Episode Overview

Title: The Turquoise Necklace
Podcast: MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Host: John Allen, a.k.a. MrBallen
Release Date: March 2, 2026
Theme:
This episode explores the real-life 1974 murder of Barbara Rocke, a free-spirited BYU student found shot to death in a remote area outside Salt Lake City. What begins as a whodunit involving a missing person, a psychic boyfriend, and campus tensions, becomes a decades-long cold case reawakened by advances in DNA technology. The story meticulously traces the investigation’s twists, ultimately revealing a shocking betrayal.

Key Discussion Points and Story Breakdown

1. Introducing Barbara Rocke and the Setup (01:30–07:30)

• Barbara Rocke: 22 years old, California native, junior at BYU in Provo, Utah. Not religious, struggled to fit in at the largely Mormon university.
• Roommate Conflict: Out of place and ostracized for her openness about dating and experimenting with other religions. She responded to rejection by “leaning into weirdness”, at times unsettling her roommates.
• Mounting Tension and Safety Concerns: National news reports about violence against college women heightened her anxiety. She took judo classes and bought a gun for protection—only to misplace it shortly before her disappearance.
• Farewell Plan: Barbara pens a detailed goodbye letter to her roommates, planning to leave BYU. She intends to pawn her valuable turquoise necklace to fund her departure, aiming for Salt Lake City, and hopes to connect with Richard Finder, a self-described psychic she'd met on a radio show.

“Barbara basically started making them uncomfortable on purpose, like by saying she prayed to the devil, which totally shocked them.”
— MrBallen, (05:30)

2. Barbara’s Disappearance and Immediate Aftermath (07:30–19:00)

• Day of Disappearance: March 11, 1974. Barbara receives her car from best friend Jerry Hicker, rushes to class, then leaves for Salt Lake City with intentions to pawn her necklace.
• Barbara’s Plans Go Awry: Jerry, expecting to meet her later, finds her car parked at a strange apartment complex near her house, containing a vague goodbye note. Disturbed, he alerts her roommates, then campus police.
• Initial Police Response: Authorities are cautious, treating it first as a voluntary disappearance due to the letter’s content. Over the next several hours, no trace of Barbara is found.

“The note was a goodbye letter that Barbara… had written. And it said that she was leaving to be with her people. And the tone of it was just kind of alarming.”
— MrBallen, (14:50)

3. Discovery of the Body and the Investigation Intensifies (19:00–36:00)

• Body Found: March 12, a utility worker discovers the naked body of a young woman, face-down, in Big Cottonwood Canyon (approx. 50 miles from BYU). Clothes are neatly folded nearby, no weapon or ID present.
• Investigator Pete Hayward’s Arrival: The seasoned officer notices several bullet wounds, lack of struggle, and that the body was left right where the murder occurred.
• Identification: The victim is identified as Barbara Rocke. Ballistics indicate a .357 caliber weapon.
• Interviews Begin: Police zero in on Jerry (her best friend), the only person to report her missing, as an initial suspect. They also probe her roommates for alibis and further context on Barbara’s social life and conflicts.

“The neatly folded clothes could have been removed during consensual sex, and then maybe things turned violent… or that could mean the woman was maybe forced to undress at gunpoint… [the] killer was someone she knew.”
— MrBallen, (24:20)

4. Searching for Motive and the Missing Link (36:00–47:30)

• Pawn Shop Lead: Roommates mention Barbara planned to pawn her turquoise necklace in Salt Lake City. Police canvass shops and find the necklace—sold by Barbara at 12:50 p.m. the day she disappeared.
• The Boyfriend Angle: The pawn shop worker recalls Barbara mentioning her boyfriend was waiting outside, a detail new to investigators.

“The most incredible part… was that Barbara had apparently told this clerk that she was in a hurry because her boyfriend was circling the block outside. And this was huge.”
— MrBallen, (44:00)

5. The Psychic—Richard Finder—Becomes a Suspect (47:30–56:00)

• Richard Finder: Self-proclaimed psychic, nearly a decade older, lives in California, currently on ski trip in Salt Lake City. He contacts police, offering his “psychic insight”—notably, he knows the murder weapon hasn’t been found, a detail not publicized.
• Police Suspicion: Hayward is convinced Richard is the killer; he owns the same type of gun (.357), is in town at the time, and lacks a complete alibi.
• Ballistics Letdown: Richard’s gun is not a match. While his alibi doesn’t fully clear him, the lead fizzles.

