Saturday, June 28, 2025

THE SAGA OF INDRID COLE


The Grinning Man is reported to be human-like in appearance, though he is commonly associated with UFO activity and is sometimes believed to be an alien. It is also believed to be possible that he is connected with the Men In Black. In his first sighting, he was described as being over six feet tall and wearing a reflective, green suit with a black belt. He had a dark complexion and small, beady eyes set far apart. He was described as not having any nose, ears, or hair.  In his second known encounter, his suit was said to be blue instead of green, but still retained its reflective property. Other than that he was described as looking perfectly natural with slicked back hair, a coat with the top two buttons unbuttoned, and having pants lighter than the coat but still the same material. He was also described as being quite tan, though not dark, and looking like any normal human being.

According to reports made by Woodrow Derenberger, Indrid Cold came from a planet named Lanulos in the Genemedes galaxy, and there were two other "grinning men" by the names of Demo Hassan and Karl Ardo. 

Indrid Cold was first seen on October 16, 1966, when two boys, Martin "Mouse" Munov and James "Jimmy" Yanchitis, in New Jersey were walking on Fourth Street when they saw a surreal figure standing near a fence. As they walked closer, the figure was a tall bald man wearing a metal green suit who was staring right at them with a huge grin. The idiosyncratic man chased them until they got away from him. UFO sightings were also reported around the area. 

"Jimmy nudged me...and said "Who's that guy standing behind you?" I looked around and there he was...behind that fence. Just standing there. He pivoted around and looked right at us. Then he grinned a big old grin." 

According to Night Mind, the boys only recalled the more frightening details of their encounter later on. They would recall that the man in the green suit was unusually tall and had unnatural facial features, such as the lack of ears and a nose. Even though most sources mention the New Jersey sighting, Indrid Cold and the grinning man could be completely different entities.

On November 2, 1966, in Parkersburg, West Virginia (around the same area and time as the Mothman came about), Woodrow Derenberger was driving his way home on Interstate 77 until he heard a crash. Then, an unidentifiable vehicle appeared to land in front of his truck. He described it as "an old-fashioned kerosene lamp chimney, flaring at both ends, narrowing down to a small neck and then enlarging in a great bulge in the center." The Grinning Man came out of the vehicle with a dark tan, and walked up to Derenberger and telepathically said his name was "Indrid Cold" and he meant no harm. Cold said he just wanted to know more about the human race and he would visit Derenberger again. After the encounter, Derenberger stated that Cold revealed he was from the planet Lanulos in the galaxy of Genemedes.

During the same period in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the Lilly family had been reporting poltergeist activity in their home, such as diamond shaped lights. The Lillys' daughter, Linda, was sleeping one night and awoke to see a man standing over her.

Valiant Thor, who may have presented himself as “Indrid Cold” to the Derenberger family, appeared at Howard Menger’s UFO convention in High Bridge, New Jersey in 1957. Publisher Gray Barker worked with Thor to convince several contactees to approach authorities and publish books, in an apparent attempt to influence public opinion on a variety of political issues.

"It was a man, a big man. Very broad. I couldn't see his face very well, but I could see that he was grinning at me. He walked around the bed and stood right over me. I screamed again and hid under the covers, when I looked again he was gone."



Wednesday, June 25, 2025

NEWS BREAK: THE CASE OF SUZANNE MORPHEW


A Colorado man indicted again in connection with the murder of his wife in a homicide case that drew national headlines has been living in Arizona and was arrested in Gilbert by Arizona Department of Public Safety detectives.

It is unclear why Barry Morphew, 57, was living in the Phoenix area. He had an address at the Stardust Trailer Park in Cave Creek, tax records showed. Morphew was being held in Arizona while authorities sought to extradite him to Colorado to face first-degree murder charges in the death of Suzanne Morphew. She was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020 and later found dead.

Barry was indicted the first time in 2021 on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence after Suzanne, 49, was reported missing on May 10, 2020. Those charges were later dropped in April 2022 before Barry's trial date and before Suzanne's remains were discovered. The charges were dropped without prejudice, leaving the opportunity for prosecutors to charge him in the future with new evidence.

A district attorney for the San Luis Valley in rural south-central Colorado announced June 20 that on June 18, a grand jury had indicted Barry on a first-degree murder charge in Suzanne's death and that Barry had been arrested in Gilbert. Law enforcement in Colorado "has never stopped working to obtain justice" for Suzanne, the mother of two, and her family, Colorado 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne E. Kelly said at a June 20 news conference announcing the new indictment and arrest.

