Hello again, folks. A lot of you are probably already familiar with my new true crime podcast, "The Trail Went Cold", which covers a lot of cases featured on "Unsolved Mysteries". I am now on Episode#4 and this week, I will be covering a classic UM case, the death of Rhonda Hinson:
http://trailwentcold.the-back-row.com/2016/03/30/the-trail-went-cold-episode-4-rhonda-hinson/

This one was suggested last month by one of our posters here, jjmcgr, and I thought it would be an ideal case to analyze on the podcast. It's always been widely debated around here about whether or not Rhonda's death was premeditated murder or a freak accident gone wrong, so I try to examine both sides. Thanks for listening!

I just wanted to commend you on your podcast, they are great! I am glad that these cases have not been forgotten!

Also I think you should cover the Don Kemp mystery, and mention about the posts his sister left on this board!

I agree! I love that you are featuring episodes on people from UM!

Also, my husband and I listened to your episode on David Cox on a ride home this weekend and both thoroughly enjoyed it. He's not a mystery nut like me but he was very intrigued by the story. Keep up the good work! :)

Edit: Yes, please also cover Don Kemp at some point!

Thanks a lot for the compliments. Glad to hear you're enjoying the podcast. I hadn't thought about doing an episode on Don Kemp since I've always believed he just wandered off and died of exposure, but I just went back and found those posts from his sister and they definitely add another level of intrigue to this case.

My next episode is finished and while it's not an UM case this time, it is one of the more infamous cases featured on "Disappeared"...

Great podcast! Hope it's Zebb Quinn case.
Like to see a Blair Adams one!

My next episode is finished and while it's not an UM case this time, it is one of the more infamous cases featured on "Disappeared"...

Very suspenseful... you're killing me! :)

Great podcast! Hope it's Zebb Quinn case.
Like to see a Blair Adams one!

Thank you. I was thinking of doing those cases, but I saw they were covered very thoroughly on the Thinking Sideways podcast (the Adams case only a few weeks ago) and I usually prefer to do cases that haven't got a lot of play on other podcasts.

Great podcast Robin!

A good case that hasn't received a lot of attention happened about 10 minutes from where I grew up. The disappearances of Paul Skiba, his daughter Sarah, and his employee Lorenzo Chivers.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/skiba_paul.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/skiba_sarah.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/chivers_lorenzo.html

A good article about the case:

http://www.westword.com/news/a-cold-case-frozen-in-time-5097544

Can't wait to hear the next episode.

This is your fourth podcast? Whoa, I'm way behind. I've only listened to the Aileen Conway case. Could you please tell me which other ones (besides Rhonda Hinson) that you've done? Thanks.

Very suspenseful... you're killing me! :)
Same! Trying to think of the most infamous Disappeared case haha.

I think all the suggestions in this thread are great. Other contenders:

Amy Bechtel

Toni Lee Sharpless

Leah Roberts

Suzy Lyall

Bob Harrod

Virginia Lynn Wood, Kelly Gaskins, and Ervin Braxton Williams

Richard Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey

Kristin Smart

I'll stop now haha. I could keep going forever!

This is your fourth podcast? Whoa, I'm way behind. I've only listened to the Aileen Conway case. Could you please tell me which other ones (besides Rhonda Hinson) that you've done? Thanks.

Sure thing. The other two episodes were the murder of David Cox and a non-UM case, the 1974 disappearance of the "Fort Worth Three". All the episodes can be found on my website's front page:
http://trailwentcold.the-back-row.com/

Thanks for all your suggestions, everyone. I certainly do take requests (the Rhonda Hinson case was one of them), so now I have a lot of potential material to choose from.

It's not a UM case, but the murder of Marilyn Sheppard would be a good one because nobody has ever been able to prove conclusively who killed her, and at the time it was considered the crime of the century because of all the media attention.

Here's a huge fountain of information: http://watchingrobertpickton88015.yuku.com/topic/1544/#.VwBMZ3rPxyw

I'm actually surprised Unsolved Mysteries didn't cover this case because of all the twists and turns, and the sheer volume of suspects/suspicion. If they did, they probably would've had to devote an entire episode to it just to be able to get all the information out there.

