REOPENED: Written In Blood

Summary

---

Cold Case Files: REOPENED – Written In Blood

A&E / PodcastOne • April 9, 2026
Host: Narrated by Marisa Pinson

---

Episode Overview

This episode revisits the tragic 1970 murder of 23-year-old Loretta Jones in Price, Utah—a crime that would haunt her four-year-old daughter, Heidi, and remain unsolved for 46 years. Through personal persistence, family determination, and breakthroughs in cold case investigation techniques, Loretta’s killer, Tom Egly, is finally brought to justice. The episode explores the enduring pain of loss, the failings and redemptions of law enforcement, and the power of hope in the face of overwhelming odds.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Night of the Crime & Initial Investigation

[01:34] – [08:39]

• Loretta’s Heroism: Young Heidi recalls her mother's courage in protecting her during the attack.

  • "My mom was my hero that night. I owed it to her to do something about this. If I could become her hero by solving this, I was going to do it." – Heidi Jones [01:34]

• Discovery of the Body: Early morning, Heidi finds Loretta murdered. The neighbor finds Loretta’s semi-nude body in a pool of blood.

• Details of the Crime:

  • Loretta was sexually assaulted, stabbed twice in the chest, 17 times in the back, and her throat attempted to be slit.
  • No signs of forced entry or a struggle.

• Heidi Names 'Tom':

  • "I remember telling my grandma ... Tom did it. Tom killed my mom." – Heidi Jones [07:58]
  • This clue is written down by her grandmother but leads nowhere, as 'Tom' is initially unknown.

---

2. Struggle for Leads and the First Suspect

[08:55] – [18:43]

• Nearby Abduction Attempt: The same night, 10-year-old Lori Kulo Fenner is nearly abducted by a man, believed to be the same perpetrator. Police investigate a hitchhiker but clear him [10:14].

• Tom Egly Becomes a Suspect:

  • Tip leads police to local railroad worker Tom Egly, who had a prior date with Loretta.
  • Egly’s story is inconsistent; he claims he was at a bar, “painting” explaining red speckles on his shirt, but fibers from Loretta’s home are found on his clothes.

• Weak Evidence, No Charges: The physical evidence is circumstantial, as Egly had been in Loretta's home before. He is released and the case grows cold.

---

3. The Case Turns Cold—Family Aftermath

[19:05] – [22:42]

• Impact on the Family:

  • Heidi is adopted by her grandparents; the loss deeply impacts the entire family, particularly her grandfather.
  • "It was just kind of accepted, for lack of a better word, that my mom's murder wasn't going to be solved." – Heidi Jones [20:30]

• Heidi’s Determination:

  • As a young adult, Heidi campaigns for justice, writing to police and the FBI but meets with constant brick walls.
  • "If I didn't do it, nobody else was going to do it." – Heidi Jones [21:17]

---

4. New Investigative Efforts

[22:42] – [29:12]

• 2006 – 36 Years Later:

  • Heidi moves home and begins pushing authorities for renewed investigation.
  • Detective David Brewer becomes emotionally invested upon seeing Loretta’s family photos.
  • Massive setback: the case file and physical evidence are missing—possibly thrown out during a move.
    • "It's sad to say, but I think that's how it was." – Detective David Brewer [23:51]

• Vital Discovery:

  • Brewer locates the original medical examiner's report in 2009, confirming a semen sample had existed but was now gone.
  • "Had I just had that swab...I could have this guy in 10 minutes." – Detective David Brewer [27:00]

• Handwritten Clue:

  • A former family housemate recalls Loretta wrote the letters “T” and “O” in her own blood—a dying attempt to identify her killer as “Tom.”
    • "Loretta was trying to tell the story herself...last thing she did on this earth was write the letter O and she couldn't get the M in there." – Detective David Brewer [28:35]

---

5. Focusing Back on Tom Egly

[29:12] – [33:39]

• Speaking to Old Witnesses:
  • Brewer tracks down Egly's ex-girlfriend, Marsha, who shares alarming behavior: Egly bathed in his clothes the night of the murder and then burned them [30:10].
• Confronting Egly:
  • In 2010, Brewer interviews Egly, who sticks to his decades-old story but is vague and ambivalent about justice.

---

6. DNA, Exhumation, and Undercover Work

[33:12] – [37:09]

• Exhuming the Body:

  • Inspired by a cold case seminar, Loretta’s body is exhumed in hopes of retrieving DNA, but the grave is waterlogged and yields nothing.

• Creative Tactics:

  • Brewer and team bluff public DNA recovery via the press, hoping it will pressure Egly.
  • Lisa Carter, Egly’s neighbor, steps forward, recounting a violent episode and offering to help as an undercover contact.

---

7. The Confession

[37:09] – [41:14]

• Lisa Carter Goes Undercover:

  • Gains Egly’s trust, then gets him to describe the night:
    • Admits he went to Loretta’s home after being refused sex, stabbed her, and had sex with her—claiming it was consensual [38:14].
    • "I stabbed her...Yeah, of course I had sex with her. He said it was consensual." – Tom Egly via Lisa Carter [38:14-38:54]
    • Lisa, shaken: "He never changed his voice...as if I was telling you about Sunday dinner." [38:16]

• Detectives Confront Egly:

  • Egly admits again, this time on record, to murder but maintains he did not rape Loretta [39:56–40:10].

