Lil' Miss / Skeletons in the Closet

Summary

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Cold Case Files – "Lil' Miss / Skeletons in the Closet"

Date: June 30, 2026
Host/Narrator: Marisa Pinson

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of Cold Case Files explores two unsettling, decades-old cases involving violence against women and children: the murder of Lisa Marie Kimmel ("Lil' Miss") and the disturbing discovery of multiple infant remains linked to Diane O’Dell. The episode follows investigators' dogged pursuit of justice, showing how new forensic technologies and relentless effort can finally bring closure to cases that stymied authorities for years.

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Case One: The Murder of Lisa Marie Kimmel ("Lil' Miss")

The Disappearance

• [01:15]: On March 25, 1988, 18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmel vanished on a drive to visit her boyfriend in Wyoming.
• [02:20]: Her family and friends frantically retrace her route—her car (a black Honda CRX, license plate "LIL MISS") is nowhere to be found.
• [03:11]: Detective George Jensen summarizes Lisa’s reliability and the family's immediate concern:

  "Lisa was a very responsible young lady... So there was some concern that either she got into an accident or something went wrong."

Discovery and Evidence

• [04:18–05:19]: Days later, a fisherman finds a body in the North Platte River. Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin's autopsy confirms it's Lisa, revealing she was stabbed multiple times and likely bound before her death.
  • [05:19]:

    "Whoever killed her had avoided the ribs. Almost as if he were feeling with a hand the five points of the fingers..." — Dr. James Thorpin

  • [06:31]:

    "We found a series of binding marks, equal distant two rows of those. So she was bound." — Detective George Jensen

The Investigation Stalls

• [08:47–10:14]: Despite massive local and media attention, and hundreds of fruitless car sightings, Lisa's killer and car elude authorities.
• [10:31]: Media speculation runs wild, including conspiracy theories of cult involvement.
  • [10:31]:

    "Speculation starts running wild... a satanic cult was operating in Casper and had kidnapped her..." — Reporter Vicki Daniels

The Case Goes Cold

• [11:19]: The toll on the family is evident as detectives keep in close touch, but no new leads emerge.
  • [11:38]:

    "Maybe if we can catch the perpetrators... we can prevent it happening to someone else's lovely young daughter." — Lisa's Family Member

A Break in the Case

• [12:21]: A mysterious note signed "Stringfellow Hawk" is taped to Lisa’s headstone, taunting detectives and providing a new clue—with an odd reference to an '80s TV character (Airwolf).

  • [12:42]:

    "There aren't words to say how much you're missed. Your death is my painful loss but heaven's sweet gain. Love always, Stringfellow Hawk." — Read by Detective George Jensen

• [13:19–14:22]: With little else to go on, the FBI profile suggests a local white male, a "lone wolf," but the trail dries up, and the case remains cold.

Forensic Breakthrough and the Killer Identified

• [17:01–18:05]: In 2002, Investigator Lynn Kohe re-examines Lisa’s file, sending old forensic evidence (a semen sample) for DNA testing. A match is found: Dale Wayne Eaton, a man serving time on a gun charge.

  • [18:05]:

    "The guy's name is Dale Wayne Eaton, and he was in our penitentiary back in 98." — Investigator Lynn Kohe

• [18:55–19:49]: Eaton is interviewed; he denies knowing Lisa. When confronted with the DNA evidence, he clams up.

The Car is Found—Closure at Last

• [20:14–23:30]: More digging, literally: Neighbors remember Eaton digging post-disappearance. A warrant uncovers Lisa's buried Honda and evidence tying Eaton to the crime, including Lisa’s rosary.
  • [23:09]:

    "It's, you know, there's the car. There's the car we’ve been looking for for 14 years." — Investigator Lynn Kohe

The Handwriting Connection and Verdict

• [24:54–25:12]: Handwriting samples from Eaton's prison letters match the grave note, further cementing his guilt.

  • [25:12]:

    "Mr. Eaton had a unique way of dotting his I’s. He had a unique way of joining certain letters together..." — Detective Jim Broze

• [25:33]: Eaton is convicted and sentenced to death. Lisa’s mother expresses gratitude to the tireless investigators, and hope for other families.

  • [25:33]:

    "I will be forever grateful for all of the investigators that didn't give up when sometimes we felt hopeless and at a loss..." — Lisa's Family Member

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Case Two: Diane O’Dell & “Skeletons in the Closet”

Disturbing Discovery in New York

• [26:13–27:19]: In 1989, a junkyard owner in New York discovers a suitcase with a fetus. Investigators quickly connect the suitcase to Diane Odell, who initially denies any knowledge.

Pattern of Concealment

• [27:43–28:49]: Pressed further, Odell admits to giving birth in 1972 as a teenager after an abusive childhood. She claims the baby was stillborn and kept the remains for 17 years.

