IN THE WIND (2024)
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In 1981, trailblazing female detective Kay Schucker was the lead investigator in the high-profile missing person case of Janice Starr. The beautiful Old Dominion University student had disappeared without a trace from ODU's Norfolk, Virginia campus.
Among the only leads was Janice's diary, which included detailed daily journal entries. As Kay studied the diary -- going several years back -- she learned that Janice, a U.S. Army veteran, had faced the same challenges in the military that Kay did in law enforcement. They were both women trying to succeed in a man's world. Feeling a kinship toward Janice, Kay became consumed with unraveling the mystery of her disappearance and possible death.
As the investigation unfolded, Kay suspected that Janice had an affair with her ROTC professor at ODU, Army captain Dwight Beddingfield -- a well-respected family man, married with three kids. Kay was warned by her superiors not to dig too deeply. But she soon uncovered a life insurance scheme and discovered that Janice had been assigned a series of dangerous tasks by Captain Beddingfield. Did these circumstances play a role in Janice's demise? Was the highly regarded Beddingfield actually a killer? If so, what did he do with Janice's remains?
EYES OF A MONSTER (2021)
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Schoolteacher Olivia Dare Christian was murdered in her Hampton, Virginia apartment in 1981. Her killer left few clues and the homicide went unsolved.
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Three decades later, in 2011, next-generation detective Hampton police detective Randy Mayer re-opened Olivia's dusty cold-case file and began trying to unravel the mystery. Mayer located a reluctant witness who was a teenager back in 1981. She recalled a suspicious man she saw lurking outside Olivia's apartment the morning of the murder and provided a detailed description of the man and the vehicle he drove. She swore that she could pick him out of a police lineup if given the opportunity.
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Detective Mayer then researched hundreds of old cases, hunting for a person who fit the description and used a similar M.O. He finally identified a suspect, a Smithfield Foods employee, by then in his 60s, previously convicted of several brutal sexual assaults on women. Digging further, Mayer linked the man to two other unsolved Hampton homicides. Was this man a serial killer?
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Mayer then enlisted the help of FBI agent Liza Ludivico (also the case agent on the Colonial Parkway murders), and Phil Figura, a special prosecutor in the Virginia attorney general's office. Together, they formed what Detective Mayer called a "Dream Team." Could the team collect enough evidence to bring Olivia's killer to justice? Could the witness from 1981 identify him? And if so, would a jury vote to convict in thirty-plus year old cold case based entirely on circumstantial evidence?
CHASING THE SQUIRREL (2020)
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The true story of legendary Virginia drug smuggling pilot Wally Thrasher, a saga the Washington Post likened to "a James Bond thriller."
A blue-eyed daredevil nicknamed "Squirrel" for his elusiveness, Thrasher made millions in the 70s and 80s, smuggling marijuana and cocaine from Columbia and the Caribbean into Florida and Virginia.
With his beautiful Portuguese-born wife, Olga, he lived on a mountain estate in Virginia. He owned oceanfront homes and yachts in Florida, spent weekends in the Caribbean, and laundered money in Las Vegas, where he partied with Frank Sinatra's entourage.
The Feds were hot on his tail in 1984, when he allegedly died in a fiery plane crash in Belize, his body supposedly burnt to ashes. Investigators soon learned that the crash was staged and his death was faked.
Meanwhile, his wife Olga became a federal informant, and assisted the DEA in an undercover sting to infiltrate the highest level of Wally's smuggling ring.
The largest drug bust in the history of the Mid-Atlantic U.S. region followed, when over $150 million in drugs and cash were seized in 1986. Thirteen international trackers were brought to justice, including Bolivian drug lord Roberto Suarez Gomez, the world's "King of Cocaine."
The Feds then turned their focus back to Wally Thrasher, who U.S. Marshals believe was living the good life in some faraway tropical land. He was profiled on TV's America's Most Wanted, as federal authorities continued to chase leads around the globe in his pursuit.
Wally Thrasher
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UNDER THE TRESTLE (2018)
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The true story of one of the most compelling murder cases in U.S. history. On June 28, 1980, beautiful Gina Renee Hall, a Radford University (Virginia) freshman, went out for a night of dancing at a Blacksburg nightclub. She was never seen again.
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Her car was discovered abandoned under a railroad trestle that bridged the New River. Police investigators found hair and blood that matched Gina's in the car's trunk.
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Investigators soon learned that Gina was last seen in the company of a former Virginia Tech football player named Stephen Epperly. The investigation led to a secluded cabin on Claytor Lake, where there was forensic evidence of a violent attack.
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As the summer of 1980 progressed, the case transitioned to a murder investigation as the search continued for Gina's remains. Epperly emerged as the prime suspect, but continued to insist that he was innocent.
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During the investigation, one of the countries most reknowned tracking dogs was brought to Radford, and provided evidence that pointed to Epperly.
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Prosecutor Shockley was confident that Epperly was the killer, but up to this point, there had never been a "no body" murder conviction in Virginia. And only four had previously happened in the entire English speaking world.
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Shockley faced the biggest challenge of his career: Could he prove that Gina was dead, and that Epperly killed her? And would authorities ever find the remains of Gina Hall?
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