Unsolved: Five Murders, One Suspect, Zero Answers | Forensic Files

Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. >> And I'm Brit. >> And I have been dying to tell you this
story. It is a story about a serial killer. Not one of the ones we've been asked to cover time and time again, like
the ones who have gotten endless coverage as people pick apart their psyche and motivations. This is about
someone I'd never heard of. Someone who police suspect of terrible things because somehow wherever this guy goes,
tragedy follows. But they have never had enough to prove the things they so strongly suspect. So this man, either
one of the unluckiest people I've ever heard of, or a coldblooded killer, is living among all of us. He could be our
neighbor or the guy we pass at the grocery store, someone we know, someone our listeners know. But remember, crime
junkie life rule number one, you never really know anyone ever, but it's my job to make sure you're well informed. So,
buckle up, kiddos. This one's a doozy. I'm talking about the cases that have been linked to a man they call the
Louiswis Clark Valley killer, and I'm going to talk about who police think that man actually is.
I don't know what was in the water in the fall of 1982, but authorities in the Louiswis Clark Valley, where Washington
and Idaho and Oregon all meet, they were underwater with cases. Between August 31st and September 19th, in this area
where not much happens, four people had gone missing. It started with a 2-year-old little boy named Ricky
Barnett who was visiting his grandparents farm in Graangeville, Idaho. And while workers were unloading
a delivery of chickens, Ricky vanished into thin air. Almost 2 weeks later, on September 12th, two young women went
missing while out running errands in Lewon, Idaho. 21-year-old Christina Nelson and her stepsister, 18-year-old
Jacqueline Miller, who goes by Brandy. Then, just as the 12th of September turned into the 13th, before anyone even
knew that Brandy and Christina were missing, 35-year-old Steven Parasol vanished after he was dropped off at the
local civic theater in the same small town. So, by the 19th of September, when 18-year-old Jennifer Vincent and her car
disappear somewhere between her boyfriend's dorm at Washington State University and her home in Spokane,
Washington, people are panicked. Authorities, especially in the valley, are drowning. And that's not even
speaking of the cold cases they've had looming over them for the last couple of years. The disappearance of a
12-year-old girl in 79 and then the murder and dismemberment of a young woman who was found in ' 81.
So, something is happening in this area. Captain M. Dwayne Taylor, chief of detectives for the Lewon PD, said in an
article for the Spokane Chronicle that he had been on the force for 19 years and has never seen anything like this.
The peace and illusion of safety that the Valley residents used to feel is shattered. Parents don't let their kids
walk to school alone anymore. People are locking their doors at night. I mean, it's like they're being hunted by this
faceless, nameless boogeyman. And that doesn't change after Jennifer Vincent is found. And there actually is an
innocent, albeit scary reason for her disappearance. She had gotten into some kind of accident on her way home and she
was found pinned in the wreckage of her car with a broken back and hypothermia. And that was nearly 4 days after she
went missing. So at least for her case, like there's no connection seemingly to any of the other victims. And after she
gets found, the local papers, who had been picking up all of the five most recent cases and like lumping them
together, they let Jennifer's name fall off. Eventually, Ricky Barnett's name disappears, too. Though, I'm not really
sure why, especially when I started digging, I found some reporting to suggest that he wasn't the only
2-year-old boy to go missing in that area over a span of couple years. >> What? >> Dude, I don't know. The papers dropped
all the reporting on those kids. like there's almost nothing. Don't worry, I'm not about to. Stay tuned. Like, I'm
having our reporters dig in, so watch out someday. >> Yeah. But in putting Jennifer and
Ricky's cases aside, this new theory began to emerge. Though police were adamant early to the press that all
these cases were considered to be unrelated, it was hard to ignore the fact that
three of these people who are still missing, the adults, all went missing on the same night from the same teeny tiny
town. So tiny in fact that it turns out Steven Parasol actually lived just a few
apartment buildings down from Christina Nelson. Christina actually held the part-time job as a janitor at the
theater that Steven went missing from before Steven took that job over a year earlier and Christina and Steven went to
the same college. >> So they knew each other then? >> Yeah. I mean they definitely would have
at least been familiar >> like in the same circles, >> right? I like I don't get the sense that
they were like close or hung out. But let me lay out for you the separate circumstances surrounding Christina and
Bry's disappearance versus Stevens, so you can get a sense of what police are working with here. So, Christina's
boyfriend, this guy Bill, called her at her apartment at around 8:30 p.m. on the
night of September 12th. Now, he's planning to come over that night, so I'm sure they're just like coordinating or
whatever. and she told him that her stepsister Brandy was going to be over in a little bit and that they were going
to go to the local Safeway grocery store. Now, Bill ended up falling asleep, so he didn't make the trip to
Christina's until the next morning. But when he got there, it had to feel a little like deja vu cuz on Christina's
front door was a note written to him saying, quote, "Bill, walk down to the store with Brandy back in a few. Come on
in and get comfy." Okay, Chris, he's in our hiding place. But even though the note was presumably left for him the day
before, when Bill goes inside, Christina's not there. And it doesn't seem like he's worried. Probably just
assumed that he'd missed her. He'd see her later. So after waiting, he had to leave to go to work. But when he came
back that night, neither Christina nor Brandy were there. But the note that Christina left still was,
>> which is a pretty big red flag. >> Yeah. But for some reason, alarm bells weren't ringing for Bill just yet
because he didn't go out and like try and find her. And I'm not sure if this was normal for them to just kind of like
be missing each other a lot or what. And in his defense, everything in the apartment indicated that she was
planning on coming back when he got there the first time. Like she left a light on, her cat was still there, even
her purse was sitting there. So, I think he's assuming that Christine is going to
reappear. They could laugh about being like ships passing in the night and just like missing each other.
