41 episodes
Paper Ghosts iHeart True Crime
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- True Crime
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4.4 • 5.3K Ratings
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When a young college student’s car was abandoned on the side of a busy midwest highway in 1992, police figured it was a runaway case. Nine days later, she was found brutally murdered, nearly 500 miles away. In season 3 of PAPER GHOSTS, investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling true crime author M. William Phelps digs deep into the murder of Tammy Jo Zywicki and uncovers a murky police investigation, a pool of new suspects, and a community of people still desperate for answers.
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The Last Goodbye
What begins as an uneventful road trip quickly gets derailed when Tammy Jo Zywicki's car is found abandoned on the side of a busy highway.
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Everyone's Daughter
Investigators announce a new lead: a man with a white semi-trailer truck was seen parked next to Tammy Zywicki on the afternoon she disappeared.
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The Man With the Truck
Details begin to emerge about Tammy’s cause of death, including how long she was on the roadside before her body was discovered. Then, Phelps travels to Missouri to connect with the man who found Tammy’s body.
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The Missing Watch
A bold claim about a missing musical watch pits law enforcement against one another, as the ISP doubles down on its search for a truck-driving serial killer. Then, Phelps digs in and examines a lead from the earliest days of the investigation, hoping to discover why a key suspect was never arrested or charged.
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A New Investigation
Tammy’s case gets a second look from a seasoned group of exclusive investigators, who cast doubt on several core theories and point the Illinois State Police in a new direction. Phelps digs further into two key suspects, and pushes law enforcement on why they didn’t do more to exonerate an innocent man.
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The Reckoning
Investigators working Tammy’s case take a big risk in an effort to match her killer’s DNA. Phelps and former Master Sergeant Marty McCarthy have a heated conversation about the issues with his prime suspect, as a former detective comes forward with a troubling new claim.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Customer Reviews
Phelps
Phelps could read the phone book and make it sound interesting. 🙂
Great work, Great storytelling!
I binged this whole series in just 3 days. The storytelling, investigative work, and respect for everyone involved is incredible. The first two seasons do have a lot of ads, but there’s the option to skip through. The third season brought me to tears when hearing from Tammy Jo’s mother. I had never heard of any of these stories until this podcast. Looking forward to more seasons!
Great Podcast!
This is such a great podcast. Phelps is an amazing investigative journalist & really keeps the victim & family front of mind. I just listened to season 3 and my favorite episode was the bonus, Remembering Tammy Zywicki. It’s such a breath of fresh air to learn about the life before tragedy. Great work Phelps!