Search Captions & Ask AI

Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy

August 28, 2025 / 41:56

This episode covers the murder of Jodine Sarin on Valentine's Day 2007, the investigation into her death, and the eventual identification of her killer, David Mabrio. Key discussions include the chilling details of the crime scene, the forensic techniques used to identify the suspect, and the emotional impact on Jod's family.

Jodine Sarin, who had developmental disabilities, was found dead in her apartment by her parents, Art and Lois Sarin. They had been unable to reach her on Valentine's Day and broke down her door to discover her lifeless body. The investigation revealed that Jod had been brutally murdered, and the crime scene was meticulously staged.

Despite extensive forensic evidence, including DNA, the investigation stalled for years as the suspect remained unidentified. In 2016, advancements in forensic technology allowed detectives to create a composite sketch of the suspect based on DNA analysis. However, leads continued to go cold.

In 2018, the case took a turn when investigators utilized investigative genetic genealogy, leading them to David Mabrio, who had a complex family history. After confirming his DNA matched the evidence from the crime scene, authorities were able to inform Jod's family of the resolution to their long-standing case.

The episode concludes with a reflection on the emotional toll of the crime and the impact on both families involved, as well as the broader implications of the advancements in forensic science.

TL;DR

The episode details Jodine Sarin's murder, the investigation, and the identification of her killer, David Mabrio, through advanced forensic techniques.

Episode

41:56
00:00:00
Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley
00:00:02
Flowers.
00:00:02
>> And I'm Brit.
00:00:03
>> And I have a story that is going to stay
00:00:06
with you. And be warned, it is not for
00:00:08
the faint of heart. What was done to the
00:00:10
victim and how she was [music] found is
00:00:12
truly one of the most haunting images
00:00:14
that I've had to convey in over 600
00:00:17
cases, I think. But I'm going to walk
00:00:19
you through it all. From the night of
00:00:21
the murder on Valentine's [music] Day
00:00:22
2007 to the brand new forensic
00:00:24
techniques used to identify the killer
00:00:27
and ultimately to the chilling
00:00:29
realization that our suspect was living
00:00:32
a double life. On one hand, he was
00:00:35
moving about the world like you and I,
00:00:37
acting out the part of father, partner,
00:00:39
and friend. He lived and worked [music]
00:00:41
in the very town where he also took the
00:00:43
role of monster, a man who set up a
00:00:46
crime scene [music] in a way that
00:00:47
allowed him to watch as he desecrated
00:00:50
the corpse of a young woman he killed in
00:00:53
her own apartment. This is the story of
00:00:56
Jod and Sarah.
00:01:04
It's Valentine's Day 2007 and even after
00:01:07
53 years [music] of marriage. Art and
00:01:09
Lois Sarin don't skip out on a chance
00:01:12
for a romantic date night of dinner and
00:01:14
a movie to celebrate. They try to plan a
00:01:17
day just for themselves. Because like
00:01:19
many parents, decades of their lives
00:01:21
have been consumed [music] with taking
00:01:22
care of their six kids. And even more so
00:01:26
for them because their 39-year-old
00:01:28
daughter, Jodine, who goes by Jodie, she
00:01:30
had developmental disabilities that
00:01:32
we're told gave her the mental capacity
00:01:34
of a girl in her early teens. And Jod
00:01:37
lived on her own, but in many ways, she
00:01:39
was still [music] dependent on her
00:01:41
parents. They checked in on her every
00:01:42
day. They helped her get from place to
00:01:44
place because she didn't drive. But on
00:01:47
this day, they hadn't been [music] able
00:01:49
to get a hold of her. 72-year-old Lois
00:01:52
tried pushing it out of her mind, like
00:01:54
just one day where she and her husband
00:01:56
could just focus on themselves. [music]
00:01:58
It wouldn't be the end of the world. But
00:02:01
all through dinner, it was like nagging
00:02:03
at her. [music] And as she sat in the
00:02:05
dark of the movie theater, she just
00:02:07
couldn't focus on the screen. With every
00:02:10
scene change, she just grew more and
00:02:12
more anxious till she couldn't take it
00:02:14
anymore. Like, what's the point of being
00:02:16
there if she can't actually enjoy it?
00:02:18
whatever feeling was crawling under her
00:02:20
skin, she like just had to give in. So
00:02:23
midmov, she and Art leave the theater.
00:02:26
It's around [music] 1000 p.m. when the
00:02:28
Sarens get to Jod's condo.
00:02:31
At first, they knock and wait, expecting
00:02:34
to hear their daughter's footstep, see
00:02:35
the knob turn, but there's nothing. So
00:02:38
Art pulls out his spare key, unlocks the
00:02:41
door, and tries to push it open, but it
00:02:44
barely budges. The chain is [music]
00:02:46
latched from the inside.
00:02:48
And this stops them cold because Jodie
00:02:51
never chains her door. And now the
00:02:55
Sarens are starting to panic. So at 77
00:02:58
years old, Art throws himself [music]
00:03:01
against the door and breaks it down. Now
00:03:04
the lights are on inside the condo and
00:03:06
the Sarins [music] head straight for
00:03:08
their daughter's bedroom. Art opens the
00:03:10
door and even though the room is dark,
00:03:12
in the shadows he sees two people in
00:03:15
bed. It looks like Jodie with a man and
00:03:18
it looks like they're having sex and
00:03:21
he's obviously taken aback, probably a
00:03:23
little embarrassed, probably mad at
00:03:25
whoever this man is. So, he quickly
00:03:28
shuts the door and calls out is
00:03:29
basically like, "Listen, you need to get
00:03:30
[music] decent. You both need to come
00:03:32
out to the living room. We are going to
00:03:33
be here waiting for you."
