REOPENED: The Paper Route

Summary

Cold Case Files: REOPENED: The Paper Route

Podcast Information

• Title: Cold Case Files
• Host: Paula Barros
• Episode: REOPENED: The Paper Route
• Release Date: June 5, 2025

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Introduction to Bertha Niemann's Case

In the early hours of March 15, 1988, 63-year-old Bertha Niemann, a dedicated rural newspaper carrier, vanished under mysterious circumstances. Bertha, a widow with a history of loss—having endured the deaths of her husband Clesson Niemann in 1975 and her mother in 1980—was known for her consistent delivery routes across Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Narrator: "Bertha was extremely consistent. So when she was late for her final delivery, her boss, Joe Pittsburgh, started to worry." [00:00]

Initial Investigation and Discovery

On the fateful morning, Bertha left her home accompanied by her two puppies to pick up newspapers. Around 3 AM, she stopped at a truck stop, ordered a cup of coffee, and never returned. Her van was found abandoned in a parking lot miles away from the location where her body was later discovered behind a local church.

Captain David Randall: "We couldn't find her." [03:15]

Inspector Joe Pittsburgh quickly notified the police, leading to the grim discovery of Bertha's body. She had been shot three times—twice in the head and once in the neck—and was found face down under a tree. The van showed no signs of a struggle, and personal belongings, including some money, were left untouched, ruling out robbery as a motive.

Captain David Randall: "The person or persons responsible for her death were most likely the ones that put the van there." [04:43]

Family's Struggle for Answers

Bertha's disappearance and subsequent murder left her family desperate for answers. Lonnie Niemann, her youngest son, expressed frustration with the lack of communication from the investigators.

Lonnie Niemann: "We weren't apprised of everything that was going on." [05:36]

Donna Creel, Bertha's daughter, highlighted the difficulty in balancing the personal relationship with Captain Randall and his professional duties, leaving the family feeling inadequately informed.

Donna Creel: "He kept it on the professional level." [05:48]

Initial Leads and Challenges

Captain Randall compiled a list of six individuals with histories of violence in the area, one of whom was a man known as AJ. AJ provided a critical lead involving Ekron Frazier, a convicted rapist, who allegedly confessed to knowing about Bertha's murder.

Captain David Randall: "Ekron admitted that he had killed a lady." [07:16]

However, despite searching the area based on AJ's information, the murder weapon was never found. Frazier claimed he was at a club the night of the murder, and without supporting evidence, the case went cold.

Renewal of the Case After Eleven Years

Eleven years later, in 1999, Lieutenant Bob Bromage approached Captain Randall to revisit cold cases, choosing Bertha Niemann's case for renewed investigation. A crucial piece of evidence was a semen sample found during the autopsy, which had degraded over time, limiting its utility in identifying the perpetrator.

Lonnie Niemann: "He was able to give me an idea that, hey, if you get a suspect, we can exclude him, but we can't say beyond any doubt that it was him." [12:02]

Bromage focused on analyzing the partial DNA profile, seeking to exclude potential suspects. Ekron Frazier emerged again as a key figure when a piece of cardboard bearing Bertha's name and associated with her murder location was discovered in his prison cell.

Breakthrough Through DNA Evidence

Despite Frazier's initial claims and lack of physical evidence, his evasive behavior during a polygraph test raised suspicions. Investigators probed deeper, questioning him about details only the perpetrator would know, such as the presence of Bertha's dogs in the van.

Captain David Randall: "He was there and was more." [17:58]

Frazier eventually pled guilty to manslaughter related to the case but maintained ambiguity regarding his involvement in the sexual assault evidenced by the semen sample.

Final Developments and Unanswered Questions

As Frazier's release approached in 2019, advancements in DNA technology prompted a reevaluation of the semen evidence. The new analysis conclusively matched the semen to Ekron Frazier, solidifying his connection to Bertha's murder and leading to the initiation of a new trial process.

Lonnie Niemann: "Nobody knows where that semen came from at this point. That is still being explored to this day." [22:13]

The case, while making significant progress, still leaves lingering questions about the identities of other women listed on the cardboard found in Frazier's cell and their statuses.

Conclusion and Ongoing Impact

The reopening of Bertha Niemann's case underscores the relentless pursuit of justice by law enforcement and the enduring hope of a family seeking closure. Despite the advancements in forensic technology providing critical breakthroughs, some aspects of the case remain unresolved, highlighting the complexities inherent in cold cases.

