
A serial rapist seals his own fate when he sends a taunting letter to police... Hers: Start your initial free online visit at forhers.com/coldcase for your personalized weight loss treatment options. 
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Every day, our world gets a little more connected, but a little further apart. But then there are moments that remind us to be more human. Thank you for calling Amica Insurance.
Michael Burns
Hey, I was just in an accident. Don't worry, we'll get you taken care of.
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Brooke Giddings
In America. One out of every six women have been the victim of rape. And there's a sexual assault every 73 seconds. But the trauma lasts much longer than the event itself. 94% of rape survivors develop PTSD symptoms. For many survivors, the relief that comes from a conviction is just the knowledge that the attacker can't strike again. That knowledge is powerful, but as far as the impact on the victim is concerned, a guilty verdict doesn't undo the past. In this case, the victim lived in fear for over 10 years that her rapist might return from A and E. This is Cold Case Files. I'm Brooke and here's the dignified Bill Curtis with the classic case, the taunt.
Kira Ash
I think my brain literally just stopped for a second, you know, I didn't feel anything. I felt numbness.
Narrator
20 year old Kira Ash awakens to a nightmare. There is a man in her bedroom.
Kira Ash
I saw him for a split second and he turned me around and blindfolded me with a bandana. He just said, do everything I say. He kept telling me, don't look at me, do exactly as I say, don't say anything and I won't hurt you. I just was just. God, just please, just save me. You know, I don't know what's gonna happen here, but don't let him kill me. I'm not ready to go yet.
Narrator
The man rapes Kira and leaves her with a set of instructions.
Kira Ash
He told me to lie down as I was already on my knees. Told me to lie down, face down. Not to look to the left or to the right. And to to 50.
Narrator
Kira Ash does as she is told. Eventually, police are contacted, A rape kit is taken, but no semen is recovered and the case goes cold. Meanwhile, a rape victim moves on, but never entirely past the moments that changed her life forever.
Kira Ash
Even another rape victim can't understand what you've been through. They have their own story and no one can understand the emotions that you feel. God had helped me erase that almost from my memory. Not erase it from my memory, but erase it from my heart.
Lisa Meredith
Somebody jumped on top of me and said, don't you know when somebody's Robbing you. You pretend like you're asleep.
Narrator
Four days before she is to be married, Lisa Meredith finds herself alone with a man intent on raping her.
Lisa Meredith
He immediately put a pillowcase over my head, and so I didn't see anything. When he pulled me over to the side of the bed and he asked me to take my clothes off, I knew then that's when I started really getting scared, and I knew what was going to happen.
Narrator
Lisa is sexually assaulted, then told to count to 200.
Lisa Meredith
Before he left, he tied me up with Michael's ties and tied me up on the bed.
Narrator
Michael is Michael Burns, Lisa's fiance.
Michael Burns
The night it happened, we had had an argument, and I left the apartment. So, you know, it was my fault because I wasn't there. If I wouldn't have gone out, the door might not have been unlocked, you know, so I felt guilty.
Lisa Meredith
I would try and tell him, you know, if he was there, it could have gone. Gotten a lot worse, you know. You know, he could have even killed him or they got in a scuffle.
Narrator
Louisville police begin investigating Lisa's rape, but find more questions than answers.
Michael Burns
At the time, working these types of cases, we were a little skeptical of whether this actually occurred.
Narrator
Lisa cannot provide a description of her attacker, and there is no sign of forced entry or semen from Lisa's rape kit.
Michael Burns
We really didn't have a whole lot to go on.
Narrator
Looking back on the domestic dispute and.
Michael Burns
The things that occurred prior to, we.
Narrator
Kind of had a little question.
Michael Burns
They more or less thought it was just a lover's quarrel, and she was trying to get back at me.
Lisa Meredith
They asked me to take a lie detector test, and I said, yes, I'll do whatever, you know, just please somebody believe me.
Narrator
Lisa passes the polygraph, but the investigation takes its toll on the young couple and casts a shadow over what should have been the happiest day of their lives.
