PC: Pixabay; Red and blue police lights
In the media, we see many crime cases come and go, varying in severity from murder to assault cases. However, there are some cases throughout history that have gone cold, with the police not having enough evidence to make a conclusion. These records are forgotten, and the victims are without justice. However, unbeknownst to us all, when people started covering crime cases right in the comfort of their homes, they helped solve these unanswered cases through the power of the internet.
In 2016, Payne Lindsey released his true crime podcast, “Up and Vanished,” which was a 25-episode series where Lindsey investigated cases that went cold. One of the most significant episodes was his investigation into the Tara Grinstead case, the largest cold case file in Georgia Bureau of Investigation history. Grinstead was a 30-year-old high school history teacher and pageant queen living in Ocilla, Georgia. Disappearing on Oct. 22, 2005, the police were unable to gather enough evidence to charge anyone, making this case go cold.
Lindsey covered this episode 11 years later, going deep into evidence and even interviewing people who knew Grinstead. Lindsey went from start to finish, from when Grinstead first went missing to the day the police closed the case, reviewing old files, gathering community voices and deeply analyzing physical evidence. This gained massive popularity, which left his listeners with the question: What happened to Tara Grinstead on Oct. 22, 2005?
In 2017, law enforcement arrested Ryan Duke for murdering Grinstead, and Bo Dukes for concealing the body. Ryan Duke confessed to accidentally killing Grinstead during a drug-induced burglary, but blamed Bo Dukes during trial. Ryan Duke was found guilty and charged with concealing a crime, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, while Bo Duke was charged with concealing a crime, getting sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The shocking truth? Both men were former students of Grinstead. Although detectives never found Grinstead's body, she still received justice, and that all wouldn't be possible without Payne Lindsey and the millions of viewers who grew an interest in this case
Another case that reached massive popularity was the Hae Min Lee case. On Jan. 13, 1999, 18-year-old Hae Min Lee was supposed to pick up her little cousin from school. However, she never showed up, leaving her family deeply worried for her safety. They reported her missing until police found her body at a park on Feb. 9, 1999. Her cause of death was manual strangulation, but her killer was still out there. Police searched through forensic evidence; interviewing people who saw her last until they had a lead, her boyfriend, Adnan Syed. All ties led to him, with the police making the final decision to arrest Syed as Lee’s murderer. Syed was sentenced for first-degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment and robbery, receiving life in prison plus 30 years.
A journalist named Sarah Koenig released a true crime podcast named “Serial,” in which she reported different cases. In the first season, she decided to dig into the Lee case and revisit the evidence they found against Syed, gaining massive popularity in the media. In 2016, the case went to retrial, bringing in new and interesting evidence. However, the Maryland Court of Appeals reinstated the conviction. It wasn't until 2022 that Baltimore attorneys discovered new forensic evidence on Lee’s shoes pointing to two new suspects, ruling out Syed completely. This led to Syed being released from prison in 2025, with all his charges being dropped. This case had a lasting impact on the public, with conversations about the criminal justice system and alleged prosecutorial misconduct. They found DNA on Lee's shoes that was tied to two different suspects. The DNA did not lead to Syed, which led to the ultimate conclusion to release Syed from prison.
True crime podcasts are made when an individual has interest and passion for the law field. They spend days researching to give their audience the authenticity of a case. Whether it is a closed case or one that went cold, they make sure to be respectful of the victim. The criminal justice system has a history of not giving victims justice, and in most cases that blow up in the media, we see how the public focuses more on the defendant than the victim. This is why true crime podcasts are so popular and interesting because it allows the audience to know the full story, giving the victim a spotlight which they don't often get during trial. If you want to deepen your knowledge of true crime, law, and the justice system, here are three podcasts I highly recommend: Court Junkie, Rotten Mango, and Anna Solves.