---

8. Justice and Aftermath

[41:14] – [42:53]

• Egly Arrested and Sentenced:

  • Egly is arrested, confesses to the murder in court but not rape, and is sentenced to 10 years to life (the 1970 maximum penalty).
  • "He will be 96 years old when he goes out before the parole board, and I will make sure he doesn't get out." – Heidi Jones [41:14]
  • When sentenced:
    • "I'm sorry I killed her. And I'm surprised you're doing something about it after 46 years." – Tom Egly [41:20]

• Family Response:

  • Carolyn Kendall: "It doesn't matter if it was 46 minutes, 46 days, 46 years. The fact of the matter is you killed our sister." [41:38]
  • For Heidi, it was justice–not closure: "This wasn't about closure. This was all about getting justice." [42:15]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Heidi’s resolve:
  “As long as you have hope, you have a chance.” – Heidi Jones [42:53]
• Discovery of Loretta’s dying act:
  “She only got the T and the O out. We pulled the photo up, blew it up, and there it was, definite T and an O written in blood.” – Detective David Brewer [28:14]
• Confession, chillingly calm:
  “I stabbed her.” – Tom Egly (to Lisa Carter, via narration) [38:14]
  “He never changed his voice, and I think that's what got me.” – Lisa Carter [38:16]
• On the power of perseverance:
  “I learned to believe in the impossible, and as long as you have hope, you have a chance.” – Heidi Jones [42:53]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Loretta’s death and Heidi’s memory: [01:34–08:39]
• Interviewing suspect Tom Egly: [14:16–18:43], [29:12–31:34]
• Family struggle and Heidi’s campaign: [19:40–22:42]
• Case missing evidence; finding the handwritten ‘TO’ in blood: [23:43–28:35]
• Confession to Lisa Carter, on wire: [37:09–39:02]
• Egly’s arrest, sentencing, and family reactions: [41:14–42:53]

---

Episode’s Tone and Takeaways

The episode is emotionally charged, blending sorrow, resilience, and, finally, quiet triumph. The rage and heartbreak of family members, the dedication of Detective Brewer, and Heidi’s lifelong quest are presented in their own sincere voices. The tone never sensationalizes but rather honors the victim, the struggle for justice, and the rare success of solving a cold case.

---

For listeners looking for a story about the long arc of justice, unyielding hope, and the cost of perseverance, “REOPENED: Written In Blood” delivers a gripping, humane tale of a family forever changed and a community made just a little more whole.

Transcript

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Mackenzie]

My name is Mackenzie and I started a GoFundMe for the adoptive mother of a nonverbal autistic child. The mother had lost her job because she wasn't able to find adequate care for this autistic child. So she really needed some help with living expenses, paying some back bills. So I launched a GoFundMe to help support them during this crisis and we raised about $10,000 within just a couple of months. I think that the surprising thing was by telling a clear story and just like really being very clear about what we we had some really generous donations from people who were really moved by the situation that this family was struggling with.

[GoFundMe Announcer]

GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising

[Sponsor Announcer]

platform, trusted by over 200 million people.

[GoFundMe Announcer]

Start your GoFundMe today at gofundme.com that's gofundme.com gofundme.com this podcast is supported by GoFundMe.

[Narrator]

This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.

[Heidi Jones]

I think for me, because I'm Loretta's daughter, I know she would have gone to great lengths to do whatever she needed to do for me. And she proved that the night she was murdered. How somebody could not make a sound through any of that. Not screaming out for help. She went through it because she didn't want anything to happen to me. How could I just let that go? My mom was my hero that night. I owed it to her to do something about this. If I could become her hero by solving this, I was going to do it.

[Narrator]

There are 120,000 unsolved murders in America. Each one is a cold case. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. Just after sunset in price, Utah on July 30, 1974 year old Heidi Jones is about to drift off to sleep when her 23 year old single mother Loretta cracks open her bedroom door.

[Heidi Jones]

That night my mom came to my bedroom and she told me, don't come out. And I believe that if I heard any sound or anything that night, I did what my mom told me to do and I didn't go out.

[Narrator]

Heidi wakes up early the next morning and peers through the keyhole of her bedroom door.

[Heidi Jones]

When I opened the door, I saw something lying on the floor. My next vivid memory is I am out on the front porch and my next door neighbor is out there digging for worms. He says, heidi, come here. I have to show you something. And I says, I can't. I think my mommy's dead.

[Narrator]

The neighbor walks over to the home and looks into the living room window. He sees Loretta's body on the floor, wedged between a couch and a small coffee table. He observes that she is semi nude and surrounded in a puddle of blood. The neighbor, shocked by what he's seeing, runs back to his home and calls the police. Detective David Brewer describes what police find when they arrive.

[Detective David Brewer]

Shortly thereafter, when police arrived, they saw Loretta, half clothed, laying on the floor, deceased.

[Narrator]

She's wearing only a blouse and a brassiere, both of which are saturated in blood.

[Detective David Brewer]

Retta had been sexually assaulted and she was stabbed twice in the chest and 17 times in her back. And her throat was attempted to be cut.

