
170 episodes

Catch my Killer Marc Hoover
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- True Crime
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4.3 • 95 Ratings
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At any given time in the world, there are thousands of unsolved murders. Most of them will never be solved. The first 48 hours of a homicide are the most crucial to an investigation. Eventually, leads dry up, witnesses become less cooperative, and cases go cold (unsolved). Meanwhile, detectives continue receiving new homicide cases which push older ones to the back. After a case goes cold, it quickly becomes yesterday’s news. The public and the media will forget about the crime and move onto the next crime story.
But do you know who won’t forget about a cold case? The victim’s family and friends. They won’t forget because their case is more than a case file or news story. The victims were sons, fathers, mothers, daughters, or friends. Catch my Killer is a podcast that focuses on the victim's surviving family and friends who give a voice to those who no longer have one. If you are listening and can help bring a killer to justice, please call in your tips. Even the smallest clue could be large enough to break a case wide open.
Please be sure to visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by subscribing to my true crime Patreon page. You will receive an extra podcast episode per month (true crime, paranormal or a combination of both.) To subscribe, please visit my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/catchmykiller.
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Episode 172: Sylvia Salinas
Sylvia Salinas, a 30-year-old woman, was born on January 7, 1959, in Galveston, Texas. As a child, she came from a family of devout Catholics and attended Mass regularly. In the late 1970’s, Sylvia became the owner of a Salinas Food store. The small store was in the same Galveston neighborhood as the one she was raised in. She was known as valued member of her community who was friendly and welcomed new customers to her store.
On October 31, 1989, Sylvia Salinas was working at her grocery store located at the corner of 31st Street and Avenue Q in Galveston. Her parents, had stopped by the store for a visit. When they left the store, their daughter was alive. This would be the last time they would ever see their daughter alive.
At 1:22 pm, a private alarm was triggered and sent Galveston Police officers to the Salinas grocery store. Four minutes later, law enforcement arrived to a horrific scene. Sylvia Salinas was found dead behind the counter. She was slumped over in a pool of blood. Her killer had stabbed her to death with her own butcher knife. The knife was sitting next to her on the counter. For protection, Sylvia kept a loaded revolver and a machete. Neither was touched. Law enforcement believe she must have been taken by surprise. This would explain why she wasn’t able to use her revolver or machete. The killer had pried open the register and stolen the cash but left behind the coins. And since the register had blood on it, law enforcement speculated that the killer used the butcher knife to open the register after stabbing Sylvia to death.
Law enforcement has since taken a second look at the case with fresh eyes to see if they possibly overlooked something. Unfortunately, some evidence may have been lost after Hurricane Ike rolled through back in 2008. The only evidence that remains is the knife and an old video tape of the crime scene. For this episode, I spoke to Amanda Upton, who is Sylvia’s great niece. She is trying to get answers for her family and find out who killed her aunt over 30 years ago.
Unfortunately, the case has gone cold and law enforcement hasn’t made any arrests. Were you living in this part of Galveston 30 years ago? Perhaps you shopped at Sylvia’s store? It’s possibly you may have seen something that didn’t seem significant at the time. If you know what happened to Sylvia, please call the Galveston Crime Stoppers at 409-763-8477.
Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by purchasing a cup of $5 coffee every month. To help support the podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please visit my websites www.catchmykiller.com or www.themarcabe.com where you can submit a case. -
Episode 171: Brandon Mitchener (Part 2 of 2)
Brandon Mitchener was a 22-year-old man who lived in Lansing, Michigan with his parents. He had big dreams. He earned his Associates Degree from Lansing Community College. He had studied Business and started his own clothing line called (M.I.Y.M) Make It Your Mission to do the right thing.
Unfortunately, he would never live to see his dreams come true because he would be found dead in the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. Law enforcement ruled Brandon’s death as an accident, but his family and closest friends don’t believe this. They believe his death was the result of something more sinister.