Good work as always Robin! I will look fwd to listening to more of your ensight. On all of these. Have you heard of the Amber haggerman case? It's one that stays with me because of where I'm from and the Amber alert is named in her memory. I also have two daughters around her age. I don't know how much info is out there but she was featured on AMW. Would like to see her on UM one day if they ever take new cases. She was murdered in 1996 if I'm correct and no suspects have ever been officially named. It would be a difficult one.

It's not a UM case, but the murder of Marilyn Sheppard would be a good one because nobody has ever been able to prove conclusively who killed her, and at the time it was considered the crime of the century because of all the media attention.

Here's a huge fountain of information: http://watchingrobertpickton88015.yuku.com/topic/1544/#.VwBMZ3rPxyw

I'm actually surprised Unsolved Mysteries didn't cover this case because of all the twists and turns, and the sheer volume of suspects/suspicion. If they did, they probably would've had to devote an entire episode to it just to be able to get all the information out there.

That one was recently profiled on "A Crime To Remember", which devoted an hour long episode to it. Haven't watched it yet, but it sounds fascinating.

I've enjoyed every podcast and I'm glad you got a new microphone. I was so into the Rhonda Hinson episode while driving home that I missed my exit twice.

It's not a UM case, but the murder of Marilyn Sheppard would be a good one because nobody has ever been able to prove conclusively who killed her, and at the time it was considered the crime of the century because of all the media attention.

That's a good one, but I actually heard a podcast called True Crime Garage do an extensive episode of the Sheppard case not too long ago and I tend not to cover cases so soon after they've been featured on other podcasts.

Good work as always Robin! I will look fwd to listening to more of your ensight. On all of these. Have you heard of the Amber haggerman case? It's one that stays with me because of where I'm from and the Amber alert is named in her memory. I also have two daughters around her age. I don't know how much info is out there but she was featured on AMW. Would like to see her on UM one day if they ever take new cases. She was murdered in 1996 if I'm correct and no suspects have ever been officially named. It would be a difficult one.

Thank you. I am definitely familiar with that case, but you're right, it would be a difficult one to devote an entire podcast to. Sadly, as famous as the case is, it's one of those unsolved murders in which there's virtually nothing in the way of leads, suspects or clues, so it's tough to provide much in the way of analysis.

Hello again, everyone. Two weeks ago, I announced that my next episode was going to cover an infamous, controversial case which was once featured on "Disappeared". Well, the episode has now been released and it happens to be... the disappearance of Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos:
http://trailwentcold.the-back-row.com/2016/04/13/the-trail-went-cold-episode-5-terrance-williams-and-felipe-santos/

If you're not familiar with this case, Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams were two men who vanished within the three months of each other in Naples, Florida. They were taken into custody for traffic violations and in both cases, they disappeared without explanation after last being seen in the patrol car of the same police officer, a sheriff's deputy named Steve Calkins. Calkins was later fired from the police force after being caught in several lies, but neither Santos nor Williams have ever been found.

On the surface, it would seem like Calkins murdered both these men and hid their bodies. I don't know, I'm pretty certain that Calkins did SOMETHING bad, but there's just so much about this story which doesn't make sense. Here's a full summary of the case:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Terrance_Williams_and_Felipe_Santos

On the surface, it would seem like Calkins murdered both these men and hid their bodies. I don't know, I'm pretty certain that Calkins did SOMETHING bad, but there's just so much about this story which doesn't make sense.

Excellent job, I'm listening to the new one right now.

I do not believe that Calkins murdered both men. Calkins filed the paperwork on Santos after he last saw him. If he in fact murdered Santos, why would he go through the trouble of filing/processing the ticket if he knew Santos was already dead and wouldn't respond to them? It would lead the trail right back to Calkins. Same thing with regards to Calkins calling in the tow on Williams' car. Plus, Calkins actually spoke with the cemetery staff that day, asking them if he could move the car into a parking space. He wasn't making a concerted effort to cover his tracks, if he did in fact murder these men.