Lonnie Niemann: "If I get information or find information that will lead us in that direction, I certainly would like to at least put a name on that and why it's there." [22:32]

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Key Takeaways:

• Persistence in Investigation: Eleven years after the initial investigation, renewed efforts leveraging advanced DNA technology were pivotal in reopening and advancing Bertha Niemann's case.
• Impact of Forensic Advances: The degradation of the original semen sample initially hindered the investigation, but later technological improvements allowed for a conclusive match.
• Family's Ongoing Quest for Justice: Bertha's family continues to seek answers, emphasizing the personal toll and the importance of unresolved questions in cold cases.

Notable Quotes:

• "The person or persons responsible for her death were most likely the ones that put the van there." — Captain David Randall [04:43]
• "He was cool, calm and collected... he was just a little bit better." — Captain David Randall [07:56]
• "Nobody knows where that semen came from at this point." — Lonnie Niemann [22:13]

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Credits:

• Host: Paula Barros
• Producers: McKamey, Lynn, and Steve Delamater
• Associate Producer: Julie McGruder
• Executive Producer: Ted Butler
• Music: Blake Maples
• Distribution: PodcastOne

For more information on this case and other intriguing stories, visit Cold Case Files.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Craving your next action packed adventure, Audible delivers thrills of every kind on your command, like Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, where a lone astronaut must save humanity from extinction. Narrated with stunning intensity by Ray Porter. From electrifying suspense and daring quests to spine tingling horror and romance and far off realms, unleash your adventure aside with gripping titles that'll keep you guessing. Discover exclusive Audible originals, hotly anticipated new releases and must Listen bestsellers that hook you from the first minute. Because Audible knows there's no greater thrill than the one that speaks to you. Discover what lies beyond the edge of your seat. Start your free 30 day trial at audible.com wonderyus that's audible.com wonderyus this episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Use your best judgment in 1988, Bertha Niemann was 63 years old. She lived near Hilton Head island off the coast of South Carolina. She worked as a rural newspaper carrier for almost 15 years. She would drive across the state line and into Georgia to pick up the papers. After loading all the papers into her van, she drove from Savannah back towards Hilton Head, stopping frequently to drop off bundles of newspapers to distribution centers. The papers would then be separated and given to the local carriers. Bertha grew up in Michigan. In 1943, when she was 16, Bertha married Clesson Niemann. The couple had their first child in 1946, a daughter named Audrey Ann. Sadly, she died seven years later, a victim of leukemia. Bertha had three more children, twins Donna and Darryl, and a few years later, a son named Lonnie. The family moved to South Carolina in 1965. Bertha's mother joined them a short time later. In 1975, at the age of 50, Clessa Niemann died from a sudden illness. Bertha got a job delivering newspapers. She also enjoyed spending time with her mother, children and grandchildren. Bertha's mother passed away in 1980 at the age of 92. It seems Bertha was no stranger to death. On March 15, 1988, Bertha, accompanied by her two puppies, left their home in the early morning hours to pick up the newspapers. At around 3am Bertha pulled into a truck stop and ordered a cup of coffee. She walked out the door into the dark parking lot and was never seen alive again. From A and E this is Cold Case Files. Bertha was extremely consistent. So when she was late for her final delivery, her boss, Joe Pittsburgh, started to worry.

[Captain David Randall]

We had radios in our trucks and telephones and if she needed to call us, we usually expected that and we couldn't find her.

[Narrator]

Jo knew Bertha's delivery route and was Able to track her van down. It was abandoned in a parking lot on the other side of Hilton Head Island.

[Captain David Randall]

She had two little puppies, and they were still in the van. It was just like the van had been stopped. And it was quite unusual that she would leave those dogs.

[Narrator]

Joe called the police with his concerns about Bertha. But before the police were able to respond, they got another call reporting that a body was found behind a local church. This is Captain David Randall.

[Captain David Randall]

I was met out at the road or in the driveway by Sergeant Cassidy. And at that time, he told me, says David said, I want to prepare you for something that you're fixing to see because you are very close friends with this victim. Of course, I inquired who it was, and he told me it was Bertha Nieman.

