The Trail Went Cold

August 22, 1965. South Bend, Indiana. 49-year old Edward Banish is murdered inside his home after being stabbed seven times. Over two months earlier, Edward’s 18-year old son, Scott Banish, had gone missing after an apparent drowning accident in Lake Michigan, but eight days after his father’s murder, Scott is discovered to be alive and admits to having faked his own death. Even though Scott seems to have a solid alibi placing him over 2,500 miles away on the night of the crime, he eventually admits to killing Edward and is arrested and charged with second-degree murder. However, after Scott recants his confession, a grand jury rules that there is insufficient evidence to indict him, so the murder charges are dropped. Was Edward Banish actually stabbed to death by his son? If not, then who was actually responsible and what could their motive have been? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the bizarre story of a missing persons case which eventually evolved into an unsolved murder. Special thanks to listener Holly Dodson for narrating the opening of this episode. Additional Reading: https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/opinion/2017/10/01/colwell-st-joseph-county-murder-case-remains-a-mystery/45809981/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516195400/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516199513/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515531517/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515768233/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515760968/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515761266/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515763176/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515763640/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515733969/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515384338/ “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 produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.  

Listen to Murder, She Told: an award-winning true-crime podcast created by victim’s advocate, Kristen Seavey that mostly covers lesser-known unsolved cases.  This is a preview of the episode about Ludger Belanger on “Murder, She Told”, which was originally published on November 19, 2024.  Ludger Belanger went missing while hunting in rural Washington, Maine in 1975. Though on the surface, it seemed like he vanished without a trace, tracks in the snow led detectives to a crucial piece of evidence and into a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse with two men who might know exactly where to find him  Listen to the full episodes on Ludger Belanger:  Apple: https://apple.co/3Oh2eJSSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/LudgerbelangerOther: https://www.murdershetold.com/connectSources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/ludger-belanger  Quick links to find Murder, She Told: Apple: https://apple.co/42Zmd5XSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/MSTSpotifyAll others and social media: https://www.murdershetold.com/connectLink to Reeves Johnson: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/reeves-johnson-2

January 12, 1994. Albuquerque, New Mexico. After dropping off a friend at a restaurant, 16-year old Jonathan Francia is carjacked and abducted from the parking lot in his mother’s Chevrolet Camaro. Five days later, the burned-out vehicle is discovered in the Arizona desert nearly 300 miles away and Jonathan’s charred remains are inside the trunk. A suspect named Paul Richardson is soon arrested and confesses that he committed the crime alongside an unidentified drifter known only as “Jason”. Paul fatally hangs himself in his jail cell and while his wife, Trena Richardson, is later indicted after admitting to involvement in the murder, the charges wind up being dismissed after her confession is thrown out. Since the mysterious “Jason” is never identified or tracked down, no one is ever convicted of Jonathan’s murder and the truth about what happened remains murky. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a brutal and frustrating crime which has yet to receive a conclusive resolution after three decades. Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/jonathan-francia/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jonathan_Francia https://www.newspapers.com/image/157704267/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157723443/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157723595/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/504605131/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157829019/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157832047/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157832212/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157917634/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157917832/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157920346/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157920713/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/505068207/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/157836617/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516292794/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516292833/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516297713/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/158560131/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516315982/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516316009/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/158405516/ “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 produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 30, 2013. Castaic, California. An overturned abandoned SUV belonging to 19-year old Bryce Laspisa is discovered at the bottom of a steep embankment near Castaic Lake, but even though most of his personal possessions have been left behind, Bryce himself is nowhere to be found. While beginning his sophomore year at Sierra College in Rocklin, Bryce had been displaying erratic behaviour and seemed to be experiencing issues with drugs and alcohol before he made the inexplicable decision to drive hundreds of miles away. During his trip, Bryce seemingly spent long periods of time just sitting inside his parked SUV, but even though he assured his parents he would eventually join them at their home in Laguna Niguel, he vanishes before he arrives. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the unsolved disappearance of Bryce Laspisa, who went missing under very bizarre circumstances. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (323) 890-5500. Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/bryce-david-laspisa https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/bryce-laspisa-missing-person-castaic-lake/1959070/ https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/09/05/mystery-over-burning-body-found-where-naperville-central-grad-disappeared-2/ https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/28/search-continues-2-years-after-central-grad-vanished-2/ https://scvnews.com/oct-19-20-organized-search-planned-for-missing-teen/ https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/one-year-after-bryce-laspisas-disappearance-parents-ask-for-acts-of-kindness/ https://www.kcra.com/article/site-being-searched-for-missing-sierra-college-student-turns-up-body/6407433 https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/bryce-david-laspisa https://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/crime/bryce-laspisa-still-missing-one-decade-after-unexplained-disappearance-480422 https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/63054d863f34185e925fcc8d/?passthrough=1 “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 produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 30, 1990. Westerville, Ohio. The mother of 22-year old Tony Lombardi returns home, assuming her son is at work. Forty-five minutes later, she claims that she hears the sound of a door closing followed by footsteps and she soon discovers Tony’s body on his bed. He has been shot through the head and a gun is lying on the floor next to him, but police rule Tony’s death to be a suicide. However, Tony’s family discovers injuries on his body to make them believe he was the victim of foul play and was possibly murdered by another man who was angry that Tony was dating his girlfriend, but his death is never reclassified. June 30, 1991. Galesburg, Illinois. After not hearing from him for a day-and-a-half, the parents of 23-year old Danny Williams discover his dead body on a couch inside his house. He has been shot through the forehead and since a gun Danny owned is found in his lap, the police believe that his death was a suicide. Danny’s family uncover a number of suspicious discrepancies to make them believe he was murdered, including the possible presence of small traces of blood at the scene which do not match Danny’s blood type. A coroner’s jury officially list Danny’s cause of death as “uncertain”, but no conclusive evidence of foul play can be found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover two suspicious suicide cases featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” involving young men who supposedly died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, but their families felt differently. Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/tony-lombardi/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Lombardi https://unsolved.com/gallery/danny-williams/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Danny_Williams https://www.newspapers.com/image/306495856/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/299581538/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/300115062/ “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 produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.