An Arizona DPS detective saw Morphew driving a black Ford pickup about 11 a.m. June 20 and conducted a traffic top near Civic Center Drive and Gilbert Road, according to court records. Morphew was taken into custody without incident on a warrant issued for his arrest issued following the indictment, court records said. A $3 million bond has been set, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office in Colorado.

The indictment came 21 months after Suzanne's remains were located on Sept. 22, 2023, in a shallow clandestine grave near Highway 17 in Saguache County, Colorado. The location where the remains were found is about one hour south of the Morphews' residence near Salida, Colorado, the indictment said.

There were no visible signs of trauma to the remains, the indictment said. Toxicology testing, however, found traces of a chemical mixture used to tranquilize deer called BAM in the bone marrow of the remains belonging to Suzanne, the indictment said. Several people told investigators that before moving to Colorado in 2018, Barry was a deer farmer in Indiana, where he used BAM to sedate deer, the indictment said. Prescription records also showed that Barry was the only private citizen in the entire state of Colorado who had access to BAM at the time of Suzanne's death, the indictment said.

Law enforcement officers also found a dart gun, a tranquilizer gun and tranquilizer darts stored in a gun safe at the Morphews' residence, the indictment said. Law enforcement officers also found the needle cap from a dart in a dryer in the home along with a pair of men's shorts that appeared similar to the shorts Barry was seen wearing on a video on May 9, 2020, the day before Suzanne's disappearance, the indictment said.

A forensic pathologist told investigators it was unlikely Suzanne's body decomposed at the location where it was found, the indictment said. Many of the bones were significantly bleached, there was no hair mass, and there was a lack of evidence of animal and bug activity in the area, the indictment said. The bike clothing found at the site matched clothing Suzanne was known to wear. However, the clothing, unlike the remains, was not decomposed, the indictment said.

"All these features would have been expected if this had been the original gravesite where decomposition occurred," the indictment said.

In early interviews, Barry told investigators his marriage to Suzanne was "the best" and the two had had a "wonderful weekend" before she went missing, the indictment said. But investigators learned that Suzanne had confided to people in the weeks and months leading up to her disappearance that she was unhappy with the marriage, maintained notes of problems in the marriage and had discussed plans with a close friend to divorce Barry, the indictment said.

What's more, Suzanne had been having a "secret affair" with an old acquaintance who lived out of state, the indictment said. She communicated with him daily over LinkedIn and WhatsApp, the indictment said.

Suzanne communicated with this person at 2:11 p.m. on May 9, 2020, just 32 minutes before Barry returned home that day. It was her last known electronic message to anyone, the indictment said.

A forensic download of Barry's phone showed he had deleted a text chain with Suzanne, the indictment said. Investigators found a screenshot on his phone of a single text that remained from the conversation with Suzanne that said, “I’m done. I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly," according to the indictment.

Barry has heavily denied having anything to do with her disappearance. In May 2023, he filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights...



Tuesday, June 24, 2025

THE MYSTERIES OF THE DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT


Denver International Airport (DIA) has been the center of bizarre and mysterious rumors for decades. From secret underground bunkers to eerie artwork with hidden meanings, these theories have captured the imagination of travelers and conspiracy enthusiasts alike. With so many strange stories, it's no wonder the Denver airport conspiracy theories remain popular today. But how much of it is true, and how much is just speculation?

One of the most persistent theories about Denver International Airport (DIA) is that it houses a vast network of underground tunnels hiding something far more sinister than a train system. Conspiracy theorists believe these tunnels serve as secret bunkers for the world's elite in case of an impending apocalypse. Some even go as far as to claim that these hidden spaces are home to alien lifeforms or reptilian creatures controlling global events. While DIA does have underground tunnels for transportation and a now-defunct automated baggage system, there is no evidence that they stretch to places like NORAD, nearly 90 miles away. Constructing such a tunnel would take decades, making this theory highly unlikely. However, the rumors persist, fueled by the airport’s own playful marketing that teases its supposed connection to the underworld.

Many speculate that DIA was built as a secret headquarters for the New World Order (NWO), a shadowy organization believed to control world events. The theory gained traction due to the airport’s dedication marker, which mentions a group called the "New World Airport Commission." Strangely, no records exist of such an organization outside of its involvement in the airport's opening. Additionally, some believe the airport's runway layout resembles a swastika when viewed from above, fueling speculation about ties to Nazi symbolism. While DIA officials have dismissed these claims, conspiracy theorists argue that the massive cost overruns and construction delays indicate something hidden beneath the surface—perhaps a global control center waiting to be activated.

