In the dreamy summers of southern California, two murders happen within yards of each other, but a decade apart. Questions echo throughout these cases. Are they connected? Can DNA help solve these cases? Or does it just muddle the facts even more? For current Fan Club membership options and policies, please visit https://crimejunkieapp.com/library/. Sources for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/murdered-barbara-nantais-claire-hough/
Jim and Barbara joined two friends and spent the night at Torrey Pines beach, with the friends sleeping in the station wagon and Jim and Barbara on the beach.
In the summer of 1984, two teenage girls were found murdered on Torrey Pines Beach, both having been beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted. Detectives believe the young teen had snuck out of her grandmother's house late that night and headed down to the beach with her cassette stereo and a bag.
The death of a photographer had raised suspicions about him for his hobby of taking pictures of scantily clad women. While his death was ruled as an accidental drowning, many believe it could have been a suicide.
This podcast explores the case of Kevin Cooper and the issues raised by his defense team suggesting that his case was mishandled and evidence was tampered with.
Police have declared that there is no DNA in Barbara's murder case and the main suspects, Ronald and Kevin, could not have committed the crime, thus making them unconnected to the murder. Despite these conclusions, police are still trying to link the two suspects as a team.