ETA: I did read an interesting theory on reddit about the case. Someone posited that Calkins dropped both men off somewhere (everglades possibly) to "teach them a lesson" and didn't intentionally set out to kill them. That Williams and Santos perished in the elements.

Should've listened to the whole episode before commenting, you literally covered all of this stuff. :lol:

Hello again, everyone. Two weeks ago, I announced that my next episode was going to cover an infamous, controversial case which was once featured on "Disappeared". Well, the episode has now been released and it happens to be... the disappearance of Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos:
http://trailwentcold.the-back-row.com/2016/04/13/the-trail-went-cold-episode-5-terrance-williams-and-felipe-santos/

If you're not familiar with this case, Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams were two men who vanished within the three months of each other in Naples, Florida. They were taken into custody for traffic violations and in both cases, they disappeared without explanation after last being seen in the patrol car of the same police officer, a sheriff's deputy named Steve Calkins. Calkins was later fired from the police force after being caught in several lies, but neither Santos nor Williams have ever been found.

On the surface, it would seem like Calkins murdered both these men and hid their bodies. I don't know, I'm pretty certain that Calkins did SOMETHING bad, but there's just so much about this story which doesn't make sense. Here's a full summary of the case:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Terrance_Williams_and_Felipe_Santos

Great choice!

As you know, I'm super pro-law enforcement. (I'm a prosecutor, so duh.) That being said, there is something VERY bizarre about this case. I thought it the first time I read it, before it had been picked up by Disappeared.

I look forward to tuning in. :)

I just don't see how Calkins would be 'targeting' the men, considering both men had traffic incidents where a police officer would become involved. It's too big of a coincidence, IMO.

The only theory where Calkins would be responsible for their deaths that seems viable, IMO, is the dropping them off in the middle of nowhere scenario.

Excellent job, I'm listening to the new one right now.

I do not believe that Calkins murdered both men. Calkins filed the paperwork on Santos after he last saw him. If he in fact murdered Santos, why would he go through the trouble of filing/processing the ticket if he knew Santos was already dead and wouldn't respond to them? It would lead the trail right back to Calkins. Same thing with regards to Calkins calling in the tow on Williams' car. Plus, Calkins actually spoke with the cemetery staff that day, asking them if he could move the car into a parking space. He wasn't making a concerted effort to cover his tracks, if he did in fact murder these men.

ETA: I did read an interesting theory on reddit about the case. Someone posited that Calkins dropped both men off somewhere (everglades possibly) to "teach them a lesson" and didn't intentionally set out to kill them. That Williams and Santos perished in the elements.

Should've listened to the whole episode before commenting, you literally covered all of this stuff. :lol:

Thank you. Glad to see we have such similar thoughts about this case.

I also read about that same theory on Reddit a while back and a lightbulb went off over my head. I'm Canadian and incidents where police officers dropped suspects off in the middle of nowhere (a.k.a. "starlight tours") and caused them to freeze to death have often made big news here. I don't think the theory's perfect in this particular case (since neither of the bodies have been found, and being dropped off in sunny Florida is quite different than being dropped off in rural Canada in the middle of winter), but IMHO, it still makes a lot more sense than Calkins making a calculated choice to murder both men. If Calkins murdered Santos, I really don't think he would have been so brazen to do the same thing again under the exact same circumstances just 2 1/2 months later.

That's a good one, but I actually heard a podcast called True Crime Garage do an extensive episode of the Sheppard case not too long ago and I tend not to cover cases so soon after they've been featured on other podcasts.

I didn't realize it was featured there, I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

Loved the latest episode. I hadn't considered your theory before, but it does make a lot of sense.

If Calkins murdered Santos, I really don't think he would have been so brazen to do the same thing again under the exact same circumstances just 2 1/2 months later.

Exactly.

Unless he assumed Santos went back to Mexico. But still, that's an awfully close time frame to commit a near identical crime to then use nearly the same exact story (guy was cooperative so I gave him a break, dropped him off at Circle K) in an attempt to cover himself. And, IIRC, it was only approximately 20 minutes from the time the cemetery employees saw Williams being put into Calkins' squad car to the time that Calkins returned and phoned in the info and then requested the tow. How far could Calkins have taken him?

