Sheree Magaro: Blood in the Snow // 580

Summary

Going West: True Crime

Episode 580 - "Sheree Magaro: Blood in the Snow"

Released: February 6, 2026

Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman

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Episode Overview

This haunting episode of Going West delves into the brutal and baffling unsolved 1987 murder of Sheree Magaro (born Cherie Marie Yutz) in snowy rural Maryland. Through vivid storytelling, thorough timelines, and firsthand commentary from investigators and family, Daphne and Heath lay out the chilling disappearance, the key evidence, possible suspects, and enduring mysteries surrounding Sheree's case—a story as cold and confounding as the winter night she vanished.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Sheree Magaro's Life

• Sheree was born in Lebanon, PA (1956), described as vivacious, caring, and ambitious.
• After high school, she became an executive secretary at Control Data Corporation.
• Married Michael Magaro in 1982, had a son (Tony), amicably divorced in 1985.
• In a long-distance relationship with Frank Brown Jr., the couple was considering marriage before Sheree's disappearance.

"She had a really great weekend with her partner... things were really good. It wasn't like, oh, they were breaking up and there was trouble."
— Daphne (08:18)

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2. Timeline of Disappearance & Crime Scene (Feb 22-23, 1987)

Feb 22, 1987 (Evening):

• Sheree visits Frank in Kennedyville, MD, planning to head home early to beat a snowstorm.
• Leaves Frank’s home around 9:40pm; snow is relentlessly falling.

Feb 23, 1987 (Morning):

• At about 9:30am, police are notified of an abandoned, burnt-out car just off Route 213, about 15 miles from Frank's house.
• Sheree’s suitcase and the clothes she was last seen in are inside.
• The snow hampered investigation—no clear tracks or footprints.

Disturbing Findings:

• Blood, hair, and brain matter inside the vehicle, especially in the rear seat; a skull fragment outside the car.
• A bloodied tire jack with tissue in the trunk (likely murder weapon).
• Purse, driver’s license, and lipstick scattered 100 yards from the car, but costly jewelry left behind—robbery ruled out as motive.

"There would have been an astronomical amount of blood. It just wasn't there."
— Detective Sgt. Larry Meisel (13:10)

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3. Immediate Theories and Obstacles

• The snowstorm obscured physical evidence—no usable tyre tracks or prints.
• Car was mechanically sound and deliberately driven to its dump site.
• Investigators theorize Sheree may have stopped for someone in need (possibly a ruse), or was forced off the road.

"They’re wondering if this is what happened to Sheree - like a Ted Bundy situation."
— Daphne (17:10-18:13)_

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4. Key Physical Evidence

• Blood-Soaked Men’s Shirt:
  Found about a mile from the car, size and style matching any generic retailer, soaked with Sheree’s blood (23:33 - episode cut to ad break here).
• Use of Sheree's Credit Card:
  The day after the murder, a young white man with a crew cut attempts to buy a TV with her maxed-out card at a Sears in Bel Air, MD. Leaves the card behind and flees when confronted (35:54).

"He just walks into a store, says, hey, I need to buy this TV for me and my wife because we're living in a hotel and we need a new TV and we just got married."
— Heath (35:57)

• Abandoned JCPenney Card:
  Seven months later, another of Sheree’s cards is found, propped against a stop sign, purposefully placed 10 miles from the car scene.

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5. Suspect Descriptions & Sightings

• Composite Sketches Released:
  • One based on Sears store man: white, slender, late 20s, 5'9", dark hair (crew cut), light eyes.
  • Second from motorists: similar man seen near a parked Ford Mustang with hazards on multiple times along the relevant stretch of highway the night of the disappearance.

"Not only are the descriptions very similar, the composites do look very similar as well."
— Daphne (47:12)

• The Mustang (1974-78 or 1983-87) with MD or PA plates was checked—5,000 registered in the county complicated the search.

"A car of men pulled over after being flagged down by this man. But he then declined to let them help him. Maybe because it was a group of men."
— Daphne (46:17)

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6. Alternative Theories and Investigative Angles

• Sheree was either lured to help a “stranded” motorist or forced to stop by someone impersonating law enforcement.
• The possibility that the perpetrator was a police officer (or used a police-like vehicle) was explored.
• Investigators cleared both her ex-husband Michael and boyfriend Frank through diligent interviews and polygraphs; both cooperated fully.

"We looked at the ex-husband very hard, but nothing ever came from it."
— Larry Meisel via Heath (41:53)

• DNA at the time (1987) could only confirm the blood belonged to Sheree, no perpetrator DNA was found.

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7. Aftermath and Impact on Family

• Despite an intensive search, including with dogs and divers, Sheree's body was never found.
• The case remains one of loss without closure for Sheree’s family, with her mother Mary Grace and her father eventually raising Tony, her son.