[Narrator]

Captain Randall had known Bertha for almost 30 years before she was killed. Her body was found face down under a tree. She'd been shot three times, two times in her head and once in her neck. The two emergency calls were connected, and Captain Randall realized that Bertha's van had been abandoned just a few miles from where she was found.

[Captain David Randall]

You know, at this point in investigation, we're trying to figure out how Bertha's van got to where it was. And we were pretty much sure that the person or persons responsible for. For her death were most likely the ones that put the van there.

[Narrator]

The van didn't show any signs that there was a struggle. There was even some money lying on the dashboard, indicating that robbery had not been a motive. During the autopsy, the coroner discovered Bertha, who was a widow without a boyfriend, had semen inside of her.

[Captain David Randall]

So most likely Bertha, the person of persons that had murdered her, had most likely sexually assaulted her.

[Narrator]

The investigators didn't have any leads or suspects, but the family wanted answers. This is Lonnie Niemann, Bertha's youngest son.

[Lonnie Niemann]

I can't really say how well their investigation was going. The feedback we were getting was not very good. I mean, we weren't apprised of everything that was going on.

[Narrator]

The family hoped that since Captain Randall was a family friend, that he could at least give them some hint as to how the investigation was progressing. This is Donna Creel, Bertha's daughter. They can't tell you what you really want to know. And that's what was hard, because David Randall was a friend of ours when we first moved to Hilton Head. And I just felt like, you know, being a personal friend, that he would have really said more, but he kept it on the professional level. Captain Randall was direct with the family about the separate roles that he played. One as a friend and the other as a police officer.

[Captain David Randall]

They had numerous questions and I had to be very firm and frank with them that we were at a point that I was, today I was the cop, tomorrow I'll be the friend.

[Narrator]

Randall began his investigation by creating a list of people who lived in the area with a history of violence. There were six names on the list. One of the people was known simply as aj.

[Captain David Randall]

Old AJ and I go a long way back. AJ had a. Had a prior history of violence, violence toward older ladies and robbing older ladies.

[Narrator]

AJ told Randall that he was home on the night that Bertha had been killed and a friend had stopped by AJ's house in the early morning hours. The friend was a convicted rapist named Ekron Frazier.

[Captain David Randall]

He says that around 4:30 in the morning, Akron had come to his house and Akron admitted that he had killed a lady.

[Narrator]

AJ claimed that Frazier had told him where the murder weapon had been dumped. Jarvis Creek, less than half a mile from where Bertha's body had been found. Captain Randall searched the area but wasn't able to find the gun. So he decided to go talk with Frazier.

[Captain David Randall]

He was cool, calm and collected. If you had the facts on him and if you thought that you were good, he was just a little bit better.

[Narrator]

Frazier told Randall that he'd been at a club the night Bertha was shot. He claimed he went straight home afterwards. Captain Randall didn't have any evidence to disprove Fraser's story. There was also no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. With no evidence and no leads, Bertha's case took a back seat to other active investigations. And in time, it went cold.

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[Narrator]

11 years after Bertha Nieman was killed, the lead investigator, David Randall, continued to work for the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. Over time, he had been promoted to a supervisory position. One morning in the spring of 1999, a young lieutenant approached Captain Randall with a question.

[Captain David Randall]

Bob Bromage came to me. He's always called me Supe, he said. Supe, we need to talk about these cold cases. Said, which one do we want to start with? And I think you know which one, I told him.

[Narrator]

Randall gave Lt. Bob Bromidge Bertha Neiman's file, hoping the lieutenant would be able to find a lead. Here's Lieutenant Bromage, and it meant something.

[Lonnie Niemann]

To him for this one to be looked into. There was somewhere to go with it. So a lot of cases, there's not a lot of head start, you might say.

[Narrator]

The head start Bromidge was talking about was a semen sample recovered from Bertha Nieman's body. The state crime lab was only able to create a partial profile. The sample had degraded over time, meaning they could exclude suspects but not make a conclusive match.

[Lonnie Niemann]

He was able to give me an idea that, hey, if you get a suspect, we can exclude him, but we can't say beyond any doubt that it was him.

[Narrator]

Bromidge believed the partial sample was an opportunity and not a setback. He put together a list of men to be excluded, hoping to narrow the suspect pool. After reviewing the case file, Lieutenant Bromidge put Ekron Fraser first on the list. A witness had told Captain Randall that Fraser had confessed. Bromidge didn't have a difficult time locating Fraser. He was in a South Carolina prison and had been for 11 years. The prison personnel searched Fraser's cell before Bromage arrived. The lieutenant had requested.