Back in late June 2014, Brandon had plans that evening. He was going to meet with his business partner to celebrate another friend’s 21st birthday on a party bus. The young men planned to take the party bus to different bars and have some fun and drinks. According to police reports, after the party bus returned from its round of hitting several local bars in downtime Lansing, Brandon began feeling sick. According to security footage, Brandon was seen walking down the road on June 29th with his business partner following him.
Law enforcement said Brandon stumbled down the end of South Street, fell into an embankment and into the river and drowned. Brandon’s business partner told the police he lost sight of Brandon and assumed he had gotten home okay. He would then return to his friends and continue socializing with them. He never called 911 or any of Brandon’s family to let them know something may have happened to Brandon. After Brandon disappeared, his siblings and friends began searching for Brandon. One of his relative’s found a shoe and hat belonging to Brandon.
During an interview on Dateline, Shirley Mitchener said she has theories about Brandon’s death. One is that he was thrown into the river by the friends he met up with on the party bus. A second theory is that Brandon was pushed into the river. The police theory is that he was intoxicated and fell into the river.
For this story, I spoke to Shirley Mitchener about her relationship with her son and how she continues to grieve for him over eight years later.
If you know anything about this case, you can provide tips to the Lansing Police Department by calling them at 517-483-4600. For additional information about this case, please visit the Justice for Brandon Mitchener Facebook page. And if you would like to purchase anything from Brandon’s clothing line, there is a link to the shop on the page or click here to access the site: https://www.miymshop.com/shop. The family has also offered a reward for information about this case leading to a break in this case.
Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by purchasing a cup of $5 coffee every month. To help support the podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please visit my websites www.catchmykiller.com or www.themarcabe.com where you can submit a case. -
Episode 170: Brandon Mitchener (Part 1 of 2)
Brandon Mitchener was a 22-year-old man who lived in Lansing, Michigan with his parents. He had big dreams. He earned his Associates Degree from Lansing Community College. He had studied Business and started his own clothing line called (M.I.Y.M) Make It Your Mission to do the right thing.
Unfortunately, he would never live to see his dreams come true because he would be found dead in the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. Law enforcement ruled Brandon’s death as an accident, but his family and closest friends don’t believe this. They believe his death was the result of something more sinister.
Back in late June 2014, Brandon had plans that evening. He was going to meet with his business partner to celebrate another friend’s 21st birthday on a party bus. The young men planned to take the party bus to different bars and have some fun and drinks. According to police reports, after the party bus returned from its round of hitting several local bars in downtime Lansing, Brandon began feeling sick. According to security footage, Brandon was seen walking down the road on June 29th with his business partner following him.
Law enforcement said Brandon stumbled down the end of South Street, fell into an embankment and into the river and drowned. Brandon’s business partner told the police he lost sight of Brandon and assumed he had gotten home okay. He would then return to his friends and continue socializing with them. He never called 911 or any of Brandon’s family to let them know something may have happened to Brandon. After Brandon disappeared, his siblings and friends began searching for Brandon. One of his relative’s found a shoe and hat belonging to Brandon.
During an interview on Dateline, Shirley Mitchener said she has theories about Brandon’s death. One is that he was thrown into the river by the friends he met up with on the party bus. A second theory is that Brandon was pushed into the river. The police theory is that he was intoxicated and fell into the river.
For this story, I spoke to Shirley Mitchener about her relationship with her son and how she continues to grieve for him over eight years later. This is the first part of a two part story. Please listen next week to the conclusion of this tragic story.
If you know anything about this case, you can provide tips to the Lansing Police Department by calling them at 517-483-4600. For additional information about this case, please visit the Justice for Brandon Mitchener Facebook page. And if you would like to purchase anything from Brandon’s clothing line, there is a link to the shop on the page or click here to access the site: https://www.miymshop.com/shop. The family has also offered a reward for information about this case leading to a break in this case.
Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by purchasing a cup of $5 coffee every month. To help support the podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please visit my websites www.catchmykiller.com or www.themarcabe.com where you can submit a case. -
Episode 169: Amanda Dean (Part 2 of 2)
On July 11, 2017, Amanda Dean's mother, Caroline Tokar, and her sister, Shannon Dean, both of Sandusky, reported that Amanda, 42, was missing, and they were concerned about her safety. The next day, however, Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin told them that Amanda had been located and was safe, and the missing persons investigation was closed. Corbin told the family that Amanda didn’t want to speak to them. Caroline gave the Sheriff her phone number and asked him to make sure Amanda had it so she could contact the family. Unfortunately, no one has ever heard from Amanda in over five years.
Today, no one knows why Sheriff Corbin claimed to have conversed with Amanda and then later admitted to having no idea where she was. Local media sources like the Sandusky Register have tried questioning Corbin for answers. But he has been tight-lipped about the case. Corbin would eventually turn the case over to the Ohio BCI.
Amanda’s mother Caroline has refused to give up on finding her daughter. She has spoken to the media and anyone who is willing to listen to her share the details about Amanda’s disappearance. Caroline has also publicly said that Sheriff Corbin won’t provide her with any answers about her daughter.
Before Amanda disappeared, she had sent troubling texts to her sister Shannon that she feared her abusive boyfriend and was in fear of being killed. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation has since taken over Amanda’s case. Since Amanda’s disappearance, she has become a grandmother. Her son Joshua now had 2 children. He has said he misses his mother and that she doesn’t even know she’s a grandmother.
The family has since learned that an anonymous caller had contacted law enforcement and claimed that Amanda’s boyfriend was involved in her disappearance. For now, Fred Reer has not been charged with having anything to do with Amanda Dean’s disappearance. For this story, I spoke to Caroline Tokar and Shannon Dean about the disappearance of Amanda Dean. This is the first part of a two-part story. Be sure to listen to the conclusion next week.
If you are interested in learning more about this story, there is much information on the internet about this case. There is also a FB page called Help Find Amanda Dean. There is also a $10,000 reward for any information leading to Amanda’s whereabouts. And if you know anything about this case, you can provide tips to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation by calling them at 1-855-BCI-OHIO (1-855-224-6446). You can also remain anonymous. Another resource is the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults at 216-232-6470.
Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by purchasing a cup of $5 coffee every month. To help support the podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please visit my websites www.catchmykiller.com or www.themarcabe.com where you can submit a case. -
Episode 168: Amanda Dean (Part 1 of 2)
On July 11, 2017, Amanda Dean's mother, Caroline Tokar, and her sister, Shannon Dean, both of Sandusky, reported that Amanda, 42, was missing, and they were concerned about her safety. The next day, however, Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin told them that Amanda had been located and was safe, and the missing persons investigation was closed. Corbin told the family that Amanda didn’t want to speak to them. Caroline gave the Sheriff her phone number and asked him to make sure Amanda had it so she could contact the family. Unfortunately, no one has ever heard from Amanda in over five years.
Today, no one knows why Sheriff Corbin claimed to have conversed with Amanda and then later admitted to having no idea where she was. Local media sources like the Sandusky Register have tried questioning Corbin for answers. But he has been tight-lipped about the case. Corbin would eventually turn the case over to the Ohio BCI.
Amanda’s mother Caroline has refused to give up on finding her daughter. She has spoken to the media and anyone who is willing to listen to her share the details about Amanda’s disappearance. Caroline has also publicly said that Sheriff Corbin won’t provide her with any answers about her daughter.
Before Amanda disappeared, she had sent troubling texts to her sister Shannon that she feared her abusive boyfriend and was in fear of being killed. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation has since taken over Amanda’s case. Since Amanda’s disappearance, she has become a grandmother. Her son Joshua now had 2 children. He has said he misses his mother and that she doesn’t even know she’s a grandmother.