"We rarely ever think of the killer. We are obsessed with finding our daughter. We just cannot give up... Every day it's on my daughter's mind, my husband's. My husband keeps it inside, but I talk about it all the time."
— Mary Grace (49:40)

• A $20,000 reward for information yielded no real leads.
• Investigators and the family continued publicizing the case; tips slowed over time.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Randomness of the Crime:

  "I think even though this attack was obviously very vicious, it absolutely seems random, don't you think?"
  — Daphne (42:50)

• Describing the Composite Sketch:

  "The composites look like a mix between Freddie Mercury and Borat... the eyebrows are so prominent." — Heath (47:19)

• On the Family’s Endurance:

  "He’s our life now. He’s our joy. He fits right into our family... But I talk about it all the time. He never forgets her. He misses her terribly, and no one is going to replace her."
  — Mary Grace, quoting about Tony (50:13)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:40 — Case introduction and background of Sheree
• 09:55 — Discovery of Sheree's burnt-out car
• 13:10 — Investigator's assessment of the scene and murder
• 23:33 — Blood-soaked men’s shirt found
• 35:54 — The Sears credit card incident
• 39:52 — JCPenney card found, seven months later
• 41:53 — Discussion of and clearance of ex-husband and boyfriend
• 45:28 — Composite sketches and vehicle sightings
• 49:40 — Family reflections and case legacy

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Case Status & Call to Action

• Sheree Magaro’s body remains missing, and her killer has never been identified.
• The episode urges those with any information to contact the Maryland State Police Criminal Investigation Bureau at 410-653-4211.

Final Note:
Both hosts highlight the coldness and mystery that still shroud this case, emphasizing hopes that advances in DNA and renewed interest could one day bring justice for Sheree and her family.

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[For photos and composite sketches referenced, visit Going West's social channels.]

Transcript

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[Heath]

What is going on? True crime fans, I'm your host, he.

[Daphne]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[Heath]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. This story that we have for you is so eerie and confounding. So please let us know your thoughts.

[Heath]

And please do not forget to share this story. Like Daphne said, it is so baffling. And also follow us on our socials to check out photos from this case and all the other cases that we've covered. And by the way, before we dive into today's case, I wanted to mention that as of course many of you know, our merch was supposed to drop today, but we got a message yesterday that for whatever reason, the company wasn't able to churn out this merch in time. So we're very, very bummed about this. We're incredibly sorry. We want to have these merch items for you guys for sale, but we will have them soon and we'll keep you updated with the new merch drop date.

[Daphne]

Yeah, we are so eager to get these items out. We really appreciate your patience because this is totally out of our control and honestly, we're so, so bummed. So more on that soon. But anyway, for but right now let's dive into this terrifyingly tragic winter tale.

[Heath]

Alright guys, this is episode 580 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Daphne]

In February of 1987, a 30 year old woman left her boyfriend's home in Maryland during the onset of a severe snowstorm, planning to beat the weather in time to make it back to her Pennsylvania home. But the next morning her car was found abandoned off a highway and the only sign of her was a vicious bloodied mess. Within hours, a stolen credit card and a blood stained shirt deep in the mystery, leaving police to wonder who brutally murdered her and why. This is the murder of Shereen Magar. Cherie Marie Yutz was born to parents Mary Grace and Thomas on October 23, 1956. She and her sister Vicky grew up in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, which is about 40 minutes northeast of the capital city of Harrisburg. Sheree is described by her family as bubbly and a loyal friend. Her mom, Mary Grace said proudly. She was vivacious and outgoing and so friendly. Sheree graduated from Cedar Crest high school in 1975, and after the completion of her studies, she started teaching evening classes at Barbizon Modeling School for two years. Sheree then took a job working at a computer firm called Control Data Corporation in Harrisburg, Pennsylv. Obviously very close to home. And she wound up spending the next 10 years of her career there working her way up to executive secretary, which is a role that she took great pride in. She also loved to paint and was studying oil painting at the time of her disappearance. In 1982, she married a man named Michael Magaro, who worked as a motorcycle salesman. And then the following year their son Anthony, who was nicknamed Tony was born. But the marriage didn't last much longer after that. So Cherie and Michael separated in 1985 when she was about 29 years old. However, I will say the divorce was amicable despite Sheree gaining full custody. And no matter how scary the road to single motherhood seemed, she's remembered as a devoted and patient mother to her only child during the short few years that they had together. And I will say she was very close with her family, so she had a big support system. But also she wasn't totally alone anyway because the same year that she Filed for divorce. Sheree met an employee of the Delaware Lottery Commission named Frank Brown Jr. And they started dating, Though they were forced to do long distance because he lived east of Baltimore along the Chesapeake Bay. But they made it work. And for the 13 months leading up to Sheree's disappearance, they kind of took turns trading off and visiting each other. Cherie to Maryland and Frank to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she and Tony lived at the Willow Farms Village mobile home park. And there she tried to spend at least three weekends per month with Frank. So, you know, pretty. They saw each other pretty frequently.