>> Yeah. And at this point, it's not like the disappearances in the area have started piling up, right? Like not
everyone's on high alert for this yet, >> right? So, I mean, like prior to Christina and Brandy going missing, you
had a young kid who went missing 3 years before, then that woman who was found murdered the year before. Both of those
very different cases. So, like they're not even being connected to each other, much less anything else at this point.
And then, you know, we had the little boy Ricky who goes missing right before as well. But like,
>> but it's so different, >> right? And I don't even know how much pickup his case got before anything
started really like happening in like a short period of time. So, it's like not where Bill's mind jumps to right away
that like something bad has happened. Mhm. >> Plus, in 1982, I I feel like and fair,
like this is a totally made up stat, like 60% of trying to hang out with people was like missing them in real
time and having to try and connect later when you got to your landline >> because like you you can't be in contact
the way we are right now. >> So, so Bill decides, you know what, he's just going to stay at Christina so he
doesn't miss her. But when he wakes up in the middle of the night on what is now the 14th and there's still no sign
of his girlfriend, like this is when he realizes like something more is going on
here. So he starts calling friends, family, anybody who might know where his girlfriend was. I'm sure he tried to get
in touch with Brandy since the note mentioned her and she lived nearby, but he couldn't find her either. He even
ends up going to check the Safeway, the grocery store where she was supposed to go to. nothing
>> like they just weren't there at the time or they'd never even made it to begin
with. >> I have all the questions since her purse was left behind. That makes me think
that they never even made it to the store. >> But was her wallet in her purse or could
she have just like taken some cash for the few things she needed, left everything else behind?
>> Wallets were still there to be fair. Like you're I mean I guess she could have just taken some cash. Like I don't
know exactly what they were getting. I don't know if they're going for just like, oh, we're just going to like grab
a soda or if they're going for like a full-on grocery haul. So, yeah. Did she have money on her? Did she throw just a
couple bucks in her pocket? >> I don't know. >> But at the Safeway, no one saw them
there. >> No. Which like always makes me wonder if they made it there in the first place.
>> And it's worth noting that the grocery store at the time it closed at 10:00. >> So, if they wanted to make it on time,
they would have had to leave before then. And we know the last time Bill spoke to her was 8:30. She was still
waiting on Brandy. So it's like a little bit of a tight timeline. >> Yeah. So between 8:30 and when Bill got
there the following morning, like they're gone. >> Something happens, right? And I also
haven't seen anything in the reporting about there being like fresh groceries or grocery bags or anything like that in
the apartment. So, >> and there's no signs of foul play in the apartment? >> No, nothing. And just to go back to the
note real quick, it was for sure written in Christina's handwriting. >> It was hers. Yes.
>> Okay. >> So, we don't really know when they went missing, but we know for sure that they
were gone by the morning or afternoon of the 14th. And not just because Bill like
pops by then, he also, as he's like looking for them, contacts the restaurant where Christina works. And he
finds out that she'd been a no- call no-show for her shift that day, too. >> And like that's like the final straw. He
knows this is like bad bad and so from there he goes right to the police to report Christina and Brandy missing
>> and does their family go with him? >> So they actually don't live in town but
like when they find out everyone's just as worried as as Bill is. Like Christina
in particular is one of those super responsible people who would never no call no show. So while Bill is the one
who's like there and providing the boots on the ground presence in the early days
of the investigation, the family is completely like in the background. >> Yeah. Giving that extra push. Now,
police do take the report right away. And this is when they start retracing a lot of the steps that Bill took, right?
They look at Christina's apartment. They try and retrace the paths that the women
might have taken like to and from Safeway, but they cannot find a single person who saw them, who interacted with
them, nothing. Just like poof, gone. And within a couple of hours of their last interaction with people or contact with
people, all of a sudden, Steven Parasol vanishes, too. So, investigators learn that Steven's girlfriend dropped him off
at the Lewon Civic Theater at around 6:30 p.m. on September 12th. Steven is very involved in this theater. He plays
clarinet. He works on sets. He is the janitor. And I believe that he was even in a show or two. And so, when he's
dropped off, he was either going to be like there practicing playing his clarinet or working on a set or
something. Now, he does that. Everything's fine. His girlfriend picks him back up at 9:00 cuz they have to go
to this going away party for another staff member of the theater. They're there for a couple of hours and then on
what is now the 13th at like midnight, the girlfriend drops him back off at the theater. So, he's going to play his
clarinet. He also has some laundry that he wants to do there, too. Now, a few people see his girlfriend drop him off.
One was even a police officer. So, he is 100% back at that theater by midnight. but alone.