Incomplete Evidence—Case Stalls

• [29:17]: The medical examiner can’t prove the child was born alive; without that, no charges are filed.
  • [29:17]:

    "Without that confirmation that the child had ever lived, we don't have any basis for any homicide charges..." — Detective Roy Streever

Arizona Storage, New Bodies

• [30:24–31:19]: In 2003, a man in Arizona wins a storage unit at auction and finds three infant remains inside, all stored in boxes.

• [31:55]: All infants are full-term; cause of death can't be determined due to decomposition.

  • [31:55]:

    "You’ve got three basically term infants... hidden in three separate boxes. So you’re thinking that something bad happened..." — Dr. James Thorpin

Diane Odell Confronted Again

• [32:24–35:36]: The Arizona and New York cases are connected through old letters and receipts. Detectives track Odell to Pennsylvania; at first, she feigns ignorance.

  • [35:32]:

    "I would have no idea. I’m sorry. I wish I did." — Diane Odell

• [35:57–36:39]: After persistent questioning, Odell admits the three infants in Arizona were hers, describing each as stillborn during unsupervised home births.

Law Enforcement Remains Skeptical

• [36:51]: Detectives doubt Odell’s blackout story but lack direct proof of homicide. Jurisdiction complications require coordinating with New York authorities.

The Final Breakthrough—Confession and Conviction

• [38:22–39:18]: In a second interview, Odell admits that at least one baby gasped and cried after birth, a vital sign the baby was alive—enough for charges.

  • [39:28]:

    "She tells us that that baby gasped and let out a cry, which would indicate that the baby is alive and breathing." — Dr. James Thorpin

• [39:57–40:59]: Odell is convicted of murder for the deaths of the three infants found in Arizona; she receives 25 years to life. There's still insufficient evidence to prosecute for the suitcase baby in New York.

  • [40:46]:

    "From the time Ms. O’Dell told us that the babies gasped and cried, I was convinced... we were looking at a homicide." — Dr. James Thorpin

  • [41:15]:

    "It’s like she knew she didn’t want these babies. She knew that. I really believe she knew she did not want these children and that was the way to get rid of them." — Reporter Vicki Daniels

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [07:41]

  "No, she had been murdered." — Reporter Vicki Daniels, conveying the devastating news to Lisa’s family

• [14:22]

  "I would have crawled to Hell on bloody knees and back. Anything to find out what happened to our daughter." — Lisa's Family Member

• [23:56]

  "And here on the rearview mirror is her rosary. That was disturbing." — Dr. James Thorpin

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Key Episode Themes & Insights

• Forensic Developments: Both cases demonstrate how advancements in forensics and DNA technology can resurrect—or finally resolve—cold cases after years or decades.
• Family and Law Enforcement Determination: The unwavering hope of family members and the tireless work of detectives are central. Their persistence drives investigations forward, even when leads seem exhausted.
• The Importance of Small Details: Items like a grave note, handwriting quirks, a rosary, and even car parts were crucial to solving these cases.
• Media and Mythology: Community speculation and media narratives can complicate real investigations, often muddying the waters rather than clarifying them.
• Justice and Closure: While not all mysteries are fully solved, the episode ends with a sense of justice and relief for surviving families, and a reminder that some cases are only closed thanks to relentless effort and modern technology.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:15–10:14]: Lisa Kimmel’s disappearance, search, and evidence discovered
• [10:31–14:22]: Media involvement, community rumors, and the case goes cold
• [17:01–23:30]: Breakthrough via DNA, Dale Eaton’s arrest, car uncovered
• [24:54–25:33]: Grave note and case closure
• [26:13–29:43]: Discovery of infant remains and investigation into Diane O’Dell
• [30:24–41:15]: Arizona storage discovery, Odell’s confession, conviction

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Conclusion

This episode of Cold Case Files is an emotional, suspenseful look at how two tragic stories were finally brought to justice through technology, dedication, and time. The solemn storytelling, first-person accounts, and explicit details pull listeners into the world of cold case investigation, underlining both the human cost and the hope encoded in every unsolved file.

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Transcript

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[Narrator]

This episode contains stories involving violence against children. Listener discretion is advised. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's March 25, 1998 in Northern Colorado. 18 year old Lisa Marie Kimmel is traveling north on Interstate 25 toward Wyoming. The next day, Lisa's parents, Ron and Sheila Kimmel, walk into their home in Billings, Montana and press play on the answering machine. There are multiple messages from Lisa's boyfriend, Ed Jurock.

