America's Crime Lab

Episode: Fan Favorite: A Boat, A Fire and the Signature in the Ashes

Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Aelin Lancelosser, iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, the team at America's Crime Lab revisits the haunting 1992 case of an unidentified body discovered inside a burning boat in a field near Ogden, Utah. What began as a routine fire call quickly escalated into a perplexing cold case that spanned more than 30 years. Through interviews with detectives, forensic experts, and the daughter of the victim, this episode explores themes of loss, the persistence of law enforcement, forensic breakthroughs, and the emotional impact of finally finding answers. As the case is revived with advances in forensic DNA technology and help from Othram ("America's crime lab"), the story unfolds into both a triumph of science and a bittersweet reckoning for the family left behind.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Discovery of the Body and the Early Investigation

• Setting the Scene:
  • April 1992, Ogden, Utah — firefighters responded to a large blaze in a field near a gas station and truck stop. Shockingly, at the center of the fire was a boat, not anywhere near water, and inside was a body burned beyond recognition.
    • “So it’s not like we’re near a body of water… maybe this boat has been in this field abandoned for quite some time.” — [Narrator/Host, 05:15]
• Initial Police Work:
  • Minimal evidence survived the blaze: some beer cans, but no ID or personal items.
  • Autopsy revealed the victim was a male (approx. 6 feet tall, age 30–45) and had smoke inhalation, confirming he was alive as the fire started.
    • “He burned up alive whether it was an accident or a homicide. So we gotta solve this case for these guys. So, yeah, let’s collaborate…” — Detective Steve Ocam [16:38]
• Stymied Investigation:
  • Missing persons and dental records yielded no matches; the case went cold.

2. Challenges with Unidentified Human Remains (UHR)

• A National Issue:
  • Thousands of unidentified bodies are stored in medical examiners' offices nationwide, sometimes for decades.
    • “People are laying in the freezer. For decades, they've been sitting in the walk-in cooler… I just think that we, as society, we should send those people home.” — Detective Steve Ocam [03:18]
• Obstacles to Solving UHR Cases:
  • Old practices included donating bodies to medical schools, burying in unmarked graves, or cremation, complicating future identification.
  • Limitations of databases like NAMUS and CODIS—most missing persons don't have DNA profiles on file, making matches rare.
    • “There’s a 67% chance right out of the gate someone’s not going to hit to anything.” — Detective Steve Ocam [20:33]

3. Breakthrough through Preservation and Modern Forensics

• Critical Evidence Preserved:
  • The “forward thinking” of the 1992 medical examiner: vials of the victim’s blood and a bag of pubic hair were kept.
    • “One of the most unique factors of this case was… they drew some fluids. The victim was burnt so severely that there maybe wasn’t any, like, viable tissue… and they had that evidence still on file.” — Detective Steve Ocam [17:27]
• Detective Hebden Reopens the Case (2024):
  • Driven by the possibility of solving both the victim’s identity and his death, he organizes evidence and seeks help from state investigators and Othram, a private DNA lab.
• Genetic Genealogy & A Break in the Case:
  • Othram receives the blood sample and constructs a genetic profile, ultimately identifying the victim as Kevin Capps.
    • “They sent me a document with all of the genetic makeup… He’s got all this genetic makeup that brings it back to a pretty solid match that it was him.” — Investigator/Reporter [23:35]

4. Impact on the Family: A Daughter’s Story

• Finding Family:
  • Confirming the ID required contacting living relatives, including Chelsea Laro, Kevin's daughter, who was only 4 when he vanished.
• Chelsea’s Experience:
  • Chelsea had believed her father might still be alive; a police visit in adulthood shattered that hope, but also brought closure.
    • “This whole time I thought my dad was alive and he was no longer with us, which brought peace. The not knowing… to know he had been in heaven this whole time.” — Chelsea Laro [31:56]
  • She described emotional struggles, a sense of abandonment, and ultimately relief after decades of uncertainty.
    • “It’s relieving to know he didn’t abandon me, to know that, you know, he really did love me… It’s a big weight off my shoulders.” — Chelsea Laro [34:35]

5. The Continuing Mystery: Accident or Homicide?

• Open Questions:
  • Due to severe burning, it is difficult to rule if Capps suffered additional injuries or to determine definitively if this was homicide or accident.
    • “It makes it very difficult for us to be able to determine if there were other injuries… something that we just weren’t able to really say for certain…” — Investigator/Reporter [37:18]
  • New information has been found but is not yet public; the investigation continues, energized by finally knowing the victim’s identity.

Notable Quotes

• On the dignity owed to unidentified remains:

  • “Bodies need to be returned to their families.” — Detective Steve Ocam [03:18]

• On the challenges of cold cases and missing persons databases:

  • “So there’s a 67% chance right out of the gate someone’s not going to hit to anything… your chances, mathematics is going down, down, down.” — Detective Steve Ocam [20:33]

• On the emotional impact for the family:

  • “It’s relieving. It’s a big weight off my shoulders. It is such a blessing. It is a close of a chapter that needed to be closed a long time ago.” — Chelsea Laro [34:35]

• On the breakthrough moment:

  • “The fact that they can identify a match like that… this body was a person and that person can actually be found.” — Aelin Lancelosser [24:00]

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• [03:18] — Detective Steve Ocam describes the dignity owed to the dead and the emotional drive behind UHR work.
• [05:15] — Setting the Utah crime scene; the boat in the middle of a flame-engulfed field.
• [09:29] — Discovery that the victim was alive during the fire.
• [16:38 – 17:27] — Investigators discuss the unusual preservation of blood and hair samples; DNA as the game-changer.
• [23:29 – 24:13] — The identification of Kevin Capps and discovery that he had family close by, including a young daughter at the time of his death.
• [30:57 – 34:35] — The emotional interview with Chelsea Laro as she learns the truth about her father, reflecting on her childhood questions and feeling of peace at last.
• [37:11 – 38:12] — Recap and the ongoing mystery: how did Kevin end up burning in the field, and is this truly a closed case?

Episode Reflection & Tone

America’s Crime Lab brings a balanced, conversational tone while never losing sight of the deeply human threads running through the investigative process. The story moves smoothly from forensics to family, incorporating expert commentary and personal testimony. The episode is rich in empathy, technical insight, and the messy reality of solving decades-old mysteries—leaving listeners with both answers and a sense of the challenges that still remain.