[Heath]

Yeah, they are making it work despite the distance. Well, according to Mary Grace, Frank was a really wonderful father figure to Tony and they loved each other very much. On the third weekend of February 1987, it was Cherie's turn to visit Frank in Maryland. And at this time, she opted to leave Tony behind to kind of enjoy some alone time with Frank, because at this point, they were considering becoming a little bit more serious. So Cherie left Tony with her parents for a quick weekend getaway and then arrived at Frank's home around 1pm on Feb. 21. And by the way, she usually stayed until Monday morning, leaving early enough to arrive at work on time after the two hour drive from Frank's house. So there's two hours between the two of them. On the very day that Cherie disappeared, February 22, 1987, Cherie called her mom to tell her some very good news that she and Frank were actually making plans to get married. Mary Grace reported that she was going to sell her trailer and marry him. They had discussed it that Saturday night. She said, I can't wait to tell you all about it.

[Daphne]

And I feel like this is kind of more rare. Like she had a really great weekend with her partner, you know, so leading up to her disappearance, things were really good. It wasn't like, oh, they were breaking up and there was trouble, like she.

[Heath]

Had no tension or anything going on.

[Daphne]

Yeah, things were like the opposite. Very happy.

[Heath]

But that very evening, an impending snowstorm was threatening the area. So Cherie told her mom that she was going to leave early in an attempt to beat this storm. While she usually waited until early Monday morning to make the two hour drive, she was just hoping to get ahead of the snowfall, you know, kind of beat this storm. Mary Grace remembered sadly, she didn't want to take the chance of being stuck down there. I begged her not to come. She said, I have to. And again, this was mostly because Cherie had to work the next morning. So she's Trying to be responsible here. She's trying to get back on time so she can make it to work. Cherie was last seen leaving the residence of her boyfriend Frank Brown, in Kennedyville, Maryland, on the night of Sunday, February 22, 1987, which was such a scary time to be on the road because around a foot and a half of snow accumulated that night. This was more than Cherie had been anticipating. And she really did think that she would be able to make it home before the weather really took a turn. But before she left, Frank says that he gave her $20 for gas and then bid her farewell at 9:40pm but she never made it home the following morning.

[Daphne]

Monday, February 23, 1987, around 9:30am so, like 12 hours later, police received a call from an anonymous source reporting an abandoned car in a fallow field just off of Route 213 in Maryland, just south of the Bohemia River Bridge. So, kind of interesting. That's an anonymous call. Well, there. Despite the freezing temperatures, Cherie's burned out car was located near Cecilton, Maryland, meaning she'd only made it about 15 miles, or 24 kilometers, from Frank's house. So this case was kind of trouble from the start because unfortunately, the snowfall coated and obscured any possible footprints and tire tracks that night. So, you know, potential initial clues are already undiscoverable. But despite the foot and a half of fresh snow, only about an inch could be found Beneath Cherise Gray 1976 Ford Torino. Giving a little bit of a timeline. So based on the amount of snowfall that had accumulated beneath the vehicle, this one inch of snow, detectives believed that the car had most likely been abandoned between 10:15 and 10:45pm the night prior. So only 30 to 60 minutes after she left Frank's house. Inside the car was Cherie's suitcase, as well as a few discarded items of clothes, which eerily were believed to have been what Cherie was wearing at the time of her disappearance.

[Heath]

So obviously, this is very, very alarming, the fact that the clothes that she was wearing that night are inside her car, but she's nowhere to be found.

[Daphne]

Yeah, from the jump, like a disturbing scene is already being painted. Well before detectives knew what was happening. Like, their initial assumption was that maybe this was the disposal of, like, a stolen vehicle. But this was very quickly put to rest when they spotted blood and realized that it was something much more nefarious, because spattered inside the burnt remains of the vehicle were Cherie's blood, hair and brain matter alongside char from the burn. Her blood was also found on the outside of the vehicle and on its left rear door, they even discovered a skull fragment. The fire had originated in the left rear seat, but it had extinguished itself before it took over the car, which would have actually resulted in an explosion. Now, also, a tire jack with her blood, hair, and tissue on it Was found in the trunk. Though without more information, without her body there, Investigators couldn't be certain that this was, in fact, the murder weapon. But it does seem, obviously, yeah, seems pretty likely. Yeah, like it was the murder weapon or at least was used in. In beating her, Especially in her head. If her hair was found on it. And tissue. We know there's brain matter in the car. Skull fragment outside the car. But even without a body and a definitive murder weapon, her death was presumed to be the result of blunt force trauma.

[Heath]

Now, sadly, even in the early hours of the investigation, and despite being without a body, Detective sergeant larry meisel of the maryland state police reported, Any person with that loss of blood and tissue Cannot have survived that attack because of the lack of blood in the snow surrounding the vehicle. Detective meisel maintained that cherie had been killed in or near the car, but discarded somewhere else, and that the car was then left there on its own. Larry continued, there would have been an astronomical amount of blood. It just wasn't there. State trooper bob perot was there to greet detective meisel when he arrived. And bob told the press, we determined at the scene that there was foul play. We treated it at the time as a homicide. Investigators checked the registration and found that the car did belong to cherie. And they began contacting her next of kin, of course, to try and piece together what the hell happened here. The field was then combed closely, but very little sign of cherie was found in the snow, Only her pocketbook, which lay about 100 yards from the car. Her driver's license, and then also a tube of her lipstick Were scattered on the ground.

[Daphne]

But this also shows either somebody is trying to throw her things around, or there's a struggle.