[Lisa's Family Member]

We received a number of phone calls letting us know that Ed was trying to reach us and that she had not made it to his place that evening. And that's when we realized that something

[Narrator]

was desperately wrong, ed Jurock tells Lisa's parents she never showed up at his home in Cody, Wyoming, and she never called. Family and friends immediately begin driving the interstate, retracing the route Lisa would have taken, looking for any sign of her or her car, a two door black Honda with the license plate Little Miss.

[Lisa's Family Member]

After the first day of searching, road searches and airplane searches, retracing her intended route did not produce a car, maybe off on the side of the road or down an embankment. We were very, very concerned and we had set up basically a command post at home.

[Narrator]

The next morning, Lisa's father filed a missing persons report. Detective George Jensen works the case.

[Detective George Jensen]

Lisa was a very responsible young lady. She generally called, let her family know where she was going, when she was leaving, when she got there. So there was some concern that either she got into an accident or something went wrong.

[Narrator]

Jensen puts a teletype out to Denver and Wyoming authorities about Lisa's disappearance. The missing persons case is also picked up by the evening news and local papers.

[Detective George Jensen]

We were getting calls right away saying they had just seen the vehicle, you know, minutes before. And so we were running around trying to find the vehicle, talking to people, seeing if she was with anyone, Checking

[Narrator]

those leads out by week's end. Lisa Kimmel's disappearance is the talk of the town. Everyone claims to have seen her or her Honda, yet no one can provide any solid information that will help authorities locate the 18 year old.

[Lisa's Family Member]

one point, we knew that that car wasn't there, that something else had to be wrong.

[Narrator]

Something is indeed terribly wrong. And it surfaces less than a week later. On April 2, a fisherman sees something floating in the North Platte river in Natrona County, Wyoming. On closer inspection, he sees it is a body and calls the police investigator. Dan Tholsen watches as a partially naked woman is pulled from the water.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

Typically, if you find a female that's been murdered alongside the road or in the river or something like that, there's been a sexual assault. So we were thinking that, but really didn't know for sure.

[Narrator]

Folson and his partner Jim Brose, speculate the victim was thrown from the bridge less than a mile away. The investigators inspect the bridge's surface and find support for their theory.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

There was an area on the bridge, probably 12 inches by 18 inches, where there was a large puddle of blood. And then you could see where blood spatters were on the concrete abutment that came up from the surface of the bridge.

[Narrator]

The blood is collected and tagged. Meanwhile, Jane Doe's body is zipped into a bag and transported to a local funeral home for an official autopsy. Dr. James Thorpin compares dental X rays from the corpse to current missing persons cases in the area. Lisa Marie Kimmel's X rays are the first Thorpin pulls and are a perfect match. The woman taken from the North Platte river is the missing 18 year old. The question now is how did she get there? Thorpin also finds six stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. It became apparent that whoever killed her had avoided the ribs. Almost as if he were feeling with a hand the five points of the fingers, the intercostal spaces in between. All of the wounds, with the exception maybe of one, were intended to be lethal. And they were on Kimmel's arms and legs. Thorpin notices a row of bruises, evidence that she might have been tied up and held captive before she was killed. The bruising was along the medial inner

[Detective George Jensen]

surface of the base of the thumb.

[Narrator]

We found a series of binding marks, equal distant two rows of those. So she was bound. A rape kit is taken and the presence of semen is detected and collected. Thorpin shares his final conclusions with sheriff's detectives who must now break the news to Lisa's family. At 7:30pm a sheriff's deputy's car pulls into the Kimmel driveway. Sheila Kimmel greets George Jensen.

[Lisa's Family Member]

They introduced themselves and they immediately asked us if we would like to call a friend or a member of the clergy or a family member to be with us.

[Detective George Jensen]

They knew our feelings that we thought possibly foul play was involved. But when someone sits down and tells you that they found, or they probably found the body of your child, it's pretty hard to take.

[Lisa's Family Member]

Then we asked them if they could tell us then what happened to her. Car wreck?

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

No, she had been murdered.

[Lisa's Family Member]

I'm certain that our screams could have been heard.

[Narrator]

For miles around, Sheila Kimmel makes preparations to bury her daughter. And detectives in Natrona county redouble their efforts. Tracing Lisa Kimmel's movements on the night she disappeared. They discovered a citation for speeding issued to Lisa's black Honda by a highway patrolman in Douglas, Wyoming. The patrolman tells detectives he wrote Lisa Kimmel a ticket for speeding and let her go. A little after 9pm Then the patrolman hands over an audio recording of the

[Detective Jim Broze]

stop as standard operating practice for the highway patrol here they recorded the conversation when she was sitting inside his car. So that is the only recording that I've ever heard of Lisa Kimmel.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

Wyoming law requires that procedure from Montana that you will have to place a cash bond.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

The amount of that is fortunately $120.