>> So, there was apparently one other guy who'd been there that night, and he said
he saw Steven before Steven had left at like 9:00 p.m. And then he says he fell asleep. And in fact, no one ever saw him
leave the theater. And just like Christina and Brandy, he's never seen again. When Steven was eventually reported
missing and police go and search his place, it was a lot like Christina's in that it looked like he would be right
back. I mean, he left his car parked outside of his place. He left behind an uncashed paycheck for 179 bucks, which
is like no chump change in 1982, >> especially if he were planning on leaving, which it's clear Steven didn't
do. At least it's clear to those who knew him. Now, a search of the theater didn't turn up anything either other
than finding Steven's clarinet in the orchestra pit. Like, there's nothing. Interestingly, too, like even his duffel
bag that he brought that he was like going to do laundry or whatever. Like, that's gone.
>> So, at this point, I mean, they have to be thinking that everything is connected, right? Or like others, it's
this wild coincidence. >> Well, like wait, did Bill come under suspicion at all? Oh, I'm sure police
looked at him briefly and and Brandy also had a boyfriend who like same thing. I mean, I think they probably
looked at, but neither of them are considered suspects. Actually, the first real suspect they had in this case, and
this goes to what you were saying about them being connected, the first real suspect was Steven Parasol. Oh, I know.
Turn of events. I am popping on to start a conversation about a case. I cannot get it out of my
head. A true mind bender. A huge twister your way. You gut check all your assumptions. Cuz this is a case that
starts like so many before. >> Hi fry junkies. Now, I don't know exactly when police
started to have suspicions about Steven possibly being more suspect than victim.
I mean, they sure aren't saying anything like that in the early reporting that I'm able to pull on the case from like
82 and 83. But everything changes in March of 84. That's when the decomposed, mostly
skeletal remains of Christina and Brandy are found at the bottom of a hill about
35 to 40 m outside of Lewon. >> Were they still doing searches for them? >> No, I actually don't know if they ever
did formal searches. Like the way they end up getting found, it's truly a miracle. There was this kid who was out
at like the top of this hill looking for cans and like the wind catches his baseball cap and he loses it and he goes
down this hill to chase it. That is how they get found. >> Uh what are the odds of that happening?
>> That is and that's what I was saying like different hill, different day, different time of day,
>> different kid, different cap. I mean >> yeah like they might still be considered
missing people but they're not right. Like so they're found on March 19th of 84. By March 27th, they've been
positively identified as Christina and Brandy. And then boom, April 1st of 84, The Spokesman Review publishes an
article saying that police are looking for the third missing person, 35-year-old Steven Parisol. Now, they
don't call him a suspect, but it's clear to everyone who hadn't already picked up
on police's suspicions by now that like like they're looking for him. You know what I mean?
>> Yeah. But I guess my question is why? like what would his motive be? >> They don't have one. Like honestly, at
this point, I think they just see the opportunity because I think one of the paths that the girls could have walked
to get to Safeway actually went past the theater. So, you know, they're seeing this big tall older guy who has a
military background going missing on the same night as these two young women. And
I think they kind of just assume that he was responsible. Maybe maybe it wasn't planned, right? like maybe everything
whatever happened something spiraled out of control and that's why Steven left with like literally just the clothes on
his back and the ones in his laundry sack. But right away anyone who knows Steven was like absolutely no. They
would tell you there is no way he could hurt anyone. Steven was like everyone's big brother at the theater. He was this
gentle giant, always looking out for everybody, making sure that the theater was a safe haven for everyone involved.
Plus, sweet Steven, they say that all you have to do is look at what was left behind to know that he is the victim of
foul play, too. Because remember how his clarinet was found in the orchestra pit?
Like, everyone's like, he loved that thing. Like, that thing was his baby. Like, if anything is telling you that
your theory is wrong, like he would never leave that behind. So, his loved ones are frustrated because not only is
their missing loved one getting wrongly painted as a suspect, but in doing so, they're afraid that like police and
authorities aren't putting the same resources into solving this case because if he's the victim, if he succumb to
foul play, but they're not considering that, like how are you taking the right steps?
>> They're not just not considering that, they're considering that he is the suspect of foul play,
>> right? And by the way, like even if you like, you know, go with their theory,
like you didn't mean for something to happen or whatever, like if you're going to go on the run, like you think you'd
at least take your car for a little bit and like cash the paycheck. You're going
to need some money on the road. >> So, nothing points to Steven leaving willingly. Nothing points to him hurting
Christina and Brandy. >> And going back to Christina and Brandy, were they able to determine how they
died? >> Oh, yeah. So, I didn't get into that. The pathologist determined that they had
been strangled and even though they didn't appear to have been bound in any way, beneath their bodies were these
like lengths of something that early days they described as like clothesline cord. Now, they also found with the
women like clothing, lip gloss, jewelry, and um there was a bra shoved into the mouth of one of the skulls.
So motive for whoever did this seemed to be sexual or at least like had a sexual
component to it. >> But because of all the time that had passed between when they went missing
and then when they were found, I mean, the chances of them retrieving anything to prove that or point to their killer
was like virtually zero in 1984. >> Nothing been to officially rule out Steven either.
