The Friend Zone Podcast

Episode: "The Multiple Mysteries of Marina Ramos"

Air Date: October 8, 2025
Hosts: Dustin Ross, Hey Fran Hey, Asante

Episode Overview

This week on The Friend Zone, the crew dives into a riveting true crime case for "Spooky Season," exploring the three-decade-old cold case of Marina Ramos, its unexpected resolution through modern technology, and the complicated personal stories intertwined. Along the way, they dish on recent culture happenings, comment on pressing political events, and take audience questions, all with their trademark humor and candor.

Main Theme

Theme: Unraveling multi-generational mysteries—centering on the cold case of Marina Ramos, advances in forensic technology, and the lasting emotional toll and unexpected reunions this case delivered. The hosts use this real-world story to also touch on trust, vulnerability, and personal safety.

Key Discussion Points, Insights, and Quotes

1. Intro & Life Updates

• The show opens with rapid-fire commentary on the wildness of today's world, setting the mood for a “spooky” episode in line with October.
• Dustin shares a bizarre story about people declaring their own African kingdom in Scotland ("the Kingdom of Kubala"), using it as a segue into groupthink/cult dangers and setting up the true crime vibe.
  • "After everything that's been going on lately, please be careful in people persuading you or brainwashing you into a wild concept." — Dustin (07:30)

Timestamps

• 00:00–02:00: Ad skit banter and sponsor break (skipped)
• 03:30–13:00: Story of the “Kingdom of Kubala”

2. Current Events & Political Commentary

• Fran gives a first-person account of living in Portland during a time of unrest, discussing National Guard deployments, civic protests, and the emotional pressure of witnessing tanks in your city.
  • "Now it's here... this is happening to all of us, you know."—Fran (20:53)
• Discussion of the broader implications of government overreach and the false comfort of feeling “separate” from the suffering of others.

Timestamps

• 14:00–28:00: Portland unrest, National Guard, political tactics

3. True Crime Feature: The Marina Ramos & Park Sisters Mystery

Story Arc

Asante leads the narrative of the cold case of Marina Ramos—found murdered in the Arizona desert in 1989, her two infant daughters vanishing without a trace, and the decades-later unravelling of their fate thanks to DNA technology and persistent investigators.

Key Story Beats

• December 1989: A Latina woman is found murdered in the Mojave Desert. No ID, dubbed “Jane Doe.”
• 2022: Cold case investigator Lori Miller revisits the case with modern tech, identifying Jane Doe as Marina Ramos through fingerprints and DNA.
  • "If your job is to, like, investigate like that, there's no such thing as a Jane Doe. There's a story behind every single person you find dead." — Dustin (56:05)
• The real mystery deepens—two infants (Marina’s daughters) were never found or connected to her case.
• Simultaneously in 1989, two baby girls had been abandoned in a California park restroom, adopted out without knowledge of their past.
• 2025: The sisters, now grown, and an older sibling in Puerto Rico are reunited thanks to family DNA submitted when the case went public.
  • "This is what I’ve been searching for and wanting for a very, very long time—to figure out where I came from and who my family was." —Tina, the younger daughter, via ABC interview (85:31)

Emotional & Social Layers

• The pain of family searching for answers for decades.
• The power of technology in solving cold cases.
• The lingering trauma for adopted children learning the truth.
• Ongoing search for Marina’s killer, with "Fernando" as a suspect; authorities still seeking leads.

Memorable Quotes

• "There’s a finish line in sight... they need the public’s help. They're counting on someone out there recognizing the face in that composite drawing or remembering the name Fernando." —Asante (105:57)
• "She didn’t willingly leave them. All those abandonment issues that I dealt with as a kid were automatically released." —Tina/Jasmine (85:52)
• "God bless them and God bless her memory. I really hope they find the [person] that did that." —Dustin (106:38)

Timestamps

• 52:27–113:12: The Marina Ramos and Park Sisters segment

4. Mental Health & Resilience

• Discussions on how to maintain one’s sanity amid world chaos, and how stories like the Park Sisters’ resonate with issues of loss, abandonment, and healing.
• Fran shares her own experience working through heaviness with spiritual and self-care practices.