And, working on the assumption that Calkins is innocent, what exactly happened to Williams to make him disappear without a trace in that tight time frame?

And, IIRC, it was only approximately 20 minutes from the time the cemetery employees saw Williams being put into Calkins' squad car to the time that Calkins returned and phoned in the info and then requested the tow. How far could Calkins have taken him?

The timeline is a bit iffy as the cemetery witnesses apparently gave inconsistent statements about the time Calkins was away which ranged from 15 minutes to one hour. Admittedly, that's probably the biggest hole in the "starlight tour" theory. Even though that's not a lot of time for Calkins to murder Williams and dispose of his body, it's also not much time for him to travel so far to an isolated location that Williams could have died before making it back to town.

I actually just heard one interesting theory that Calkins could have kept Williams' body in the trunk of his patrol car and disposed of it later on, but I think it would be AWFULLY brazen for him to arrange the towing of Williams' car while he has a dead body in his trunk!

And, working on the assumption that Calkins is innocent, what exactly happened to Williams to make him disappear without a trace in that tight time frame?

Yes, while it is somewhat plausible that an undocumented immigrant like Santos could have fled back to Mexico and managed to live off the grid this past decade, I don't see how there's any way for Williams to have not been found in that time frame unless he was dead.

After hearing about Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland and Freddie Gray, it becomes a lot easier to believe a white police officer could be responsible for the murders of racial minorities.

Calkins is guilty. Not much else to say. If this happened today, it would be all over the news.

After hearing about Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland and Freddie Gray, it becomes a lot easier to believe a white police officer could be responsible for the murders of racial minorities.

Calkins is guilty. Not much else to say. If this happened today, it would be all over the news.

Even if he didn't deliberately commit murder, at the very least, I suspect Calkins might be guilty of negligent homicide and contributed in some way to their deaths. I just think that a 17-year veteran police officer wouldn't have done such a lousy job of covering their tracks and fabricating a cover story if they were planning to get away with murder all along.

Even if he didn't deliberately commit murder, at the very least, I suspect Calkins might be guilty of negligent homicide and contributed in some way to their deaths. I just think that a 17-year veteran police officer wouldn't have done such a lousy job of covering their tracks and fabricating a cover story if they were planning to get away with murder all along.

Even if Williams ran into Calkins after Calkins dropped him off at the Circle K, and bribed him somehow to not arrest him? If Calkins was bribed, and let Williams go a second time, I don't see how he'd be guilty of anything other than accepting a bribe.

Even if Williams ran into Calkins after Calkins dropped him off at the Circle K, and bribed him somehow to not arrest him? If Calkins was bribed, and let Williams go a second time, I don't see how he'd be guilty of anything other than accepting a bribe.

That's true. I'm thinking along the lines if Calkins did something which directly contributed to their deaths (i.e. dropping them off in the middle of nowhere where they died of the elements). I know that there were a couple of "starlight tour" cases here in Canada where police officers received prison sentences for unlawful confinement since they dropped suspects off in the middle of nowhere during winter, where they subsequently died of hypothermia. If all Calkins did was accept a bribe from Williams and let him go, that's a totally different story, but it would be a hell of a coincidence if Williams was then killed in a completely unrelated incident shortly thereafter.

I know an employee at the Circle K stated in an interview that she saw Calkins using the bathroom and Williams leaving with a can of gasoline, but since the police have always publicly maintained that no witnesses saw either man at the Circle K that day, I don't know if that means they've completely dismissed her sighting.

If all Calkins did was accept a bribe from Williams and let him go, that's a totally different story, but it would be a hell of a coincidence if Williams was then killed in a completely unrelated incident shortly thereafter.

I agree.