[Narrator]

Detective Wally Hendricks recalls the immediate investigation into the murder.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

The investigation didn't reveal any forced entry, any real signs of tremendous struggle. There wasn't tipped over furniture. There wasn't broken windows. The door jamb wasn't broken.

[Detective David Brewer]

The police at the time did take quite a bit of forensic info. Fingerprints, blood samples, carpet fibers, and some couch fibers as well.

[Narrator]

Investigators want to wait to interview Heidi until her family arrives. For Loretta's sister, Carolyn Kendall, the moment the family is informed of the tragedy still sticks out in her mind.

[Carolyn Kendall]

The sheriff kept calling my mother, trying to locate my father. And finally my dad comes home and he's very upset and, you know, looks kind of white and in shock. And my mother asked him, what is wrong? It was just such a shock because I felt like nothing bad would ever happen to my family. There was six of us total, six children. They ranged to. My oldest sister is nine years older than me, and then Loretta was seven years older than me. I had a really good relationship with Loretta. We shared a bedroom for, gosh, clear through my elementary years. We'd go to bed at night and she'd have us look underneath the covers and she'd say, do you see them? There's Fauna, Flora and Merryweather, the little fairies from Sleeping Beauty. Her imagination was so awesome that she got me to believe that I could actually see them. When we found out that Loretta was pregnant, I remember my dad not really being upset that she was really pregnant, but upset with a father. But Loretta did want to keep her baby. There was no question about that. She was just happy that she Was going to have this little baby, and she was just a happy mom. When Heidi was born, Loretta did work for my dad and she was taking accounting classes. She was really working hard on making her life better for her and Heidi. And Loretta was so awesome as a mom. She always had to make sure her little girl was tame.

[Heidi Jones]

I remember we would go out and we would get ice cream. She made a ton of my own clothes. She made me dolls. She was a wonderful mom to me.

[Narrator]

As Loretta's family members learn of the murder, their first thought turns to her daughter, Heidi.

[Carolyn Kendall]

The first thing that my mother said is, where is Heidi? And we found out she was at the next door neighbor's house. So we went to go get Heidi.

[Narrator]

With her grandparents now by her side, investigators ask Heidi what she saw and heard the night before.

[Heidi Jones]

I know that I have something trapped in my brain of something that happened that night. I believe it was too traumatic for me to remember. I don't believe my mom screamed or cried that night. If I had heard my mom scream in the next room, I probably would have came out of the room to see what was going on. So I believe my mom was my hero that night by protecting me.

[Narrator]

The four year old's memory is understandably murky, except for one important detail.

[Heidi Jones]

I remember telling my grandma what I could possibly remember. I said, tom did it. Tom killed my mom.

[Detective David Brewer]

During the investigation, Heidi's grandma was jotting down everything Heidi was saying at that time. And there was an entry on this notepad. On the morning that the body was discovered, Heidi told her grandmother it was Tom that killed my mom.

[Narrator]

Heidi could provide no last name and no description. They weren't sure which tom she was even referencing. All she could remember about that night was that a man named Tom allegedly killed her mother.

[Heidi Jones]

I still have so much hidden inside my head that doesn't want to come out. But I know that I knew Tom. Tom was a person that came around my mom, our house quite a bit because as a four year old, I knew his name.

[Narrator]

As friends and family search their minds for a man named Tom, Investigators get a new lead about the night of Loretta's murder from a member of the Fenner family who who lived nearby. Lori kulo. Fenner remembers the night of the murder.

[Lori Kulo Fenner]

Well, July 30, 1970. I lived about three blocks away from Loretta at the time. I was 10 years old. My brother and his friend were outside playing ball. I was out riding my bike around the house. I come around the corner and noticed that my brother had gone in the house. And it was starting to get dark, so I figured I'd better go in as well as I was walking is when I noticed this man coming at me. He grabbed me and held me up against the side of the house. And he had my hands behind my back. He was stepping on my feet and another hand over my mouth. I was trying to scream and I couldn't get the scream out. It just wouldn't come out. I was terrified. I couldn't get away from him. Eventually, his hand kind of got loose and I was able to scream really loud.

[Narrator]

Lori's brother, stepfather, and brother's friend run outside to see what the commotion is about. They see the suspect taking off on foot. He runs south in the direction of Loretta's home.

[Detective David Brewer]

The odds of an attempted abduction and a homicide that happened within an hour of each other three blocks away from each other is far more than a coincidence. I would immediately assume that this was the same guy that killed Loretta. So the police at the time are combing the area looking for a murder suspect. Been doing field investigation on pretty much anybody that's walking near the house or even miles away. They found an individual that was hitchhiking from Price to the town of Provo. This gentleman was carrying a pocket knife with what they thought was blood on it. It had taken him back to Price

[Lori Kulo Fenner]

that point in time. My mom and I had to get in the cop car and they drove us to identify the guy. And when I looked at him and saw him, I knew right away it wasn't him.

[Narrator]

The hitchhiker is off the hook for the attack on Laurie. And the knife he's carrying can't be linked to Loretta's murder.

[Detective David Brewer]

They eventually released the suspect they found in Provo. His alibi checked out. He was nowhere in that area at that time.