DIA seems to enjoy fueling its own conspiracy theories, and nothing proves this more than the talking gargoyle statues near the baggage claim area. These statues, part of an art installation called "Notre Denver," occasionally speak to passersby, sometimes jokingly referring to the Illuminati. The airport even embraces the myth, with the gargoyles saying things like, "Welcome to Illuminati Headquarters… I mean, Denver International Airport!"

Historically, gargoyles have been used in architecture to ward off evil spirits, but at DIA, they’ve become part of its mysterious reputation. The playful approach has done little to convince conspiracy theorists that the airport isn’t hiding something, but it certainly keeps the myths alive—whether as a joke or a cryptic hint at something bigger.

While the Denver airport conspiracy theories make for fascinating stories, there is little evidence to support them. Most of these myths stem from coincidences, artistic choices, and the airport’s unusual design. DIA has embraced the rumors with humor, using them as a unique marketing tool rather than trying to deny them outright. Whether you believe in secret societies or not, one thing is certain—Denver International Airport remains one of the most talked-about airports in the world...



Friday, June 20, 2025

LARRY RANDOLPH: PITTSBURGH DENTIST AND MURDERER


In the fall of 2016, Lawrence Rudolph and his wife Bianca traveled to Zambia so Bianca could kill a leopard.

Larry and Bianca Rudolph were no strangers to guns and big-game hunting. During their 34-year marriage, the couple stalked animals all over the world. But at a remote safari camp in Kafue National Park in Zambia in 2016 — where Bianca was hoping to bag a leopard — her 12-gauge shotgun went off in the early morning hours of Oct. 11. The blast hit the 56-year-old mother of two in the chest, killing her.

Larry, 67, said he was in the bathroom when the gun went off and dashed to the bedroom, where he discovered Bianca lying on the floor. Larry told authorities that Bianca accidentally discharged the weapon as she was packing it into a travel case.

Zambian authorities quickly ruled her death as accidental, but the grieving spouse soon raised the suspicions of American officials. Within days of Bianca's death, he had her body cremated — even though, as a suspicious investigator noted, Larry was a big-game trophy collector with plenty of experience transporting bodies overseas. Soon after, the F.B.I. received tips from Bianca's friend saying Larry had cheated on her and the couple had argued over money.

Authorities discovered he collected nearly $5 million in life and accidental death insurance benefits when Bianca died. At Bianca's funeral, on October 22, family and friends were surprised that there was no Catholic mass or large gathering. When Larry was asked how his wife died, prosecutors would later say that "he used the same clinical phrase that he used with the life insurers: accidental discharge of a firearm."

After a five-year investigation, Larry was arrested in late 2021. During his dramatic trial, he testified in his own defense, saying, "I did not kill my wife, I could not murder my wife, I would not murder my wife."


But on Aug. 1, he was found guilty of murder and mail fraud by a federal jury in Denver. His girlfriend, Lori Milliron, an executive administrator of his dental offices with whom he began a relationship in 2004, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to the murder, obstruction of justice and two counts of perjury before a grand jury.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Larry masterminded the homicide so he could collect on his wife's life and accidental death insurance benefits and be with Milliron, 64.

Larry's lawyers countered that Bianca and Larry had an open relationship and that Larry had no financial motivation to commit murder. In the end, it may have been Larry's own words that sealed his fate. At a Phoenix steakhouse where Larry and Milliron were dining in 2020, bartender Brian Lovelace overheard and later testified about an explosive argument between the pair, who were regulars.

"Larry and Lori were having a drink," federal prosecutor Bishop Grewell said during opening statements. "The music in the background made it difficult for Brian Lovelace to hear the conversation going on around him, but at some point, all of a sudden, the music stopped. And in that brief interlude, that brief silence between the songs, Larry Rudolph growled, 'I killed my f-----g wife for you!'

"He and Lori were having an argument," continued Grewell. " …And he pulled out the ace up his sleeve. The trump card that he could use to win any argument with Lori. What more did she want from him? He killed his wife for her. For her. Nobody would have heard him if the music hadn't stopped just then and there; but there it was."