>> No, but honestly, they don't end up needing it for that reason. You see, a little perspective goes a long way in
cases when investigators zoom out and take stock of everything. And when they do that in this case, they
find reason to start sideeying someone else. So, remember that guy that was sleeping in the theater when Steven was
there? >> Yes, I knew there was more to him. >> There's a lot more to him. So, his name
is Lance Boss. And what are the odds that he not only shows up in this case, but also in one of those cold cases from
the area, that one from 1979, where a 12-year-old girl went missing. What? Uh-huh. So, back on April 28th, 1979, in
a soten, Washington, which is like just across the river from Lewon, 12-year-old
Christina White goes to her friend Rose's house because the two were going to go to the fair that was in town
together. Mom knows she made it to Rose's house because she actually walked her over there, like dropped Christina
off with her bike and waved goodbye to her as she was at the front door. But a few hours later, so around 2:00 p.m.,
Christina had called home and asked her mom to pick her up. She said she wasn't feeling well, which wasn't entirely out
of the ordinary. I guess Christina had a habit of just not drinking enough water.
She would get overheated pretty easily. >> Kids be kids. >> Yeah. But like her mom at the time was
home with her little sister. She couldn't just like like pack up and leave at that moment. So she's like,
"Okay, Christina, listen. Run a towel under some cold water. Put it on your forehead. Put it on your neck. Just try
and cool off. And then when you're feeling a little bit better, like just come home. I'll keep an eye out for you.
>> But she never came home. >> She never came home. >> Did she decide to just go to the fair
instead of heading home? >> So you asked a complicated question. So the current investigator thinks no. But
I don't know if anyone can be 100% certain without knowing where Christina is now. You know what I mean?
>> Police reports from back then are minimal. I mean, there's a lot that has been lost to time, if it ever existed at
all. Detective Jackie Nichols, who is on Christina's case today, told our team that there was like this turf war going
on between the police department and the sheriff's department when it came to this case. And they were battling over
who had jurisdiction. Even though, by the way, when Christina first went missing, it doesn't even feel
like anyone was quick to jump on it. Like, they wrote her off as a runaway. They said because her mom was divorced.
>> What? What does that have anything to do with Christina being a runaway? >> They're they're basically like, "Oh, you
it must be a terrible home life because your mother is divorced, so you're going
to leave." >> Okay. >> It's like complete be like, "Yeah, sign of the times." >> Okay, cool. Awesome. Great. Um, her
friend Rose, did did she like say what happened to her? Well, she wasn't there because when they talked to Rose, it
turns out um so again, they were planning on going to the fair. >> Rose ended up leaving as planned when
Christina wasn't feeling good. So, she like left, went to the fair. Christina is there at this house and when she
left, she just assumed Christina was going to join her later or whatever. Now, Rose's little brother might have
also been home while Christina was there, but it seems like police don't speak to him much. And like even today,
he's never sat down for like a proper interview. >> Wait, why? >> Well, he was only 10 back then. So like
at the time, I don't know if police didn't know if he'd be much help. I don't know if like
>> they had this runaway theory. So like did they Right. Or did like, you know, parents come come in and say like, "No,
you can't interview my 10-year-old. Like that's too traumatic." Again, like I don't have a lot of
reports from back in the day to like reference like what they were even thinking at the time. To me, this is
like I feel like he holds all the answers, but like if he's not talking, also, why is he not talking?
>> Mhm. >> And I know Detective Nichols wants to talk to him still like to this day. But
she says she's waiting for the right time or like you know if you're out there like she like you're welcome to
come forward. >> But all that to say, so little brother maybe home, maybe not. Rose is already
at the fair. There was someone else who had very close ties to this household who could have come by. Like
theoretically, we don't know if he was in the house that day. But guess who Rose's mom was dating?
>> Lance Voss. >> Lance Voss. >> And what's his story around this? >> I don't know. Like without the reports,
it's hard for me to tell what he said or even if he was asked at all about that day or his whereabouts. What I know is
Christina and her bike are never seen or heard from again. The only thing even connected to her that ever surfaced were
some school papers that were found on the outskirts of a farmer's field shortly after she disappeared. And when
they get found, they were in pretty good condition. So, it looked like they'd only been out there maybe a day or two.
But Detective Nicholls is actually not sure if this find is even significant. And that's for a few reasons. I mean,
for one, it wasn't just Christina's papers. They're actually some from another friend. Two, the papers aren't
all in one place. Like, it doesn't feel like, you know, they were like staged there. They're sort of scattered almost
like they flew out of someone's car, like passing on a nearby road. So, Detective Nichols kind of wonders if
maybe, you know, some of Christina's this other friend's schoolwork was in like the friend's family's car. Somehow,
like it got mixed up, fell out, whatever. And we talked to a woman named Gloria. She is Christina Nelson's
cousin. So that's how this whole thing like got started for her. >> Okay. >> She has been deep in this case. I mean
like really along with Jackie Nichols, Gloria is the one who brought this back to life. And she says that the field
where those school papers were found is one that Rose and her mom kept their horses at. So all in all, Detective
Nichols doesn't think that those papers are like the key to cracking this case. And is there any direct connection
between Lance and this property? >> No. Um, but you can see that there is like a really strong connection between
Lance and Christina. And that's where I'm like, do the papers mean anything? I don't know. But like, you know, going
back to our scoped out, just like him being the last person who was in the same place as Steven before Steven
disappears. Lance is suspected by police to potentially be the last person in the
same place as Christina when she disappeared. And when you look at the other cold case that happened between
Christina and then the three from Lewon at the theater, there isn't a tight connection to Lance, but I don't know,
enough circumstantial things to make you go, "Huh?" So, the other case is that of
22-year-old Kristen David. On June 26th, 1981, Kristine goes missing while riding
her bike from her dorm at the university in Moscow, Idaho to her parents' house in none other than Lewon. Like
Christina, both she and her bike just poof, gone. But unlike Christina, Kristen gets found.