The family has since learned that an anonymous caller had contacted law enforcement and claimed that Amanda’s boyfriend was involved in her disappearance. For now, Fred Reer has not been charged with having anything to do with Amanda Dean’s disappearance. For this story, I spoke to Caroline Tokar and Shannon Dean about the disappearance of Amanda Dean. This is the first part of a two-part story. Be sure to listen to the conclusion next week.
If you are interested in learning more about this story, there is much information on the internet about this case. There is also a FB page called Help Find Amanda Dean. There is also a $10,000 reward for any information leading to Amanda’s whereabouts. And if you know anything about this case, you can provide tips to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation by calling them at 1-855-BCI-OHIO (1-855-224-6446). You can also remain anonymous. Another resource is the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults at 216-232-6470.
Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by purchasing a cup of $5 coffee every month. To help support the podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please visit my websites www.catchmykiller.com or www.themarcabe.com where you can submit a case. -
Episode 167: Tyler Cardiel (Part 2 of 2)
Tyler Cardiel was an 18-year-old man who was considered a kind and friendly young man. He was someone who didn’t have a criminal background, any known enemies or any alcohol or drug issues. He hated the Arizona heat and spent his time playing video games with his friends when he wasn’t working. Tyler had plans on attending college. He lived with his mother Monique and his younger brother.
Tyler had worked at a Circle K on Christmas Eve into Christmas Day of 2020. He would then go home and then return to work on Christmas Day. His mother and brother were waiting at their apartment for Tyler to arrive home so they could open presents. Unfortunately, Tyler wouldn’t arrive home. His mother began frantically calling around trying to find her son.
She remembered asking him if he had to go to work on Christmas. He told his mother he had already agreed to work and needed to go. Before leaving on Christmas Eve, he gave his mother a hug and said he’d be back later.
When he didn’t return home, Monique went out looking for her son. She followed the path he would take home only to find Phoenix Police Officers near her son’s job. They had cordoned off a street and put up crime scene tape. Monique saw a dead body covered with a blue blanket. Her gut instinct told her this was probably her son.
Monique would find out that someone had murdered her son as he walked home from work. Someone had shot him to death. The killer was a homeless man named Timothy Bell. He had shot Tyler to death with a 9mm Glock. His motive? He was angry about being homeless and decided he was taking it out on someone that evening. Tyler just happened to walk past Bell and was killed for doing so.
Today, Tyler Cardiel’s family is still waiting for justice. He hasn’t gone on trial and Monique Cardiel is fearful that her son’s killer won’t face justice. And now on with the story of Tyler Cardiel as told by him mother Monique Cardiel.
If you have any information about this case or Timothy Bell that you would like to share with law enforcement, you can contact Silent Witness at either 480-WITNESS (948-6377) or 1-800-343-TIPS (8477)
Please also visit my website for more information about my true crime and paranormal newspaper columns at www.themarcabe.com. You can also help support my podcast by purchasing a cup of $5 coffee every month. To help support the podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/catchmykiller. If you would like to contact me about this podcast, please visit my websites www.catchmykiller.com or www.themarcabe.com where you can submit a case.
Customer Reviews
Best True Crime Podcast Around
The best true crime podcast there is. These unsolved cases are heartbreaking, and Marc is a professional who gets all of the details of every case during his interviews. So glad this podcast exists and thank you Marc for putting together such a great podcast not only for for us to listen to, but to help get the word out about these unsolved cases.
Excellent
Excellent podcast covering cases about which we would otherwise not hear. The host's interviews with loved ones of the victims are sensitive and deceptively low-key,. He allows them to tell their stories in their own ways, giving the time they need with gentle prompts when needed, which clearly show how well he has familiarized himself with the facts.
In a gentle manner, which obviously makes them feel comfortable, he encourages survivors to tell their stories and offers sensible snd practical advice.
Great podcast with compassion.
Marc does a great job of interviewing with skill and compassion. Thank you for covering cases that may not be so well known but still should be solved. To the reviewer who complained about the commercials, I believe the ads are placed by the podcast network and not by the host.