In this special episode of 'And Then They Were Gone', Kona and Ethan return to a case they’ve been following for years, the disappearance and murder of Shane Donahue, to break down everything that unfolded inside the courtroom during the trial of Tim Hickerson.

Kona attended the trial in person, witnessing each day of testimony, every witness, and the prosecution’s strategy as they laid out their case against the man accused of taking Shane’s life. This episode walks listeners through how prosecutors presented their evidence, how witnesses held up under cross-examination, and what key moments left those sitting in the courtroom confounded.

Throughout the conversation, Kona and Ethan reflect on what they’ve learned since first covering Shane’s disappearance in 2020, and what this trial revealed about the events leading up to his death, the investigation that followed, and the long path toward justice.

This is a deep dive into one of Prince William County, Virginia's most controversial cases, and a look at what it’s like to sit inside a courtroom when a 15-year-old case is finally put in front of a jury.

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On Thanksgiving Day 2010, three brothers—Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton—vanished from their father’s home in Morenci, Michigan. For nearly 15 years, their disappearance remained unsolved.

In 2025, just days before John Skelton was set to be released from prison, he was charged with their murders. This episode explores the heartbreaking timeline, the false leads, and the long-awaited charges in a case that gripped a community for over a decade.

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On November 24, 1971, a man using the name Dan Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle, handed a flight attendant a note claiming he had a bomb, and calmly hijacked the plane. After collecting a $200,000 ransom and four parachutes, he jumped from the Boeing 727 into the night sky—and was never seen again.

Known to the public as D.B. Cooper due to a media error, his identity remains a mystery. In this episode, we walk through the timeline of the hijacking, the FBI’s decades-long investigation, and the clues that continue to puzzle investigators and amateur sleuths alike.

#DBCooper #Hijacking #CrimeHistory #AviationMystery

On October 30, 2025, Fruitland Police arrested Stacey Wondra in connection with the disappearance of Michael Joseph “Monkey” Vaughan, who vanished from his Idaho neighborhood on July 27, 2021.

In this episode, we break down the major developments in the case, including a detailed look at the probable cause affidavits for both Sarah and Stacey Wondra. We discuss what investigators now believe happened the day Michael disappeared, how the evidence has evolved, and what this new arrest could mean for Michael’s family and the ongoing search for answers.

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This episode originally aired on November 20, 2022

On July 27, 2021, 5-year-old Michael Vaughan’s father went to go check on Michael’s younger sister and order a pizza. He was out of the room for 15 or 20 minutes, but when he came back, his little boy was gone. Police in Fruitland, Idaho, along with other agencies, launched a massive search, but no trace of the boy was found. Over a year and a half went by, until seemingly out of nowhere an arrest was made. Who was arrested, and what does this person have to say about what happened to Michael Vaughan?

This episode covers Michael Vaughan case updates since the arrest on 11/11/22. It is followed by our original episode on Michael Vaughan's disappearance from December of 2021.

Anyone with any information on Michael Vaughan’s disappearance is urged to contact the Fruitland Police Department at 208-642-6006, extension 0 or contact the department through its tip line findmichael@fruitland.org.

Se insta a cualquier persona que tenga información sobre la desaparición de Michael Vaughan a comunicarse con el Departamento de Policía de Fruitland al 208-642-6006, extensión 0 o comunicarse con el departamento a través de su línea de información en findmichael@fruitland.org.

Eighteen-year-old model and actress Tammy Lynn Leppert walked away from a car near Cocoa Beach’s Glass Bank on July 6, 1983—and vanished. Weeks earlier, the once-outgoing pageant star told family she’d “seen something awful” and feared someone was going to kill her. In this episode, we trace her life and rising career, the sudden shift to paranoia, the last confirmed moments at the beach, the investigative missteps, and the leading theories that have shadowed this case for more than four decades.

If you have information about the July 6, 1983 disappearance of Tammy Lynn Leppert (Rockledge/Cocoa Beach, FL):

• Cocoa Beach Police Department: 321-868-3251
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC): 1-800-THE-LOST
• Case references: NamUs MP #1376, NCMEC/NCIC #M104282291



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In the days following the 1980 presidential election, 44-year-old political fundraiser Nancy Marleine Snow returned home to Maryland — and vanished.

A multilingual world traveler and political professional, Nancy had spent the fall working on a Senate campaign in St. Louis. On November 4, she flew to Baltimore, attended an election party, and the next morning, was picked up by a man she trusted — her housesitter, Paul T. Collins III. That was the last confirmed time she was seen alive.

Days later, Collins told police that Nancy had met a mysterious man called “Captain Jay,” who offered her a job crewing a yacht from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean. He claimed she left Annapolis with $1,000 in cash and would be home by Christmas.

But investigators never found a “Captain Jay.” No boat, no records, no passport use — nothing to support the story.

As weeks passed, Nancy’s daughters in California grew frantic. When her oldest daughter’s birthday came and went with no call, they knew something was wrong. They filed missing-person reports, searched Florida marinas, and pushed police in Maryland to investigate.

Decades later, detectives would call Nancy’s disappearance what they believe it truly was — a homicide. The man who last saw her, Paul Collins, remains a person of interest.

The supposed boat trip? Still unverified.

Nancy’s remains? Still missing.

Forty-four years later, her daughters continue to fight for answers.

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Please enjoy this Halloween Special brought to you at the stroke of midnight by the Podcasts of The Darkcast Network:

Rainbow Crimes, The Final Trace, Missing in the PNW, The Book of the Dead, Mountain Murders, Mythical True Crime, Pod of Terror, Famous Last Words, Murder in the PNW, Day By Day: True Crime Stories, A Hateful Homicide, Rogue Darkness, Tragedy With A View and The Bell Witch Podcast.

Happy Halloween!

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