[GoFundMe Announcer]

I've been doing a little spring reset with my closet lately, and I'm really trying to focus on quality over quantity. Just a few things that feel good, look good, and make getting dressed simple again. That's what keeps bringing me back to Quince. The fabrics feel so nice, the fits are thoughtful, and the prices actually make sense. Quince makes beautiful everyday pieces from premium materials like 100% European linen, organic cotton, and this super soft denim that just gets better with time. Their spring lineup is full of lightweight, breathable pieces, the kind you throw on and somehow already look pulled together. And they have style starting around just $50. And their accessories are amazing, too. Their leather bags are made from 100% hand woven Italian leather. And every time I use mine someone asks where it's from. It looks like something I could have splurged on, but I didn't have to. What really sealed it for me was a linen button down I grabbed last month. The fabric felt airy but structured. The fit was perfect right out of the box. And when I saw the price, I actually checked twice because it felt too good to be true. And the best part is that Quints works directly with ethical factories and skips the middlemen so you know you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Refresh your spring wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.comcoldcase for free shipping and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. Go to quince.com coldcase for free shipping and 365 day Returns.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Quince.com coldcase Insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why customers have enjoyed Progressives Name youe Price Tool for years. Now, with the name your price tool, you tell them what you want to pay and they'll show you options that fit your budget. So whether you're picking out your first policy or just looking for something that works better for you and your family and they make it easy to see your options. Visit progressive.com find a rate that works for you with the name your price tool. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and Coverage Match limited by state law.

[Sponsor Announcer]

What would you do if your online store converted 36% more shoppers? You could take 36% more vacation.

[Detective David Brewer]

Another pina colada?

[Carolyn Kendall]

Yes, please.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Open a new retail location with 36% more square feet.

[Detective David Brewer]

Fantastic.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Hire 36% more help.

[Detective David Brewer]

You're hired and you're hired.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Shopify has the world's best converting checkout up to 36% better than other e commerce platforms. What you do with those extra sales is up to you. Switch to Shopify [e-mail] setup and get a $1 trial. Shopify.com setup

[Narrator]

residents of Price live in fear as the specter of an unknown killer looms overhead.

[Carolyn Kendall]

A lot of the town was just scarce that here's this guy that killed my sister and he had grabbed a little girl that night as well. Everybody's wondering, where's this guy? What happened to him?

[Narrator]

On August 1st, a tip comes into the sheriff's office. The caller suggests that they take a look at a local railroad worker named Tom Egley.

[Carolyn Kendall]

I knew that Loretta had dated Tom Egley one time on a blind date. I thought she didn't like him and she didn't want anything to do with this guy. But Heidi was always right to the same story every time. You know, Tom killed my mom. He just seemed like he was a perfect suspect.

[Narrator]

At the time of Loretta's murder, Egli was living in a motel near Helper in Utah. He was staying there with his girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant. Investigators decide to pick Egli up and bring him to police headquarters to be interviewed.

[Detective David Brewer]

Tom Egley explained to the police on the night of the homicide, he hitched a ride with a couple of younger teens. He had been dropped off in Price at a little local fast food joint. He said he grabbed a burger and sat down on the curb and ate it. And then his story is that he was in Price just walking around window shopping, but he was nowhere near Loretta Jones's house.

[Narrator]

Egli insists that while in Price, he did not attack Laurie or even visit Loretta, let alone kill her.

[Detective David Brewer]

Tom says he wound up at a bar called the Highway Rendezvous on Springland Road, probably 11, 11:30 at night.

[Narrator]

Investigators immediately set out to corroborate Egley's

[Detective David Brewer]

story at the Highway Rendezvous. The owner of the bar, she said that Tom did come in that night kind of skittish, nervous. Tom had red speckles on his shirt, and he said he had been painting. Red paint must have got on him. The cops met up with Tom at his apartment, and he allowed them in to let them search his room. They did take a pair of Levi's that Tom said he was wearing that night and a shirt.

[Narrator]

Investigators bag the clothing and collect hair, blood, and fingerprint samples from Egli. It's all sent to the FBI crime lab in Washington, D.C. as the investigation continues, Loretta's loved ones gather to bid her one final farewell at her funeral.

[Heidi Jones]

I remember my mom's funeral. She had on a blue dress, and it had a super high collar so that you couldn't see where her neck had been slit. I remember looking in the casket, and I thought she looked like Sleeping Beauty.

[Carolyn Kendall]

It was really hard to see Loretta. And there's her daughter Heidi, just crying, realizing that her mother is gone now. I was pretty angry.

[Narrator]

One month after Loretta is killed, investigators receive the results from the clothing tested with the FBI.

[Detective David Brewer]

So the fibers that they discovered on Tom's clothing did match the fibers that were found to be similar to those on Loretta Jones's rug. Investigators feel that they had enough probable cause to arrest Tom, and they did.

[Narrator]

Investigators theorize that Egli was being chased through the neighborhood for attempting to kidnap Lori. They speculate that when he spotted Loretta's home, he sought out shelter

[Lori Kulo Fenner]

they had arrested a man. My brother and I went up to the jail and was asked to try to identify him.