Lisa Meredith
Up to one point, we had decided to postpone the wedding, and we decided, you know what? We're not gonna let him take this away from us.
Michael Burns
With love, I, Lisa. With love, I, Lisa. Give you, Michael this ring.
Kira Ash
Give you, Michael this ring.
Michael Burns
It was hard trying to keep a smile on, you know, for a couple hours during the wedding and so on. But it turned out to be the best day of our.
Narrator
Michael and Lisa burns go on with their lives. Lisa's case, however, joins the rape of Kira Ash in the cold files, where both will sit for six more years.
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Brooke Giddings
Two young women were raped in their own homes in their own beds, but the attacker's DNA wasn't present in either case. Kyra Asch's case went unsolved, allowing the perpetrator to attack Lisa Meredith a few months later, four days before her wedding. Because Lisa and her fiance had an argument before she was attacked, the police became skeptical. They even made her take a polygraph before they would investigate. Because of the lack of physical evidence and the skepticism by law enforcement, Lisa and Kira's cases went cold and neither woman would feel safe again for years to come.
Michael Burns
It was the summer of 2001. I received a call.
Narrator
Lieutenant Joe Richardson is head of sex crimes at the Louisville Metro Police Department. When he answers the phone and finds Michael Burns on the other end, I explained my situation.
Michael Burns
Asked him, you know, I told my wife, told him that My wife was raped six years ago, seven years ago, and nothing's ever happened. And I want to know what's going on. I put myself in Mr. Burns shoes. If I'd had an argument with my wife or my fiance and I had left the apartment and then this happened to my wife or my fiance at the time, I would have felt guilty. So that that gave me a little bit more of a motivation to help Mr. Burns out.
Narrator
Richardson pulls the file. Initially, it doesn't look too promising until he happens upon a few sheets of paper.
Michael Burns
These three sheets were in the back of that case file, and that's what got the ball rolling in this particular investigation.
Narrator
The paperwork is part of a 1996 interview between a career burglar named John Buston and Louisville detective Mike Loren.
Michael Burns
And he took it to locations throughout the Louisville area where he and others had committed different type crimes, burglaries. And I think there were some robberies involved.
Narrator
One location in particular interests Loren. It is the former residence of rape victim Lisa Burns.
Michael Burns
We are at 331 E. Market St. What's the significance of this location? Johnson? Mr. Boston had claimed that another individual had gone into an apartment there. And when he came back out, Mr. Boston asked him, his accomplice, what had happened. He was talking about a sexual assault that had a possible sexual assault that had happened. He said he had tied the woman up and left off stairs and did the next day when I was. The newspapers said the woman had been sexual assaulted. Something about this one, I just had the feeling that it wasn't the person that he was trying to claim did it. I thought that he might have been involved in it.
Narrator
Loran had passed the lead on in 1996, but it was never followed up. Lt. Richardson intends to correct that oversight.
Michael Burns
First thing I did was to check the arrest records over at Corrections to see if this accomplice, the person that Boston said didn't perform the burglary, was in custody. And sure enough, he was in custody on the state. So that tells me he didn't do the offense.
Narrator
The man John Boston claims admitted raping Lisa Burns was in jail at the time the rape was committed. John Buston himself, however, was not possibly.
Michael Burns
How long ago was this? It was about, probably six or ten months ago.
Narrator
Richardson digs deeper into the old interviews with John Boston and finds the burglar led police to a second house where a rape had occurred.
Michael Burns
1250 hours. We're in front of 426 West Hill Street. Correction, 424 West Hill Street. I recognize that that Address is where we've had a sexual assault back in 95.
Narrator
It's the attack on Kira Ash, one that bears some striking similarities to Lisa Burns assault.
Michael Burns
And the MO is the same. He middle of the night, broke in, covered her head up, raped her, threatened her and then looked for something some articles to steal.
Narrator
Richardson eventually locates another assault, a rape from 1994 that carries an identical M.O.
Michael Burns
I said bingo. This is a third case.
Narrator
Unlike the first two, this last attack has semen evidence. Now the hunt is on to find John Buston and get his DNA.
