The Coldest Case in Laramie

Last updated

The Coldest Case in Laramie is a true crime podcast [1] produced by Serial Productions and The New York Times [2] and hosted by Kim Barker. [3] The eight episodes podcast [4] debuted on February 23, 2023. [5]

The podcast is about a cold case, the unsolved murder of Shelli Wiley, a 22-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, [6] that took place in 1985, [7] in Laramie, Wyoming. [8] After she was killed her home was set on fire. [9] Barker, who grew up in Laramie [10] and has worked as a war reporter in Afghanistan and as a correspondent in New Delhi and Islamabad, [11] started investigating the case during the COVID-19 pandemic. [12]

The podcast contains archival audio related to the case. [13] The show was criticized by James Marriott in The Times, who said that "the idea that anyone could consider this horrible tragedy a promising source of entertainment baffles me". [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Unsolved Mysteries</i> American true crime television series

Unsolved Mysteries is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl Malden, and Robert Stack, beginning on NBC on January 20, 1987, becoming a full-fledged series on October 5, 1988, hosted by Stack. After nine seasons on NBC, the series moved to CBS for its 10th season on November 13, 1997. After adding Virginia Madsen as a co-host during season 11 failed to boost slipping ratings, CBS canceled the series after only a two-season, 12-episode run on June 11, 1999. The series was revived by Lifetime in 2000, with season 12 beginning on July 2, 2001. Unsolved Mysteries aired 103 episodes on Lifetime, before ending on September 20, 2002, an end that coincided with Stack's illness and eventual death.

True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines a crime and details the actions of people associated with and affected by criminal events.

The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in Greater Boston during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, on details revealed in court during a separate case, and DNA evidence linking him to the final victim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Rader</span> American serial killer (born 1945)

Dennis Lynn Rader, also known as BTK, is an American serial killer who murdered at least ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Although Rader occasionally killed or attempted to kill men and children, he typically targeted women. His victims were often bound, sometimes with objects from their homes, and either suffocated with a plastic bag or manually strangled with a ligature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claremont serial killings</span> 1990s serial murders in Western Australia

The Claremont serial killings is the name given by the media to a case involving the disappearance of an Australian woman, aged 18, and the killings of two others, aged 23 and 27, in 1996–1997. After attending night spots in Claremont, a wealthy western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, all three women disappeared in similar circumstances leading police to suspect that an unidentified serial killer was the offender. The case was described as the state's biggest, longest running, and most expensive investigation.

The backpacker murders were a spate of serial killings that took place in New South Wales, Australia, between 1989 and 1993, committed by Ivan Milat. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partially buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-west of the New South Wales town of Berrima. Five of the victims were foreign backpackers and two were Australians from Melbourne. Milat was convicted of the murders on 27 July 1996 and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole. He died in prison on 27 October 2019, having never confessed to the murders for which he was convicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easey Street murders</span>

The Easey Street murders, often simplified to just Easey Street, refer to the knife murders of two women in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, an inner suburb of Melbourne, in January 1977. Described as "Victoria’s most brutal crime", the case remains unsolved despite a A$1 million reward being posted in 2017.

<i>Serial</i> (podcast) American investigative journalism podcast

Serial is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig, narrating a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. The series was co-created and is co-produced by Koenig and Julie Snyder and developed by This American Life; as of July 2020, it is owned by The New York Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Hae Min Lee</span> Unsolved 1999 homicide in Baltimore, Maryland

Hae Min Lee was a Korean-American high school student who was last seen alive on January 13, 1999, in Baltimore County, Maryland. Her body was found four weeks later in Leakin Park; she had been killed by manual strangulation.