00:03:35
>> And honestly, I would probably be
00:03:37
stewing a little bit. But a few minutes
00:03:40
go by and then some more and no one
00:03:44
comes out to join Art and Lois [music]
00:03:46
in the living room. Not even Jodie. So,
00:03:49
I don't know if it's stewing as much as
00:03:51
it is just like something's wrong. Like
00:03:53
they're getting curious, something's
00:03:54
going [music] on. So, Art gets up to
00:03:56
check again just to like nudge the two
00:03:58
along.
00:03:59
>> But this is when everything shifts. Not
00:04:01
just like his perception of things, but
00:04:04
it's like Art's whole world flips on its
00:04:06
axis in this moment, and forever his
00:04:09
life is going to be changed. When he
00:04:10
opens the door, the man isn't in Jod's
00:04:13
room anymore. It is just his daughter
00:04:16
laying naked and lifeless on the bed,
00:04:18
covered in blood. She's not breathing.
00:04:22
She's actually cold to the touch. All of
00:04:24
which Art tells to a 911 operator in a
00:04:27
frantic call. Based on their
00:04:30
recommendation, he moves Jod from the
00:04:32
bed to the floor to begin CPR, [music]
00:04:34
but there is no saving her. And when
00:04:36
first responders get to the scene, it is
00:04:38
quote immediately clear to them that Jod
00:04:40
is dead. And given the state of her
00:04:43
body, she has likely been dead for
00:04:45
several hours, way before the Sarins
00:04:49
even got to her condo. So, it's not like
00:04:51
Art could have stopped anything.
00:04:53
>> No. The medical examiner will end up
00:04:55
determining that Jod died around noon
00:04:57
that day. So almost 10 hours before they
00:05:00
got there, which I imagine has to be
00:05:03
some relief. Like I mean to even for a
00:05:05
moment think that you were just sitting
00:05:06
[music] feet away as someone killed your
00:05:08
daughter would be mental torture.
00:05:10
>> But then like there's that relief for a
00:05:12
second, but you also then have to
00:05:13
reconcile what it was you actually
00:05:15
walked in on,
00:05:16
>> which was this man desecrating Jod's
00:05:18
corpse.
00:05:19
>> And and in that moment, I don't know how
00:05:21
much relief there is in [music] that.
00:05:22
>> Yeah. And they were all in the apartment
00:05:26
like at the same time. Did this guy
00:05:28
escape through a window or something?
00:05:30
>> No. So, the way that Jod's condo is laid
00:05:32
out, it's kind of split down the middle
00:05:34
by a dividing wall. So, when you walk in
00:05:37
the front door, you can either turn one
00:05:38
way and go to the bedroom or you can
00:05:40
turn the other [music] way and get to
00:05:41
the kitchen and living room.
00:05:42
>> Oh.
00:05:43
>> So, with the sirens sitting in the
00:05:45
living room, this guy [music] could run
00:05:47
right out of the front door without them
00:05:48
actually even knowing. And investigators
00:05:51
used blood hounds to track the man's
00:05:53
scent from the condo out the front door
00:05:56
down Jod Street all the way to a main
00:05:58
road where he tossed his sweatshirt into
00:06:01
a bush. But then that's where the scent
00:06:03
stops. Their man is long gone, but he
00:06:07
did leave plenty behind at the scene.
00:06:09
[music] And not just physical evidence.
00:06:12
There is evidence of how devious and
00:06:14
methodical this man [music] was. I mean,
00:06:17
it is clear that he took his time
00:06:19
setting up this crime scene in exactly
00:06:21
the way he wanted. Sheets and [music]
00:06:24
blankets had been placed over the
00:06:25
windows in Jod's room, and a fulllength
00:06:28
mirror was moved next to the [music] bed
00:06:30
so this guy could see what it was he was
00:06:32
doing to Jod.
00:06:34
He had beaten her over the head,
00:06:37
strangled her, but she must have fought
00:06:39
back because she had defensive wounds
00:06:40
and bruising all over. And along [music]
00:06:43
with sexually assaulting her corpse, the
00:06:45
man also inflicted at least one cut, a
00:06:48
laceration across her throat that likely
00:06:51
happened post-mortem. This guy clearly
00:06:54
had a plan around what he was doing to
00:06:56
Jod. But her parents busting her front
00:06:59
door down was obviously not part of the
00:07:01
plan. And in his hurry to leave, he made
00:07:04
some mistakes. First of all, there is
00:07:07
blood all over Jod's room and in the
00:07:10
bathroom, on the walls, the carpet, the
00:07:12
linens. I mean, it's everywhere, as is
00:07:15
his DNA and tons of partial
00:07:18
fingerprints. And in his rush to sneak
00:07:20
out without being seen by Jod's parents,
00:07:23
he'd even left his sneakers behind. And
00:07:25
these sneakers actually end up being a
00:07:28
major clue because they weren't just
00:07:30
like kicked off randomly. They had been
00:07:33
taken off and neatly placed next to the
00:07:35
rest of Jod's shoes by the front door,
00:07:38
which is where Jodie always instructed
00:07:40
her guests to remove and place their
00:07:42
shoes before coming inside. Like Jod was
00:07:44
like super neat and tidy, especially
00:07:46
when it came to her place. So, this
00:07:48
tells investigators that whoever killed
00:07:51
Jod must have been invited in.
00:07:56
[music]
00:08:12
>> [music]
00:08:17
>> Aside from Art's own work on the condo
00:08:19
door, there were no signs of forced
00:08:21
entry to Jod's place, and there were
00:08:23
even dishes for two in the sink, which
00:08:26
made it seem like things had started out
00:08:28
friendly with whoever this person was
00:08:31
before they took an unthinkable turn.