8 days later on the 4th of July, her body is found in pieces in the Snake River. Her body parts were wrapped in
newspaper and placed in black garbage bags. Now, she'd been in the water for some time, so finding forensic evidence
was pretty much a no-go. They don't know who took her. They don't know where she
was killed. They don't know much of anything. The only clues they had in her case were the newspaper that she was
actually like wrapped in. They were local papers from Lewon dated April of 1981.
and police got a couple of sightings of maybe a big brown van that was maybe stopped on the side of the road with her
and her bike, but they never figured out who the driver was, though. And this is
one of those very loose connections to Lance Foss. It's been speculated that maybe he had a Brown van at the time. I
guess he had a lot of vehicles, but we're saying brown van not officially confirmed. Though, what's more
interesting is that Lance's job took him specifically from the valley to Moscow,
which includes like the same route that Kristen would have taken on her bike the
day that she went missing. And Kristen had actually worked at the Lewon Civic Theater for at least a little while at
some point. So, she theoretically very well may have known Lance Foss, although we cannot 100% confirm that. So again,
let's scope out 30,000 foot view. In 1984, you have this witness who was with Steven right before Steven went missing.
Now you realize that his name has come up in other cold cases. Very suspicious. >> Yeah.
>> And listen, even early on, they recognized that his story about being at the theater always kind of stunk a
little bit. So, while police are still looking for Steven, right after Christina and Brandy are found, they
also bring this guy Lance back in for questioning. And the first time they talk to him, it was just as a witness.
This time it is as a suspect. And this time, his story gets even stranger. [Music]
Lance's story originally was that he was working with Steven on the set and he'd
left at around 9:30, which we know Steven left at 9:00, so fine, sure, could make sense. But then in another
like version of his story or events, he claimed to police that he'd spent more time at the theater that night. and that
at some point he'd been working up in this attic doing rigging or whatever for like the curtains or something and then
he accidentally fell through the ceiling which is possible because if you like go
up to the attic there are these like catwalks that you have to stay on otherwise the ceiling's just like
plaster I mean it would be easy to fall through. So, in this other version, he's
like, "Oh, I fell through this thing. Like, I'm not super hurt, but I just needed to lay down for a second." And I
ended up falling asleep until like 5:00 a.m. And he's like, "Oh, when I woke up,
I immediately was like, "Oh god, I got to get home because I never let my wife know that I was going to be staying
there." Oh, and by the way, he tells police like, "While I was like there and sleeping or whatever, I did hear the
phone ring at some point." Like, but I was like, you know, I think this is like when he was like dazed or half asleep or
whatever, but he's like, I didn't answer it. >> Convenient if his wife says she called
looking for him and he didn't pick up. >> Exactly. Anyways, he says that on his drive home as he's like going, he
realized, you know what? Like there's no point in rushing, my wife is probably already at work by this point, so never
mind. I'm going to go back to the theater. >> So, again, this is like the kind of
weird story he's told them before when he was a witness, >> and that was back in 1982. Fast forward
to now, 1984, and he gives a little more detail. So, he reiterates that he's working at the
theater, but then he says between 9 and 9:30, he leaves and he drives to this pizzeria called The Red Baron to have a
couple of beers and watch a movie. He says that the movie got out at 11:00, which is when he left the pizzeria and
went back to the theater. This is presumably when he fell through the ceiling. that whole rigging thing,
>> laid down, sleeps till 5:00 a.m., >> but he's still in all of this claiming that he never saw Steven back at the
theater, and oh no, I never saw the the missing women either, by the way. >> So, he's saying he's a he was aware
enough to like hear the phone ring, decide not to answer it, but don't worry, he definitely didn't interact
with the missing guy that we absolutely know was there at midnight. >> Okay. Yes. But it's even more bananas
than that because when they dig in, they realize that the couch that he says he's
like asleep on or half asleep on cuz he hears the phone, whatever, >> is right by the door that Steven would
have entered from, >> like when his girlfriend dropped him back off after the party. So suspicious.
But there are other parts of his story that don't line up either. Like he says he goes to this pizzeria, he leaves when
the movie's over at 11:00. When investigators actually check, they find out that the movie didn't get out at
11:00. It got out at midnight. And they find out that one of the paths that the women might have taken to get to
Safeway, right? We're talking about Christina and Brandy. There's a path that just so happens to cross right in
front of the Red Baron where he's now telling them he was. And to me, in the perfect time frame, right? Like we know
Christina is talking to her boyfriend Bill at 8:30. She's waiting for Brandy. We know that the Safeway closes at
10:00. >> So, she would have walked right by the Red Baron as he says he's sitting there,
>> right? So investigators can't help but wonder, could Lance have seen the girls
from inside the Red Baron, somehow lured them back to the theater, and then Steven walked in on something happening
and then maybe Steven was just like collateral damage, >> which is an interesting theory, but then
where is Steven? Like they found the girls >> and yeah, Steven was not with them. One
theory has always been that maybe he's still in the theater. Like when I did a Tik Tok on this case asking locals to
tell me like what have you been hearing? What I kept getting from people is that
there's this rumor that he is in the wall of the theater now. Were they telling police that at
the time? I don't know. I feel like if he was in the wall, he would have been found.