[Narrator]

78, 4 exists.

[Detective Jim Broze]

She was very calm, very low toned, you know, like an 18 year old girl.

[Narrator]

The patrolman confirms that Lisa Kimmel was alone in the car and did not appear to be in any danger. Homicide checks out the patrolman's story and dismisses him as a suspect. They then return to their search for Lisa's missing black Honda.

[Detective Jim Broze]

We had Lisa, but we didn't have a murder weapon. We didn't have her car. She was found partially clad, so most of her clothes are missing. And this car is a link. This car is very important. To get back.

[Narrator]

Investigators put out an ATL or an attempt to locate for a Honda CRX with the license plate Lil miss. They also enlist the local news media for help with their search. Within days of the murder, sightings of the Honda overwhelmed the two man investigation.

[Detective Jim Broze]

We start getting sightings of this vehicle everywhere. We had sightings in Canada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado. And it looked like someone had this vehicle and making a big loop.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

It was like chasing a mirage of some kind. We kept hoping to see a pattern, I think, and thinking, you know, at times we were, now we're behind it and we'll get it really soon. And we were just really frustrated with all of the sightings and kind of decided then that, that we were chasing a ghost that wasn't really out there.

[Narrator]

Lisa's black Honda takes on the aura of legend. A mysterious murder car roaming the highways at will and disappearing into the darkness. The media jumps on the story and pumps it up even further. Vicki Daniels is a local news reporter.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

So as you can imagine, speculation starts running wild. And in the press, we heard all kinds of stories. Things like a satanic cult was operating in Casper and had kidnapped her and

[Narrator]

murdered her and dumped her in the river to all kinds of things. The Natrona County Sheriff's Department is heading up the four month old investigation into Lisa's death. But it's been a frustrating case for investigating officers. Metrona County Sheriff Ron Ketchum says his office still gets daily leads from people, especially on the sighting of Lisa's car, a Honda CRX with the plates reading Little Miss. Media coverage adds to the pressure felt by detectives working the case round the clock. Nothing, however, is more motivating than the anguish felt by a family looking to homicide detectives for any sort of answer.

[Detective Jim Broze]

It was frustrating because Mrs. Kimmel would call me at home at night at the beginning of this case, wanting answers and needing information, wanting to know where we were with the case on a day by day basis, which she had every right to know.

[Lisa's Family Member]

What has happened to Lisa can't be reversed. But maybe if we can catch the perpetrators of this particular crime, we can prevent it happening to someone else's lovely young daughter.

[Narrator]

Despite good intentions and hard work, six months after Lisa first disappeared, detectives have no idea where her car might be or who might have killed her. With no new leads, the Kimmel homicide investigation goes cold. On March 29, 1989, four days after the first anniversary of Lisa Marie Kimmel's disappearance, detectives are handed their best lead in a long time. It comes in the form of a note taped to Lisa's headstone.

[Detective George Jensen]

Well, the note is kind of hard to read. It was dated 1113 of 88. And it basically says there aren't words to say how much you're missed. Your death is my painful loss, but heaven's sweet gain. Love always, Stringfellow Hawk.

[Narrator]

Investigators believe whoever wrote the note most likely killed Lisa and is now taunting police detectives. Take the note apart word by word. The most notable detail is the name at the bottom. Stringfellow Hawk, A reference to a character from the 1980s TV series Airwolf.

[Detective Jim Broze]

We were never able to link Stringfellow Hawk to Lisa Kimmel, but we kept it on file. And now, though, what it did do for us, it gave us another avenue to go down that perhaps we could link someone to this crime through handwriting.

[Narrator]

The handwriting of the killer provides little comfort to detectives who still don't have a major suspect in the case. With few directions to turn, Natrona county reviews a report generated by profilers at the FBI, Hoping that their expertise can breathe life into a stalled investigation. The resulting report points detectives in the direction of a white male, 20s to 30s, most likely still residing in the Casper area.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

They also specifically described the person as being kind of a lone wolf type person who would prefer to be alone. And they thought probably that he had come into contact with her, you know, at may. Maybe a convenience store or something in the middle of the night like that.

[Narrator]

The note left on Lisa's grave tells detectives her killer is still out there watching and perhaps ready to kill again. For Lisa's mother, it only strengthens her resolve to resurrect Lisa's case from the cold files. To find out who killed her daughter and why, we had to explore whatever

[Lisa's Family Member]

we could possibly explore. I would have crawled to. To hell on bloody knees and back. Anything to find out what happened to our daughter.

[Detective Jim Broze]

It was a cold case. We weren't actively working it anymore. I left, and it was hard, you know, I was always thinking about Lisa Kimmel. So was Dan. And thinking, you know, will we get this thing solved someday we'll let what right lead come up. And I remember when I left, I said, dan, before I die, you know, call me and let me know you found them.

