The Trail Went Cold - Bonus Episode - DNA: ID

If you like highly detailed and thoroughly researched podcasts, you will love “DNA: ID”. The show has over 100 episodes available to binge on right now. This is a sneak preview of Episode 122, which covers the case of Patricia Stichler.

New Years’ Day 1985 should have rung in an exciting new year for Patti Stichler and her three young daughters. Instead, in the middle of the night on January 1-2, someone slashed and stabbed Patti to death in her bedroom. Her three girls, ages 11, 9 and 6, were in their bedrooms just feet away.  The oldest, Andrea, was the one to find her mom, and also found the most significant clue the police had – the open window in the blood-stained bathroom, and the gaping curtains that had been cut away from it. A knife sheath was found right outside, but the killer eluded police for decades.  Sylvania, OH investigators focused on people Patti knew, but could not link anyone in her inner circle to the crime. Decades later, a very complex forensic genealogy analysis that required interpreting one-sided DNA matches, piercing adoption records, and a lot of luck, finally provided a name – and it was not who anyone suspected.

For all things “DNA: ID,” including past episodes, news, and more, please visit the show’s homepage. “DNA: ID” is available on all major podcast apps and players; please subscribe to the show on your favorite app, so you don’t miss a single episode. An all-new season begins in January, 2025.