27, 2019 10:00 - 35 minutesTwenty years after Kunz’s murder, members of his former parish gathered at Mass to pray for his soul. Police, who had launched a social media campaign in connection with the anniversary, scanned the crowd for their suspects.
9: 'Bear Wrongs Patiently'
March 20, 2019 10:00 - 29 minutesDetective Wayne Honer was among those who did not believe teacher Brian Jackson killed Father Kunz. While Detective Kevin Hughes was chasing Jackson, Honer focused on a different suspect.
S3 Ep9: 'Bear Wrongs Patiently'
March 20, 2019 10:00 - 27 minutesDetective Wayne Honer was among those who did not believe teacher Brian Jackson killed Father Kunz. While Detective Kevin Hughes was chasing Jackson, Honer focused on a different suspect.
8: 'Comfort the Sorrowful'
March 13, 2019 10:00 - 33 minutesImmediately after Father Alfred Kunz’s death, St. Michael teacher Brian Jackson moved in with Kunz’s best friend, Father Charles Fiore. Detective Kevin Hughes was convinced Jackson was the killer. Support for this episode comes from Audible. Go to audible.com/un to listen to your favorite books.
S3 Ep8: 'Comfort the Sorrowful'
March 13, 2019 10:00 - 31 minutesImmediately after Father Alfred Kunz’s death, St. Michael teacher Brian Jackson moved in with Kunz’s best friend, Father Charles Fiore. Detective Kevin Hughes was convinced Jackson was the killer. Support for this episode comes from Audible. Go to audible.com/un to listen to your favorite books.
Introducing: Case Closed
March 08, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutesHere is another true crime podcast you might like. Season one of Case Closed tells the story of Erin Corwin, a young military wife who was murdered in 2014. She was living with her husband, Jon, a Marine corporal, when she left to scout hiking trails in Joshua Tree National Park. She never came back.
7: 'Shelter the Homeless'
March 06, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutesA Dane County sheriff’s deputy came to believe his nephew, Joe Cavanaugh, was Father Kunz’s killer. The attack on Kunz was similar to one Cavanaugh was believed to have committed against his grandfather.
S3 Ep7: 'Shelter the Homeless'
March 06, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutesA Dane County sheriff’s deputy came to believe his nephew, Joe Cavanaugh, was Father Kunz’s killer. The attack on Kunz was similar to one Cavanaugh was believed to have committed against his grandfather.
S3 Ep6: 'Counsel the Doubtful'
February 27, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutesSt. Michael had been robbed in the months before Father Alfred Kunz’s death, and police believed the robbery and Kunz’s murder may have been connected.
6: 'Counsel the Doubtful'
February 27, 2019 11:00 - 27 minutesSt. Michael had been robbed in the months before Father Alfred Kunz’s death, and police believed the robbery and Kunz’s murder may have been connected.
S3 Ep5: 'Pray for the Living and the Dead '
February 20, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutesPolice have evidence that Father Alfred Kunz had performed exorcisms without the support of the church hierarchy, which official Catholic exorcists characterize as risky and foolish. Support for this episode comes from Care/Of. For 50% off your first month of personalized Care/Of vitamins, visit takecareof.com and use promo code MJS50.
5: 'Pray for the Living and the Dead '
February 20, 2019 11:00 - 27 minutesPolice have evidence that Father Alfred Kunz had performed exorcisms without the support of the church hierarchy, which official Catholic exorcists characterize as risky and foolish. Support for this episode comes from Care/Of. For 50% off your first month of personalized Care/Of vitamins, visit takecareof.com and use promo code MJS50.
4: 'Admonish the Sinner'
February 13, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutesFather Alfred Kunz and Father Charles Fiore had reportedly been investigating sexual misconduct by priests without authorization from church leadership. Their efforts crossed the state line into Illinois.
S3 Ep4: 'Admonish the Sinner'
February 13, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutesFather Alfred Kunz and Father Charles Fiore had reportedly been investigating sexual misconduct by priests without authorization from church leadership. Their efforts crossed the state line into Illinois.
S3 Ep3: 'Feed the Hungry'
February 06, 2019 11:00 - 30 minutesFather Alfred Kunz met Mora Smith at Brian’s Diner, where she often served him breakfast. The two became close, with him helping her spiritually and financially. After Kunz’s death, police interrogated her and her two young sons. Support for this episode comes from Audible. Go to audible.com/un to listen to your favorite books.