<i>Casefile</i> Australian true crime podcast

Casefile True Crime Podcast, or simply Casefile, is an Australian crime podcast that first aired in January 2016 and is hosted by an Australian man who remains anonymous. The podcast is released on a Sunday (EST) for three consecutive weeks, with a break on the fourth week. The series deals with solved or cold criminal cases, often related to well-known murders and serial crimes. Many early episodes relate to Australian cases, although notable crimes from the UK and the US are increasingly featured, and well-known cases from other countries have also been included. Unlike a number of similar podcasts, the series is scripted and narrative, relying primarily on original police or mass-media documents, eyewitness accounts, and interview or public announcement recordings. Larger and more-complex cases have received multiple-week serialised broadcasts, and case updates to previously aired cases are also provided from time to time. The series has been well received, and has won a number of awards since its debut.

<i>Ill Be Gone in the Dark</i> 2018 true crime book by Michelle McNamara

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer is a true crime book by the American writer Michelle McNamara about the investigation of the Golden State Killer. The book was released on February 27, 2018, nearly two years after McNamara's death and two months before an arrest would be made in the case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Holes</span> American former cold-case investigator

Paul Holes is an American former cold-case investigator for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. Holes is known for his contributions to solving the Golden State Killer case using advanced methods of identifying the killer with DNA and genealogy technology. Since retiring in March 2018, Holes has contributed to books, television, and podcasts about the Golden State Killer and true crime.

Kim Barker is a journalist who authored The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan about her experiences covering the war in Afghanistan. The book was adapted into the 2016 film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Barker was portrayed by Tina Fey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Lee Moore</span> American murderer (1967–2008)

Ronald Lee Moore was an American fugitive, murderer, rapist and suspected serial killer who murdered at least two women between 1996 and 1999. He was not connected to either murder until over a decade later. In November 2007, while incarcerated in Baltimore for burglary, Moore was accidentally released due to a clerical error. He was captured on December 24, 2007, but committed suicide by hanging in January 2008 at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Louisiana. After his suicide, DNA testing linked him to other crimes and he was mentioned in the podcast Serial (2014) as a possible suspect in the killing of Hae Min Lee.

Jonathan Allore, usually credited as John Allore, was a Canadian actor and podcaster, most noted for his true crime podcast Who Killed Theresa. The podcast started out as a personal exploration of the Death of Theresa Allore, his sister, and later expanded its focus to cover other unsolved crimes.

References

  1. Leszkiewicz, Anna (March 1, 2023). "The Coldest Case in Laramie: yet another bleak true crime podcast". New Statesman. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  2. "Nytt popcornmord kan inte leva på gamla meriter". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). March 17, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  3. Quah, Nicholas (February 23, 2023). "The Coldest Case in Laramie Is Serial's Grimmest Production Yet". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  4. White, Peter (February 16, 2023). "'The Coldest Case In Laramie' Set As First Serial Podcast Hosted By A New York Times Reporter". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  5. "The Coldest Case in Laramie: put aside half a day to binge Serial's new true crime podcast". Irish Independent. February 24, 2023. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  6. Sturges, Fiona (March 6, 2023). "The Coldest Case in Laramie aims to go beyond true crime — podcast review". Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  7. "Serial's 'The Coldest Case in Laramie' reinvestigates Shelli Wiley's unsolved murder in 1985". Podsauce. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  8. Miller, Laura (February 23, 2023). "The New Serial Podcast Is a Return to Their Roots. It's Going to Make Listeners Angry". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  9. Rooney, Kat (March 15, 2023). "Serial's Latest Is a Familiar Podcast About an Unsolved Murder". Podcast Review. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  10. "Memoir meets murder in Serial Production's latest series The Coldest Case in Laramie".
  11. "'The Coldest Case in Laramie' zou weleens nieuwe klapper kunnen zijn voor fameuze podcastreeks 'Serial' ★★★★☆". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). March 9, 2023. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  12. Sawyer, Miranda (February 25, 2023). "The week in audio: The Coldest Case in Laramie; Carol and Muriel; The Rabbit Hole Detectives and more". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  13. Smith, Ximena (February 24, 2023). "The Coldest Case in Laramie: Slow-burn turns to shocking revelations in this Serial podcast". Stuff. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  14. Marriott, James (June 3, 2023). "The Coldest Case in Laramie review — why have we decided it's fine to gawk at a violent death?". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.