00:08:33
>> Well, and it is like Valentine's Day,
00:08:36
like dishes for two. Seems kind of like
00:08:39
a date
00:08:40
>> dateish. But whatever this started off
00:08:41
as, like given the [music] state of the
00:08:43
condo and the story that the evidence
00:08:44
told, it seemed like like almost in an
00:08:46
instant [music] things switched from
00:08:48
good to bad. The change from neatly
00:08:51
arranged shoes and dishes placed [music]
00:08:52
in the sink to ragefilled violence in
00:08:55
the bedroom suggested to detectives very
00:08:57
early on that drug use may have been a
00:09:00
part of the picture. But it would only
00:09:02
have been on the part of the offender
00:09:04
because Jod's parents were clear she did
00:09:07
not use drugs and her autopsy would
00:09:08
later confirm that. Now, I know it was
00:09:11
dark and like obviously traumatic on
00:09:14
multiple levels, but was Art able to see
00:09:17
what this guy looked like at all when he
00:09:19
first saw him in Jod's bedroom? So, in
00:09:22
initial interviews, he actually claims
00:09:24
to have gotten a good look at the
00:09:25
suspect, like enough to [music] say that
00:09:27
he was 5'8 to 6 feet tall, a little
00:09:29
chubby, and I think his brain was trying
00:09:31
to fill in the gaps because early on, he
00:09:33
was even convinced that it was someone
00:09:35
Jody knew, someone specific named Robert
00:09:37
Burns. This was a guy that had similar
00:09:39
developmental disabilities as Jod. They
00:09:42
used to have some sort of relationship
00:09:44
at some point, which would have put them
00:09:46
together, maybe on Valentine's Day, but
00:09:49
investigators quickly rule Robert out
00:09:51
[music] because of his alibi, and they
00:09:53
would later confirm it definitely wasn't
00:09:54
him because his DNA did not match what
00:09:57
was left at the crime scene. And with
00:09:58
him ruled out, then all they've got is
00:10:01
like a description of a kind of chubby
00:10:03
guy who's about 6 feet tall. Well, and
00:10:06
like you said, like all this DNA
00:10:08
>> and that, but any hopes of a quick slam
00:10:11
dunk get crushed because even though
00:10:13
they had the DNA and DNA that's good
00:10:16
enough to go into the state and national
00:10:17
databases,
00:10:19
>> this dude is a ghost. He's not in any
00:10:22
database because like this is a case
00:10:23
where we don't have a lot of these where
00:10:25
it's like what 2007 you can put it in.
00:10:27
The database is there. The database is
00:10:28
populated. People know how it works. And
00:10:30
still [music] he doesn't exist.
00:10:32
>> Which seems bonkers to me because of
00:10:35
how, like you said, methodical this was.
00:10:37
It doesn't feel like a first time. Like
00:10:41
how
00:10:42
>> it's a shock to everyone. I mean, the
00:10:44
only thing I think they assume is that
00:10:47
like whatever this guy has done, he just
00:10:50
hasn't gotten caught for it because
00:10:52
nothing about this, like you said, is
00:10:53
giving like first time offender.
00:10:55
>> Yeah.
00:10:56
But also, like I kept thinking, I wonder
00:10:58
what the crime scene would have looked
00:11:00
like had this man not been interrupted.
00:11:03
>> Was he planning on cleaning up? Would he
00:11:06
have even left Jod there? Like, we
00:11:08
usually talk about Mo based on what's
00:11:10
been left behind.
00:11:11
>> But maybe he wouldn't have left anything
00:11:14
behind if he had had enough time.
00:11:16
[music]
00:11:16
>> Exactly. Jod's dad could have completely
00:11:19
changed the trajectory of things. Like,
00:11:21
dude didn't even have time to put on his
00:11:23
shoes. So, what else did [music] he not
00:11:25
have time to do? So, they've got to find
00:11:28
someone who's [music] not in a database
00:11:31
who Jod either knew or recently met and
00:11:34
would willingly let into her home. They
00:11:37
start by building out the timeline of
00:11:39
her last known movements. The last
00:11:41
confirmed contact Jod had [music] with
00:11:43
anyone was a phone call with her mom on
00:11:45
the 13th, so the just the day before.
00:11:48
and she'd actually told her mom on the
00:11:49
phone that she was planning to go to a
00:11:51
Valentine's Day party on the 14th, but
00:11:53
we know she never made it to that party.
00:11:55
There were several voicemails from
00:11:57
people wondering where she was. Do they
00:11:59
think that she met up with this guy on
00:12:00
the 14th, or I mean, is it possible that
00:12:03
he was actually there on the 13th? Like,
00:12:06
her time of death is noon on the 14th,
00:12:08
but I mean, I have to wonder how long
00:12:11
they were together before that happened.
00:12:12
>> Yeah, that's the big question. When did
00:12:15
she meet him and where?
00:12:18
Now, interestingly, they come to learn
00:12:20
that while Jod didn't have a full-time
00:12:22
job, she was very involved in volunteer
00:12:24
work. She would help out at nursing
00:12:26
homes or facilities for people with
00:12:27
similar developmental disabilities. And
00:12:29
[music] one of the facilities that she
00:12:31
would go to was colllocated with a
00:12:34
substance [music] abuse treatment place,
00:12:36
which considering their early theory
00:12:38
that the offender was on drugs, they
00:12:40
begin to wonder if maybe she crossed
00:12:42
paths with someone around there. And not
00:12:46
even necessarily that day because she
00:12:47
wasn't volunteering on the 14th,
00:12:49
>> right? But maybe someone saw her, had
00:12:51
been following her, had had some contact
00:12:53
before.
00:12:54
>> Yeah. Or even just like ran into her
00:12:55
another time and then on this day was
00:12:57
like, "Yeah, hey, remember me?"
00:12:58
Whatever. Because the other thing about
00:13:00
Jodie, she was trusting very overly
00:13:03
people say, trusting of strangers. She
00:13:05
was the kind of person who saw everyone
00:13:07
as a friend and was so innocent [music]
00:13:09
in her thinking. So, detectives actually
00:13:12
hear that Jod would have let anybody
00:13:14
into her home,
00:13:16
>> which makes those like neatly placed
00:13:18
shoes and dishes a little less like they
00:13:22
they mean less. Right.