Michael Burns
This evidence contains the letter that John Boston sent the police department.
Narrator
That is until the suspect licks an envelope and unwittingly seals the case against him.
Michael Burns
It's unusual for somebody to try to taunt the police, show that they're leaving the country to quit looking for me. You know, he just made one mistake and that was the fatal mistake. Sent me his DNA. Letter said, dear Officer, this is John T. Boston, I have not be in Louisville, Kentucky for the last week and a half.
Narrator
On March 4, 2002, Lieutenant Joe Richardson receives a taunting letter in the mail from a man he suspects in three unsolved rapes.
Michael Burns
By the time you receive this letter and pictures, I will be out of the US I am and will not be coming back to Louisville, Kentucky for anything whatsoever. And then he puts a thumbprint at the bottom of his name. Very, very arrogant person.
Narrator
John Boston has gotten wind that he is a wanted man and can't resist playing a game of catch me if you can with Lieutenant Richardson.
Michael Burns
Also inside were photos. These photos showed John Boston and his girlfriend at the time bridge to Canada U.S. customs inside a store apparently trying on a winter coat and standing next to a police car. Which put the icing on the cake.
Narrator
Little does John Boston know, his postcard to Richardson might very well be his.
Michael Burns
Undoing one of the three rapes we had DNA in. So I needed to locate him and obtain a sample of his DNA to Compare to the 984 case. Of course, Boston made my job easier.
Narrator
The envelope John Boston presumably licked is sent to the Kentucky State Crime lab in the hope that a DNA profile might be developed. Meantime, the suspect can't help himself and contacts Richardson again.
Brooke Giddings
Richardson.
Michael Burns
I'm thinking that one of the reasons he's calling me is to pick my brain so I could share information on what I have on him, which I didn't do at the time. I just tried to play it cool, calm, and asked him when he was going to turn himself in or if he was. When you gonna turn yourself in?
Brooke Giddings
I ain't even think about turning myself in. I'm nowhere near Kentucky.
Michael Burns
I just let him kind of ramble on. I did compliment him. I told him that the photos he sent the department, I kind of liked them. They were kind of neat. Hey, I kind of like those photos you sent us. They're pretty good. It was just a huge ego on his part to call me up knowing that I'm looking for him and that I couldn't get him at that time. Okay, Josh. But I was confident he was the suspect. He was responsible for those three crimes, and I would eventually get the DNA.
Brooke Giddings
This actually is an item of evidence that was received in the John Boston case.
Narrator
On April 8, 2002, DNA analyst Sandra Hill pulls out the envelope mailed by John Boston and gets to work.
Brooke Giddings
I made a cutting, three actual cuttings.
Michael Burns
From the seal of this envelope, looking for the presence of saliva and the DNA that's in that saliva to develop a profile.
Narrator
A male DNA profile is developed off the envelope.
Brooke Giddings
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Michael Burns
At that point, the DNA profile was compared to the combined DNA Indexing System database and was found to match one in Salt rape case.
Narrator
It's one of the three rapes Richardson suspects John Boston of committing and the only one with DNA evidence. Richardson calls in the FBI and begins tracking his Suspect.
Michael Burns
Through investigations and several court orders, I found the phone number of a cell phone that was used by his girlfriend. The FBI's cooperation, they could do use the cell phone tracking technology.
Narrator
John Boston's cell phone was last used in Texas. Somewhere in Dallas, FBI Agent Walter Huey gets the call out and tracks the phone hit to a local motel.
Michael Burns
We're at the Lamplighter Hotel Motel. It's the edge of Dallas and Mesquite. I came to this motel and drove through at the time and saw a van that sort of stood out to me. The van had Texas license plates that was wired on. It wasn't screwed on, but there was emblems or decals on the van that made it indicate that it was possibly from Kentucky.
Narrator
Huey walks into the motel and inquires about the van's owner.
Michael Burns
As I was talking to the clerk, I showed her a picture that we had of John Boston. At that point, the door opens and. And I do not turn around. As I look to my left, John Boston, who I believe to be John Boston, walks up to the counter standing next to me.