[Lonnie Niemann]

And in searching under the bed, the contraband officer pulled out a piece of cardboard, which I then looked at and had the name Bertha on it. And it also had a location of Spanish Wells, which is the vicinity of where her body was found and she was murdered and had the years 8889.

[Narrator]

The piece of cardboard also had a few other women's names on it, along with street names and dates. The list was suspicious to see, say the least, and possibly implicated Fraser in not only Bertha's murder, but in the murder of other women as well. Lt. Bromidge asked Frazier for a DNA sample.

[Lonnie Niemann]

I told him I'd like a saliva sample for DNA or a blood sample that a medical person would extract from, and he said he would not give me that sample. So that made me very suspicious, suspicious of him.

[Narrator]

At that point, Bromidge filed a motion to compile the DNA sample from Frazier. The sample was sent to the crime lab and compared by Dr. Amick.

[Lonnie Niemann]

Dr. Amick examined it and called me within actually about 36 hours and said it did not match him at that point, which was put a new twist on things, you might say.

[Narrator]

Ekren Fraser was excluded from being the person who had left their DNA on Bertha. Lt. Bromidge was left wondering what had happened.

[Lonnie Niemann]

That's exactly what I thought. Am I missing something here? Am I missing another subject? Could this have been one or more person? And at that point, I consulted with a colleague of mine, David Caldwell, who was a captain at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. In investigations, as in a lot of instances in life, two heads are regularly better than one.

[Narrator]

Caldwell believed the DNA results were likely caused by one of two scenarios. First, Fraser had an accomplice who had raped Bertha. Or secondly, the presence of Seaman was entirely unrelated to the murder.

[Lonnie Niemann]

The semen could have been the result of consensual sex. Even though most people that knew Ms. Neiman would say that she didn't have a boyfriend. Not everybody talks about their boyfriend or girlfriend. And so in my mind, it was a possibility that that was the case.

[Narrator]

Bromridge's investigation had become even more complicated, leaving him wondering, was Bertha raped? Why wouldn't Fraser provide his DNA, and what was the motive?

[Lonnie Niemann]

I was like, okay, where do I go from here? Maybe it wasn't a sexual assault, but it's the same type of predator. What's the motive here? Why kill her? Well, it's somebody she probably knows, somebody she's probably seen in the area.

[Narrator]

In November of 1999, Ekren Frazier was released from prison. But a month later, he found himself in trouble again. He was caught on video during an armed robbery and faced 30 years in prison. Frazier decided to attempt a deal with Bromage in exchange for information about Bertha's murder.

[Lonnie Niemann]

He wants a deal for the armed robbery. Of course he's thinking, okay, well, first I've got to make it credible enough so the police believe my story, but then get myself out of it at the last minute before anything really bad happens to Bertha Nieman.

[Narrator]

Fraser's story was that he and a friend had seen Bertha's van in a parking lot. His friend jumped into the van and started to hit Bertha while Fraser was the lookout. Fraser said his friend drove off in the van with Bertha still inside.

[Lonnie Niemann]

At that point, Akron takes himself out of it, saying he didn't go. And the other subject brought the woman behind the church and murdered her.

[Narrator]

Lt. Bromage told Fraser he would check out his story and also asked him to submit to a polygraph. Fraser agreed to the test, and it was administered by Sergeant Matt Averill.

[Captain David Randall]

Before you were 26 years of age, did you ever commit a serious crime and not get caught?

[Lieutenant Bob Bromage]

No.

[Narrator]

Of the 20 to 30 questions Fraser was asked during the test, only three of them were related to Bertha. Here's Sergeant Avril. The first question that he was hitting on. First relevant question was, did you shoot Bertha Nieman? Second question was, in 1988, did you shoot Bertha Nieman? And the third question was, were you there when Bertha Nieman was shot? By hitting on Sergeant Avril means that Frazier's breathing, sweating impulse had increased, which could happen not only when a person is being deceptive, but also if they're scared or anxious. Increase in everything. I mean, he reacted pretty hard in all three components that we measure. And to get the kind of reactions that I interpreted, I was pretty convinced.

