REOPENED: Skeletons In The Closet

Summary

Cold Case Files

Episode: REOPENED: Skeletons In The Closet
Host: Brooke Giddings (A&E / PodcastOne)
Date: September 18, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of Cold Case Files explores the chilling case of Diane O’Dell, whose dark secrets from decades past slowly unravel through dogged investigative work and forensic science. The story begins with the 1989 discovery of a deceased infant in a suitcase in upstate New York and ultimately uncovers a series of similar traumatic discoveries in Arizona in 2003. The episode delves into themes of hidden trauma, the limits of forensic technology, and the perseverance required to bring justice to cases long thought unsolvable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 1989 Discovery: Baby in the Suitcase

[01:13–05:26]

• Scene-setting: In a scrapyard near Bethel, NY (close to Woodstock’s original site), a junkyard operator opens a suitcase from an abandoned Volkswagen and finds the decomposed body of an infant.
• Initial Investigation: Detective Roy Streaver confirms, with help from the operator's nurse wife, that the remains are indeed human.
• Link to Diane O’Dell: The car belonged to Diane O’Dell, a local woman who moved to Pennsylvania. When tracked down, O’Dell initially denies knowledge.
• O’Dell’s Admission: Confronted with evidence, O’Dell eventually admits the baby was hers, born stillborn in 1972 when she was 17, alone, and the victim of abuse.
• Forensic Limitations: The autopsy, led by Dr. David Winston, can’t confirm if the baby was born alive or dead due to advanced decay. Thus, no homicide charges are filed.

Detective Roy Streaver [02:52]:
“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.”

Detective Roy Streaver [04:58]:
"So 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, you know, leaves you with nowhere to go with the case."

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2. 2003 Storage Unit Auction: A Disturbing Find

[07:20–11:12]

• The Auction: Tom Bright wins an auction for a storage unit in Safford, Arizona, discovering several bags nested within boxes, eventually finding the remains of not one, but three full-term infants.
• Emotional Impact: Detective Diane Thomas, reflecting on her own motherhood, is deeply shaken by the find.

Tom Bright [08:15]:
"And 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."

• Forensic Analysis: Dr. Winston’s x-ray examination confirms all infants are full-term, but decomposition prevents determination of whether any were born alive.

Dr. David Winston [09:35]:
"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."

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3. Connecting the Dots: Diane O’Dell Identified Again

[10:07–12:06]

• Paper Trail: Receipts, bills, and letters in the storage unit lead directly to Diane O’Dell, now a mother of eight living in Pennsylvania.
• Confrontation: Detective Thomas travels to Pennsylvania. O’Dell shows no emotion or curiosity about the investigation.

Detective Diane Thomas [10:48]:
"No emotion, no inquisitiveness as to, why are you talking to me? What have I done in Arizona?... She never once asked us anything like that."

• Initial Denial: O’Dell denies knowledge of the remains. On re-interview with increased pressure, she admits the babies are hers.

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4. O’Dell’s Explanations and Incriminating Details

[12:06–16:07]

• Confession: O’Dell claims all three infants resulted from separate pregnancies in the early 1980s, all were delivered alone at home, and each time she blacked out during delivery.
• Detectives’ Doubt: Investigators do not believe her story; her survival and birthing record with eight other healthy children raise many questions.
• Grisly Details: Under questioning, O’Dell describes the scene after regaining consciousness, with one child having several inches of towel down its throat.

Dr. David Winston [15:38]:
"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, Odell then…"

• Breakthrough: O’Dell eventually admits that all three babies “breathed and cried,” evidence that they were born alive—a critical detail for homicide prosecution.

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5. Justice After Decades

[16:32–18:21]

• Arrest and Conviction: With O’Dell’s admission that the babies were born alive, she is arrested and tried for murder; the jury is swiftly convinced.
• Family Impact: Five of O’Dell’s children attend the trial. The verdict is guilty, and O’Dell is sentenced to 25 years to life. The death of the infant discovered in NY remains unresolved, as forensic evidence is insufficient and no charges ever filed.

Dr. David Winston [17:54]:
"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."

Detective Diane Thomas [18:09]:
"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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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Detective Roy Streaver [04:58]:
  "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, you know, leaves you with nowhere to go with the case."

• Tom Bright [08:15]:
  "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."

• Detective Diane Thomas [10:48]:
  "No emotion, no inquisitiveness as to, why are you talking to me? ... She never once asked us anything like that."