[Narrator]

Lori's brother Jim believes he's looking at the right person, the man who tried to abduct her. But Laurie isn't so sure. In November, Egli pleads not guilty to Loretta's murder, and prosecutors present the evidence they have gathered against him during a pretrial hearing.

[Detective David Brewer]

During this preliminary hearing, prosecutors did bring up the witnesses for Tom being in town that day, seeing him at the bar. The prosecutors said the fiber evidence that the FBI produced out of their lab was similar in nature to the rug that Loretta had in her home. But Tom was known to have been in her home before.

[Narrator]

The case against Egli is paper thin. There is not enough evidence to bind him over to trial, so he's released.

[Detective David Brewer]

Tom Egley just happened to be a guy at the wrong place at the wrong time, walking around,

[Narrator]

Unsure if they ever had the right suspect. Investigators start over again from scratch. But it's now been 13 weeks since Loretta's murder.

[Heidi Jones]

Carbon County Sheriff Albert Pasek and Price City Police Chief Art Pelloni, they would come to our house regularly to interview me about what I knew that night, if there was anything else that I could possibly remember.

[Narrator]

But unfortunately, there's Nothing else that 4 year old Heidi can offer.

[Carolyn Kendall]

I think a lot of people were confused of what really happened, as we were, where's this guy that killed Areta?

[Narrator]

One year after her mother's murder, by the time Heidi turns five, the case begins to go cold, and the hardship of the murder begins to take its toll within the family.

[Carolyn Kendall]

My parents ended up adopting Heidi after Loretta got killed. With my dad, he was really hurting inside. I think this really took a toll on him. That's why maybe he passed away four years later at pretty young age.

[Heidi Jones]

Once my grandpa died, it was pretty much my grandma and me and my uncle that lived at home. And, you know, life was happening, school was happening, and anytime I tried to talk to my grandma about my mom, it would just make her cry.

[Carolyn Kendall]

My mom was to the point where she just wanted Loretta to rest in peace.

[Heidi Jones]

It was just kind of accepted, for lack of a better word, that my mom's murder wasn't going to be solved.

[Carolyn Kendall]

We were all just trying to find something that was normal, you know, just to heal and move on with our lives as individuals.

[Heidi Jones]

I moved to California in 1986. Life was good. It was very freeing being able to tell people what you wanted them to know about you.

[Narrator]

Time continues to trickle past months Transform into years and years into decades. Now an adult Heidi refuses to let her mother's case be forgotten. By 2006, it's been 36 years since Loretta was found dead in her living room.

[Heidi Jones]

In 1989, I started this whole letter writing campaign. I wrote to Price city police chief. I wrote to Carbon County Sheriff's office. I wrote to the FBI. But it seemed like the more that I pressed for information on my mom's case, I started hitting brick wall after brick wall. I was getting nowhere. So I took all my notes and letters away into a binder and hopefully I'll pull it out again later in life. I was struggling hard in California. I know that my mom would have gone to great lengths to do whatever she needed to do for me. And she proved that the night she was murdered. How could I just let that go? My mom was my hero that night. I owed it to her. I owed it to her to do something about this. I approached my grandma and I says, I'm going to see if I can't solve my mom's murder case. She said, why don't you just let it go? And I says, because I can't let it go. If I didn't do it, nobody else was going to do it.

[Carolyn Kendall]

I really honestly had mixed feelings. Was kind of feeling a little bit like my mom. Maybe after all these years, we need to let Loretta rest in peace. But the other part of me was like, it's time for us to find out who really killed her.

[Narrator]

In 2009, Heidi moves back to Utah and she meets with the Price City police chief. He informs her that they had done everything they possibly could in trying to crack the cold case. The only thing they hadn't done yet is re interview the original suspect, Tom Egli.

[Heidi Jones]

Fourth of July weekend, 2009, my car was stolen. I had jumped on Facebook and put my car is stolen. Can you believe that? And David responded, oh, too bad I'm not closer. I could help. I met David Brewer when I was in high school. He's a year older than I am. He says, I work for Carbon County Sheriff's Office in Price, Utah. The case back in 1970 belonged to the Carbon County Sheriff's Office. And immediately I got the ding, ding, ding, I need to go talk to David Brewer. I called David Brewer and I told him this story about my mom being murdered.

[Detective David Brewer]

It wasn't until I met her in person and she handed me photographs that the details started really kicking in.

[Narrator]

The photographs that Heidi produces are family photographs and the true impact of the unsolved case hits the police chief hard.

[Detective David Brewer]

I says, well, I'll just go down and get the case file, go grab all the evidence and start going through it and get this thing going. But it was quickly discovered that there was no case file and there was no box of evidence. They were thrown away or missing. The old jail used to be the evidence room. I honestly think that when they moved the new jail from the old, I think someone probably looked at that case and just says this will never be solved, and they tossed it. I mean, it's sad to say, but I think that's how it was. You know, it's hard to tell why this case went cold in the first place without having the case file. I can't really say why it went dormant, but then once the evidence was lost and the case files were lost, it was bound to just stay that way permanently.