Although it's amazing about how little we know about Williams' personal life. We know nothing about his friends, girlfriends, potential enemies, where he was going that day, etc. All we have is the coincidence of his involvement with Calkins, and the disappearance of Felipe Santos. Occam's razor would say somehow they are related and Calkins had a hand in their disappearance. But it seems to me like this is one of those cases where Occam's razor can't be applied based off of what we don't know.

If the employee at the Circle K is correct, and she did see Williams leave (prior to Calkins exiting) with a gas container, this would seem to indicate that Calkins did not have the time to kill Williams and then go about dumping his body, moving the car, then going back and calling in the tow, etc. Just to throw out a random theory here to see your take on it (assuming the employee's account is accurate):

For a reference, here's a link of a map showing the possible routes from the cemetery to the Circle K.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hodges+Funeral+Home+at+Naples+Memorial%E2%80%A6/Circle+K,+13550+Tamiami+Trail+N,+Naples,+FL+34110/@26.2832905,-81.8092334,14.5z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x0:0x86f1579e6a6ae8ca!2m2!1d-81.814507!2d26.2727723!1m5!1m1!1s0x88db1938905a164d:0xc761612d91fe6407!2m2!1d-81.8013449!2d26.294761

Williams lived approximately 30 miles south from the cemetery. So he was traveling north, presumably, on US-41, which appears to be the quickest route. Of course this is all a moot point if Williams was returning home from the party the night prior at his coworkers house, and he was headed back home. Either way, it looks like he was traveling to or from US-41.

Anyway, if we are to assume that the bribe took place after the initial contact with Calkins, and after he dropped him off at the Circle K, then that means Williams left the store with the gas container headed to his car. It's entirely possible that someone saw him walking down the road with the gas container and offered him a lift. This, despite the astronomical odds, could have been his killer. Or, an even more plausible story, is that when this driver is taking Williams to the car, they see Calkins at the vehicle, so Williams just has him take him somewhere else to avoid further contact with Calkins. Then he drops him off somewhere else where Williams runs into foul play. Or, perhaps Williams, freaked out at the threat of more jail time decides to call someone (after being dropped off) to help him lay low for awhile before ultimately meeting with foul play (or disappearing on his own for good).

I tend to think that if the employee's account is accurate, that Calkins is most likely not guilty. He makes contact with Williams at 12:15 p.m. that day. His call to check into the background of Williams comes in at 1:12 p.m. His call into request the tow was roughly around 12:52 p.m. I just don't see the time frame he had to murder him, or take him on a "starlight tour" and abandon him in a place where he wouldn't have had human contact.

ETA: The nearest remote places shown on the map (state parks, swamps, everglades) are roughly 30 minutes to an hour and a half drive time one way. This means that after pulling him over (Calkins assertion is 12:15 p.m.), running his plates, chatting with him, etc. and then giving him a lift to the Circle K (roughly 5 minutes away) would put the time at roughly 12:25 to 12:30. Based off of the time frame, it seems to corroborate Calkins' account that day. Because the Circle K is roughly 5 minutes one way. Which would put approximately 10 minutes drive time from the initial contact time of 12:15. Then you have to take into account the fact that this employee said Calkins was in the Circle K to use the bathroom. Tack on another 5 minutes. We don't know exactly how long Calkins and Williams had contact before he gave him a ride, but even if it was a brief minute or two (highly unlikely for those who have ever been pulled over before), Calkins would have had approximately 15-20 minutes of "spare" time to coverup whatever he did, and then make it back to the cemetery in time to call in the tow to the operator.

And if Calkins somehow managed to take him on a "tour" to one of these areas, I find it hard to believe that Williams did not come in contact with someone who had a phone or who could help him.

I know this sounds dumb but what exactly is a podcast? I'm not good with technology.

Although it's amazing about how little we know about Williams' personal life. We know nothing about his friends, girlfriends, potential enemies, where he was going that day, etc. All we have is the coincidence of his involvement with Calkins, and the disappearance of Felipe Santos. Occam's razor would say somehow they are related and Calkins had a hand in their disappearance. But it seems to me like this is one of those cases where Occam's razor can't be applied based off of what we don't know.