• Dr. David Winston [17:54]:
  "So I feel that after 30 years the babies got their due."

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Timestamps & Segment Highlights

• [01:13] – Discovery of the infant in the suitcase in New York
• [02:29] – Diane O’Dell linked to the vehicle and suitcase; initial interview
• [03:22] – Confrontation leading to O’Dell’s partial confession
• [04:33] – Forensic limits in determining cause of baby’s death
• [07:20] – Storage unit auction; discovery of three infants in Arizona
• [08:31] – Emotional response from Detective Thomas; start of investigation
• [09:35] – Dr. Winston’s forensic findings
• [10:07] – Items link storage unit to O’Dell; Detective Thomas travels to Pennsylvania
• [12:06] – O’Dell’s detailed confessions; investigators’ skepticism
• [15:38] – Disturbing detail about towel in infant’s throat
• [17:02] – O’Dell’s final admission; legal breakthrough
• [17:54] – Sentencing and resolution

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Summary Takeaways

• Persistence Matters: The case exemplifies the relentless work required by investigators to resolve cold cases many decades old, even when evidence is scarce or degraded.
• Limits of Science: Forensic evidence was critical but also limiting in the NY case, while careful, persistent interviews cracked the Arizona component.
• Haunting Legacy: Diane O’Dell’s crimes remained hidden as she led an outwardly normal life for years, underscoring the complexities and unknown depths behind seemingly ordinary lives.

This powerful episode underscores the heartbreak of “skeletons in the closet”—literal and figurative—and the determination of detectives and forensic experts to seek justice, no matter how much time has passed.

Transcript

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[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

A e Original Podcast this episode contains descriptions of violence. Use your best judgment Outside Bethel, New York, About a mile from where the original Woodstock Festival was held is a scrapyard with the typical treasures found in that type of place. In March of 1989, a Volkswagen was the newest item to be added into the collection. The owner examined the cars inside and then popped the trunk where he discovered a suitcase. The owner had dealt with a lot of discarded items in his life, but never anything like what he found inside that suitcase. When he unzipped the bag and opened it up, he found the body of a human baby. From A and E, this is Cold Case Files.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

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. Call the police.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

That was Roy Streaver from the New York State Police. He responded to the call made by the junkyard operator. He learned that the Volkswagen had had been abandoned by Diane o', Dell, a local who recently left the area. The police tracked her down in Pennsylvania, where Odell said she knew nothing about any dead baby. Striever was skeptical.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

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, Striever went to.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

The area where Odell had lived and found A couple who said that they had rented a house to her. They told the investigator that 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 then talked with Odell a second.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

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

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Odell told Strieber that in 1972, at the age of 17, she was living alone in upstate New York. On top of that, she was eight months pregnant and scared. One day she took the bus to New York City to tell her father about her situation. Her father was not happy and she.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

Said that later that night he had become intoxicated and gotten out a cat o' nine tails and beaten her with it, including several strikes across her abdomen.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

That evening she went home to Sullivan county and the next she went into labor.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

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 this suitcase and carried it around with her for, well, I guess it was about 17 years.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

In 1989, Diane Odell's father was dead and couldn't be questioned. Striever ordered an autopsy, hoping science could provide some answers. The remains, however, were badly decayed and the me, David Winston, could only report that it was a full term baby. As for the crucial question, whether the baby was born alive or dead, Winston couldn't say for sure.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

So 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, you know, leaves you with nowhere to go with the case.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

No charges were filed and Diane o' Dell left the area and some very ugly memories behind.

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When a storage unit is abandoned after a certain period of time, the contents are auctioned off. In May of 2003, a storage auction took place on the edge of the city of Safford, Arizona. Tom Bright, a local resident, was the high bidder on lot number six. Everything in the storage unit was his. So he hauled it home and started examining his purchase. He opened a box labeled Moms. Inside he found a garbage bag, inside that another bag, and inside that a third.

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And 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 a sheriff's deputy out here.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

I think I found a baby that was Tom Bright. Diane Thomas was the officer that took the call.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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 (Brooke Giddings)]

Diane Thomas and the other deputies went through all of the boxes from the storage area. They discovered a second and a third baby.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

My initial thought was someone was having miscarriages and, and mainly maybe a young girl. In a home and not knowing what.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

To do, the bodies were taken to the morgue. And Dr. David Winston reported that the remains were dry and crumbling. So X rays offered the best chance of examining the infants without destroying evidence. Winston immediately noted the bones were fully developed, indicating the babies were carried to full term because of decomposition. However, Dr. Winston couldn't tell whether they were born alive or dead. Here's Dr. Winston.