Narrator
John Boston is arrested and extradited back to Kentucky for a sit down with some people he thought he could outrun. Louisville's cold case detectives.
Michael Burns
John Thomas Boston, which I've known since he's 13 years old or 14, he's got a huge ego, and that ego is. Is his vulnerability.
Narrator
On May 10, 2002, Captain Steve Thompson and Lieutenant Joe Richardson sit down with Boston and let their suspect do what he does best. Talk.
Michael Burns
If we started out and he clammed up, we might not get anything out of him. So we had to. The strategy was to let him feel comfortable, start letting the ego get the better of him, to start opening up and talking. As long as he thinks he's in control, his ego, that he's smarter than we are, he'll keep talking.
Narrator
John Boston quickly lets investigators know he knows what they really want to talk about.
Michael Burns
They talked about three rapes. They said something about one on Market street, one on Hill street. And he said something that went on Cherokee. He obviously interrogated some previous law enforcement officer in Texas to find out, you know, what the game plan was with us on what he was really facing. He said they got my DNA from the envelopes that I sent them, and it connected me to three races. I can tell you from knowing John Thomas Boston that he probably was trying to educate himself as rapidly as possible about everything DNA is about. All right, let me ask you to expand a minute. If the proof is there, if the proof Is there. You gonna take it like a minute? I'm gonna deal with that in the car. I need to see the proof and evidence.
Narrator
Despite the DNA link, Boston refuses to fold. He is arraigned on three counts of forcible rape and a trial date is set.
Michael Burns
Commonwealth is confident that after you hear, you'll be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt the man who raped, robbed and burgled these three women is that man seated right there.
Narrator
On March 2, 2004, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Tom Vandy Rostein lays out his case against John Boston, starting with a 1994 rape, the only one with DNA evidence.
Michael Burns
We thought if we could convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt of that first case, the similarities of that case with the other two cases would lead.
Narrator
Them to convict him on those other two cases. Critical to the case is the testimony of the rape victims. Each takes the stand and relives the day she was blindfolded, then raped.
Michael Burns
Today, the defendant is in the courtroom. Is that man who raped you that night in the courtroom today?
Kira Ash
Yes, it is.
Michael Burns
Point at it.
Kira Ash
When I saw him, I felt pity for him. You know, I didn't feel scared of him. I looked at him dead in the eye and, you know, I just said, just look at him like, you did this. Why did you do this? What's wrong with you? You know, and I just felt pity on the man.
Lisa Meredith
I was not gonna let him intimidate me. I really had to dig up because, you know, I had put so much. I tried to put so much behind me. Once I did, it just started coming out. For eight years, my most vivid memories.
Brooke Giddings
Has been.
Lisa Meredith
Of that night, not my wedding.
Brooke Giddings
And I feel like I've cheated my husband from that.
Narrator
When it's time for John Boston to take the stand, suddenly he's a man of few words.
Kira Ash
Did you rape.
Brooke Giddings
No, I didn't. Did you rape Kara Ash?
Michael Burns
No, I didn't. Did you rape Lisa Meredith?
Brooke Giddings
No, I did.
Narrator
The jury doesn't buy it and finds John Boston guilty on all counts. He gets 420 years.
Michael Burns
Stand beside a police car. It looks like a Detroit police car, but that really got my goat.
Narrator
According to the Kentucky cop who put John Boston behind bars, ego got the better of his one time pen pal and ultimately put John Boston where he is today.
Michael Burns
He was, he was throwing it in our face. We couldn't catch him, so he had to pose beside a police car. Like he can get away and we can't catch him. So that was putting salt in the wound. But it didn't stop us. It made Us more determined. It backfired.
Narrator
Kira Ash's verdict has since been overturned. The Kentucky Supreme Court found statements Boston made in 1996 inadmissible in her case. Kira doesn't want John Boston retried. Instead, she looks to a higher power.
Kira Ash
I hope that he finds the Lord and that he will ask for forgiveness and that he'll repent of everything he's done. Not just what happened to me or the other girls, but all who knows how many other bad things he's done.