[Heath]

Yeah, I mean, I'm kind of assuming that there might have been some sort of struggle if that was the case. Like, maybe she had been holding her purse, and as this struggle was ensuing, Things are just kind of flying out onto the ground.

[Daphne]

But it's also like, if the murder didn't happen in that spot, Then it seems like that's just what, where the car was discarded. So then maybe by the time the car got there, she wasn't even alive, you know, so then. But then why are the items scattered?

[Heath]

Well, what's really interesting here is that police did describe the car as being ransacked, But a bag containing multiple costly pieces of jewelry was left behind. Therefore, Bob pro concluded, quote, robbery, I would say, was not a motive. Now, when the car was brought in for testing, they noted again that all the doors were unlocked, and the engine, the tires, and the windshield wipers were all in perfect working order. And there was also still a quarter tank of gasoline in the tank. So it's not like, you know, she pulled over because there was something wrong with her car. And for anybody screaming in their car, thinking that it was possibly the snow, Regardless of that heavy snowfall, the car was not stuck in that field, and it had actually been driven there.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And remember, only one inch of snow under her car. So I wonder as well, if maybe there was more and the fire had caused some of that snow to melt. But either way, the snow was not the reason the car was out there.

[Heath]

Well, crazy enough, even after this small fire, it could have been driven away from the scene of its discovery. Meaning that there just really was nothing.

[Daphne]

Wrong with that car, even after someone tried to torch it.

[Heath]

Well, Larry meisel explained the mechanics went over the car. It started, it ran. The tires were filled. It had coolant in it. There was gas in the tank. There were no tire prints or tracks or anything by the bridge. We took dirt samples and grass samples to see if the car had driven in any other area, but it wasn't. The construction workers looked the best that they could. They said that she couldn't be in there. There's a lot of theories that go on Whenever we have a homicide. You speculate and think, could this have happened? If you don't have a body, where is the body? We searched the fields, we searched the woods. We searched the river. We had divers in the river. We had divers in by the bridge. We searched the new construction by the bridge all along the highway from where we found the car up until elk.

[Daphne]

And by the way, Cecilton to elkton is like the. The stretch of highway between them is like 16 miles or 26 kilometers heading north. So they went wide, searching for her. So authorities came to believe that Cherie had likely stopped to help someone else who appeared to be in need on the side of the road, and that she was assaulted and killed alongside the road or perhaps brought to another location where this took place. And then her body was disposed of. And then the perpetrator abandoned her car in the field after setting it on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence. So police think that she Was most likely in, like, a Ted Bundy situation.

[Heath]

You know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of that scene from Silence of the Lambs when Buffalo Bill is trying to, like, get. I think he's trying to load or unload a couch. Yeah. In the van. And he's like, oh, can you help me? And he's got his arm in a sling or whatever. It's. It's so reminiscent of that. And we do see this in different real life cases that we've covered on.

[Daphne]

This show that was probably inspired by Ted Bundy, too. Or, you know, that is kind of a we. Like, you're saying we've seen that a lot where somebody acts like they need help. And I'm saying Ted Bundy, I'm sure most of you know what I mean? But, like, he would pretend like he needed help with getting things in his car, like carrying books to his car because his arm was in a sling. And.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

Oh, I'm, you know, just an innocent young man. Like. So they're wondering if this is what happened to Cherie. You know, I would. I think that makes sense. Or since we know that she was in a hurry, somebody else pulled her over, maybe flashing their lights at her or something. We've talked about this in other cases where people pretending to be police officers or sometimes, sadly, actual police officers will do this for nefarious purposes. Or a regular person just flashing their headlights to get somebody to pull over so, you know, they can do something terrible. Like, I had wondered about the gas thing too. Like if Frank gave her money for gas, if she had gone to the gas station and was followed. But remember, like Heath said, she only had a quarter tank of gas, so she wouldn't have burned through almost $20 worth of gas in 1987 in only 30 to 60 minutes.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

Like a full tank of gas, probably.

[Heath]

Right. You put $20 in your gas tank in 1987 and you're driving halfway across the damn country.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So she had to have pulled over for one reason or another. I also wonder if someone was at a light next to her before she got on the highway and saw that she was a beautiful young woman. Or maybe someone even followed her from Frank's place and forced her to pull over eventually. It's also possible, though, that she did stop to help someone.

[Heath]

Well, I think what's really interesting here is the weather angle. And that's something that I think really takes precedent in this case. The fact that there probably were less people on the road during a severe snowstorm, less Witnesses to see anything happen. And this purpose, this person, this perpetrator really was opportunistic in this attack.

[Daphne]

Which is why I'm like, if it was a snowstorm, she's a young woman by herself, she's trying to get home, she's trying to beat the snowstorm, Would she really pull over to help somebody? We're going to talk about that more later, but food for thought.

[Heath]

One other interesting thing to note is was this attack pre planned, or was this person just out there that night, like you said, saw a beautiful young girl driving and took the opportunity to attack her, or was this person just out there looking for somebody to attack that night?