>> Like the theater is abandoned and condemned now, but it wasn't then. Like the smell alone I feel like would have
gotten some attention from people. >> Yeah. Did they ever search it? >> I don't know how much they were
searching for a body early on >> versus like evidence of a missing person and their last like interactions and
movements, >> right? And I know after Christina and Brandy were found, they were going to
the theater trying to find evidence of a crime scene. >> And I haven't told you this yet, not
just because of like the Lance connection and Steven or whatever. Like the theater makes sense, but I told you
there was like cord found under Christina and Brandy >> like Well, that cord looks an awful lot like
the rigging, specifically the type of rigging that Lance said he was working with at the theater that night. So,
everything in these three cases just like keeps coming back to the theater for them. So, I know that they conducted
lumininal testing in the basement by the back door, but they never got anything that they could work with because it
turns out that the theater walls were painted with lead based paint and like lead will apparently light up just like
blood under Luminyl, which I did not know. Fun crime junkie fact. So, unfortunately at the time, like they
can't say if anything happened there, but but no, they're not like taking down walls looking for a body either. But
when they're looking for evidence, I'm not sure I'd expect like blood at the crime scene if we know that the women
had been strangled, right? >> Yeah. But like we don't know what happened to Steven. So,
>> and you don't know if like No, they didn't have skull fractures as far as we know or anything like that, but you
don't know. >> There was like a laceration from like a defensive wound or something.
>> I think they're just looking for anything that can be helpful. >> Well, what would be helpful is finding
Steven. Like that. I feel like that would be like a huge puzzle piece in all this. Did they ever actually check the
walls or whatever? Like run down some of these local rumors that like you at least have heard.
>> Yeah. Would love to know if they checked the walls. Like there's nothing in it in
the police documents. But like I said, I know the theater was condemned and it recently just got purchased with plans
to turn it into a senior center. So with those renovations, any evidence there is
soon going to be lost. >> Mhm. But also, I don't know, and maybe I'm just being like too optimistic, but
I'm like, "Oh, also does this mean like as we're tearing it down, if we're careful enough, can something be found?
>> To find evidence, >> right?" But not finding Steven, I think, is one of the biggest hang-ups in this
case. Because I think prosecutors are like, "Well, a defense is going to have a field day with this, right? Because
until you can prove like with a body that he's a victim, I think a defense attorney is going to paint him as an
alternate suspect. It's just not a slam dunk. Even with how suspicious Lance looks to police, like after that second
interview where it was clear they were suspicious of him, he lawyers up, refuses a polygraph, stops cooperating.
I I I get that this is not like a slam dunk case, but going back to your like zoom out 30,000 foot view, I mean,
there's something going on here. >> Yeah. And I mean, if you think that now, just wait because I haven't even told
you what Lance's history was before the crimes in the Louiswis Clark Valley started happening.
[Music] Lance moved around a bit before he settled in the valley. He grew up in Chicago. He was out in California for a
little bit. Like, dude kind of bounced around. And that is something that Gloria has really dug into. She traced
Lance's location over the years and cross-referenced other homicides or suspicious deaths in those areas. And
she found a few that, like you said, Brett, feel like a little more than a coincidence to me. First was the
unsolved murder of Diane Taylor in Chicago. Diane was 8 years old when she went missing on August 1st, 1963 while
heading home from the YMCA. Her body gets found 2 days later. She's been brutally beaten, sexually assaulted, and
stabbed. Now, while researching Diane's case, Gloria found that a 15-year-old Lance Voss was her YMCA camp counselor
and lived in the same neighborhood as Diane. What's wild is I'm not even sure if he was interviewed at the time. Now,
our team tried reaching out to Chicago PD to see where the investigation stands today because Detective Nichols told us
that they were really interested when Gloria brought this to them. But when we reached out to Chicago investigators,
they would not talk to us. So, I'm not sure if they have any evidence to test. I don't know if they've tried talking to
Lance about this. Like, I truly know nothing about where things stand in that case today. But, it's odd, right?
>> Yeah. >> So, that's Chicago 1963. Fast forward to June 1972. Lance is now 24 years old and living in
California. 17-year-old Antwanet Anino is found in the early morning hours floating in the
water near the shore of Santa Cruz. Police quickly rule her death a suicide by drowning because they found out that
the night before she and her boyfriend, her brother, and her brother's girlfriend were like all out on the
boardwalk together when she and her boyfriend get in this argument. The two of them like leave their friends to go
sit on the beach and talk about it, but apparently she was really upset. So her boyfriend got up, left her alone,
telling her, "Listen, you can like come join us again when you're calmed down." Now they don't see her again, and when
police hear this, they're like, "Oh, she must have been so upset that she threw herself into the ocean to drown." Even
though she was found nude and all of her clothes were missing, never found. >> I'm sorry, what?