Most of my knowledge of Terrance’s personal life is from the “Disappeared” episode. He lived a pretty troubled life early on, spending time in prison for robbery and fathering four children with four different women, but when he made the move from his native Tennessee to Naples, it seemed like he was genuinely attempting to turn things around and worked two jobs to catch up on his back payments of child support. It sounded like he was very close to his mother and roommate, who drove him around because his licence was suspended. Of course, Terrance wasn’t immune to still breaking the law since he drove unregistered vehicle without a licence to attend that co-worker’s party, but I’ve never heard of him being involved in anything shady in Naples which might have gotten him killed.

Terrance also missed a court hearing in Tennessee about his child support payments two days after he disappeared, which is why it didn’t seem entirely implausible that he could have taken off somewhere on his own, but I’m sure he would have surfaced eventually if he was still alive.

Williams lived approximately 30 miles south from the cemetery. So he was traveling north, presumably, on US-41, which appears to be the quickest route. Of course this is all a moot point if Williams was returning home from the party the night prior at his coworkers house, and he was headed back home. Either way, it looks like he was traveling to or from US-41.

One point I’ve always been confused about: the “Disappeared” episode seemed to indicate that Terrance left the co-worker’s party between 4:00-5:00 AM that morning, but he was pulled over by Calkins at around 12:15 PM. I’ve not entirely sure where Terrance was during those 7-8 hours.

Anyway, if we are to assume that the bribe took place after the initial contact with Calkins, and after he dropped him off at the Circle K, then that means Williams left the store with the gas container headed to his car. It's entirely possible that someone saw him walking down the road with the gas container and offered him a lift. This, despite the astronomical odds, could have been his killer. Or, an even more plausible story, is that when this driver is taking Williams to the car, they see Calkins at the vehicle, so Williams just has him take him somewhere else to avoid further contact with Calkins. Then he drops him off somewhere else where Williams runs into foul play. Or, perhaps Williams, freaked out at the threat of more jail time decides to call someone (after being dropped off) to help him lay low for awhile before ultimately meeting with foul play (or disappearing on his own for good).

My biggest problem with the whole bribery theory is that if Williams paid off Calkins to let him go, why would Calkins bother calling in the tow for the Cadillac? Why not just take Williams back to his car and let him drive away, severing all connection with the guy who bribed him? By calling dispatch, using Terrance’s name on the radio, and having the Cadillac towed, Calkins gets the whole incident put on the record, and increases the chances of him getting caught.

ETA: The nearest remote places shown on the map (state parks, swamps, everglades) are roughly 30 minutes to an hour and a half drive time one way. This means that after pulling him over (Calkins assertion is 12:15 p.m.), running his plates, chatting with him, etc. and then giving him a lift to the Circle K (roughly 5 minutes away) would put the time at roughly 12:25 to 12:30. Based off of the time frame, it seems to corroborate Calkins' account that day. Because the Circle K is roughly 5 minutes one way. Which would put approximately 10 minutes drive time from the initial contact time of 12:15. Then you have to take into account the fact that this employee said Calkins was in the Circle K to use the bathroom. Tack on another 5 minutes. We don't know exactly how long Calkins and Williams had contact before he gave him a ride, but even if it was a brief minute or two (highly unlikely for those who have ever been pulled over before), Calkins would have had approximately 15-20 minutes of "spare" time to coverup whatever he did, and then make it back to the cemetery in time to call in the tow to the operator.

And if Calkins somehow managed to take him on a "tour" to one of these areas, I find it hard to believe that Williams did not come in contact with someone who had a phone or who could help him.

Hmmm, yeah, this is such a tough one. I’ve never thought the “starlight tour” theory was perfect, but it still seemed to make more sense to me than Calkins being a multiple murderer or him being flat-out innocent. If it was just Santos or Williams who disappeared after being in Calkins’ custody, it would be much easier to believe in Calkins’ innocence, but the odds against Calkins dropping off TWO suspects in the span of 2 1/2 months who vanished for completely unrelated reasons are astronomical! But if there’s one reason I can believe Calkins and Williams were at the Circle K at some point, it’s that Calkins would have to be incredibly stupid to fabricate a story about a Circle K when he already had Santos go missing at a Circle K on his watch months earlier. Why pick that location as your location of the cover story unless there was some truth to it?