00:13:23
>> Right. It just had to be in my mind
00:13:24
someone that was like nice to her,
00:13:26
right, to start out. But we know that
00:13:28
switch from good to bad happened really
00:13:30
quick. And knowing this now makes
00:13:32
narrowing down a suspect pool early on
00:13:35
nearly impossible. So, detectives spend
00:13:38
the first weeks of their investigation
00:13:40
making a Hail Mary list of anyone and
00:13:43
everyone who could possibly be
00:13:45
responsible. People in the area, people
00:13:48
Jod was associated with or might have
00:13:49
crossed paths with, people they're
00:13:52
tipped off to. I mean, there are over 50
00:13:54
men on this list and they go out and
00:13:56
knock on all these guys' doors. They
00:13:59
swab every single one of them [music]
00:14:01
and send each and every swab to the lab
00:14:03
for comparison. But there are no
00:14:06
matches. And when they reach the bottom
00:14:08
of their list, there really aren't any
00:14:10
other obvious directions for
00:14:12
investigators to go in. By this point,
00:14:16
the case has been highly publicized as
00:14:18
the quote Valentine's Day murder. Tips
00:14:21
are coming in by the hundreds, but like
00:14:23
nothing is panning out. So, at one
00:14:26
point, detectives even reach out to the
00:14:27
VOC [music] society, and that's a group
00:14:29
of retired like detectives, FBI agents,
00:14:32
forensic experts. Like basically they
00:14:34
bring together anyone who's like an
00:14:35
expert in their field.
00:14:36
>> Um they're located in Pennsylvania and
00:14:38
they take on some of the coldest most
00:14:40
baffling murder cases that no one else
00:14:42
can crack. [music] They'll like come in
00:14:43
and consult for you. You have to present
00:14:45
your case or whatever. But even they
00:14:47
don't have a magic wand. I mean [music]
00:14:48
they can suggest what type of offender
00:14:51
this guy is.
00:14:52
>> Maybe confirm that some of the theories
00:14:54
[music] police had are probably right,
00:14:56
>> but they can't make this guy
00:14:58
materialize. And it's so much more
00:15:01
frustrating when you have all this DNA
00:15:05
on file and
00:15:07
>> like no like I want to say no one but no
00:15:09
one else, right? Like they've already
00:15:11
tested it against 50 guys
00:15:13
>> and the database and like
00:15:15
>> and nothing is hitting.
00:15:16
>> I know. So this is the same story that
00:15:18
[music] we know and hate. weeks turn
00:15:20
into months and then turn into years.
00:15:22
And then with every day that passes,
00:15:24
they just hope and pray that their guy
00:15:26
will slip up and his DNA will get
00:15:28
collected. Until then, this case just
00:15:32
kind of ends up looming over Carl's bad
00:15:34
PD as it gets passed from one detective
00:15:37
to the next and [music] the next, and it
00:15:39
becomes sort of the departmentwide white
00:15:43
whale. Everybody wants to see this thing
00:15:45
get solved, and they try everything. a
00:15:48
$52,000 reward, please. To the media.
00:15:51
Per the San Diego Union Tribune, Jod's
00:15:53
family even puts her cold case
00:15:54
information on display in public buses
00:15:58
just in case there's someone out there
00:15:59
with info. Like, if there is someone out
00:16:01
there with info though, they are holding
00:16:03
on tight to their secret. But lucky for
00:16:06
police, we are about to hit an era of
00:16:09
investigating where DNA can do all the
00:16:12
talking. In 2016, so 9 years after Jod's
00:16:15
murder, a new detective takes over the
00:16:17
case.
00:16:18
Lieutenant Eric Co. and this is just
00:16:20
after the PD decided to tap Parabon
00:16:23
Nanolabs in Virginia to do forensic
00:16:26
phenotyping with the DNA sample they
00:16:28
have. And I know we've touched on this
00:16:30
before, like this is something that's
00:16:31
come up in a lot of cases, but for our
00:16:32
new crime junkies, would you mind?
00:16:34
>> Sure. The phenotype composits can
00:16:36
predict [music] a suspect's like eye
00:16:38
color, hair color, skin tone, even
00:16:40
sometimes the facial structure based on
00:16:42
the DNA makeup. There are obviously
00:16:45
several other factors that play that can
00:16:47
make someone look different,
00:16:49
>> right? Like facial hair or somebody's
00:16:51
weight or
00:16:52
>> Yeah. substance use can change your
00:16:53
appearance, but this gives them like a
00:16:56
baseline of some key characteristics
00:16:57
[music] that they can use to at least
00:16:59
help rule people in or out. Like eye
00:17:01
color is like pretty cut and dry.
00:17:03
>> Exactly. So Jod's case was actually the
00:17:07
first time that Carl's bad PD ever used
00:17:09
this kind of technology. And Lieutenant
00:17:12
Co says he's sort of treating the
00:17:14
composite as a filter. It might not look
00:17:17
exactly like the suspect, but if a
00:17:18
person of interest pops up with, like
00:17:20
you said, a different eye color,
00:17:22
different hair color, skin color, he can
00:17:23
at least like rule people out much
00:17:25
quicker, right? So they get this
00:17:27
composite back and Lieutenant Co
00:17:30
literally says it looks like every other
00:17:32
surfer dude out there right now, which
00:17:35
>> I've seen a lot of the Parabon composits
00:17:38
and they kind of do just look like a
00:17:40
guy. They all blend into the [music]
00:17:42
same person. They It was like very cool
00:17:43
the first couple of times we saw it and
00:17:44
>> they're like it's just the same dude.
00:17:45
>> Yeah. Eventually we're like got to So
00:17:47
truly you are just looking for like
00:17:49
color of like eyes, hair, something like
00:17:51
that. So yeah, they end up getting this
00:17:53
sort of nondescript white guy with
00:17:56
bluish green eyes, dirty blonde hair,
00:17:59
fair skin, and [music] some freckling.