[Captain David Randall]

That he was there and was more.

[Narrator]

Than likely the shooter because the sergeant believed that Frazier had murdered Bertha, but also knew that the polygraph information couldn't be used as evidence. He worked with Bromage on a plan. Here's Lieutenant Bromage again.

[Lonnie Niemann]

Our strategy was, one, to get a confession from him. Two, if we can't get a confession, let's get a little bit more detail out of the crime scene. Let's try to trip him over his own words and knowing he's lying. It's hard to remember a lie verbatim.

[Narrator]

The investigators interrogated Frazier again, during which Fraser shared information about Bertha's dogs that he wouldn't have known if he hadn't been in the van.

[Lonnie Niemann]

He also mentioned that there was two dogs in the van, and that's something he had never mentioned before. And I think we posed the question something like you had mentioned she had some animals in the van. Yes, she had two dogs. So that walked him further into being involved directly with the crime.

[Narrator]

Bromidge believed that there was enough evidence to try a suspect for Bertha Niemann's murder. In the year 2000, Akron, Frazier pled guilty to manslaughter and received a sentence of 25 years less than what he would have received for the armed robbery. As Ekron began his sentence, his DNA was taken and entered into the database. Lonnie Niemann was asked if Fraser's sentence brought him any comfort.

[Lonnie Niemann]

Realize she's not gonna drive with driveway. You realize you can't call her, but.

[Captain David Randall]

The emotional void that is left is.

[Lonnie Niemann]

Just really hard to fill. You're used to your mama being there, and when she's not and she's taken from you.

[Captain David Randall]

Like my mother was taken.

[Lonnie Niemann]

It just makes it hard to fill in.

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[Lieutenant Bob Bromage]

Hey, it's James Alducher. I've been an entrepreneur, investor, bestselling writer, stand up comic, and whatever it is I'm interested in, I get obsessed. Yes, it's led to success, but it's also led to such heartbreaking failure. I have failed more times than I can count. I wish in my life I had had people to talk to. That's why I started the James Altisher show and bring on some of the most brilliant minds in every area of life. People like Richard Branson, Sarah Blakely, Mark Cuban, Danica Patrick, Garry Kasparov. And I wanted to find out exactly how they've navigated the highs, the lows and everything in between. No fluff, just raw stories and real advice. I've talked to 1500 of the most amazing people on the planet. So if you want to learn from the best and skip the same old canned interviews, we're all about helping you find your next big idea, level up your thinking, and ultimately to choose yourself. So let's do this together. Subscribe now to the James Altucher Show.

[Narrator]

At the time of the trial, Lt. Bromidge was happy with the conviction, but also frustrated by the question that remained unanswered.

[Lonnie Niemann]

Nobody knows where that semen came from at this point. That is still being explored to this day. And if I get information or find information that will lead us in that direction, I certainly would like to at least put a name on that and why it's there.

[Narrator]

In April of 2019, as the end of Fraser's sentence was approaching, the Hilton Head Sheriff Department was ordered a new DNA test to be performed as technology had drastically advanced since the original test. On April 12, 2019, it was determined that the semen found in Bertha Nieman's body was a match to Eckhren Fraser, who is now 55 and nearing the end of his sentence for manslaughter. Fraser is still incarcerated in South Carolina and scheduled to be released on March 10, 2020 21. Because of the DNA evidence, he won't go home when he's released. Instead, he'll start the trial process over with a bail hearing and if he's convicted, face another sentence of up to 30 years for the sexual assault of Bertha Niemann. There's one question I hope that can now be answered with more advanced DNA technology. Who were the other women on the cardboard list found in Fraser's cell? And more importantly, are they okay? Cold Case Files the podcast is hosted by Brooke giddings, produced by McKamey, Lynn and Steve Delamater. Our associate producer is Julie McGruder. 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 was produced by Curtis Productions and is hosted by Bill Curtis. You can find me rookginnings on Twitter and rookthe Podcast podcaster 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&E RealCrime [e-mail] RealCrime this summer, Pluto TV is exploding with thousands of free movies. Summer of cinema is here. Feel the explosive action all summer long with movies like Gladiator, Mission Impossible, Beverly Hills Cop, Good Burger and Transformers. Dark of the Moon. Bring the action with you and stream for free from all your favorite devices. Pluto TV Stream Now Pay Never.