August 4, 1971. Galveston, Texas. After spending the day at the beach, 14-year old Rhonda Renee Johnson and 13-year old Sharon Shaw fail to return home and their skeletal remains are found in a bayou months later. A suspect named Michael Lloyd Self is eventually taken into custody and confesses to the murders, but even though he maintains his confession was coerced and that he is innocent, Self is still convicted of the crime. Decades later, another convicted murderer named Edward Harold Bell becomes an alternate suspect after he sends confession letters to the authorities. Bell claims he was responsible for the murders of eleven female victims which took place in Texas during the 1970s and refers to them as “The Eleven Who Went to Heaven”. His confessions also hint that two of these victims may have been Rhonda Renee Johnson and Sharon Shaw. To commemorate the seven-year anniversary of “The Trail Went Cold”, we are releasing a special two-part episode on “The Eleven Who Went to Heaven” and exploring a number of unsolved murders which may have been committed by the same perpetrator. This week, Part 1 will cover the murders of Rhonda Renee Johnson and Sharon Shaw and the controversial conviction of Michael Lloyd Self. Special thanks to listener Amy Harber for narrating the opening of this episode.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Rhonda_Johnson_and_Sharon_Shaw
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Rhonda_Johnson_and_Sharon_Shaw
https://www.leagle.com/decision/19741345513sw2d83211258
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/1198/386343/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/465038454/
https://abc13.com/archive/8269239/
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Some-suspect-serial-killer-in-1971-Galveston-2078025.php
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Confessions-of-a-cold-blooded-killer-2187501.php
“Deliver Us: Three Decades of Murder and Redemption of the Infamous I-45/Texas Killing Fields” by Kathryn Casey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Harold_Bell
https://unsolved.com/gallery/edward-harold-bell/
Join us on Saturday, February 25 at 8:00pm ET for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.
“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 is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 269 – Theodore Kampf & Patrick Rosner
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 268 – Ray Gricar
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 267 – Elizabeth Eisel & Katherine Lowery
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 266 – Jocelyn Hickenlooper
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 265 – The Alcatraz Escape (Part 2)
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 264 – The Alcatraz Escape (Part 1)
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 263 – Cassandra Rundle, Detrick Sturm & Melanie Sturm
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 262 – Jack Wheeler
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 261 – Gracie Nash & John Davis Jr.
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 260 – Kristen Modafferi
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 259 – Laurie Depies
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 258 – Shane Stewart & Sally McNelly
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 257 – Update, Part 2
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 256 – Mary Elizabeth Edens
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 255 – Colleen Wood
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 254 – Derrick Engebretson & Kurt Newton
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 253 – Kathy Page
The Trail Went Cold – Bonus Episode – Kay Hall
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 252 – The Jamison Family
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 251 – Sandra Kay Baker
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