[Narrator]

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[Narrator]

It's now 2002, 14 years after Lisa Kimmel was found dead in the wash of Wyoming's North Platte River. After years of investigating, detectives only have a mysterious note left on Lisa's grave. Sightings of her missing car, a black Honda crx, and a box full of dead end leads. Natrona County Sheriff's investigator Lynn Kohe knows it's a long shot, but decides the Kimmel file is worth a final look.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

Lisa's case was one of those that was never forgotten by the people in Casper and even in Montana and other states. For some reason, they always remembered this certain case.

[Narrator]

Cohey sends semen samples recovered from the autopsy to the state crime lab. A genetic profile is extracted and downloaded into the state's DNA databank. There it is compared against more than 2,000 felony offenders from Wyoming. A few months later, Lynn Cohey's phone rings. The crime lab has a hit.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

Of course, the first question out of my mouth, who is it? And Sandy Mays and Tilton Davis said, the guy's name is Dale Wayne Eaton and he was in our penitentiary back in 98. So after I picked my job off the floor, I started doing any and all research that I could find on Dale Eaton.

[Narrator]

Dale Eaton's DNA went into the state data bank after he was convicted on a federal firearms charge. According to prison records, he is in the middle of a five year sentence for that offense. Cohey and fellow detective Dan Tholsen decided to visit Eaton at a federal prison just outside Englewood, Colorado on July 17, 2002. Lynn Cohey and Dan Tholsen sit down with Dale Wayne Eaton and ask what he knows about Lisa Kimmel.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

He said that he'd heard about the case on tv, said he never knew Lisa, but he did say, well, wasn't that the girl that was on her way to Montana? And on that particular time, she was not on her way to Montana, she was on her way to Cody, Wyoming.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

He denied ever knowing her, ever having any kind of contact, so he couldn't use that defense later that he had sex with her and turned her loose and somebody else killed her. But as far as specifically admitting anything, he wouldn't. And he eventually got so dry mouthed he couldn't talk anymore.

[Narrator]

Folson and Kohi then tell him about the DNA match linking him to semen recovered from the autopsy. Suddenly, Eaton doesn't want to talk at all. Detectives believe they have found Lisa Kimmel's killer, but still have some work to do. The DNA match establishes only that Eaton had sex with Lisa Kimmel, but not that he killed her.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

We wanted to be able to prove the case without the DNA, which, you know, theoretically he couldn't do that because you got his name from the DNA, but we wanted to be able to do it without having to rely on the DNA.

[Narrator]

Tholsen and Kohi begin to take apart Dale Eaton's life, looking for any tangible link to Lisa Kimmel's death. Among the people they speak with is one of Eaton's neighbors in Manita, Wyoming, a woman named Doris Buchta.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

He was a good neighbor, but he was, in my opinion, what I call weird.

[Narrator]

Weird includes A wide range of behavior, including one day when, according to Doris, Dale Eaton started digging in his front yard.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

My husband asked him, he said, what are you digging, Dale? And he said, I'm digging a well. And he said, well, man, you're crazy. You can't dig a well out here. We have to go down almost 300 foot to get water. He was so weird anyway, that I thought, well, he probably thinks he can dig a well.

[Narrator]

According to a journal kept by Doris Eaton began to dig in the days just after Lisa Kimmel disappeared. That, coupled with the size of the hole described by Doris, leads detectives to wonder if Dale Eaton was not digging a well, but a grave for Lisa Kimmel's long lost car. At 10am on July 29, 2002, detectives descend on Dale Eaton's property, armed with a warrant to search for the black Honda Lisa was driving on the night she disappeared 14 years earlier. Pushing their way through debris in the front yard, investigators see evidence of several holes that had been dug and filled in. They pick one close to the trailer Eaton used to call home.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

There was all sorts of garbage and debris on top of the hole, and there was probably a sinkhole, probably 5ft deep with a great big rusty pipe sticking out. So we started digging that hole.

[Narrator]

Within the first few hours of searching, investigators have uncovered a variety of car parts. None, however, that can be identified as belonging to Kimmel's Honda. Then they hit something that gives them a bit of hope.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

We uncovered a wheel cover with the letter h. And of course, we knew right then that we knew H stood for Honda.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

And I think that's when we finally thought, yeah, we had some real car parts that we could tie to that car.

[Narrator]

Investigators continued to uncover other scraps of car material and a pair of eyeglasses. Satisfied that they had fully searched the first hole. The day ends at 7am the following day, detectives returned to the Eaton property, pick another hole, and start to dig.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

So we started digging what we call the septic tank, which, you know, had a sinkhole of about 3ft with a white piece of plastic sticking out of it.