[Daphne]

We just don't know. Well, regarding the fact that the car was not destroyed, even though they clearly tried to destroy it by setting it on fire, Bob Perot said gratefully, quote, if it had been destroyed, we would still be classifying her as missing. But still, despite what was left, unfortunately, between the fire and the snowfall, the evidence left behind on the vehicle was still pretty scant. And I mean pertaining to the perp, because no fingerprints could be found. Sheree's parents, Mary Grace and Thomas, of course, offered up blood samples which were sent to a lab in New York city to compare it to the blood at the scene so they could determine how much of that blood was Cherie's and if any of it was potentially.

[Heath]

Foreign or somebody else's.

[Daphne]

The perp's blood. And though DNA testing was still in its infancy, of course, Remember, this is 1987. The DNA molecules and enzymes found in the ytz's blood was compared to Cherise and were found to have a match characterized as 41,891,827 to 1 that the blood belonged to a direct descendant of the yuces. So, you know, it was Cherise.

[Heath]

It was Cherise, of course, but that's all.

[Daphne]

They had no other DNA match for her killer. For the next week, firefighters, army personnel, police officers, and volunteers circled this field and dug through the snow. You know, gradually expanding from where her car was found, because not only do they want to find Cherie, but they know they have a vicious killer that's on the loose. A team of cadaver dogs were marched through the field as well. With countless resources being used to assist with Cherie's case, they searched for three days back to back, but they found nothing. Despite the frigid temperatures, divers entered the bohemia river as well as offshoot creeks looking for any sign of Cherie's remains. But they didn't find anything. One of the only pieces of evidence was found two days after the discovery of Cherie's car. Two days after Cherie's car was found and about a mile or 1.6 km north of this field there was a large men's shirt discarded in the snow. It was a simple cotton T shirt, though I will say some sources reported being a plaid button down which is very different from a simple T shirt of which Bob speculated. Quote either way, any Kmart Dollar General Store has them. But get this, this was not just like a shirt left in a field with nothing on it.

[Heath]

Yeah, not just a random shirt that they found.

[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Heath]

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[Heath]

So for anyone who wants to know what to picture here, if you can't look at our socials for photos either side of the one lane highway of Route 213 where Cherie's car was found is just field and farmland. And this highway connects to many other highways that take you across the country. So that's kind of part of what makes this case so difficult is that her killer could have just easily taken her body, torched her car and then driven into anywhere. And of course without surveillance cameras in a freaking severe snowstorm, they could have easily done this without anybody seeing or finding them. But we are going to talk about witness sightings here in a bit.

[Daphne]

Well, this is when we really wonder as well if more than one person was involved. Because if the Killer drove her car into a field. Was their own vehicle nearby? Because they would need to dispose of the car in that field, which wasn't far off the highway anyway, by the way, and then get back to their own car while we imagine covered in blood. So it's unlikely that they would have hitchhiked back to their car, wherever it was. But police searched this whole area and did not find the crime scene. They didn't find any blood in the snow. So where the hell did she encounter her killer? Where was she killed? And how did the killer transport her vehicle?

[Heath]

Yeah, that's really such an interesting thing here, because it's like, if they didn't find any blood around the car, which, of course, you would imagine if there's brain matter and skull fragments, there would be like. Like the detective said, in a crazy amount of blood. You know, like, just so much blood. Astronomical. Astronomical is what he said. So you would think that there would be some. If the attack happened right there, but of course, that just wasn't found. So where did this take place?

[Daphne]

But then you also wonder, well, why was there a skull fragment found on the outside of her car and a little blood found on the outside of her car and blood on the inside of her car? So did the attack happen? I mean, then you would think the attack happened outside the vehicle, and then she was put inside the car. Maybe she was assaulted in the car. But then where's the rest of the blood? That's the question.

[Heath]

I also want to know why this perpetrator decided to take this shirt off. You know, the. The one that was found covered in Sheree's blood. Like, why did he take it off? Why was it left there? Did he put on a spare shirt? Get back, because this is. Again, this is February in a snowstorm. It's freezing. So you had to have had. It's not like you're walking around without a shirt on.

[Daphne]

Yeah, and then what? You're right, though, because, I mean, even though, again, DNA testing was in its infancy, it's pretty stupid to leave behind your shirt somewhere. Though, as far as we know, no DNA was taken from the shirt or at least was found on the shirt.

[Heath]

So.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Were they wearing the shirt? Did they use it to mop up her blood? Like, the. What's going on?

[Heath]

Also, you know, just the fact that there was blood spatter and brain matter found in and around her car. I mean, is it possible that the. The very first hit took place at her car, and then maybe the rest of the attack happened in somebody else's vehicle, like the perpetrator's vehicle.

[Daphne]

But still, where is the rest of the blood if it was outside the car? Because I agree. I think she definitely was attacked outside of her car. At least partially.

[Heath]

Yeah. Because how would that blood and brain matter get there?

[Daphne]

Exactly.