00:18:01
But the trick is they do have the
00:18:03
ability to make some tweaks [music]
00:18:04
using the information that they have or
00:18:07
based on their theories like substance
00:18:09
use, right? you said was a part of the
00:18:10
profile and substance use usually alters
00:18:13
someone's appearance. So Coanda had the
00:18:15
lab increase the composite's BMI had him
00:18:18
age him a little bit adding like deeper
00:18:20
creases a 5:00 shadow. So that's the
00:18:23
photo that they released to the public
00:18:25
on the 10th anniversary of Jod's murder.
00:18:28
And they do this on the steps of the San
00:18:30
Diego courthouse. And immediately tips
00:18:33
start pouring in. Tips that they
00:18:35
probably had like not in a way that
00:18:36
they've seen in a long time.
00:18:38
>> But even with this influx of new
00:18:39
information, nothing pans out. Still,
00:18:44
this new technology has really gotten
00:18:46
Lieutenant Co's wheels turning. He's
00:18:48
made a lot of connections by that point
00:18:50
with people in like the DNA science
00:18:52
world. And he's learning about all of
00:18:54
the other ways that they can use DNA to
00:18:56
get more info. Info like a suspect's
00:19:00
name with something called YSTR
00:19:02
profiling, which [music] that's a method
00:19:04
used to analyze DNA on the Y chromosome.
00:19:07
And that is what's passed down from
00:19:09
father to son, virtually unchanged. And
00:19:12
since last names are also typically
00:19:14
[music] passed down the paternal line,
00:19:15
Yprofiling testing can be used to
00:19:17
predict a person by their last name by
00:19:19
[music] comparing their Y profile to
00:19:21
entries already in DNA databases. But
00:19:24
you have to remember that there are
00:19:26
certain [music] limitations when it
00:19:27
comes to this kind of testing, things
00:19:30
that can break the pattern like
00:19:31
infidelity or genetic mutations
00:19:34
>> or adoption
00:19:35
>> or adoption. Right? That's actually one
00:19:36
of the most common. But listen, take
00:19:39
what you can get, right? and then we'll
00:19:40
figure out the next steps from there.
00:19:42
So, this again is like a first for
00:19:44
Carl'sbad PD. This is the first time
00:19:46
they're ever using this kind of
00:19:47
technology as well. And they do get a
00:19:51
last name after all the YSTR work.
00:19:54
Miracle, which of course is like a
00:19:58
detective right out of CSI Miami taking
00:20:00
off his sunglasses and like squinting
00:20:02
into the sun. You can like see it,
00:20:04
right?
00:20:04
>> Oh, yeah. For sure.
00:20:05
>> These detectives could not help
00:20:06
themselves. They begin saying it's going
00:20:09
to take a miracle to solve this one.
00:20:15
Detectives spend the coming year looking
00:20:18
for their miracle. But it turns out
00:20:21
there was no one they could find with
00:20:22
that last name who also fit the
00:20:24
composite sketch. So it was looking more
00:20:27
and more like one of those pattern
00:20:29
breakers happened in this family line.
00:20:31
Infidelity, adoption, [music] something.
00:20:33
But in the year or less that it's taken
00:20:35
to feel pretty sure of this, guess what
00:20:38
happens? 2018 is upon us.
00:20:41
>> Oh, and with all this science talk,
00:20:43
you're talking about the Golden State
00:20:45
Killer.
00:20:46
>> Golden State Killer gets caught using
00:20:48
the most current version of what we all
00:20:50
now know as [music] IGG, investigative
00:20:53
genetic genealogy.
00:20:55
>> You know, Golden State dude left his DNA
00:20:57
all over crime scenes, but he like this
00:20:59
one wasn't in a database. So instead of
00:21:02
looking for the offender himself, GSK
00:21:04
investigators decided to look for
00:21:06
distant family members whose DNA might
00:21:08
be on file in public databases like Jed
00:21:11
Match and then create this extensive
00:21:13
[music] family tree that might connect
00:21:16
back to their suspect. Now when they
00:21:18
started down this path, it took them 4
00:21:20
months to catch a serial killer and
00:21:22
rapist who eluded them for decades. So
00:21:26
when Lieutenant Co sees this, this gets
00:21:29
his gears spinning. Forget turning. They
00:21:31
are like almost smoking, right? Like
00:21:34
here he is working on another case where
00:21:36
the offender's DNA is all over the crime
00:21:38
scene and a full profile is in Cotus,
00:21:41
but [music] they just keep striking out.
00:21:43
So Coanda starts doing his homework
00:21:45
trying to figure out if he could make
00:21:47
use of the same techniques. And it just
00:21:49
so happens that around the same [music]
00:21:51
time, this is May of 2018, the lab that
00:21:54
did the initial phenotyping for Jod's
00:21:56
case, comes back to [music] Carl'sbad PD
00:21:58
and basically says like, "Hey, by the
00:22:01
way, we've still got your offender's DNA
00:22:02
on file [music] from that test that we
00:22:04
did last year. Do you want us to
00:22:06
evaluate it using IGG?"
00:22:08
>> Uh, yes, please.
00:22:09
>> Yes, please. Exactly. Like, you do not
00:22:12
have to ask twice.
00:22:13
>> Yeah. So they do this, they get the
00:22:15
blessing and just two months later, the
00:22:18
lab [music] reaches back out. Lieutenant
00:22:21
Co says he literally gets on a Zoom call
00:22:24
with them where they share their screen.
00:22:27
They're showing what he calls a hasty
00:22:29
family tree, which basically shows the
00:22:31
closest connections [music]
00:22:32
and the most recent common ancestors
00:22:34
associated with the DNA sample.
00:22:37
>> Now, it's not one name. There are a few
00:22:41
possibilities, but now it's up to
00:22:43
Carl'sbad PD to run each one of these
00:22:47
down.
00:22:48
>> Okay. And of these names, like are any
00:22:50
of them miracles like the YSTR
00:22:52
suggested?