Larry, who took the stand in his own defense, countered that Lovelace misheard him, arguing that what he said was, "Now they're saying I killed my f-----g wife for you."

But jurors voted to convict. The Pittsburgh dentist appealed the conviction and lost in 2023...



Tuesday, June 17, 2025

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MARY CELESTE?


On Dec 5, 1872, the British ship Dei Gratia pulled up alongside the Mary Celeste and found it abandoned and adrift about 400 miles (644 km) east of the Azores. A lifeboat was missing, but there was no damage to the vessel or sign of any struggle. The 10 passengers and crew aboard the vessel were never seen again, and what happened on board the ship has been a mystery ever since. Morehouse sent a boarding party to the ship. Belowdecks, the ship's charts had been tossed about, and the crewmen's belongings were still in their quarters. The ship's only lifeboat was missing, and one of its two pumps had been disassembled. Three and a half feet of water was sloshing in the ship's bottom, though the cargo of 1,701 barrels of industrial alcohol was largely intact. There was a six-month supply of food and water—but not a soul to consume it.

The ship began its fateful voyage on November 7, 1872, sailing with seven crewmen and Capt. Benjamin Spooner Briggs, his wife, Sarah, and the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Sophia. The 282-ton brigantine battled heavy weather for two weeks to reach the Azores, where the ship log's last entry was recorded at 5 a.m. on November 25.

Thus was born one of the most durable mysteries in nautical history: What happened to the ten people who had sailed aboard the Mary Celeste? Through the decades, a lack of hard facts has only spurred speculation as to what might have taken place. Theories have ranged from mutiny to pirates to sea monsters to killer waterspouts. Arthur Conan Doyle's 1884 short story based on the case posited a capture by a vengeful ex-slave, a 1935 movie featured Bela Lugosi as a homicidal sailor. Now, a new investigation, drawing on modern maritime technology and newly discovered documents, has pieced together the most likely scenario.

"I love the idea of mysteries, but you should always revisit these things using knowledge that has since come to light," says Anne MacGregor, the documentarian who launched the investigation and wrote, directed and produced The True Story of the 'Mary Celeste,' partly with funding from Smithsonian Networks.

Did Briggs, then, have a rational reason to abandon ship? MacGregor figured that if she could determine the precise spot from which Briggs, his family and crew abandoned ship, she might be able to shed light on why. She knew from the transcriptions of the Mary Celeste's log slate—where notations were made before they were transcribed into the log—that the ship was six miles from, and within sight of, the Azores island of Santa Maria on November 25; she knew from the testimony of the Dei Gratia crew that ten days later, the ship was some 400 miles east of the island. MacGregor asked Richardson "to work backward and create a path between these two points."

The abandoned ship remains a mystery to this day...

Friday, June 13, 2025

THE FATHER'S DAY MURDERS

Parents Lloyd and Dixie Ortiz, along with their 21-year-old son, Steven Ortiz, were murdered at their home on Father’s Day 2011. The family was found deceased that morning by the Ortiz’s daughter, Cherie Ortiz-Rios, who lived next door and called 911 to report the gruesome slaying.

When investigators arrived at the scene, they discovered Dixie in the master bedroom with trauma to her right temple. Lloyd was located in the backyard and had sustained several injuries to his upper head and torso.

In the kitchen, Steven had been struck multiple times in the head and shoulder area, according to an insider. An autopsy report later revealed the family’s wounds were the result of impact trauma made by a pickaxe, which was ultimately found in a field neighboring their residence. Although no offender DNA was detected on the murder weapon, a witness told law enforcement there was a reason for the lack of evidence — the attacker had been wearing socks over his hands at the time of the assault.

Ashley Mae Roybal claimed that on the night of the slaying, she dropped off her cousin, Jose Roybal, 15, and his friend, Nicholas Ortiz, 16, outside of the Ortiz house to burglarize it. She then returned home, and about 30 minutes later, Nicholas called her for a ride.

When Ashley picked him up, she noticed he had blood on his pants, a sock on his hand and a trash bag tied around his right foot. He confessed he had killed Lloyd, Dixie and Steven and discarded the weapon near the crime scene.

Investigators learned that Nicholas, who has no relation to the family, was friends with Cherie’s son and had lived at Cherie’s house for several months prior to the murders. After Cherie caught him stealing money and getting into trouble at school, she sent Nicholas back to his own family and never saw him again.

To corroborate Ashley’s claims, authorities examined the group’s phone logs, showing that communications between Nicholas, Ashley and Jose peaked around the time of the slayings.