Narrator
For Lisa and Michael Burns, the conviction puts an end to the nightmare and helps to heal a marriage that has already survived so much.
Lisa Meredith
I love this dress.
Michael Burns
You look beautiful in it.
Lisa Meredith
You know, when you've been through as much as we've been through, you know, to let you know, everyday things like most people get divorced is over, you know, is nothing to us. We laugh about, you know, we've been through way too much. And, you know, we have our faith in each other and trust and our faith in God, and that's what's gotten us through.
Michael Burns
I live more today than I did 11 years ago.
Lisa Meredith
Ditto.
Brooke Giddings
Three hours after John Boston was sentenced, he placed a phone call to Lisa's parents. He then proceeded to identify and recite Michael and Lisa's Social Security numbers in an attempt to continue to intimidate the victim. I found a court opinion from the Supreme Court of Kentucky responding to an appeal by John Boston. In his appeal, Boston argued that the three convictions against him for the crimes against Kyra Asch should be vacated. Those crimes were rape, robbery, and persistent felonies. This gets a little tricky, but. But stick with me. Boston said that the tape of his ride around with the police didn't pass the evidentiary standard for the rape trial. On the tape, Boston had said that he had burglarized Kyra's apartment twice, but not that he had raped or robbed her. Kyra hadn't identified him until eight years later. And then she only said she was 75% sure that John Boston was the man that had raped her. The prosecution then used the tape of the ride along to make up for the weak identification. He then argued that because the state hadn't presented any evidence beyond the tape that should have been excluded, that he was the rapist. It also meant that they hadn't proven he was the robber. It also meant that the persistent felony charge couldn't be applied to this case. The court vacated the three convictions related to Kira Ashe and remanded his case to the county court to be tried again. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any more information on what happened in regard to Kira's case. I do know that John Boston is now 56 years old and still incarcerated in the state of Kentucky. In 2016, he was denied the opportunity to a parole hearing and suspended from another parole hearing until 2026. In his offender profile, it states that with good behavior, it's likely that John Boston will be released in August of 2254. That sentence doesn't change anything that happened to John Boston's victims, but I hope the knowledge that Boston will live out the rest of his days behind bars at least helps him sleep a little better at night. 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 rookgiddings on Twitter and brookthepodcaster on Instagram. I'm also active in the Facebook group Podcast for Justice. Check out more Cold case files@aetv.com or learn more about cases like this one by visiting the A and E Real crime blog@aetv.com RealCrime Pluto TV is the.
Michael Burns
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Michael Burns
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Host: Paula Barros
Release Date: January 30, 2025
Produced by: McKamey, Lynn, and Steve Delamater
Executive Producer: Ted Butler
Associate Producer: Julie McGruder
Music by: Blake Maples
In the gripping episode titled "REOPENED: The Taunt," hosted by Paula Barros, Cold Case Files delves into the haunting stories of two women, Kira Ash and Lisa Meredith, whose lives were shattered by brutal sexual assaults. This episode not only explores the harrowing experiences of the victims but also highlights the relentless pursuit of justice by investigators, culminating in a rare cold case resolution after decades of uncertainty.
Brooke Giddings introduces the episode by shedding light on the prevalence of sexual violence in America. She states, “In America, one out of every six women have been the victim of rape. And there's a sexual assault every 73 seconds” (02:33). She emphasizes the long-lasting trauma survivors endure, noting that “94% of rape survivors develop PTSD symptoms” (02:05).
At 20 years old, Kira Ash experienced a nightmare that would remain unresolved for years. She recounts her terrifying encounter:
"I saw him for a split second and he turned me around and blindfolded me with a bandana. He just said, do everything I say... God, just please, just save me. I'm not ready to go yet."
— Kira Ash (01:38)
Kira complied with her attacker’s instructions, who raped her and left her with chilling commands. Despite a police investigation and taking a rape kit, no semen was recovered, and the case went cold.
Four days before her wedding, Lisa Meredith faced a similar fate. She describes the horrifying attack:
"He immediately put a pillowcase over my head, and so I didn't see anything... I knew what was going to happen."