The more I think about it, I’m starting to wonder if maybe the Circle K employee did see Calkins and Williams in this store, but this actually occurred BEFORE Calkins pulled the Cadillac over. Williams purchases some gasoline and drives away, Calkins leaves the station after using the restroom, drives the same route as Williams, pulls him over a few minutes later, and the employee just simply got the timeframe wrong. But it’s still awfully suspicious that neither man ever showed up in the Circle K surveillance footage. Such a baffling case.

I know this sounds dumb but what exactly is a podcast? I'm not good with technology.

It's an audio file which you can listen to or download from the Internet. Podcasts resemble radio shows and are usually divided into episodes about certain topics which are discussed and analyzed. True crime podcasts seem to have become all the rage on the Internet during the past few years since the success of the podcast, "Serial".

My particular podcast, "The Trail Went Cold", mostly analyzes cases which were featured on "Unsolved Mysteries" (as well as some non-UM cases, like the aforementioned Felipe Santos-Terrance Williams episode). There are links to the audio files of some of my episodes in this very thread, if you're inclined to listen :) .

I'm listening now to the Rhonda Hinson

Of course, Terrance wasn’t immune to still breaking the law since he drove unregistered vehicle without a licence to attend that co-worker’s party, but I’ve never heard of him being involved in anything shady in Naples which might have gotten him killed.

I don't want to derail this thread, but this case is fascinating to me. As far as Williams not being involved in anything shady in Naples, there still could be some old demons back home in Tennessee that we know nothing about.

Terrance also missed a court hearing in Tennessee about his child support payments two days after he disappeared, which is why it didn’t seem entirely implausible that he could have taken off somewhere on his own, but I’m sure he would have surfaced eventually if he was still alive.

Did the Disappeared episode mention anything missing from Williams' residence, like clothing, toiletries, etc.?

One point I’ve always been confused about: the “Disappeared” episode seemed to indicate that Terrance left the co-worker’s party between 4:00-5:00 AM that morning, but he was pulled over by Calkins at around 12:15 PM. I’ve not entirely sure where Terrance was during those 7-8 hours.

I forgot that part in the episode. Maybe he was sleeping on the side of the road somewhere before waking up and heading back home?

My biggest problem with the whole bribery theory is that if Williams paid off Calkins to let him go, why would Calkins bother calling in the tow for the Cadillac? Why not just take Williams back to his car and let him drive away, severing all connection with the guy who bribed him? By calling dispatch, using Terrance’s name on the radio, and having the Cadillac towed, Calkins gets the whole incident put on the record, and increases the chances of him getting caught.

This is an excellent point. But, if Calkins story is somewhat true (minus the bribery), maybe he felt burned by Williams for lying to him about working at the Circle K and not having the proper registration/license for his car. If Calkins took some sort of bribe for letting him go, while honestly believing the alleged story Williams told him, I could see how he would feel somewhat hosed for letting the guy go, and accepting a bribe. Now, not only does the guy get off for various traffic violations, but Calkins is dirty for taking the bribe as well.

Hmmm, yeah, this is such a tough one. I’ve never thought the “starlight tour” theory was perfect, but it still seemed to make more sense to me than Calkins being a multiple murderer or him being flat-out innocent. If it was just Santos or Williams who disappeared after being in Calkins’ custody, it would be much easier to believe in Calkins’ innocence, but the odds against Calkins dropping off TWO suspects in the span of 2 1/2 months who vanished for completely unrelated reasons are astronomical! But if there’s one reason I can believe Calkins and Williams were at the Circle K at some point, it’s that Calkins would have to be incredibly stupid to fabricate a story about a Circle K when he already had Santos go missing at a Circle K on his watch months earlier. Why pick that location as your location of the cover story unless there was some truth to it?