Timestamps

• 23:00–32:00: Energy work for mental health

5. Listener Feedback, Community, and Announcements

• Shoutouts to CultureCon, mall culture, and their experiences with fans and listeners.
• Audience comments on previous true crime episodes—many found the recent crime stories so scary they had to pause listening until daylight.
• Announcements for upcoming comedy shows and Patreon events.

Timestamps

• 10:30–14:00; 33:00–41:00: CultureCon recap, listener comments
• 35:51–38:11: Dustin’s upcoming comedy shows

6. Music & TV Picks

• Fran: Healing through nostalgia—plays 90s R&B classics (“Never Lie” by Immature, “Think of You” by Usher, “I Swear” by All-4-One).
• Dustin: Rap picks from Jeezy; “If You Don’t Know Me” and regional southern hits.
• Asante: Rochelle Jordan, Odile, and a throwback Lil Jon “Crunk Juice”.
• TV: Bell Collective, Real Housewives of Potomac (with new faces Angel Massey and Tia), Married to Medicine, Love is Blind Denver ("wild, and you have to watch it"), Baddies Africa.

Timestamps

• 150:11–166:53: Music segment
• 182:01–195:01: TV/Streaming recommendations

7. Sleep, Wellness & Adulting

• Fran leads a deep-dive into the importance of mattresses for wellness, inspired by her own back injury and surprising relief from sleeping on the floor.
  • "A mattress is so important. It can change so much about your posture, your spinal alignment, your whole day." — Fran (119:09)
• The hosts discuss sleep hygiene, bedding preferences, and adulting tips for listeners.

Timestamps

• 117:18–148:35: Mattresses, adulting & sleep segment

8. Humor & Signature Banter

• Throughout, the hosts maintain hilarious and raw takes on everything—whether dragging cults in Scottish woods, calling out “arts and crafts” festival fashion, or mocking Taylor Swift’s cultural dominance and the drama surrounding her releases.
  • "After a while, if everybody looking at you, you might be looking back." — Dustin on Portia (12:06)
  • “I don’t want to hear no podcast, I don’t want to hear music. I don’t want to hear nobody talking. I just want peace in my bedroom!” — Fran (140:20)

Memorable Moments & Quotes With Timestamps

• On cults and brainwashing:
  "Never let yourself be a Mark or a Marquietta… don’t let people influence y’all with group-think shit." — Dustin (07:45)

• On current political unrest:
  “We kept saying: This is not that. This us versus them. This is happening to all of us.” — Fran (20:53)

• On true crime fatigue:
  "Somebody said that to me at CultureCon—had to wait until daylight to finish!" — Dustin (41:11)

• On the revelations of the cold case:
  "This is what I've been searching for... to figure out where I came from and who my family was." — Tina/Jasmine (85:31)

• Jokes & friendly ribbing:
  "You're the bonds woman and the inferior mistress. What kind of life is that?" — Dustin on cults (07:08)

• On mattress shopping anxiety:
  "It’s not worth it in the long run, honestly. You will pay." — Fran (119:26)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–03:32: Ad skits and sponsor material (skipped)
• 03:33–13:04: "Kingdom of Kubala", groupthink & cults
• 14:00–32:00: Life updates, Portland unrest, political commentary
• 52:27–113:12: Marina Ramos/Park Sisters true crime narrative
• 117:18–148:35: Mattresses, sleep, and wellness
• 150:11–166:53: Music picks
• 182:01–195:01: TV/streaming recommendations
• 195:01–202:21: Love Is Blind Denver reactions & outro

Conclusion

The Multiple Mysteries of Marina Ramos is more than a true crime episode: It's an exploration of generational trauma, the miracles (and heartbreaks) that come with new technology, and how – whether in politics or personal relationships – people are perpetually searching for belonging and truth. The hosts connect the dots between cultural chaos, self-care, family, and moving forward, blessing listeners with both needed laughs and haunting, hopeful reminders to “never give up, always keep faith.”

For more discussion, join The Friend Zone on Patreon, social media, or email: TheFriendZone@loudspeakersnetwork.com.