[Dr. David Winston]

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 (Brooke Giddings)]

Dr. Winston left the cause of death blank. But Diane Thomas started to form a theory.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Some of the other items left behind in the storage shed included a pile of old receipts, bills, and letters, all belonging to one person, A woman named Diane o'. Dell. She had left the state of Arizona and lived in Pennsylvania. So Thomas booked a flight east to talk with Odell about her storage shed and its contents. In 2003, Diane O' Dell was living in Tawanda, Pennsylvania. She was a mother of eight children and had a job at the local drugstore. On May 17, Detective Thomas found her at the drugstore and asked if they could have a private conversation.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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 (Brooke Giddings)]

After agreeing to be questioned at the police station, Diane o' Dell denied any knowledge of the remains found in her storage space.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

What he found and what we continued to find after we were called Were three dead babies. Three babies. Holy cow. I would have no idea. I'm sorry. I wish I did.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Diane maintained that she had no connection to the babies that the investigators had found. The next day, Detective Thomas was joined by detective Bruce Weddle, also from Arizona.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

And I said, you have the answer.

[Dr. David Winston]

To why these babies were in the bags.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

And we don't intend on going back.

[Dr. David Winston]

To Arizona until we find out why.

[Detective Roy Streaver]

They were stored in these boxes and left in Arizona.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Here's some audio from the interview.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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 (Brooke Giddings)]

Odell said that the three babies found in the storage shed were from three separate pregnancies in the early 80s. In each case, when the labor pain started, she went to her bathroom to deliver them. She said that each time she blacked out during the final push, I pushed and went back.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

That was it. I don't know if the baby cried. I don't. I have no knowledge of that.

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[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

When she woke up from those three separate blackouts, Odell claimed the babies were dead. Detective Thomas did not find Odell's story to be even close to credible.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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 (Brooke Giddings)]

Although Thomas had a lot of problems with Odell's story, the statements by themselves were not proof of a crime. Also, Odell claimed the babies were born Ann died in Coneonga Lake, New York, and the Arizona shed was merely a depository for Thomas. It meant the case was out of her jurisdiction. So she contacted the New York State Police and talked with Thomas Sculpey.

[Dr. David Winston]

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. Odell to make.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

A case for murder. Scollepi needed Odell to say that her babies were born alive. When asked, she told the story of three separate stillbirths, but added a twist at the end.

[Dr. David Winston]

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, Odell then.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Told a similar story for the other two babies.

[Dr. David Winston]

Baby number three is the interesting one. She tells us that 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. For whatever reason, feeling like he was.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Getting closer to the truth, Scollepi questioned Odell further, especially about the third baby.

[Dr. David Winston]

She tells us that that baby gasped and let out a cry which would indicate that the baby is alive and breathing. 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 possible homicide investigation at this point.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Odell eventually admitted that all three babies found in Arizona breathed and cried. She never told Scollepi exactly how they died. But logically, it appeared that Diane o' Dell was somehow responsible for their deaths. She was arrested and charged with murder for the deaths of the three infants found in the Arizona desert in a storage shed. During the trial, five of Odell's living healthy children attended. The jury seemed to be the most convinced of Odell's guilt by the photos of the crime scene. They returned a guilty verdict in less than a day. I have to give credit to Detective Sculpey and Detective Thomas for supporting the victims in a case where their mother was the perpetrator.

[Dr. David Winston]

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.

[Detective Diane Thomas]

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.

[Narrator (Brooke Giddings)]

Zyann O' Dell was sentenced to 25 years to life for the three infants discovered in Arizona. As for the infant found in a suitcase in New York, no charges were ever filed. Cold Case Files the podcast is hosted by Brooke giddings, produced by McKamey, Lynn and Steve Delameter. Our executive producer is Ted Butler. Our music was created by Blake Maples. This podcast is distributed by Podcast one, the Cold Case Files TV series Blank, produced by Curtis Productions and is hosted by Bill Curtis. You can find me brookeginnings on Twitter and rookthepodcaster on Instagram. I'm also active in the Facebook group Podcast for Justice. Check out more Cold case [e-mail] or learn more about cases like this one by visiting the a n e realcrime [e-mail] realcrime.

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