[Heath]

I mean, either way, it's pretty incredible that the police were able to conduct such a large search and that they did find this blood soaked T shirt about a mile from her car. I mean, that just proves that someone disposed of evidence along the way to wherever they were headed. But of course, the questions remain. You know, why? I mean, why did they do any of this? Well, about an hour and a half after the discovery of her car, a strange run in at a Sears department store could be linked to Sheree's disappearance. And this remains a mystery to this day. So around 11am On February 24, 1987, a white man who appeared to be in his 20s strolled into a Sears store in Bel Air, Maryland, which is about an hour from where Cherie's car was found, and attempted to buy a television with Cherie's card. However, Cherie's card happened to be maxed out at that point, so the transaction didn't go through. And this is possibly why Frank gave Cherie that $20 for gas. Well, this man feigned confusion, telling the sales clerk that the car belonged to his wife. He then offered up a very phony story about Cherie being his new bride, who was waiting for him at a Sheraton in aberdeen, Maryland, about 25 minutes away. According to this man, the pair had just gotten married and were living in the hotel until they could settle into a house. But why they would need a new TV if they were living in a hotel? He declined to explain. Now, obviously this story is completely bogus, as we know. But the man even went so far as to claim that he worked at Aberdeen Proving Ground, which is this army base that's located in Aberdeen. After store personnel became very suspicious of this man, he left in a hurry before they could question him or glean any more information from him. Leaving Cherie's card behind.

[Daphne]

So weird.

[Heath]

Yeah. I mean, it's so strange. He just walks into a store, says, hey, I need to buy this TV for me and my wife because we're living in a hotel and we need a new TV and we just got married.

[Daphne]

Well, amazing that he actually left the card behind. I don't know why he would even do that Unless maybe they were holding on to it and they were like, get out of here. Or he got Scared. And he just ran and didn't grab the car back or the card back from them.

[Heath]

I think probably that was what was taking place. He got a little spooked.

[Daphne]

But it's great because now they know Sheree's name. They have her card. So when these Sears employees later saw a news report about Sheree's murder, they were like, wait a second. That is the name on this card. So then they reported it to police. They described the man as being slender and standing at about 5ft, 9 inches tall. He had dark hair trimmed in a crew cut and light eyes.

[Heath]

Why is the crew cut so synonymous with these very strange 70s and 80s serial killers?

[Daphne]

Zodiac, Bundy.

[Heath]

Yeah, I was gonna say, you know, Zodiac had that crew cut.

[Daphne]

Yeah, I mean, I guess it was just popular amongst everybody, even killers.

[Heath]

Well, also, a lot of the times when we see this, it's connected to some sort of military service. Like, true. Like, the killers are usually, you know, have. That. Have these crew cuts, usually spent time in the military.

[Daphne]

And this proves as well the fact that he knows about the army base there. He's talking about the Sheraton there like he knows the area. So that's. That's an interesting point. Well, naturally, detectives entertain the possibility that the man had simply found the card or even bought it from somebody who had stolen it. But it seemed most likely that this man had something to do with her disappearance, which made it all the more disappointing that he had managed to get away. You know, and I would agree, especially since he had tried to use it at 11am the next morning, some 12 or 13 hours after she had been killed with the snowstorm. I doubt the killer tossed the card out of the vehicle and somebody found it right away before more snow covered it up and tried to use it the minute they're able to. The next morning when the stores open up.

[Heath]

Yeah, I absolutely do not believe that this was some transaction, that somebody bought the card or they just randomly found it. Like, there's no way whoever used that card that day at that Sears store is the person that is most likely responsible for Sheree's disappearance and murder.

[Daphne]

And I don't believe that they killed her to get that card because, as we know, there was costly jewelry left behind. But maybe they were like, oh, well, I might as well try to get a TV out of the deal.

[Heath]

Yeah, that was just the opportunity that came after the potential sexual assault and murder.

[Daphne]

Well, these are literally Bob Perot's exact thoughts. He explained, quote, to have the buyer use the card right away. I Don't think so. Nonetheless, Aberdeen Proving Ground, the army base was searched for potential matches to the composite sketch. Because they're like, wait a second, is our guy here?

[Heath]

Yeah, we gotta look into it.

[Daphne]

And employees of the Aberdeen Sheraton Hotel were actually questioned as well. And guess what? There was no sign of the mysterious man with Cherie's credit card confirming even more so that his story was totally bogus in every way. But again, this clearly means the person is a local. On May 4, 1980, seven months into the search for Cherie, another one of her bank cards was found. But this time, it was discarded on the side of the road about 10 miles or 16 kilometers away from the site of her vehicle. But no other items of hers were found in the vicinity. This time, it was actually a JCPenney card, which was found propped up against a stop sign at the intersection of Route 213 and Whitehall Road.

[Heath]

That's kind of interesting because it doesn't seem like it was thrown out of the window of a vehicle. It seems like somebody purposefully propped it up against a stop sign.

[Daphne]

Yeah, because even if it had, like, miraculously landed propped up.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

It would stay that way for months, despite the weather. It's a little weird. It's a little weird.

[Heath]

Somebody definitely put that there on purpose.

[Daphne]

But why?