When questioned about his involvement and confronted with the cellular records, Nicholas denied having anything to do with the triple homicide and quickly ended the interview.

Investigators then spoke to Jose, whose testimony proved to be a match to Ashley’s story. Jose claimed Ashley had brought them to the Ortiz house, and when she left, Nicholas said he wanted Jose to “go in with him, to go kill.”

“I told him no, I didn’t want to. I was scared,” Jose told authorities. “When he started walking towards the house, I ran to the river.”

Once he met up with Ashley and Nicholas after the murders, Jose said Nicholas “was white as a ghost” and that he confessed to killing the three family members.

On Feb. 12, 2015, an arrest warrant was issued for Nicholas, and he was picked up by New Mexico State Police.

"There were five total charges on the criminal complaint that I gave him,” New Mexico State Police Agent Kraig Bobnock told “An Unexpected Killer.” “He said, ‘I don’t agree with two of these charges on here.’ And there were only two charges that were different from murder. So, it’s an omission to me. I knew I had him at that point. It was him.”

Nicholas was brought to trial four months later, and prosecutors argued he killed the family in a robbery gone wrong. Both Ashley and Jose testified against him.

In the middle of proceedings, however, Jose changed his testimony and said that it was Ashley who had instructed them to kill the family, claiming she gave them socks to cover up their hands and plastic bags for their feet to avoid footwear impressions.

He also testified that Ashley gave Nicholas the pickaxe to carry out the murders.

Jurors were deadlocked, and a mistrial was declared. The case went back to trial the following year, and Nicholas was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon, reported local newspaper the Albuquerque Journal.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Ashley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence and was given 20 years in prison with six years of her sentence suspended, according to the Albuquerque Journal...



Tuesday, June 10, 2025

LESLIE CHANCE: WAS SHE WRONGLY CONVICTED?


On Aug. 25, 2013, Todd Chance's body was found shot dead in an almond grove near his home. When questioned by police, his wife Leslie and daughter Samantha reported that he left earlier stating he was going to a gun show with his father. However when officers interviewed the father, he told officers he made no plans with him that day.

His car was later found in another neighborhood with the murder weapon (his own gun) inside. A woman was spotted on CCTV leaving the car and walking away, visiting a Walmart pay phone, changing clothes, and dumping a bag of trash in a public bin before getting in a taxi. The police, believing that the woman featured in the CCTV footage was Leslie, arrested her a few days later, but she was released soon after as prosecutors said the footage was unclear and there was no other evidence linking her to the crime. Police found racy pics on Todd's phone of an ex, Carrie, who he had recently been back involved with, however she had an alibi and was cleared. No one else was arrested.

Jump to 2016- the case was re-opened. Police found out the family had gone to a "CSI experience" in Las Vegas the year before, and many of the details in the case matched methods the experience showed. More footage was found of the taxi, which dropped the woman off not far from the Chance house. They found CCTV from weeks before of Leslie going to the Walmart and asking about a payphone. Leslie's laptop, which she stated she had been working on that morning, was not able to show activity proving a solid alibi, although her daughter stated she had seen her that morning. Leslie was arrested again for first degree murder.


After an initial mistrial, a second trial found her guilty in 2019, based on the circumstantial evidence and twin motives of jealousy and life insurance money. However, their 3 daughters and others still doubt she did it.

The biggest point argued is lack of physical evidence tying her to the case. Shoe prints found at the scene were never matched to hers and no DNA was found at the scene, nor any blood or injury on her when she was interviewed later the same day. There was also a concern over the CCTV footage. The woman in the footage was stated as noticeably smaller than Leslie, especially compared to the CCTV of her at the same Walmart a few weeks before. 911 calls from the body and car being discovered were deleted and any clues from them apparently lost. Several early interviews were also lost when investigators didn't properly book them into evidence. Her defense stated that with the misconduct and only circumstantial evidence, he was shocked at the conviction. However appeals have since been unsuccessful.

Do you think she did it? Personally it looks suspicious but I agree that the CCTV footage, while grainy, doesn't look like her body shape at all. The person is far smaller than Leslie and I don't see any way you can hide that much weight. I'm also really surprised they managed to get a conviction with such little (and botched) evidence...



Friday, June 6, 2025

THE MURDER OF TODD CHANCE

I was listening to a true crime podcast on my car radio and came upon this case. Of course, I was done with my drive before the episode was order, so I had to research and see what happened to mild mannered family man Todd Chance. 