>> I know. Now, here's where it gets freaking weird. >> Weirder than this? >> Weirder than this. Her body was taken to
Willow Glenn Mortuary in San Jose. Later that same night, Lance Voss gets caught
breaking into this mortuary with a flashlight, with a hunting knife, and with a camera. According to the owner's
daughter-in-law of the mortuary, Lance gets caught and he tries to explain this whole thing away. He's like, "Oh, I'm
just trying to get in to see my girlfriend one last time." And was Lance the boyfriend that she had been arguing
with? >> No, he wasn't her boyfriend. And you can't even say that like it was another
>> Was there someone else there? >> Antonet's body was the only one in the mortuary at the time. So he gets charged
with attempted burglary which ended up being reduced to a misdemeanor at the time. And again, like nobody's connected
him to a Chicago thing. This seems like the only thing that has happened. So, like I understand how maybe it got like
pled down or whatever. First time off. A freaking weird first time offense. When
we talk about like paying attention to things that people are doing, breaking into a mortuary with a camera, a
flashlight, and a knife, >> that feels like different than attempted burglary to me, but what do I know?
>> We should again, we need to be paying attention. All the red flags. >> So, there's that.
>> Yeah. Then the last case that came up in Gloria's digging is the death of 25-year-old Clawudette Vololiva in Lewon
on July 27th, 1987. Claudet was also involved with the Civic Theater, according to people who knew her. And
despite Lance being married, the two were having an affair. According to one of Lance's friends, the day of her
death, he had walked into her apartment and found her body after what was eventually ruled a suicide. Now, I'll
say upfront, like from everything I've seen, it doesn't seem like anyone questions the validity at this current
time. Like, everyone seems to believe it really was a suicide. He's just connected to her. They were having an
affair. >> But it's just so weird, >> right? I mean, this is what you have, right? Like the thing about this case
that hooked me from the beginning is I think it's one of the first instances that I've come across where everyone
connected. They seem to think that there is a serial killer at work. They seem to
think that they know exactly who it is, where he is, but the public at large knows nothing about it.
>> Yeah. >> And there is this guy out there living his life and people who come in contact
with him may never know the things that he has been connected to. coincidentally
or not. And so much time has passed, so surely there's got to be something in one of those cases that could connect
them to a killer, the killer. Listen, they've been trying. Detective Nichols has done physical searches over the
years looking for victims. I mean, she actually even trained her own cadaavver dog to conduct searches for Christina's
remains because her department didn't have the funds to pay for a dog search. And listen, I'll tell you that like not
all of the searches she's done have been directly related to Lance. Like she's looked at other people, other places,
whatever. But a good number of them have been connected to him. Because by the way, dude owned slash owns currently
like a few homes and pieces of property around the valley, including, and I think this is important, a home that was
right between Christina's house and Rose's house at the time Christina went missing. And that house was vacant at
the time Christina White disappeared. But even when she looked at that place and all the other places she's looked
at, Detective Nichols, she's turned up nothing. What she has gotten over the years, what our reporter got as she was
interviewing people for this episode, what I've gotten in my DMs are stories upon stories from locals who have
personally had creepy or just downright terrifying experiences with Lance. And I'm not going to go over all of them,
but the one that I can't stop thinking about is described by Detective Nichols in an episode of Cold Valley called
Person of Interest. So, I'll set it up for you. This woman, she's looking to buy a house, and one of the homes that
she was looking at was owned and being sold by none other than Lance Voss. So, he's giving her this tour, and
throughout it, he's like hyping up the basement. Like, I've done all this work down there. You really got to see the
basement. You got to go down to the basement. like the highlight of the home. >> So eventually she's like, "Yeah, okay.
Well, you know, I've seen the house. Let's go down to the basement." >> She started towards the stairs first
with like him following behind, but before they actually got to the stairs. She like turned around to tell him
something. And when she turned around, she says that his like arm was up and he like put it down really fast and sort of
like hid something behind his back. And she asked him, she's like, "What? Like what are you holding?" And eventually he
pulls something out. Okay, there's something in his hand. And it is a final, which is basically like this like
decorative like top of a bed post. >> And when did this happen? >> I believe this was after all of the
murder/ disappearances that we've talked about. But this thing like freaked her out because she felt like he was going
to hit her with it. And to add to the weirdness, he started asking her questions like, "Does anyone know you're
here?" Which like thankfully lots of people knew she was. Or she at least like said like, "Everyone in my life
knows I'm here." Like that's what I would be doing. I be like, "I'm leaving. Everyone knows I'm here.
>> Everyone I know, they know address. They know I'm leaving." Yeah. >> And then like but as soon as he knows
that, he's like doesn't seem interested in showing her the basement as well. >> JK basement's not a big deal.