— Lisa Meredith (03:33)
After her assault, Lisa’s fiance, Michael Burns, faced scrutiny during the investigation. The lack of physical evidence and Lisa’s inability to provide a clear description of her attacker led the police to doubt her account, causing both cases to go cold.
Michael Burns felt an immense sense of guilt for not being present during Lisa’s assault:
"At the time, working these types of cases, we were a little skeptical of whether this actually occurred."
— Michael Burns (04:46)
Years later, in 2001, Lieutenant Joe Richardson, head of sex crimes at the Louisville Metro Police Department, revisits the cold cases. Michael Burns spearheads the effort to reopen the investigation, uncovering overlooked evidence from 1996 involving John Boston, a career burglar with a suspect profile matching the assaults.
Key Discovery:
"These three sheets were in the back of that case file, and that's what got the ball rolling in this particular investigation."
— Michael Burns (09:59)
The discovery linked multiple assaults to Boston, but it wasn’t until a taunting letter was sent that DNA evidence finally cracked the case.
On March 4, 2002, Lieutenant Richardson receives a provocative letter from John Boston, who boasts about his crimes and attempts to taunt the investigators. Unknown to Boston, the envelope he licked to seal the letter contained his DNA.
Michael Burns explains:
"He left DNA on the seal when he licked the envelope. Seven years after the first victim was raped, the investigators had DNA from both a victim and their suspect."
— Michael Burns (17:00)
DNA analyst Sandra Hill successfully develops a DNA profile from the envelope, which matches John Boston’s profile in the DNA Indexing System database. This breakthrough provided the concrete evidence needed to move forward.
With the DNA evidence in hand, FBI Agent Walter Huey tracks Boston to a motel in Dallas. Upon confrontation, Boston is arrested and extradited back to Kentucky.
Michael Burns describes the pivotal moment:
"As I look to my left, John Boston, who I believe to be John Boston, walks up to the counter standing next to me."
— Michael Burns (19:52)
In the interrogation room, Boston's arrogance becomes his downfall as he engages with the investigators, revealing his overconfidence and eventually leading to his conviction.
The trial commenced on March 2, 2004, with Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Tom Vandy Rostein presenting a compelling case. The testimonies of Kira Ash and Lisa Meredith were instrumental in securing a conviction.
Kira Ash bravely testifies:
"When I saw him, I felt pity for him... Why did you do this? What's wrong with you?"
— Kira Ash (23:27)
Lisa Meredith adds:
"I love this dress... We have our faith in each other and trust and our faith in God, and that's what's gotten us through."
— Lisa Meredith (26:12)
Despite Boston's attempts to deny involvement, the overwhelming evidence and victim testimonies lead to his conviction on all counts, sentencing him to 420 years in prison.
While the conviction provided closure for Lisa Meredith and Michael Burns, Kira Ash's case faced legal challenges. The Kentucky Supreme Court overturned her verdict due to inadmissible statements made by Boston in 1996. Kira chose not to pursue a retrial, focusing instead on her healing and faith.
Kira Ash reflects:
"I hope that he finds the Lord and that he will ask for forgiveness and that he'll repent of everything he's done."
— Kira Ash (25:46)
John Boston remains incarcerated, with his parole opportunities denied and a projected release date far into the future.
"REOPENED: The Taunt" underscores the persistent challenges in solving cold cases, especially those involving sexual violence. It highlights the critical role of forensic advancements and the unwavering dedication of investigators like Michael Burns and Lieutenant Richardson. The episode serves as a testament to the resilience of survivors and the pursuit of justice, even when the odds seem insurmountable.
For more insights into this case and others, visit the A&E Real Crime Blog or tune into the Cold Case Files TV series produced by Curtis Productions. Follow Brooke Giddings on Twitter and Instagram, and join the conversation in the Podcast for Justice Facebook group.
This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to present an accurate and comprehensive overview of the podcast episode "REOPENED: The Taunt." Notable quotes and timestamps are included to highlight key moments and testimonies.