3: 'Feed the Hungry'
February 06, 2019 11:00 - 31 minutesFather Alfred Kunz met Mora Smith at Brian’s Diner, where she often served him breakfast. The two became close, with him helping her spiritually and financially. After Kunz’s death, police interrogated her and her two young sons. Support for this episode comes from Audible. Go to audible.com/un to listen to your favorite books.
S3 Ep2: Instruct the Ignorant
January 30, 2019 11:00 - 29 minutesOn the last night of his life, Father Alfred Kunz taped a radio show with co-host Peter Kelly and best friend Father Charles Fiore. Sometime after 10 p.m., Kunz was involved a struggle, which ended with an unknown assailant cutting his throat.
2: Instruct the Ignorant
January 30, 2019 11:00 - 31 minutesOn the last night of his life, Father Alfred Kunz taped a radio show with co-host Peter Kelly and best friend Father Charles Fiore. Sometime after 10 p.m., Kunz was involved a struggle, which ended with an unknown assailant cutting his throat.
1: Bury the Dead
January 23, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutesFather Alfred Kunz was murdered on the night of March 3, 1998\. His throat was slit and his body was found in a hallway at St. Michael School in Dane the next morning. Kunz clung to the Latin Mass and the old ways of the Catholic church. His murder remains unsolved.
S3 Ep1: Bury the Dead
January 23, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutesFather Alfred Kunz was murdered on the night of March 3, 1998. His throat was slit and his body was found in a hallway at St. Michael School in Dane the next morning. Kunz clung to the Latin Mass and the old ways of the Catholic church. His murder remains unsolved.
S3: Season Three: The Devil You Know
December 13, 2018 15:13 - 2 minutesThe body of Fr. Alfred Kunz was found on the floor of St. Michael School in Dane on March 4, 1998. Twenty years later, his murder remains unsolved.
Season Three: The Devil You Know
December 13, 2018 15:13 - 3 minutesThe body of Fr. Alfred Kunz was found on the floor of St. Michael School in Dane on March 4, 1998\. Twenty years later, his murder remains unsolved.
S2 Ep7: 'I'll see her in heaven'
October 18, 2017 10:30 - 25 minutesPolice investigate Edward Wayne Edwards in connection with Jefferson County’s unsolved deaths. Edwards once worked at the Concord House, where Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew disappeared from while attending a wedding reception. Edwards, a con man who wrote a book in the 1970s about his transformation from criminal to upstanding citizen, ultimately confesses to killing Hack, Drew and three other people. He denies killing Michelle. Jan comes to accept that she will never know what really happened...
7: 'I'll see her in heaven'
October 18, 2017 10:30 - 26 minutesPolice investigate Edward Wayne Edwards in connection with Jefferson County’s unsolved deaths. Edwards once worked at the Concord House, where Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew disappeared from while attending a wedding reception. Edwards, a con man who wrote a book in the 1970s about his transformation from criminal to upstanding citizen, ultimately confesses to killing Hack, Drew and three other people. He denies killing Michelle. Jan comes to accept that she will never know what really happened ...
7: A troubled history
October 11, 2017 10:30 - 31 minutesPolice investigate Teri Mueller’s husband, Joe, who has a long criminal record and whom police suspect may have been involved in the death of his son from his first marriage. His account of the events surrounding Michelle’s death don’t match Jan’s and the results of his polygraph are inconclusive, but police can never find the evidence to tie him to the crime.
S2 Ep7: A troubled history
October 11, 2017 10:30 - 30 minutesPolice investigate Teri Mueller’s husband, Joe, who has a long criminal record and whom police suspect may have been involved in the death of his son from his first marriage. His account of the events surrounding Michelle’s death don’t match Jan’s and the results of his polygraph are inconclusive, but police can never find the evidence to tie him to the crime.
S2 Ep6: Cults and witchcraft
October 04, 2017 10:30 - 25 minutesTipster Sharon Blasing gives police some of her ex-husband James Dunn’s books, which discuss black magic and the practice of baptizing Satanists with water in which un-baptized children have drowned. Police eliminate Dunn as a suspect in Michelle’s death when they realize he was in jail at the time of her disappearance, but wonder if he was involved in the deaths of 19-year-old high school sweethearts Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew, who disappeared the year before Michelle. Flashback to a point...
