Case 301: Michella Welch & Jennifer Bastian
In 1986, two pre-teen girls from Tacoma, Washington were abducted and murdered mere months apart. Both Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian were attacked, sexually assaulted and killed after cycling to a public park. Their crime scenes were eerily similar, both bodies were hidden in wooded areas, and the girls even looked alike. Investigators were quick to rule the slayings were the work of a serial killer… But it would take more than 30 years for the shocking truth to come out.
Team:
Anonymous Host - narration
Erin Munro - research, writing
Milly Raso - creative direction
Mike Migas - production, music
Andrew D.B. Joslyn - music
Comments (15)
This comes a day after my 10 year old daughter was asking to start riding to school alone. Probs not
Despite the number of true crime podcasts out there, the chances of a kid being abducted by a stranger in the US is staggeringly low (and even lower now than when I was a kid in the early 90s). I was a tiny, chatty girl-shaped kid with red hair, and my mom was so afraid that someone was going to grab me and reenact Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Son" that I wasn't allowed to visit friends, never mind exploring the neighborhood on my own. As a result, I never really learned how to relate to other kids my age, and I spent a lot of time alone in the apartment. Give your daughter the tools to protect herself: talk to her about what to do if she gets lost, or if an adult starts making her uncomfortable (even one that she knows!!). Talk to her about what is and isn't okay for adults to say and do to her. Make a list of people she can call to come pick her up, with several backups in case someone doesn't answer their phone. Show her where she can run to-- into a public, well-lit place like a grocery store-- and how to ask for help. And tell her, as often as you can, that you'll love her no matter how much trouble she thinks she's in, and that she can ALWAYS come home. Trust, education, and autonomy will do a hundred times more good than a can of pepper spray ever could.
Didn’t realize til after I listened to this that I watched the Jennifer story on Paula Zahn season 19 ep 2. Glad both families finally got justice 💜
I enjoy when Casefile episodes detail specific cases that lead to changes in legislation/police procedure/etcetera, & found this episode to be well-written.
I think whoever invented the word "noughties" to refer to the 2000s ought to be thrown in prison
These cases were covered by DNA:ID in August (Eps 113 and 114)
That is a poor podcast, so judgmental and generally moronic
As a Seattleite, I read Lindsey's book right when it came out! It reads almost like a *ahem* casefile, of all the inner workings solving these cold cases. If anyone is interested in Lindsey telling this story personally, she did a 2-parter on Small Town Dicks, which is co-hosted by the beloved Paul Holes!
I love hearing about these types of resolutions. Just knowing there’s probably a bunch of aging creeps out there losing sleep, waiting for that knock on their door.
Props to Erin - so well written.
Great story telling of such deplorable acts. Thanks for the work again team
Thank you everyone at team Casefile. This was expertly crafted.
30:32 - the mid naughties? Haha
mid-noughties, as in the mid 2000s (approx 2003-2007) 😊
My favourite day of the week