[GoFundMe Announcer]

I don't know about you, but I like keeping my money where I can actually see it. Like not vanishing into another bloated phone bill. The thing is, those big wireless carriers seem to enjoy holding onto our money too. If you're tired of getting hit with sky high monthly bills, weird fees and those so called perks that somehow make your plan even pricier and it might be time to check out Mint Mobile. Mint exists to fix the whole that's just how it's always been mindset of wireless service. Their plans start at just $15 a month for premium service on the nation's largest 5G network. You still get unlimited talk, text and high speed data just without the circus of hidden costs. You can even bring your own phone, keep your number, set it all up with an ESIM in minutes and start saving right away with no long term contracts. Honestly, the people I know who've switched love that. It feels just as fast and reliable as the big carriers, but they're paying a fraction of the cost. So have you been looking for a lighter phone bill and a little more breathing room in your budget? Try Mint mobile's deal for three months of premium wireless for just $15 a month. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop [e-mail] cold case that's mintmobile.com cold case upfront payment of $45 for a 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 per month new customer offer for first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mid Mobile for details.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Pluto TV has thousands of free movies and TV shows.

[Detective David Brewer]

We're coming at you with everything we Got.

[Heidi Jones]

This is the mindset free. This is the mantra, free.

[Sponsor Announcer]

This is the mindset mindset. With movies like Pineapple Express, the entire Star Trek film franchise and Gladiator, and TV shows like Survivor, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Fairly Odd Parents and Ghosts, Pluto TV is always free. Huzzah, Pluto TV stream. Now pay. Never

[Detective David Brewer]

being the rookie homicide investigator cold click case guy, it is very disheartening when you don't have anything to go off of. You don't have a case file.

[Narrator]

While searching the state medical Examiner's office In August 2009, Detective Brewer finally locates a document from the original case.

[Detective David Brewer]

They did have a very good, detailed medical examiner's report. It was discovered that a vaginal swab had been done and there was semen present on it. And with today's standards, of course, in DNA, I thought I could have this guy in 10 minutes if I just had that swab. But it was gone. With everything else, I had my peers and some of my superiors tell me that it was time to just let it go. Even my partner told me, you've done all you can. But no, I never let it go. Besides, Heidi wouldn't allow me to quit. Shortly after, I ran a newspaper article for more information in this case because I was hoping the public could be my case file. So I get a call from this gal who said that she had info for me on my case. She said, have I ever seen that Loretta wrote the killer's name and blood. And I says, how would you know this anyway? I mean, you weren't allowed in the crime scene. And she says, yeah, I was. She says, I was living with Heidi's grandmother at the time, going to school. And the day after this happened, Heidi's grandfather asked her and one of Heidi's aunts to go to the house.

[Narrator]

The family had been allowed to enter the crime scene to get some clothing and some other items for Heidi.

[Detective David Brewer]

So they went into the living room and she says, I saw it right there with my own eyes. Didn't write the whole name. She only got the T and the O out. We pulled the photo up, blew it up, and there it was, definite T and an O written in blood.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

Wow, that is heavy duty stuff. I get goosebumps right now thinking about that.

[Detective David Brewer]

Loretta was trying to tell the story herself and help us out, and it looks like the last thing she did on this earth was write the letter O and she couldn't get the M in there. For Tom, in the beginning, to be fair, I excluded the knowledge of an individual named Tom Egley. I could have only assumed that they didn't have enough evidence to bind it over for trial because they had the wrong guy.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

But at the end of the day, Tom Egley was the only person we could not eliminate as a suspect. And at that time, he became the focus as he was in 1970.

[Narrator]

Detective Brewer speaks with every living witness who testified during Egley's 1970 hearing. He also speaks with one witness who never testified. Marsha Hidalgo, Egley's then girlfriend.

[Detective David Brewer]

We drove 14 hours to get to Kansas and met up with her. I asked her if. I said, do you know anything, anything about that homicide he was arrested for?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Back then, all I was ever told this girl that he had been going with before I got there had been stabbed 14 times. What do you remember about that night? You know, I was pregnant. I waited up for him. He didn't come. It was late.

[Narrator]

Marsha tells investigators that Eglie came home at around 3am in the morning.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

I was kind of ticked, you know,

[Detective David Brewer]

where were you at?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

He's like, oh, you know, I'm here now. And then he went in and he took a bath in his clothes.

[Detective David Brewer]

He bathed in his clothes.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

He bathed in his clothes.

[Detective David Brewer]

And then after he took a bath in his clothes, he put him in a bag and then the next day took him down to the laundromat where this burn barrel existed and threw him in there and burned him. My jaw dropped. I did ask her if she told the cops then what she's telling me now. She says she did. I had my doubts on that back then. She's eight months pregnant with his child. So I think the protection end kicked in with Marsha. It was time to take my knowledge of things that people had told me and take it right to Tom himself. Okay, I'm 11:35am approaching the residence of Thomas Edward Egli for interview.

[Narrator]

It's now the 16th of March 2010. 40 years after Loretta was killed, Detective Brewer tracks Egley down to a town called Rocky Ford in Colorado. Along with Detective Taylor, he pays him a visit.

[Detective David Brewer]

Want to know if we could take some of your time this morning. Talk to you about some issues back in Carbon County. A few years back, Carbon county, the

[Narrator]

two investigators enter Eglie's home.