[Heath]

Well, let's finally get into what many of you are asking yourselves. Both Cherie's ex husband, Michael, and her boyfriend Frank, were cleared of potential involvement. More so than anyone else, Michael was considered a prime suspect, of course, due to the nature of his former relationship with Cherie and also the fact that she had assumed full custody of their son, Tony. So after her parents were notified that Cherie had been met with foul play, speaking with Michael was one of the first tasks that investigators took. According to Larry Meisel, they had the normal divorce and custody problems. We looked at the ex husband very hard, but nothing ever came from it. Now, Michael, who told detectives that he and his wife parted on excellent terms, was actually very helpful in the investigation, Even consenting to multiple polygraph examinations and always willing to be questioned. I mean, Michael even drove from his home in Harrisburg to the Maryland State Police barracks in northeast Maryland. And this is nearly two hours away, just in order to be interviewed by the police. He was given two lie detector tests questioning his involvement in the murder, and he actually passed both of them. Now, Michael added his own theory about what happened, saying police said, whoever killed her, she knew her killer. It was someone from that area. I was in Harrisburg A good 90, 100 miles or 140, 160 kilometers away. What's the motive? Why would I kill her? You can't make sense of something like that. She did nothing wrong. You're never going to get an answer. I feel guilty because if we were still together, she would have never gone down there. Now, despite their estrangement, Michael did speak out about wanting to find his ex wife's killer, saying sometimes I think they just forget about it and go on to more recent cases. But I think Perot is a pretty good cop and he is obsessed with the case. He said he'll pursue it for the rest of his life.

[Daphne]

I wonder if that she knew her killer thing was a line that police were feeding him, because I honestly don't think that's the case here at all. Especially since she was visiting her boyfriend. This isn't an area that she ever lived in. Yes, she went three or whatever weekends.

[Heath]

A month, but yeah, but that probably was not enough to like, meet locals and really like, you know, like. Yeah, get to know new people.

[Daphne]

No, I completely agree. And I think even though this attack was obviously very vicious, it absolutely seems random, don't you think?

[Heath]

Yeah, and I completely agree with you. Like, maybe this was just something that they used with Michael because they're like, if he did have something to do with it, yeah, we're going to kind of feed this to him. So maybe he'll crack and be like, oh, you're right, it was me. You know, I. I just think it was probably a line.

[Daphne]

Yeah, well. As police worked tirelessly to scrape together any lead or forward momentum in the case, Cherie's friends, family and co workers put together a reward of $20,000 for any information leading to an arrest. The next major public development came In March of 1987, when investigators released two composite sketches of men who were thought to have potential involvement in Sheree's case. Maryland State Police also announced that they officially believed that Cherie had been the victim of a homicide. Now, the first composite drawing released was a depiction of the guy who had tried to use her car to buy that television from Sears. The second composite released in the press was a less concrete sighting, but potentially even more important than the guy who tried to use her card. Because multiple people who had been driving along Route 213 reported having seen a Ford Mustang parked near the snowy field where her car was found. And this Ford Mustang had its hazards on. Based on the description of what the hazard lights looked like, detectives were able to narrow down the model of Mustang significantly determining that it had been manufactured between 1974 and 1978 or 1983 and 1987, and it had either Pennsylvania or Maryland plates. There were reports of both. One state trooper who spotted the vehicle even underwent hypnosis in an attempt to remember the specific, specific details of the car that he had seen that very night. However, Bob Perot maintained, we don't feel it's a Pennsylvania connection. We feel it's a Maryland connection. Investigators made the painstaking effort of checking on every registered Ford Mustang in the area, but they clearly had their work cut out for them because in Cecil county, where her car was found, there were no less than 5,000 registered Ford Mustangs.

[Heath]

Yeah, that makes it a little hard.

[Daphne]

Yeah, because it's not just like, let's just find the names. It's. Let's find the names and look into each one of these people. Well, at least one report actually detailed having seen a man standing next to a car alongside, you know, on Route 213, about a fifth of a mile, or about 0.3 kilometers from where her car eventually turned up. The reports concluded that the car was seen multiple times between 10pm and 1am which, of course, would align with the timeline of the removal of Cherie's car from the road and its abandonment in the adjacent field. Around 10pm a car of men pulled over after being flagged down by this man. But he then declined to let them help him. Maybe because it was a group of men.

[Heath]

Yeah, he's like, this is not my target.

[Daphne]

Yeah, well, like the man in the Sears, this man was a white man dressed in dark clothing and was likely 20s or early 30s, about 5ft 10 inches tall with a medium build, dark hair, and eyes and a mustache.

[Heath]

So, I mean, pretty similar.

[Daphne]

Yeah, pretty similar.

[Heath]

Well, the composites were printed in the newspapers multiple times and also printed in multiple newspapers in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, but no credible tips were ever called in. Based on their similarities, it's possible that these sightings were actually the same man or that they were a team working together. And it's even somewhat possible that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and that they weren't even involved at all.

[Daphne]

Well, not only are the descriptions very similar, the composites do look very similar as well.

[Heath]

Yeah, they do. When you put them side to side, you're like, that's probably the same person.

[Daphne]

Yeah, we'll. We'll post those for you guys to see.