6: Cults and witchcraft
October 04, 2017 10:30 - 27 minutesTipster Sharon Blasing gives police some of her ex-husband James Dunn’s books, which discuss black magic and the practice of baptizing Satanists with water in which un-baptized children have drowned. Police eliminate Dunn as a suspect in Michelle’s death when they realize he was in jail at the time of her disappearance, but wonder if he was involved in the deaths of 19-year-old high school sweethearts Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew, who disappeared the year before Michelle. Flashback to a point ...
S2 Ep5: The girl in the café
September 27, 2017 10:30 - 25 minutesPrivate investigator Norbert Kurczewski hires a police artist to come up with a sketch of the couple who was with the little girl in the Black Earth Café. One of the waitresses is hypnotized, but she can’t come up with any additional information about them. Teri Mueller tells Kurczewski that shortly after she opened the door for Michelle, she saw the little girl in the back seat of a white car. A woman named Sharon Blasing tells police the man in the sketch resembles her ex-husband.
5: The girl in the café
September 27, 2017 10:30 - 26 minutesPrivate investigator Norbert Kurczewski hires a police artist to come up with a sketch of the couple who was with the little girl in the Black Earth Café. One of the waitresses is hypnotized, but she can’t come up with any additional information about them. Teri Mueller tells Kurczewski that shortly after she opened the door for Michelle, she saw the little girl in the back seat of a white car. A woman named Sharon Blasing tells police the man in the sketch resembles her ex-husband.
S2 Ep4: Missing mom
September 20, 2017 10:30 - 34 minutesJan Manders can’t accept the finding that her daughter’s death was an accident. She walks away on her daughter Jennifer’s fifth birthday and declines into substance abuse and mental illness. Jennifer and her older brother, Christopher, are pretty much left to raise themselves. Jan hires a private detective, Norbert Kurczewski, to investigate Michelle’s disappearance. Kurczewski tracks down a waitress and several patrons at a restaurant in Black Earth, about 70 miles away, who say they saw Mi...
4: Missing mom
September 20, 2017 10:30 - 36 minutesJan Manders can’t accept the finding that her daughter’s death was an accident. She walks away on her daughter Jennifer’s fifth birthday and declines into substance abuse and mental illness. Jennifer and her older brother, Christopher, are pretty much left to raise themselves. Jan hires a private detective, Norbert Kurczewski, to investigate Michelle’s disappearance. Kurczewski tracks down a waitress and several patrons at a restaurant in Black Earth, about 70 miles away, who say they saw Mic...
3: Where's Michelle?
September 13, 2017 10:30 - 29 minutesA couple of months before Michelle Manders disappeared, her mother Jan befriended a woman named Teri Mueller. Teri stayed at the Manders’ house one night when her husband failed to pick her up at 10 p.m. The next morning, both she and Michelle were gone. Two and a half weeks after Michelle disappeared, Teri tells police she opened the door for Michelle that night. They base their classification of accidental death largely on her statement, even though she has an intellectual disability and su...
S2 Ep3: Where's Michelle?
September 13, 2017 10:30 - 27 minutesA couple of months before Michelle Manders disappeared, her mother Jan befriended a woman named Teri Mueller. Teri stayed at the Manders’ house one night when her husband failed to pick her up at 10 p.m. The next morning, both she and Michelle were gone. Two and a half weeks after Michelle disappeared, Teri tells police she opened the door for Michelle that night. They base their classification of accidental death largely on her statement, even though she has an intellectual disability and s...
S2 Ep2: The shadow man
September 06, 2017 10:30 - 21 minutesWatertown police investigate Michelle’s death on their own for 24 hours and find her mother’s purse about a block away. Police and her family search for the free-spirited little girl. Meanwhile, Michelle’s 4-year-old sister Jennifer tells them that on the night Michelle disappeared, a man came into their bedroom.
2: The shadow man
September 06, 2017 10:30 - 22 minutesWatertown police investigate Michelle’s death on their own for 24 hours and find her mother’s purse about a block away. Police and her family search for the free-spirited little girl. Meanwhile, Michelle’s 4-year-old sister Jennifer tells them that on the night Michelle disappeared, a man came into their bedroom.
1: 'Not my baby'
August 30, 2017 10:30 - 28 minutesTwo-and-a-half-year-old Michelle Manders disappears from her Watertown home in the middle of the night in October 1981. About three weeks later, her body is found in the Rock River, which winds through town. Hers was the fifth in a series of strange disappearances and deaths in Jefferson County over a seven-year period. At first, police suspect she was abducted. But after her body is found, officials deem it an accidental drowning. The district attorney at the time doubts that conclus...