Cold Case Files

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

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.

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."

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."

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.

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.

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."

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."

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

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.