[Narrator]

A backhoe digs into the earth just eight feet down before hitting something.

[Investigator Dan Tholsen]

The operator dug in and scraped back some dirt, and there was a chunk of metal sitting there, and it was the top of the driver's side door.

[Narrator]

As the hole widens, detectives realize they have found not just a door, but Lisa Kimmel's entire car buried whole in Dale Eaton's front yard.

[Investigator Lynn Kohe]

It's really hard to describe. You know, it's, you know, there's the car. There's the car we've been looking for for 14 years. It was very quiet out there. Everybody that was out there helping us, There was hardly a word spoke. Everybody, I'm sure, had their own thoughts like, oh, my gosh, here it is.

[Narrator]

Also at the excavation is Dr. James Thorpin, who conducted the autopsy of Lisa Kimmel and has never forgotten the case.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

Bang.

[Narrator]

Here is her car. And the investigator, Dan Tolson, leaped down on the thing and said, here's the vin number. We brought the car back into town, and we're cleaning out the car. And here on the rear view mirror is her rosary.

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And

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

that was disturbing.

[Narrator]

Dale Wayne Eaton is charged with the murder of Lisa Kimmel. On April 21, 2003, Jim Broze, who worked the case in 1988, gets a call from Dan Tholsen.

[Detective Jim Broze]

I was recovering from a heart attack, and he asked how I was doing and said, we have somebody in custody. And I said, dan, you know, when I left the sheriff's office, I said, you know, before I die, find out who did it. But I said, you cut it kind of close. I said, that was a little too close, but good work.

[Narrator]

While preparing for trial, detectives still have one more clue to investigate. Finding the author who wrote the letter that was left behind on Kimmel's grave a year after her disappearance. Jim Broughs. Amber analyzed the handwriting in 1989 and decides to take another look at it, this time comparing it to samples of Dale Eaton's letters from prison.

[Detective Jim Broze]

Mr. Eaton had a unique way of dotting his I's. He had a unique way of joining certain letters together. I remember like, ou, like in the word thought or bought. There's a unique way he wrote those at a certain slant consistently throughout his letters.

[Narrator]

And in that note, Broze concludes that Dale Eaton is the author of the letter, and the case against him is complete. Eaton is convicted of murder in the first degree and receives the death sentence. Sixteen years after her daughter's murder, Lisa Kimmel's mother finally gets to hear the words she has waited to hear.

[Lisa's Family Member]

All I know is I could hear the charge read guilty. The charge read guilty. The charge read guilty. I will be forever grateful for all of the investigators that didn't give up when sometimes we felt hopeless and at a loss. There are even parents that haven't even found their children. And maybe with advances in technology and the forensic sciences, maybe. Maybe they will one day get their answer, too.

[Narrator]

In Bethel, New York, just a mile from the site of the original Woodstock music festival, there's a scrapyard full of steel drums, old crank cases and junk cars. In March of 1989, the yard's owner brings in his newest acquisition, a VW wagon. He opens the trunk and finds a suitcase. Inside that he finds a face peering up at him and calls police. Detective Roy Streever responds to the call.

[Detective Roy Streever]

I recall that the junkyard operator wasn't absolutely certain it was a human fetus when he first discovered it. And I believe his wife was a registered nurse. And she said, yes, that's a human fetus. Called the police.

[Narrator]

Police striver learns that the Volkswagen had been abandoned by Diane Odell, a local woman who recently left the area. The police track her down in Pennsylvania, where Odell says she knows nothing about a dead baby.

[Detective Roy Streever]

She just flat out denied that it was hers or that having any knowledge as to how it got into the trunk of her vehicle.

[Narrator]

Striever is skeptical. He walks the streets where Odell used to live and finds a man and wife who rented a house to Diane o'. Dell. They tell him when Odell moved out, she left the suitcase behind. When the couple discovered what was inside, they called Odell instead of police and asked her to pick up the case. Striever goes back to Diane o' Dell and tells her what he now knows.

[Detective Roy Streever]

And once confronted with that, she acknowledged that she had in fact given birth to that child somewhere around 1972.

[Narrator]

In 1972, Diane O' Dell was a teenager living alone in upstate New York, eight months pregnant and scared. She tells Striever that one day she took the bus to New York City to tell her father about her situation. Her father, she says, was less than thrilled.

[Detective Roy Streever]

And she said that later that night he had become intoxicated and gotten out a cat o9 tails and beaten her with it, including several strikes across her abdomen.

[Narrator]

The next day, o' Dell says she returned to her home in Sullivan county and went into labor.

[Detective Roy Streever]

But she stated that she went into the bathroom and gave birth to a stillborn child and didn't know what to do with it. Eventually put it into the suitcase and carried it around with her for, well, I guess it was about 17 years by 1989.