00:22:53
>> Surprisingly, no. Lieutenant Co actually
00:22:55
said that the lab wasn't really focusing
00:22:57
on the miracle last name. And you know,
00:22:59
when they got a few of them back, they
00:23:01
there were some that they discounted
00:23:03
pretty quickly, [music] like um there
00:23:04
was one last name, Mabrio, that they
00:23:06
just kind of brushed aside for a couple
00:23:08
of reasons, like they they told the
00:23:09
detective, A, Maburo is of Italian
00:23:11
origin, and the offender's DNA [music]
00:23:13
suggested someone of Northern European
00:23:15
descent, and B, they're like, this guy
00:23:18
is dead. So,
00:23:19
>> dead before 2007?
00:23:21
>> No, he was alive in 2007.
00:23:23
But this is why it is always good to gut
00:23:26
check yourself, not to get too tied up
00:23:28
in what you expect something to be.
00:23:31
Because basically, investigators get all
00:23:34
the way to the end of the list of all
00:23:35
these last names and people that the lab
00:23:37
really thought it could be, and they
00:23:40
still have nothing to show for it. But
00:23:42
Lieutenant Co is not willing to give up
00:23:44
[music] just yet. If you want to get
00:23:46
something solved, like the GSK case, why
00:23:49
not go to the exact person who helped
00:23:52
solve it? And that is Barbara Ray
00:23:55
Venter. Barbara isn't a cop. She's not a
00:23:58
detective. She's a retired 70-year-old
00:24:00
[music]
00:24:01
patent lawyer who just happens to be
00:24:03
really, really good at genealogy, which
00:24:05
she only discovered after retiring, by
00:24:08
the way, when she started mapping her
00:24:09
own heritage as a hobby. And that hobby
00:24:12
quickly turned into volunteering as a
00:24:14
search angel. [music] That's someone who
00:24:16
helps adopes find their biological
00:24:18
parents by creating family trees from
00:24:20
DNA. And when she got really good at
00:24:22
that, police department started calling.
00:24:25
So, Lieutenant Co gets a hold of
00:24:27
Barbara's number. And while he's in
00:24:29
Northern California [music] trying to
00:24:30
get some more reference DNA samples for
00:24:32
Jod's case, he calls her up and invites
00:24:34
her to breakfast with him and this other
00:24:37
investigator from the DA's office named
00:24:38
Tony [music] Johnson. She says, "Sure."
00:24:41
So, they go to breakfast together in
00:24:42
what Barbara describes as this total
00:24:44
hole in the wall. And they're eating
00:24:46
eggs and pancakes [music]
00:24:48
and talking about genealogy. And
00:24:50
Lieutenant Co says it's just like mind
00:24:53
confetti for him because all the labs
00:24:56
he'd spoken to before had basically just
00:24:59
told him how much he should pay them and
00:25:01
how long it would take. But here is
00:25:03
Barbara totally like pulling back the
00:25:06
curtain, explaining her entire process
00:25:08
and and does she agree to take on the
00:25:10
case?
00:25:11
>> Yes. Yes. After this meeting, Lieutenant
00:25:13
Co gives Barbara access to the
00:25:15
offender's DNA profile in Jed Match and
00:25:18
she goes to work.
00:25:19
>> So, is her process [music] different
00:25:21
than that original lab?
00:25:23
>> It's the same. She's just better at it
00:25:26
because interestingly, Barbara actually
00:25:29
comes [music] back to Go with a name
00:25:31
that was on the first lab's list.
00:25:33
>> Wait, Mabrio.
00:25:34
>> Mabrio. [music]
00:25:36
That's the one that the other lab had
00:25:37
totally discounted. But Barbara is
00:25:40
saying this, she believes is where
00:25:42
Carl's bad PD needs to spend their time
00:25:45
because this last name actually does
00:25:48
have a connection to, get this, the
00:25:51
miracle last name. What? Yeah. Cuz when
00:25:53
Barbara looks deep into the genealogy,
00:25:56
she sees a double adoption in the
00:25:59
Miracle family. So basically at some
00:26:02
point a man [music] with the last name
00:26:03
Miracle had a son named Robert who was
00:26:06
adopted and took on the Italian last
00:26:08
name.
00:26:10
Robert then has two sons of his own.
00:26:12
Steven who gets adopted and David who
00:26:15
carried on the Mabrio [music] last name.
00:26:17
>> So it could potentially be Steven or
00:26:20
David
00:26:20
>> or even their dad Robert. Co is going to
00:26:24
need DNA from all three to be sure. But
00:26:26
he is feeling so confident. In a matter
00:26:30
of like a year, he went from an endless
00:26:32
pool of suspects to three. Now, as it
00:26:35
turns out, both Steven and David were
00:26:38
deceased at this point. They both died
00:26:40
after Jod's murder, so that doesn't rule
00:26:42
them out, but it does make getting their
00:26:44
DNA slightly more challenging,
00:26:46
>> or at least [music] it might have. You
00:26:48
see, Steven passed away in an accident
00:26:50
in 2017, which meant that his DNA was
00:26:53
actually still on file [music] at the
00:26:55
medical examiner's office. So, they get
00:26:57
it, they run it, and it's not Steven. As
00:27:01
for the dad, Robert, he was totally
00:27:05
estranged from his sons and living in a
00:27:07
different area at the time [music] of
00:27:08
the murder. Plus, just looking at his
00:27:11
age and capability, like they didn't
00:27:13
think they were necessarily compatible
00:27:15
with the specific manner of the crime,
00:27:17
>> which really like if they're going to
00:27:19
look at anyone, their next person they
00:27:20
want to look at is David.
00:27:24
Now, they find out he passed away in
00:27:27
2011, and his DNA is nowhere to be
00:27:30
found, but he does have an ex-wife
00:27:34
[music] and an 18-year-old son that are
00:27:36
both still living right there in
00:27:38
Carl'sbad. So, Co gets this idea to have
00:27:42
the lab do a sort of paternity test
00:27:44
where they could use the ex-wife's DNA,
00:27:46
the son's DNA to basically reconstruct
00:27:49
David's. But obviously like he's going
00:27:51
to need permission for that.