[Detective David Brewer]

Well, you have any idea why you think we might be here to talk to you?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Well, years ago, one of my ex girlfriends was killed. They arrested me for it, but they turned me loose.

[Narrator]

But Detective Brewer asks Egli what he remembers about the night that Loretta was killed.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

I stopped at a Drive in or something there and got me a hamburger. I know. I sat down on the curb and ate it. There was nothing going on, so I headed back. Marcia was at the hotel with the baby, so she knew I was gone.

[Detective David Brewer]

Loretta's daughter, frankly, named you back then?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Well, yeah, she knew my name. I'd been there.

[Narrator]

Detective Brewer then asks Eglie what he thinks should happen to a killer if they're caught 40 years after the murder.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Do you think that person would deserve to go to jail now? Depends on whether he's done it again

[Detective David Brewer]

or not, you know, huh. Obviously he did and didn't do it again. Is this what he's trying to tell me?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Something comes up, be sure to call.

[Detective David Brewer]

I knew beyond any reasonable doubt that this was the guy and wanted to pitch it to our county attorney, which I did. His opinion was there was just not enough. We would never be able to get it past their desk, let alone into a court hearing. So this thing got colder than it's ever got. When you work so hard on something, it's hard to. Hard to swallow that pill.

[Narrator]

In 2016, Detective Brewer presents Loretta's case at a regional cold case seminar.

[Detective David Brewer]

One thing that came about was, have you ever thought about exhuming the body? And so a gal from a private crime lab stood up and says they've retrieved DNA off people after 50 plus years in the grave. When I got back from that cold case conference, first thing I did is called Heidi. I says, thinking about exhuming your mother's body? What do you think?

[Heidi Jones]

I told him, give me a shovel, I'll help dig.

[Narrator]

It's decided that Loretta's body will be exhumed. Investigators hope that they will be able to recover DNA, and they anticipate a media buzz that will reignite the case.

[Detective David Brewer]

So as they are pulling the body out of the ground, water started pouring out of the vault. The crime scene investigator looked at and says, no, we're not going to find any DNA here.

[Narrator]

Investigators are disheartened, but they have another tactic up their sleeves. Detective Brewer calls up the Rocky Ford Gazette and tells them that they have a local suspect out there and that they've recovered DNA on Loretta's body. It's a bluff, but he wants Eglie to think that the net is closing in on him, just to see how he reacts. The day after they re intern Loretta, Detective Brewer receives a phone call from Rocky Ford, from a woman named Lisa Carter.

[Lisa Carter]

I knew Tom Egley well. He was my neighbor, and he was a friend of my dad's.

[Detective David Brewer]

She had told me that I have the right guy. Tom Egley is the one that murdered Loretta Jones. I says, well, what makes you think that? She says, well, I have property bordering his. And one day Tom came over to the house in the backyard, and he was going to cut down my tree with a chainsaw because some of the branches, I guess, were hanging over to his property or whatnot.

[Lisa Carter]

I was mad, so I went out to the driveway, I tapped him on the shoulder, and he came up with that chainsaw and he swung like a baseball bag.

[Detective David Brewer]

I says, all that makes you think that, you know, Tom killed Loretta Jones.

[Lisa Carter]

Tom had a look in his eyes. His eyes become a white crystal color, and you can't even see a soul. There's nothing there. He would have cut me in half in a heartbeat, not thought twice. That's why when somebody said that he might have a propensity for violence, I believed it.

[Detective David Brewer]

She says, hey, if you. If you need my help with anything, let me know. It was.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

It was like a gift from God. And I kind of ran it by our prosecutors, you know, what do you think of using an undercover. Just don't come back without a confession. Lisa Carter knew Tom personally, so she had almost a daily contact with him. And wow, then I started thinking, we can use an undercover agent here.

[Heidi Jones]

A total stranger's gonna step in, wear a wire and help us. Lisa Carter is an incredible human being.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

We'd learned her husband was a Rocky Ford police officer. And Tom was aware her husband was out of town for several days for training. And so we adopted the plan.

[Narrator]

Lisa goes to 76 year old Eglie with the idea that she was going to betray her husband. She explains to Eglie that her husband had been training in Utah when Eglie's name popped up as the lead suspect in Loretta's murder.

[Lisa Carter]

I said, I've known Tom 20 plus years. Tom's kind of in a bad spot. And I said, what do they have? Said that they still had the swabs from the night of the killing that the people from the autopsy took.

[Narrator]

Lisa tells Eglie that she feels it's important to protect him because he was such good friends with her now deceased father, and that's what he would have wanted.

[Lisa Carter]

Everybody makes a mistake in their life, you know, everybody snaps. Everybody has a moment when they're just fried and happens during the conversations. I never feared for my safety. I was careful. I never turned my back and I watched anytime his hands went near his pockets.

[Narrator]

Over the next two days, Lisa works at Gaining Eglie's trust before she strikes gold. Eglie tells Lisa that on the night of the murder, he went into Price to get a hamburger.

[Lisa Carter]

And how far did Loretta live from the sandwich place?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Not very far, I don't think.

[Narrator]

He offers no information about the attempted abduction of Lori, but he tells Lisa that he was in Loretta's neighborhood and decided to knock on the front door. According to Eglie, Loretta welcomed him into her home.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Okay.