[Heath]

Also, I want to say that the composites look like a mix between Freddie Mercury and Borat. It's the unibrow like the, the eyebrows are so prominent. Like, he almost looks like he's like Italian in some way. You know, that's a good hair.

[Daphne]

A good. Like, if you want a visual.

[Heath]

I've tried to do my best to give you a visual, but that's a.

[Daphne]

Good, good crossover comparison. Absolutely.

[Heath]

Well, either way, it seemed most plausible that the man, or men were the ones responsible for Cherie's disappearance and death. The working theory from police was that Cherie was most likely lured to her death with perhaps a sexual assault, first from someone who posed as a motorist needing help. Maryland State Police homicide detective Roger Castle said, we looked at her stopping to help someone who was disabled, and we got various stories from her friends and family. Some said that she would stop and help anyone. Others said that she was very cautious and she wouldn't stop. But Mary Graced, her mother, maintained her belief that she would have given anyone a ride. She would have pitied them. Detectives have also posited that, like Daphne said earlier, perhaps her attacker posed as a police officer, which is a common ruse in cases in which the victim has inexplicably pulled over alongside of the road. And this would have been especially true if she was in the midst of a snowstorm, then she probably wouldn't have stopped. Bob Perot mused, let's just say that whoever she met, she felt comfortable meeting. It seems unlikely that she would have pulled over for any reason other than being required to do so. Others have put forth a theory that perhaps her killer was actually a police officer who harmed her, which is why he was able to seamlessly cover up her murder and then, of course, discard of her body. And for anybody wondering, in the US in 1987, the most popular police car was a Ford, as it is today, but it was definitely not a Mustang, rather an LTD Crown Victoria. But if it were a police car, people probably would have just said that and not the Ford or the Mustang, unless that Mustang isn't actually involved.

[Daphne]

As leads dried up and the case went cold, investigators did what they could to keep Cherie in the public eye, including pleading with Unsolved Mysteries to take up her case. Bob Pro said dejectedly, quote, we haven't been successful. We can't get enough clout. To the frustration of her loved ones and investigators alike, Cherie's body has never been located. This year in 2026 marks 39 years since Sheree's disappearance. For their peace of mind, Sheree was declared legally dead in March of 1989. So a little over two years after she vanished, her mom, Mary Grace, and father Thomas claim that it brought them a small measure of peace and just to kind of put her murder behind them and focus on trying to find their daughter's killer. In an interview with a local newspaper In February of 1989, Mary Grace said sadly, we have to accept it. We have no choice. The evidence proves she was killed that very night. This is very difficult. We don't know where she is. We can't have a burial. We can't have a memorial. In the same interview, Bob Perot assured the public that they were still working the case when tips came in, but it had been very slow moving. He explained, quote, we still work on it. When we get leads, it's just a total mystery. We know she was met with foul play. We know she's dead. He also admitted that, unfortunately, in the months before the declaration of Cherie's passing, the tips had slowed to an almost complete halt. Despite the closure of having her declared legally deceased, Mary Grace said, quote, we rarely ever think of the killer. We are obsessed with finding our daughter. We just cannot give up. What bothers me is how that person can face each day. It's on my mind. Every day. Every day it's on my daughter's mind, my husband's. My husband keeps it inside, but I talk about it all the time. Tony's father, Michael, did assume custody of him for a while, but ultimately the Utzes took responsibility for his care. After having Cherie legally declared deceased, her family finally held a memorial for her, despite their hesitance to lay her to rest that year, again, 1989, Tony was in kindergarten. And though he too, had tried to make sense of her death, you know as much as he could. That young Mary Grace said, quote, he never forgets her. He misses her terribly, and no one is going to replace her. He still craves his mother. It's so sad. But bringing Tony into their family was one bright spot in their lives. She added gratefully, quote, he's our life now. He's our joy. He fits right into our family. So her parents raised Tony, and by all accounts, they did a wonderful job. But Mary Grace passed away in 2011, and Thomas remains in the area, still awaiting answers. At the time of her disappearance, Cherie was 30 years old. She would now be 69 years old. With DNA advancements, there is a possibility that her killer could still be determined. So we really hope that's the case. Sheree Magaro stood at 5ft 4 inches tall and weighed about 150 pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Sheree Magara or her killer, please contact the Maryland State Police Criminal Investigation Bureau at 410-653-4211. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Heath]

Yes, thank you guys so much for tuning into this episode. What a horrific story, you know, and it's just. It feels like it's so close to being solved.

[Daphne]

You know, I wonder if just based on the fact that this crime was so vicious, I wouldn't be surprised if her killer had other victims. So hopefully this case is solved and one day we'll find out exactly what happened to her, her, where her remains are, if her killer is connected to any other cases. But please let us know what you guys think of this story.

[Heath]

Yes, thank you guys so much again for tuning in. And we will see you guys on Tuesday for a happening now case.

[Daphne]

A happening now case that you guys have been sending us a ton. So we will see you then.

[Heath]

All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the.

[Daphne]

World, don't be a stranger. Sam.

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

Make a quick young man.

[Daphne]

Aw. See? Pop Pop trusts you. I think we should call a doctor.

[Heath]

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