>> Mhm. Now, according to our reporting, Lance moved to the East Coast in 1999 and is still there today. We did try
getting in contact with him for this episode, but he did not call us back. So, listen. If you have your own story
or knows anything, something whatever, Detective Jackie Nichols wants to talk to you. No tip is too small. She is
technically only the lead on Christina's case because of jurisdiction stuff. So,
that's probably the one she has spent the most time with, but it is almost impossible to look at just one case
without looking at the others. So, she has fully read up on all five cases. and she is unofficially taken over
Christina, Brandy, and Steven's cases, too, who most people now call the Civic Theater 3. And right now, she's looking
into anything that can be tested for DNA, like the ropes from Christina Nelson and Bry's bodies, like underneath
them. And it's worth saying again, it's not just about Lance. Like, she's also actively looking into serial killers who
were operating at the time. She's trying to rule people in and out based on where
they were, their MO, whatever. >> Does she unofficially have Kristen David's case, too?
>> She does not. The FBI has jurisdiction there. >> Oh, Kristen has always been the outlier.
And even though I think she'll forever be tied and like lumped in with this group in the Louiswis Clark Valley just
due to proximity and local lore, most if not all investigators actually believe that she was not killed by the same
person who killed all the others. Mostly because the MMO is just so different. >> Well, yeah. And she was dismembered,
right? Like that's like a whole different ballgame. am dismembered by somebody who knew what they were doing.
>> Someone authorities believe probably did it before. I told listeners at the top
like this was one of the first stories I'd come across where there was a serial killer the you know public didn't
necessarily know about but it was not the last. And actually I've been tracking another man who may be
responsible for the murder and dismemberment of women across the country. and Kristen David could very
well be one of his victims. And listen, I'm not ready to like completely lay that story out yet. Me and a bunch of
the reporters are working on this. We still have a ton of investigating to do, but I do want to give everyone a peak
into the investigation because the number one thing I'm looking for right now are similar cases. Like, you know,
they won't let me into Vap. I keep trying like whatever. So, what I need is our millions of listeners to tell me if
there are cases local to them that match this same mo. So, with that, what I'm going to say is do not miss next week's
episode. Set your watches or join the Crime Junkie fan club. You can listen to it early. I'll let you listen to it
right now. I'm going to drop it at the same time. I'll have a link to sign up in the show notes. But in next week's
episode, I'm going to dive deep into Kristen David's case and bring people in on what is for us kind of an active
investigation. So, I'm not giving up. Detective Nichols isn't giving up either. But she recognizes that she is
not going to be able to solve these cases without the help of the public. Her hope is that someone who may have
been too scared to come forward back then will feel comfortable doing so now. And that's exactly why coverage of these
cases are so important. And thankfully, we're not the only ones. The Snake River
Killer podcast has also done a deep dive into these cases. But the more we talk about them, we create more of an
opportunity for someone who knows something to hear it and to come forward. So, if you have any information
about the disappearances of Christina White and Steven Parasol or the murders of Brandy Miller and Christina Nelson or
even Kristen David, you can contact the Aotan County Sheriff's Department. We're
going to have all of that contact information in the show notes. You can find all the source material for this
episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com. >> And you can follow us on Instagram at
crimejunkkeyodcast. >> We're going to be back next week with a brand new episode. But don't forget, if
you want to listen to Kristen David's episode right now, I'm dropping it early in the Crime Junkie fan club. Go to
crime junkie podcast.com/fanclub. [Music]

Today we examine the unsolved Lewis-Clark Valley murders, a haunting series of disappearances and killings that rocked the Lewiston-Clarkston area of Idaho (long before Bryan Kohberger) and Washington between 1979 and 1982. After months of original research, we explore the mysterious cases of 12-year-old Christina White, University of Idaho student Kristin David, and the trio of Kristina Nelson, Jacqueline “Brandy” Miller, and Steven Pearsall, all linked to the shadowy Lewiston Civic Theatre and prime person of interest Lance Jeffrey Voss. With exclusive details from our own investigative reporting, insights from advocate Gloria Bobertz and details on the ongoing investigation, we unravel the connections, unanswered questions, and lingering theories surrounding these tragic events.

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About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

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Check out these other great crime channels: @DropDeadSerious Bryan Kohberger Absolutely HUMILIATED: Explosive Sentencing + Bombshell New Docs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWamaab0Cgk @kallmekris The Most INFAMOUS Serial Killer In Australian History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8itKXT1yTfc @rottenmangopod Teen Boy’s Snapchat & Party Pic Reveal His Secret Connection To Karen Read Murder Case-Did He Do It? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBPNsFvEaw8 @KendallRae She Vanished Days After Being Assaulted... Who Murdered Ebby Steppach? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWqY7K0fXmM

Brief Summary

The episode discusses the Louiswis Clark Valley killer and the mysterious disappearances of several individuals in 1982, highlighting key suspects and connections.

Key points

The Mysterious Disappearances. In a short span, multiple people vanish in a small town, causing panic.
A Chilling Connection. Three missing adults vanish on the same night from the same town, raising suspicions.
Steven Parasol: Suspect or Victim?. As the investigation unfolds, Steven Parasol becomes a suspect despite being missing.
The Discovery of Remains. The remains of two missing women are found, shifting the investigation's focus.
Lance Voss Connection. Lance Voss, a key figure, has ties to multiple cold cases, raising suspicions.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Christina White. Christina White, a 12-year-old girl, went missing in 1979 after asking her mom to pick her up.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What?

A surprising revelation about the lack of reporting on missing children.

4:14WatchJul 24, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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