November 6, 2001. Florence, Montana. A customer enters a salon called the Hair Gallery and discovers the bodies of three murdered women: the salon’s 62-year old owner, Dorothy Harris, a 44-year old employee named Brenda Patch, and a 71-year old customer named Cynthia Paulus. The victims have each had their throats cut and the customer reports that an oddly dressed individual wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a long black coat was exiting the salon when they arrived. Six-and-a-half years later, a pair of drug dealers named Brian Weber and Lincoln Benavides are indicted for their alleged roles in the crime, but since the evidence against them is not particularly strong, the murder charges against them are eventually dropped. Were Weber and Benavides responsible for killing these three women? If not, who was the perpetrator and what could their motive have been? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the horrific and perplexing crime known as “The Florence Salon Murders”.
Additional Reading:
https://billingsgazette.com/news/local/town-shocked-by-beauty-salon-murders-killer-still-on-loose/article_60ccaede-de9d-59f9-96a5-c6aa89f2fea7.html
https://missoulian.com/a-tale-of-five-murders/article_67794684-3696-5da1-8006-5d44963d0f47.html
https://missoulian.com/florence-murder-case-stands-alone-in-fbi-records/article_101cb5b5-ec16-5cf5-98e9-4d902e80cbf1.html
https://mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois-murders-share-similarities-with-unresolved-florence-killings/article_ace8066c-29a2-5fbd-a2a4-e9544178cb25.html
https://missoulian.com/news/local/article_b2a3d5f8-c28d-11de-b1cb-001cc4c03286.html
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/federal-judge-dismisses-charges-in-florence-triple-murder-case/article_e1a46c3c-0a7c-11df-9268-001cc4c002e0.html
https://www.kpax.com/news/mtn-original-productions/the-florence-murders-20-years-later
https://greatbendpost.com/posts/b71f6fd9-f340-4839-bd6a-9eb7b0f92322
https://www.kwch.com/2022/09/06/kbi-announce-new-evidence-2002-dolly-madison-bakery-murders/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
“The Trail Went Cold” is doing a weekly livestream show on Vokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.
“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon UK” at the Tower Bridge, Leonardo Royal Hotel & Spa in London on June 10-11, 2023, as well as “Crimecon” at the World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida on September 22-24, 2023. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD23”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.co.uk or https://www.crimecon.com.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Austin, Texas on August 25-27, 2023. To get a 15 % discount on the purchase of tickets, please our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 377 – John Glasgow
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 376 – Monika Rizzo
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 375 – Vernon Shipman, Charles Glass, and Louise Davis Shumate
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 374 – Malakia Logan
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 373 – Tommy Gibson
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 372 – Anne Barber Dunlap
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 371 – Ginni Wood, Kelly Gaskins, and Ervin Williams
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 370 – Jeffrey Digman, Billy Ray Hargrove, and Mike Carmichael
The Trail Went Cold – Bonus Episode – Mysteries on the True Crime Express
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 369 – Update, Part 5
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 368 – Lynne Harper, Part 2
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 367 – Lynne Harper, Part 1
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 366 – Patricia Viola
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 365 – Phylicia Thomas and Jennifer Barziloski
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 364 – The Lane Bryant Shooting
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 363 – Heidi Seeman and Erica Botello
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 362 – Margaret Dash, Retha Hiers, and Donyelle Johnson
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 361 – Jack Brown
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 360 – Patrick Mullins
The Trail Went Cold – Bonus Episode – New Year New Binge
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