It was a vacation to remember. Todd Chance, his wife Leslie Jenea Chance, and their children headed to Las Vegas in the summer of 2013 to take in the sights and spend some quality time together, even going through a special CSI themed-crime exhibit. But what Todd likely never suspected was that Jenea, his wife of 17 years and a beloved elementary school principal, was using the popular experience to gather tips about how to kill him, according to authorities.

Weeks later, Todd’s body was discovered in an almond field just outside Bakersfield, California on Aug. 25, 2013. But it would take years — and a significant amount of surveillance video footage — to piece the complex case together and bring the devoted dad’s killer to justice.

Who was Todd Chance? Raised in a small farming community just outside Bakersfield, Todd was a regular “cowboy,” often donning a cowboy hat and boots. During his early years, he loved to go off-roading, raised pigs, and tended to the family’s horses with his younger brother, Scott.

Todd also loved fast cars, including a sporty blue ‘76 Cobra II he drove as a teen.

“Oh it was a chick magnet,” his mom Diana Chance remembered. “Every day there were notes on the windshield of the car from some little girl that wanted to have him call her, liked his car, thought he was cute.”

But there was one woman that would stand out from the rest. Todd met Jenea, a single mom to a young daughter, while both were working at a local drug store.

“He was very good looking, I kind of thought he was a ladies man and a player and I wasn’t interested in that at all,” Jenea told Canning of her initial impressions. “I had already been married once and I had come to the conclusion I wanted to find some ugly, fat man that would cherish me.”

But Jenea soon learned that Todd was more than his good looks. He was “very doting” and quickly bonded with her daughter Jessica, treating her like his own child.

The couple got married and had two more daughters. While Todd, a truck driver, focused on keeping the family’s home life running, Jenea earned her teaching degree and eventually worked her way up to become the principal at a local elementary school.

By the summer of 2013, Jessica had moved out of the house and her two younger sisters were enjoying their teenage years. The family took advantage of their time off by going to the beach, traveling to San Francisco, and taking that trip to Las Vegas.

“It was perfect timing and we had the money,” said the couple’s daughter Sarah. “It was a really good summer, probably the best summer I’ve ever had.”


But tragedy struck on Aug. 25, 2013, when Todd was found dead in an almond grove just outside town. A bullet tore through his hand in what was likely a defensive wound and the 45-year-old had two shots to the chest. His beloved black 2011 Mustang was missing, leading investigators to initially believe he may have died in a carjacking gone wrong.

But just hours later, the car was discovered abandoned in a drug-ridden neighborhood. The vehicle was unlocked and the keys and his .38 revolver, believed to be the same weapon that killed him, were left inside.

"Our carjacking theory now is showing less and less evidence, especially now with the car being left open and the gun left inside it,” Kern County Homicide Detective Kavin Brewer explained. “That was just so rare and unheard of that a carjacking now is not in my mind anymore.”

Jenea told detectives that her husband left the house that Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m. or 8 a.m. to go to a gun show with his father, Travis Chance. She claimed she stayed home to get some work done on her computer before her teen daughters woke up late that morning. “It was a typical day,” she told authorities

When police arrived later that afternoon to notify the family of Todd’s death, Jenea said she was stunned.

“It was unbelievable. I couldn’t comprehend,” she told Canning later that year. “He was such a likable guy, he didn’t hang out with a rough crowd, you know, he wasn’t into drugs, he wasn’t into, you know, gambling. It’s very baffling.”

Strangely, Travis told investigators he never had plans with his son that day. Detectives also found another clue on Todd’s phone. The married father had nude photos of another woman on his phone. Authorities ultimately discovered the photos were of his ex-girlfriend Carrie, a woman he rekindled an online communication with several years earlier.

Jenea believed Carrie may have had something to do with the murder, but Carrie was quickly ruled out after a parking ticket placed her hours away on a trip to Mission San Juan Capistrano with her daughter and friends. Carrie also told detectives she hadn’t communicated with Todd in months and they never had an affair or met in person after reconnecting.

Brewer said investigators got the break they needed after discovering a string of surveillance video that seemed to trace the killer’s movements that day. A witness in the neighborhood where the car was abandoned reported seeing a woman, wearing her hair tucked in a hat and large sunglasses walking away from the vehicle. In surveillance footage, the woman seemed to be carrying a bag and red backpack.