I just find it hard to believe that in that small time frame, Calkins eliminated any possible piece of incriminating evidence. And no one, outside of the cemetery employees and the Circle K employee see the two men together. And since Calkins was a police officer, the FBI as well as as the FDLE were called in. They used GPS tracking on Calkins vehicle (to see if he was going anywhere remote or suspicious), and then would take cadaver dogs to the locations where Calkins went. Nothing of substance was found. And this is another reason why I believe Calkins to be innocent. It wasn't just like the department washed their hands of it, they actually investigated him extensively.

The more I think about it, I’m starting to wonder if maybe the Circle K employee did see Calkins and Williams in this store, but this actually occurred BEFORE Calkins pulled the Cadillac over. Williams purchases some gasoline and drives away, Calkins leaves the station after using the restroom, drives the same route as Williams, pulls him over a few minutes later, and the employee just simply got the timeframe wrong. But it’s still awfully suspicious that neither man ever showed up in the Circle K surveillance footage. Such a baffling case.

The only problem I have with that, is if Williams was in the store prior to being pulled over, why would he fill up gas in a container if his car was already at the Circle K?

Did the Disappeared episode mention anything missing from Williams' residence, like clothing, toiletries, etc.?

I don’t believe so. Since Terrance had a roommate at the time, I’m sure he would have been in the position to notice if anything was missing, but he didn’t make any mention of that. I'm also not sure if the roommate would have been home during the time period Terrance went missing.

This is an excellent point. But, if Calkins story is somewhat true (minus the bribery), maybe he felt burned by Williams for lying to him about working at the Circle K and not having the proper registration/license for his car. If Calkins took some sort of bribe for letting him go, while honestly believing the alleged story Williams told him, I could see how he would feel somewhat hosed for letting the guy go, and accepting a bribe. Now, not only does the guy get off for various traffic violations, but Calkins is dirty for taking the bribe as well.

The issue here is that Calkins claimed that he called the Circle K on his cell phone and discovered that Terrance had lied about working there, but cell phone records showed that no calls had been made and no one at the Circle K admitted to taking such a call. If Calkins didn’t make that call, how would he have found Williams didn’t work at the Circle K? It’s always been so bizarre to me that Calkins would provide a story which could be so easily disproved. Shouldn’t a veteran police officer know how easy it is to check cell phone records?

In Calkins’ defence, when I listen to the recording on “Disappeared” where the dispatcher contacted him at home to enquire about what happened to Williams, I’ve always thought Calkins sounded genuinely surprised that they were asking about him. I got the impression that Calkins had a limited amount of time to fabricate a cover story before he was officially questioned by investigators, which is why he provided a story which was so full of holes. I think that if he had murdered Williams, Calkins would have already been prepared with a better story when the dispatcher contacted him other than “I don’t remember this particular incident”.

I just find it hard to believe that in that small time frame, Calkins eliminated any possible piece of incriminating evidence. And no one, outside of the cemetery employees and the Circle K employee see the two men together. And since Calkins was a police officer, the FBI as well as as the FDLE were called in. They used GPS tracking on Calkins vehicle (to see if he was going anywhere remote or suspicious), and then would take cadaver dogs to the locations where Calkins went. Nothing of substance was found. And this is another reason why I believe Calkins to be innocent. It wasn't just like the department washed their hands of it, they actually investigated him extensively.

Yes, I do give the Collier County Sheriff’s Department credit because I never got the impression they were orchestrating a cover-up here. If there were allegations of a departmental cover-up, it would have been a lot easier to believe they could have helped Calkins eliminate all evidence of foul play, but the department did call in outside agencies to avoid a conflict of interest.

The only problem I have with that, is if Williams was in the store prior to being pulled over, why would he fill up gas in a container if his car was already at the Circle K?

Since he was putting gas in a container, maybe Williams was planning to use it later, or give it to his mother or his roommate for their vehicles. But I guess the big hole in that theory is no gas container was ever found after Williams went missing. I’m really not sure why Williams would have been purchasing gasoline in the first place. Since his license was still suspended and he never drove the Cadillac before that particular night, I’m not sure the vehicle would have driven enough to require gasoline at that point.