January 22, 1989. Temecula, California. The housemate of 30-year old Marine Captain Jeffrey Digman returns to their residence and discovers that Jeffrey has been shot to death inside his bedroom. Since a gun Jeffrey owns is lying next to him, his death is ruled to be a suicide and investigators theorize that he had become despondent over a recent transfer to Puerto Rico. However, Jeffrey’s parents discover some suspicious discrepancies to make them suspect he was murdered and while his cause of death is eventually changed from “suicide” to “undetermined”, there are no conclusive answers about how he was killed.
February 20, 1992. South Korea. 30-year old Army Staff Sergeant Billy Ray Hargrove is found hanging by a parachute cord from a tree outside his residence and his death is ruled to be a suicide. Billy Ray’s best friend, 37-year old Army Sergeant First Class Mike Carmichael becomes convinced that Billy Ray was murdered and vows to perform his own independent investigation. However, six weeks later, Mike is discovered hanging by a parachute cord from a locker handle inside his barracks office. Even though Mike’s death is also ruled to be a suicide, his family believes that he was murdered in order to cover up the truth about Billy Ray’s death.
On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore two suspicious and controversial suicide cases from the military involving three different servicemen whose families believed were the victims of foul play.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/jeffrey-digman/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jeffrey_Digman
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-21-me-4165-story.html
https://www.newspapers.com/image/175934667/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/175934840/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/175934982/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-10-me-80-story.html
https://www.newspapers.com/image/179220842/
https://unsolved.com/gallery/michael-carmichael-billy-ray-hargrove-2/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Carmichael_and_Billy_Ray_Hargrove
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930518&slug=1701787
https://www.newspapers.com/image/89948176/
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“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon” in Nashville on May 31-June 2, 2024 and “Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Denver Marriott Westminster in Colorado on July 12-14, 2024. To get a 15 % discount on tickets, please use 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 250 – Moses Lall & Lila Buerattan
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 249 – Sarah Saganitso
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 248 – Susan Walsh
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 247 – Charles Walton
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 246 – Yasmin Acree
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 245 – Crystal Champagne
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 244 – Richard Lancelyn Green
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 243 – Jamie Santos & Rebecca Young
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 242 – Michael Sullivan & Camden Sylvia
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 241 – Patti Adkins
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 240 – The Bishop Family Murders
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 239 – Ted Loseff
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 238 – Harry & Megan Tooze
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 237 – Sister Roberta Elam
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 236 – Jill & Julie Hansen
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 235 – Shannon Green & David Dewayne Bell
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 234 – The Durham Family Murders
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 233 – Wallace Guidroz & Lenoria Jones
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 232 – Gary Simmons
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 231 – Richard Colvin Cox
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