“He said, you know, he was a psychic and he had a vision that the gun, the murder weapon, had been thrown in some water somewhere. Hayward couldn't believe what he was hearing…”
— MrBallen, (52:20)

6. The Case Goes Cold and Resurfaces (56:00–1:02:30)

• Case Grows Stale: Police have no DNA technology, insufficient evidence, and conflicting alibis. The case goes cold.
• 2005: Cold Case Detective Todd Park: Reopens the investigation at the request of Barbara’s family. Now, DNA can be tested from saved evidence.
• Bundy Excluded: Ted Bundy had been considered but ruled out as he was committing a different murder in another state at the time.
• New Suspects Evaluated: Amongst many, Jerry Hicker remains on the list, despite his early cooperation and “finding” the note.

7. The Turning Point—DNA and the Truth Revealed (1:02:30–1:11:00)

• DNA Breakthrough: Most evidence yields no usable DNA—until forensic scientists test the dirt collected from beneath Barbara’s body at the scene.
• Match Revealed: DNA from the dirt matches Jerry Hicker, whose DNA is now in the system due to unrelated offenses.
• Timeline and Motive: Using new knowledge, police reconstruct the day:
  • Jerry joins Barbara, drives her to the pawn shop, waits in her car.
  • Afterward, he convinces her to go for a hike. He brings Barbara’s missing gun (which he’d taken earlier).
  • After a failed romantic advance, Jerry, enraged and humiliated, threatens Barbara with her own gun and forces her to undress.
  • He then shoots her five times, panics, flees, and attempts to stage her disappearance as suicide by leaving her car and her note to mislead investigators.

“Jerry killed Barbara with her own gun, which he had helped her buy so she could protect herself from killers just like him.”
— MrBallen, (1:10:00)

• Jerry’s Fate: At the time of his arrest (2007), Jerry is dying of cancer. He confesses, receives a reduced sentence, serves five years, and dies in 2014.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Barbara’s Alienation:
  • "She started making them uncomfortable on purpose… After a while, Barbara had really got the sense that these girls… were now actively scared of her, which really alienated Barbara a whole lot more." (05:15)
• Police Realization:
  • “Hayward felt pretty confident that this woman was likely shot and killed in the exact spot she was found in.” (23:45)
• Psychic’s Odd Knowledge:
  • “‘He said … he had a vision that the gun, the murder weapon, had been thrown in some water somewhere.’ Hayward couldn't believe what he was hearing…” (52:20)
• Ultimate Irony:
  • "Jerry killed Barbara with her own gun, which he had helped her buy so she could protect herself from killers just like him." (1:10:00)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Barbara’s backstory and roommate conflict: 01:30–07:30
• Day of disappearance and discovery of the note: 07:30–19:00
• Body found in Big Cottonwood Canyon: 19:00–23:45
• Initial police theories and roommate interviews: 24:00–32:00
• Pawn shop discovery and the boyfriend clue: 40:00–47:30
• Richard Finder’s involvement and police suspicions: 47:30–56:00
• Case goes cold, then resurrected in 2005: 56:00–1:02:30
• DNA breakthrough and case resolution: 1:02:30–1:11:00

Episode Tone & Atmosphere

MrBallen maintains a darkly enthralling, meticulous, and empathetic narrative. His tone is reflective, sometimes conversational, with vivid storytelling that imbues tension and intrigue, capturing both personal tragedy and the procedural grind of an evolving investigation.

Conclusion

The Turquoise Necklace delivers a riveting, decades-spanning tale, propelled by vivid character portraits and the gritty realities of criminal investigation. With its layered suspects—a psychic lover, religiously divided roommates, and ultimately, a trusted friend turned predator—this episode is a quintessential MrBallen story: dark, surprising, and deeply human.

Note: All names and details are based on true events as described by MrBallen, with possible minor fictionalization for storytelling and privacy, as noted at the end of the episode.