[Narrator]

Diane Odell's father is conveniently dead. Is he being used as a scapegoat, or is Diane o' Dell also a victim? Striever orders an autopsy, hoping science can provide some answers. The remains, however, are badly decayed, and the medical examiner can only say that it was a full term baby. As for the crucial question, whether the baby was born alive or Dead, the pathologist is unable to say so.

[Detective Roy Streever]

Without that confirmation that the child had ever lived, we don't have any basis for any homicide charges. I'm thinking personally that her version of the event is probably somewhat self serving and less than accurate. But without any real ammunition to dispute it, it's, you know, leaves you with nowhere to go with the case.

[Narrator]

No charges are filed, and the case goes cold. Diane Odell moves west, leaving behind an ugly bit of the past. On the outskirts of Safford, Arizona, a row of storage units bake in the sun. From time to time, a renter will fall behind on payments, and the contents of their units are put up for auction in May of 2003. Safford resident Tom Bright is the highest bidder on lot number six, entitled to everything in the storage unit. He trucks it home and finds a box labeled Mom's. Inside he finds a garbage bag, inside that another bag, and inside that a third.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

And then I opened the third bag up and there was a little orb about the size of a softball. And it was kind of leathery looking, with white, leathery looking, grayish thing. And right then I kind of had an inkling of what it was and I said, oh, Christ. And I yelled at my grandson. I said, Robert, call 911. Had him send the sheriff's deputy out here. I think I found a baby.

[Narrator]

Diane Thomas of the Graham County Sheriff's Office takes charge of the scene.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

I have two children and I have seven grandchildren. So it was very disturbing thinking that this baby was actually a human baby. Kind of wondered what happened to him.

[Narrator]

Thomas and a few deputies go through the rest of the boxes from the storage shed. Before long, they find a second baby. Shortly after that, a third.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

My initial thought was someone was having miscarriages and mainly maybe a young girl in a home. And not knowing what to do, the

[Narrator]

bodies are sent to Dr. David Winston at the morgue. The remains are dry and crumbling. X rays offer the best chance of examining the infants without destroying the evidence. Winston immediately notes that the bones are fully developed, indicating the babies were carried to full term. Because of decomposition, however, Dr. Winston cannot tell whether they were born alive or dead.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

You've got three basically term infants with no bony abnormalities found hidden in three separate boxes. So you're thinking that something bad happened to these infants and somebody was trying to hide something.

[Narrator]

Winston leaves the cause of death undetermined for detectives. However, a theory is beginning to come together.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

Once he told us that they were full term babies, that kind of made me start thinking towards possible homicide.

[Narrator]

Among the items left behind in storage shed number six were a pile of old receipts, bills and letters, all belonging to one person, a woman named Diane Odell. A computer search tells Detective Thomas Odell has left the state of Arizona and now resides in Pennsylvania. Thomas books a flight east to talk with Odell about the contents of her storage unit. When people hear that Mint Mobile plans are only $15 per month, a lot of people wonder, what's the catch? Well, I can tell you there isn't one. No gimmicks, no gotchas, just unlimited talk, text and data, fast, reliable coverage on the nation's largest 5G network and an award winning care team. That kind of value is the real catch. After switching to Mint, people's bills drop, they have fewer headaches dealing with customer service, and they still get the same strong coverage they had before. Mint Mobile really took what was frustrating about wireless and flipped it, offering premium service for just $15 a month. You can even keep your current phone and your number so there's no big transition to worry about. And instead of paying every single month, you can choose a 3, 6 or 12 month plan and just be done with it. If you're ready to stop overpaying for wireless, Mint Mobile makes it simple. To get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com coldcase that's mintmobile.com coldcase cut your wireless bill to $15 a month at mintmobile.com coldcase that'S IT. There's no catch. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three month plan only speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. At Marathon gas stations, every stop is the start of fun, like the awesome fuel savings you can get with Marathon Rewards. Join Marathon Rewards today and start earning rewards on every gallon of gas. You can redeem rewards at any time, saving up to $1 per gallon. And don't forget, Marathon stations are packed with all the conveniences you need to stock up and live life on the Go Marathon, where fun runs on full available at participating Marathon locations. Terms and conditions apply. See marathonrewards.com for details. In May of 2003, detectives find Diane Odell, now a mother of eight, working at a drug store in Towanda, Pennsylvania. They say they'd like to talk to her alone. To the detective's surprise, Odell seems indifferent.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

No emotion, no inquisitiveness as to why are you talking to me? What have I Done in Arizona. That would be my initial thought if somebody from New York came to talk to me. What is this about? She never once asked us anything like that.