[Lisa Carter]

And the door closed. And then what? What would you think happened? If you had to guess, what would you think happened?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

I was turned down for sex.

[Heidi Jones]

Okay.

[Lisa Carter]

And that made you feel hell. Like, he said that she walked into her kitchen. And it's my understanding that Heidi Jones bedroom was off of the kitchen. I believe in my heart that Loretta knew that she was gonna die or there was gonna be something really bad happening. And I believe she shut that door.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

And when she come back, I stabbed her.

[Lisa Carter]

It totally blew me away. He never changed his voice, and I think that's what got me. It was just like as if I was telling you about Sunday dinner. He acknowledged that she wasn't dead, that she was moaning. And I said, well, did you have sex with her? And he said, yeah, of course I had sex with her. He said it was consensual. And I said, tom, you stabbed her. How is that consensual? And he said, she didn't tell me no. And it took me a while before I was able to process what I just heard. I don't believe there's any remorse to Tom at all. I don't believe he even cares. But I pulled myself back together. So you remember having sex with her?

[Heidi Jones]

And then what?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

I lost it. I cut her throat and I left.

[Detective David Brewer]

That just blew me away. I could not react. I didn't know what to say.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

I know a good admission when you hear one, and I had it. I had a lawfully obtained admission to murder.

[Detective David Brewer]

It was game on from then.

[Narrator]

Lisa tells Eglie that the family deserves closure, and she convinces him to sit down and speak with investigators. But there's one condition. He cannot be arrested. During the meeting, Detective Brewer reluctantly agrees. He knows that he will only elicit a confession by agreeing to evidence.

[Detective David Brewer]

I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't nervous but got there. Tom invited us back in the house.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

It's been 46 years, so I'm scared every time somebody shows up at my door.

[Detective David Brewer]

It's a hard thing to look over

[Marsha Hidalgo]

your shoulder that long. Yeah, it is.

[Detective David Brewer]

It really is.

[Narrator]

Without ever being encouraged, Eglie begins to divulge information about Loretta's murder.

[Marsha Hidalgo]

We had sex. There was no rape involved. Okay. I lost it because I'd been drinking.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

Do you remember cutting her throat?

[Marsha Hidalgo]

Yeah. But I don't remember ever stabbing her.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

Okay.

[Narrator]

Before investigators leave Eglie's home, they have one last question.

[Detective Wally Hendricks]

If you could tell Loretta's daughter anything in the world right now, what would you tell her?

[Heidi Jones]

I had just came out of the store, and Brewer called, and he says, hey, are you busy? And he's like, tom said to tell you that he's sorry he killed your mom. And I'm like, oh, my God. Are you serious? Are you freaking kidding me? Are you serious?

[Detective David Brewer]

She was the only person that I wanted to call. And that was a very, very good moment.

[Narrator]

After detectives Brewer and Hendricks return to Utah, U.S. marshals arrest Tom Egley and Rocky Ford for Loretta Jones murder. He is arraigned, and he tells investigators he wants to confess to the murder, but only if he doesn't have to confess to the rape. Heidi is more than happy with the arrangement. Egli is sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, which was the maximum penalty that could have been given to him back in 1970.

[Heidi Jones]

He will be 96 years old when he goes out before the parole board, and I will make sure he doesn't get out.

[Narrator]

After the sentence is handed down, Egli is asked if he has anything he wants to say. He stands up and states, I'm sorry I killed her. And I'm surprised you're doing something about it after 46 years.

[Carolyn Kendall]

And, you know, our family's sitting there in the courtroom like, really? What do you mean, after 46 years? It doesn't matter if it was 46 minutes, 46 days, 46 years. The fact of the matter is you killed our sister. And you not only took life away from her, but you took it away from her. Little girl at 4 years old. You took it away from me enjoying her as a sister. You took it away from her mother and father to enjoy her in their last years. And for somebody like that not to show any remorse, it was just mind boggling.

[Heidi Jones]

This wasn't about closure. This was all about getting justice. 46 years it took, but we did it. I don't even know how to put into words what David Brewer means to me. It wasn't just that Loretta was a victim. Loretta mattered. And David took the time to know that. When David and I first started working together, one person of all cold cases were solved 1%. I learned to believe in the impossible and as long as you have hope, you have a chance.

[Narrator]

Cold Case Files is hosted by Paula Barros. It's produced by the Law and Crime Network and written by Eileen McFarlane and Emily G. Thompson. Our composer is Blake Mc for AE. Our senior producer is John Thrasher and our supervising producer is McKamey Lin. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Maite Cueva and Peter Tarshis. This podcast is based on AE's Emmy winning TV series Cold Case Files. For more Cold case files, visit aetv.com

[Sponsor Announcer]

foreign. Pluto TV has thousands of free movies and TV shows.

[Detective David Brewer]

We're coming at you with everything we got.

[Heidi Jones]

This is the mindset. Free. This is the mantra free.

[Sponsor Announcer]

This is with movies like Pineapple Express, the entire Star Trek film franchise and Gladiator and TV shows like Survivor, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Fairly Odd Parents and Ghosts. Pluto TV is always free. Pluto TV stream now pay never.