00:27:53
>> And at this point, no one in the Mabrio
00:27:56
family even knows that police are like
00:27:58
going down this road.
00:27:59
>> Can you imagine like the police showing
00:28:01
up at your door and being like, "Hey, we
00:28:04
think your ex-husband did this
00:28:05
absolutely horrific thing 10 years ago
00:28:08
if you knew about it."
00:28:09
>> Every time there's an IG solve, yes, I
00:28:10
do imagine this specific thing. Exactly.
00:28:13
But they in at least in this case,
00:28:15
they're a little like more surreptitious
00:28:17
than that. So on the evening of October
00:28:19
26th, 2018, Lieutenant Co and Tony
00:28:23
Johnson, they show up at the home of
00:28:25
David's ex, Marissa Marrio.
00:28:28
It's actually Marissa and David's son
00:28:30
who answers the door. And we're going to
00:28:32
use a pseudonym for him and call him
00:28:33
Dan. So Dan answers the door. He goes to
00:28:36
get his mom who is out in the backyard
00:28:38
having an afterwork drink. And he says,
00:28:41
"There's some Carl'sbad detectives here
00:28:43
and they want to talk to you." And of
00:28:45
course, mom's first thought is like, "Oh
00:28:47
my god, what did my kid do?" You know
00:28:49
what I mean? But right away when she
00:28:51
goes inside and talks to the detectives,
00:28:53
they put that thought out of her mind.
00:28:54
First thing they say is, "Nobody's in
00:28:56
trouble. We're here to investigate
00:28:58
[music] a cold case." Now, Marissa's
00:29:00
totally confused, but she agrees to sit
00:29:02
down with them. [music]
00:29:03
And that's when they start explaining
00:29:05
the details of Jod's case. Now, because
00:29:08
Jod's story got so much coverage,
00:29:10
Marissa [music] sort of remembered
00:29:12
hearing about it. But in her mind at
00:29:14
this point, she's like asking the
00:29:16
question, right? Like, what does any of
00:29:17
this why are you here with me? Right?
00:29:20
And this is when Lieutenant Co starts
00:29:22
explaining all of the genetic genealogy
00:29:24
work that he's been doing.
00:29:26
>> But the way that they were explaining
00:29:28
it, I think it maybe seemed like they
00:29:30
were looking for either a cousin or an
00:29:33
uncle or a relative. Yeah. A relative of
00:29:36
David's dad, even not even David. So,
00:29:38
she's not thinking in this moment that
00:29:40
her ex-husband has anything to do with
00:29:42
this crime. And so, Marissa starts
00:29:44
giving investigators David's whole
00:29:46
family history. She says that his
00:29:48
heritage was actually somewhat
00:29:50
complicated,
00:29:51
>> which they obviously kind of know
00:29:53
already.
00:29:53
>> Yep. And she confirms the double
00:29:55
adoption stuff, the miracle last name.
00:29:58
She eventually tells them that David
00:29:59
took his own life unexpectedly [music]
00:30:01
in 2011. That's how he died. And when
00:30:04
she's done laying everything out,
00:30:05
they're like, "Okay, well, would you and
00:30:06
your son be willing to give your DNA to
00:30:10
rule you out of like this whole
00:30:12
situation?" And obviously both Marissa
00:30:14
and Dan are like, "Yeah, totally." But
00:30:15
investigators want to use this DNA to
00:30:17
confirm David's involvement.
00:30:19
>> Yeah. And it's not totally clear to me
00:30:21
if they're like trying to skirt around
00:30:23
the truth a little bit or if Marissa
00:30:25
doesn't totally understand the gravity
00:30:27
of why they're asking this. Because I I
00:30:30
do know that like when they first
00:30:31
brought up David's name during the
00:30:33
visit, Marissa got really upset and she
00:30:35
straight up says, "If you think David
00:30:37
did this, you need to get the f out of
00:30:39
my house. You're out of your mind." So
00:30:41
after that, investigators focused a lot
00:30:43
of their questions on like David's
00:30:45
family [music] and stuff kind of backed
00:30:46
off. But looking back, you can see why
00:30:49
they might have wanted to use any means
00:30:51
necessary to get her to talk. Because
00:30:54
every suspicion they had, every DNA clue
00:30:59
led them to the right David. And when
00:31:01
the results came back on Dan and
00:31:03
Marissa's DNA, the [music] lab says they
00:31:05
are confident David is their guy. David
00:31:09
murdered Jodine Sarin. But before Coanda
00:31:13
is going to tell this to Marissa, before
00:31:15
he even tells Jod's family, he wants to
00:31:18
be 110%
00:31:21
certain.
00:31:21
>> I mean, this information is going to
00:31:23
totally upend both families lives,
00:31:24
right? So, he wants to go back to
00:31:26
Marissa one more time. [music] And this
00:31:28
time around, his questions are a bit
00:31:30
different. They are more pointed. He
00:31:33
wants to know about Marissa's
00:31:35
relationship with David. He wants to
00:31:37
know about their sex life. and he's got
00:31:39
Jod's case file with him and he's taking
00:31:41
everything down in a notebook.
00:31:43
>> And Marissa in this second one, she's
00:31:44
starting to get really frustrated. She's
00:31:46
like, all of these questions are about
00:31:48
David and not his family. Like, do you
00:31:50
think he did this?
00:31:51
>> And the reality must be setting in
00:31:54
because she starts hyperventilating and
00:31:57
that's when she sees it. One of the
00:31:59
[music] images Coanda brought with him
00:32:01
from Jod's file is visible. It's from
00:32:04
the crime scene and it's not anything
00:32:07
graphic, but it makes her sick to her
00:32:09
stomach nonetheless because it's a photo
00:32:12
of the suspect's sneakers of David's
00:32:16
sneakers. And Marissa was sure of it
00:32:20
because she was the one who bought those
00:32:22
sneakers for him. Investigators
00:32:25
obviously noticed Marissa's reaction to
00:32:27
the [music] sneakers and so they asked
00:32:29
her, "Do these look familiar?"