[Narrator]

At the Pennsylvania State Police barracks. Diane Odell says she's shocked by the discoveries in her old storage shed.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

What he found and what we continued to find after we were called were three dead babies. Three babies.

[Detective Jim Broze]

Holy cow.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

I would have no idea. I'm sorry. I wish I did.

[Narrator]

The interview ends with Odell sticking to her denials. The next day, Detectives make it clear they're not leaving until they get more answers. I said, you have the answer to

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

why these babies were in the bags,

[Narrator]

and we don't intend on going back to Arizona until we find out why they were stored in these boxes and left in Arizona.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

And I guess maybe that kind of clenched at her. And she said, fine, they're mine. And it was more than 10 years ago and started talking about it. The first one occurred as a rape. I went the whole nine months, didn't see a doctor, didn't have any medical attention at all.

[Narrator]

Odell says that the three babies found in the storage shed were from three separate pregnancies in the early 80s. In each case, when the labor pains started, she used her bathroom as a birthing center. Odell says that each time she blacked out during the final push, I pushed and went back.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

That was it.

[Narrator]

I don't know if the baby cried.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

I don't. I have no knowledge of that.

[Narrator]

When she awoke from these three separate blackouts, Odell claims the babies were dead. Detective Thomas does not find Odell's story credible.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

She knows the consequences. I would think of having to deliver your own child by yourself, one that you haven't had any prenatal care. Don't know if there's going to be any complications whatsoever. I didn't buy that story at all.

[Narrator]

Although Thomas has a lot of problems with Odell's story, her statements by themselves are not proof of a crime. And there's another problem. Odell claims the babies were born and died in Connie Onga Lake, New York, and the Arizona shed was merely a depository. For Thomas, it means the case was out of her jurisdiction. She places a call to the New York State Police. Tom Scalepe is a senior investigator with the New York State Police. He pulls the background on Diane o' Dell and learns about the baby she left behind in a suitcase in upstate New York 14 years earlier.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

It was just too coincidental, too suspicious, and in fact, knowing, in light of knowing that she has eight other healthy Children that are no physical problems at all. So the key was going to be this interview with Ms. O'. Dell.

[Narrator]

To complete his case for murder, Sculpey must coax an admission from o' Dell that her babies were born alive and then abandoned. He catches up with Odell and asks her about the infants found in Arizona. She repeats her story of three separate stillborn births in a homemade delivery room, but this time adds something more.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

When she recovers, there's baby number one laying on the floor between her legs with several inches of a towel down the baby's throat. At that point, the baby was cold, was not breathing. Being a father and grandfather, I just couldn't conceive a newborn infant swallowing several inches of a towel as she's telling us that. But this is what she told us.

[Narrator]

O' Dell tells a similar story about baby number two, born in 1983. Then there's baby number three.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

Baby number three is the interesting one. She tells us that she took the baby with her, crawled into the bedroom, laid next to the bed on the floor, and cuddled with this baby for a considerable amount of time. That, to me, was significant. I felt there was some bonding there between her and this particular baby.

[Narrator]

For whatever reason, Skilleppi senses an opening and pushes with questions about baby number three. As the minutes turn into hours, Odell opens up.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

She tells us that that baby gasped and let out a cry, which would indicate that the baby is alive and breathing.

[Narrator]

A single cry to a mother is a sign of life. To cold case detectives, it is the beginning of a case for murder.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

That's when the investigation changes. It goes from being inquisitive as to finding out what happened to these three babies. As to now we're looking at a homicide, a possible homicide investigation at this point.

[Narrator]

Odell eventually admits that all three babies found in Arizona breathed and cried. She never tells Skillpi exactly how they died. But logic leads him to only one Diane o' Dell is somehow responsible for their deaths. She is arrested and charged with murder for the deaths of three infants found in storage shelter shed number six. At her trial in December 2003, Diane O' Dell is supported by her family, including five of her children alive and well. Odell's other children are also present in the courtroom, reduced to a nameless collection of old crime scene photos that speak to the jury far more eloquently than any attorney ever could. After a single day of deliberation, the jury delivers its verdict.

[Lisa's Family Member]

Guilty.

[Medical Examiner Dr. James Thorpin]

From the time Ms. O' Dell told us that the babies gasped and cried. I was convinced that what we were looking at here was a homicide. So I feel that after 30 years, the babies got their due.

[Narrator]

Diane Odell is sentenced to 25 years to life for the three infants discovered in Arizona. No charges have ever been filed against Odell for the infant found in a suit suitcase in New York due to a lack of evidence as to a cause of death.

[Reporter Vicki Daniels]

It's like she knew she didn't want these babies. She knew that. I really believe she knew she did not want these children and that was the way to get rid of them.

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