The same woman was later spotted walking into a Starbucks, where she went into the bathroom and emerged in entirely different clothes and shoes. The woman left the store before she was captured again at Lowe’s disposing of some evidence behind some bags of soil. The same woman is then seemingly seen at a nearby Walmart, where she uses a payphone to call for a cab.

Brewer was convinced the woman seen in the footage was Jenea. The principal was arrested just four days after her husband’s death. But the district attorney’s office wasn’t sure the blurry video was enough to build their case and charges were never filed against her.

Yet, Brewer was still determined to make his case and spent years tracking down more evidence and surveillance images.

He discovered that while in Las Vegas the family had attended a CSI experience based on the popular crime show and several of the exhibits had some eerie similarities to Todd’s case. For example, in one exhibit the suspect used a payphone to avoid detection, in another they changed their shoes to throw investigators off of their trial, and in a third a woman killed her husband and then disposed of his body in the desert.

Along with the chilling details from the CSI experience, investigators also found Jenea’s fingerprint on the outside of the Mustang’s driver side and her DNA was found on the steering wheel and gearshift — although she had claimed earlier to Dateline that she never drove the car.

Brewer also learned that just three weeks before the murder, Jenea had made a purchase at the same Walmart where the killer used the payphone and appears to be asking a greeter in the surveillance images during the earlier shopping trip where the payphone is located.

When Brewer showed some of the surveillance images to Jenea’s daughter Jessica, she broke down in tears. When asked whether she believed it was her mother in the footage, she replied “yes.”

Jessica would later tell Dateline she was confused during the interview and thought all the surveillance images she was shown, including that earlier shopping trip, were taken the same day. She later insisted it wasn’t her mother in the footage and believed, along with her two younger sisters, in her mother’s innocence.

With all the new evidence, Jenea was arrested again in 2016. She went on trial for the first-degree murder of her husband three years later. Prosecutors argued Jenea killed her husband after discovering his online relationship with his ex and was hoping to cash in on several life insurance policies totaling nearly a half a million dollars.

Although Jenea’s defense attorney tried to argue that it couldn’t be her in the surveillance videos because Jenea needed to wear glasses and didn’t own contacts or prescription sunglasses, prosecutors introduced evidence that Jenea had ordered two boxes of contacts the month before Todd’s death.

“It was an absolute lie and she was just absolutely caught in it and right in front of the jury,” Brewer said.

After eight days of deliberations, Jenea was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years to life behind bars. In an interview with the media in 2020, Jenea continued to proclaim her innocence.

“When the verdict came in I thought I heard it wrong. I seriously thought I heard it wrong,” she said.



Wednesday, June 4, 2025

THE MURDER OF JONATHAN JOSS: WAS IT A HATE CRIME?

The husband of slain “King of the Hill” star Jonathan Joss has claimed his killer cackled and spewed a gay slur moments after allegedly shooting the voice actor in the head.

Joss, 59, was gunned down near his San Antonio, Texas, home Sunday night in an attack that his spouse alleges was carried out by a homophobic neighbor.

“Everything was really close range. It was in the head,” Tristan Kern de Gonzales told the Press of the moment the actor was fatally shot.

“While I’m holding him, [the suspect] has the gun pointed over me, and he’s laughing, saying, ‘Oh, you love him? Joto,'” de Gonzales alleged.

“‘Joto’ is Spanish for f—t. I never knew the word until I came to Texas, and then I heard it a lot.”

The suspect, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, was arrested a block away and has since been charged with murder.

Cops, however, said the initial probe had found “no evidence” that indicated Joss was killed due to his “sexual orientation.”


“We take such allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly,” San Antonio police said in a statement.Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez was arrested and charged with the murder of Jonathan Joss on June 2, 2025.

It comes after the husband claimed the alleged killer had approached the pair after they stopped by to check the mail at Joss’ home, which had been heavily damaged during a January fire that claimed the lives of their three dogs.

The husband said the couple had just found the bones of their dead pet dog displayed on the property — causing them both “severe emotional distress.”

“We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,” de Gonzales said in a social media post.

“While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.”

The husband said the couple had just found the bones of their dead pet dog displayed on the property — causing them both “severe emotional distress.”Facebook/Tristan Kern de Gonzales

Joss — best known for voicing John Redcorn on the bawdy cartoon comedy — was struck by the gunfire and killed. He also appeared on the NBC comedy "Parks And Recreation".

“He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other,” Joss’ husband said.