Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

The Killing of Katara Johnson

In August 2004, 21-year-old Katara Deboise Johnson finished her shift as an assistant manager at Taco Bell in Taylor, Texas, and drove home to her mobile home on North Dolan Street. By the following evening, her grandmother would discover her shot to death inside her bedroom.Her car was missing. Her cell phone was gone. Hours after her death, someone answered her phone and claimed to be Katara before laughter echoed in the background and the call disconnected.Her maroon Mitsubishi Lancer was later found abandoned at the Thorndale Community Pool in neighboring Milam County, miles from her home. No weapon was recovered. No signs of forced entry were reported. More than 50 people were interviewed. Polygraphs were administered. The Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety assisted. Still, no arrests have been made.In the months that followed, frustration grew. Family members publicly questioned whether enough resources were being devoted to the case. The NAACP launched its own inquiry. Katara’s sister Kenyatta revealed she had been questioned as a possible suspect, something she strongly denied. Police have never publicly named a suspect.Years passed. Her mother died in 2012 without answers. In 2019, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation. Authorities now believe more than one person may know what happened that night, particularly how Katara’s car ended up in Thorndale.If you have any information about the murder of Katara Debois Johnson, please contact Texas Crime Stoppers at (800) 346-3243.You can support Gone Cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast Find us at https://www.gonecold.comFor Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.comFollow Gone Cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast#JusticeForKataraJohnson #Taylor #WilliamsonCounty #WilCo #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.

Amber Hagerman: Epilogue

In the final installment of the Amber Hagerman series: the Amber Hagerman Taskforce disbands. Detective Jim Ford and Sgt. Mark Simpson follow leads out of state, one that has a connection to Berlin, Germany. Amber’s mother Donna Whitson, Brother Ricky. And Father Richard Hagerman struggle to come to terms with the 9-year-old’s senseless and violent death. The legacy left after the tragic death of another little girl, 7-year-old Athen Strand, adds strength to the Amber Alert system in Texas. If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Amber Rene Hagerman, please call the Arlington Police at (817)459-5772. You can also submit a tip by texting 847411 and typing ArlingtonPD (no spaces) first, followed by a space and your information. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, please call Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at (817)469-8477 If your child is struggling with the loss of a loved one and you’re in North Texas, The WARM Place provides a safe, compassionate space for grieving children and their families. Go to thewarmplace.org for more information. You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast  Find us at https://www.gonecold.com  For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com  Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, and court appeal documents were used as sources for this episode. #JusticeForAmberHagerman #AmberAlert #AmberHagerman #Arlington #ArlingtonTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Kidnapping #Abduction #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.

Amber Hagerman Part 6: More Bad Men

In 1999, another abduction rocked North Texas when 6-year-old Opal Jo Jennings was snatched in broad daylight as she played with other children in a field next to her house. The similarities were striking, and police in Arlington thought they had their man. In 2007, in Tacoma Washington, a twisted child rapist was exposed when he murdered one of his victims, and his ties to Fort Worth, Texas put him on the persons of interest list in the Amber Hagerman case. The following year, police in Dickinson, Texas renew an investigation from 1990 in which the victim, left for dead, survived. In 2009, her would-be killer was identified and arrested. It’s unclear if this suspect was ever investigated for the 1996 murder of 9-year-old Amber Rene Hagerman, or if the survivor’s case was even compared at all. Part 6 of 7. If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Amber Rene Hagerman, please call the Arlington Police at (817)459-5772. You can also submit a tip by texting 847411 and typing ArlingtonPD (no spaces) first, followed by a space and your information. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, please call Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at (817)469-8477 You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast  Find us at https://www.gonecold.com  For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com  Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, and court appeal documents were used as sources for this episode. #JusticeForAmberHagerman #AmberAlert #AmberHagerman #Arlington #ArlingtonTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Kidnapping #Abduction #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.

Amber Hagerman Part 5: Bad Men

The Amber Hagerman Taskforce searched far and wide for suspects. Whether a perpetrator was known, like a Fort Lauderdale, Florida child rapist and killer, or was yet to be apprehended, such as the monster responsible for raping and killing a 12-year-old girl in a Houston suburb, there was certainly no shortage of suspects to scrutinize. Even an obsessive tipster came on the Taskforce’s radar. But police investigating the January 13th abduction and subsequent murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman couldn’t catch a break that led to an arrest, or enough proof that actually made them believe they’d identified their guy. At least in the three cases discussed in this episode. If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Amber Rene Hagerman, please call the Arlington Police at (817)459-5772. You can also submit a tip by texting 847411 and typing ArlingtonPD (no spaces) first, followed by a space and your information. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, please call Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at (817)469-8477Get your GIRL SCOUT COOKIES here: https://digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/alice241168You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast  Find us at https://www.gonecold.com  For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com  Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, and court appeal documents were used as sources for this episode. #JusticeForAmberHagerman #AmberAlert #AmberHagerman #Arlington #ArlingtonTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Kidnapping #Abduction #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.

Amber Hagerman Part 4: The Investigation

As the Amber Hagerman Taskforce investigated, they were attempting to leave no stone unturned. Privy to resources not usually readily available to local police jurisdictions, Detectives were utilizing science, mathematics, and old-fashioned police work in order to cover every base. It was, perhaps, the toughest investigation many of the very experienced policemen had ever worked. And it was personal. Nothing, however, seemed to pan out. Even with the identification of countless suspects, finding the evidence that nailed one of them was proving frustrating. What were they missing?  If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman, please call the Arlington Police at (817)459-5772 or to remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, please call Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at (817)469-8477 You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast  Find us at https://www.gonecold.com  For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com  Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, and the docuseries Amber: the Girl Behind the Alert were used as sources for this episode.  #JusticeForAmberHagerman #AmberAlert #AmberHagerman #Arlington #ArlingtonTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Kidnapping #Abduction #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.