In 1988, eight-year-old April Tinsley disappeared during a short walk through her Fort Wayne neighborhood. Days later, she was found murdered.

For decades, the killer taunted investigators in various ways. Despite DNA evidence, witness sketches, FBI profilers, and hundreds of leads, the man responsible remained hidden in plain sight.

Thirty years later, this horrific monster was finally brought to justice.

This is the story of April Tinsley.

SOURCES

• Wikipedia — Murder of April Tinsley
• FBI.gov — Tinsley Killer Profile (primary BAU profile, May 19, 2009)
• FBI.gov — April Tinsley Murder, Parts 1, 2 & 3 (archived, 2009)
• Time Magazine — probable cause affidavit reporting, July 2018
• CNN — case coverage, June 2009 & July 2018
• NBC News — sentencing coverage, December 2018
• WANE-TV (Fort Wayne) — detective interview, January 2019; sentencing coverage, December 2018; Miller death, September 2025
• WTHR (Indianapolis) — genealogy break reporting, July 2018
• ABC News — arrest coverage, July 2018
• CBS News — case coverage
• Inside Edition — abduction and arrest coverage
• The Burr Magazine (Kent State) — Everett Shull sourcing, citing Crime Junkie interview with Janet Tinsley
• Casefile True Crime Podcast — Everett Shull detail, Miller post-confession statements
• True Crime Edition — FBI profile excerpt, case timeline
• Parabon NanoLabs — DNA Snapshot composite releases, 2015 & 2016
• America's Most Wanted — Season 22, Episode 29 (2009 segment)

In 1978, 20-year-old pilot Frederick Valentich disappeared over Australia's Bass Strait after reporting a mysterious object circling his plane. His final transmission has become one of the most debated recordings in aviation history. Was it spatial disorientation, a staged disappearance, or something truly unexplained?

What do you think?

Sources

• Australian Department of Transport. Investigation into the Disappearance of VH-DSJ (Frederick Valentich), October 21, 1978.
• National Archives of Australia. Melbourne Flight Service Radio Communications Transcript – VH-DSJ, October 21, 1978.
• Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (Australia). Analysis of Cowl Flap Recovered on Flinders Island (1983).
• McGaha, James & Nickell, Joe. "The Valentich Disappearance: Another UFO Cold Case Solved." Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2013.
• Brian Dunning. "The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich." Skeptoid Podcast.
• Snopes. "Frederick Valentich's UFO Sighting and Disappearance." November 2024.
• National Library of Australia (Trove Newspaper Archive). Contemporary newspaper coverage of Frederick Valentich's disappearance, October 1978.
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News Archive. Coverage of the Frederick Valentich disappearance and subsequent investigations.
• Civil Aviation Historical Society of Australia. Historical records relating to the disappearance of VH-DSJ and Bass Strait aviation incidents.

A respected doctor. A troubled marriage. An "undetermined" death that still raises questions over a decade later.

This week, we dive into the mysterious death of Dr. Laura Sweetman and the disturbing events leading up to her final days including a husband who would later find himself connected to the unsolved death of Nick Cordova.

The similarities seem impossible to ignore.

Coincidence? You tell us.

Sources

• Crime Junkie Podcast: Mysterious Death of Laura Sweetman
• Crime Junkie Podcast: UPDATE: Laura Sweetman
• Legacy obituary for Laura Sweetman
• San Diego Union-Tribune obituary for Laura Sweetman
• User research and compiled script