00:32:33
And in that moment, she says, "No, it's
00:32:36
a lie." But I mean, she can barely
00:32:38
process what's going on. And her mind
00:32:39
just immediately goes to her son. She's
00:32:42
like, "How in the world am I going to
00:32:43
[music] tell this to Dan?" And so, she
00:32:46
really just says no to buy herself some
00:32:48
time. Like, she has a ton to digest.
00:32:50
[music]
00:32:50
And even though she's totally flustered,
00:32:52
she doesn't kick investigators out of
00:32:54
her house or anything. She continues
00:32:56
answering their questions about her and
00:32:58
David's life together, their separation,
00:33:00
[music]
00:33:00
and then David's untimely death in 2011.
00:33:04
And as she's telling them this story of
00:33:06
the days and events leading up to his
00:33:09
death, something clicks for both her and
00:33:12
police kind of at the same time. You
00:33:15
see, she had never known why David took
00:33:18
his own life. He didn't leave behind a
00:33:21
note, nothing.
00:33:23
I mean, his poor son is the one who
00:33:25
found him when he and his [music] mom
00:33:27
came back from a trip. David was
00:33:29
actually staying with them at the time,
00:33:30
sleeping on the couch, and Dan [music]
00:33:32
found his dad dead of an overdose that
00:33:34
ends up getting ruled a suicide.
00:33:37
They never knew why, but now she's
00:33:42
realizing maybe this was why because
00:33:46
Marissa tells investigators that a week
00:33:48
before David took his own life, there
00:33:50
was this incident that happened. He was
00:33:53
driving in Oceanside, which is just the
00:33:55
town over from Carlsbad, when his truck
00:33:57
broke down. [music] So, he's behind his
00:33:59
truck trying to push it when an officer
00:34:01
from Oceanside PD stopped him and said
00:34:04
that he matched the description of a
00:34:06
suspect that they had in an Oceanside
00:34:08
bank robbery. So, the officer [music]
00:34:10
asks him, "Would you be willing to give
00:34:13
your DNA?" And David consented to that.
00:34:17
Officer took an oral swab, got a photo
00:34:19
of David, let him go. And it's after
00:34:21
this that David began to spiral. Marissa
00:34:25
says, I mean, he spent the next week
00:34:28
freaking out, acting super strange. And
00:34:30
I don't mean just like general anxiety.
00:34:33
He was losing it. At one point, he was
00:34:35
like even rubbing spices all over his
00:34:38
face. What? Yeah. And at the time, he
00:34:40
tried to say it was like helping him
00:34:42
with headaches or like fine lines or
00:34:44
something. But even then, Marissa knew
00:34:47
that something was off. Like this isn't
00:34:48
normal behavior for him or for anyone,
00:34:50
>> but at the time she's not connecting it
00:34:52
to anything.
00:34:53
>> No, I mean like she knew about the stop
00:34:55
and the DNA swab and like she knew that
00:34:56
that happened, but I guess she really
00:34:59
didn't think anything of it at the time.
00:35:00
I mean, it's not like she's thinking
00:35:01
David's DNA is going to connect him to
00:35:03
the brutal murder.
00:35:04
>> Yeah.
00:35:05
>> From a couple of years before. And she
00:35:08
didn't even make the connection after
00:35:09
[music] his death. Because by the way,
00:35:11
the whole bank robbery thing, that
00:35:13
really had nothing to do with David.
00:35:16
And because of that, guess what? They
00:35:20
never had to run David's swab or put it
00:35:23
into Cotus, which is probably the very
00:35:25
thing David feared so much that it drove
00:35:27
him to suicide. So, it's not till now
00:35:32
sitting with Lieutenant Kanda in her
00:35:35
house, seeing the photo of David
00:35:36
Sneakers at the crime scene that Marissa
00:35:39
is starting to put the pieces together.
00:35:42
And so is Lieutenant Kanda. But his mind
00:35:45
is spinning [music] for a different
00:35:46
reason. Because if Oceanside PD still
00:35:50
has David's DNA from that 2011 swab, he
00:35:54
might be able to do a direct comparison
00:35:56
with the DNA found at Jod's crime scene.
00:36:00
And sure enough, by some miracle is the
00:36:04
magic word for this episode. Oceanside
00:36:06
PD has it.
00:36:07
>> Oh my god.
00:36:08
>> So on November 7th, Coz sends the sample
00:36:11
to the lab to be tested for the first
00:36:13
time since it was taken 7 years ago.
00:36:16
It takes 2 days for the results to come
00:36:18
back and when they do it is a match
00:36:21
which means that now Kov is 110% sure.
00:36:26
He can finally tell the Sarens that
00:36:28
after 11 years the wait is over and they
00:36:31
were so close to losing hope. But
00:36:34
finally they know who that man was in
00:36:37
Jod's room that Valentine's Day back in
00:36:39
2007.
00:36:41
Now, detectives can't give [music] them
00:36:43
every answer, like where Jod might have
00:36:45
come into contact with this guy or why
00:36:48
he even attacked her.
00:36:49
>> Well, that was going to be my next
00:36:50
question. Did David have any connection
00:36:52
to her? There was nothing.
00:36:54
>> None that they can find. Like so many of
00:36:57
the IGG solves that we've seen over the
00:36:58
years. His name never so much as came up
00:37:01
in the case file from even a random tip.
00:37:04
Like, this guy was not on their radar at
00:37:07
all. Now, they did find out that in the
00:37:10
past he'd abused drugs. Marissa thought
00:37:12
he'd been clean and sober like her for
00:37:14
years when they were raising their son
00:37:16
together and even after they split up.
00:37:18
She was like letting him stay at her
00:37:20
place on her couch.
00:37:21
>> But it's very possible he was using
00:37:23
again. Also, I think about that
00:37:25
substance abuse clinic that was [music]
00:37:26
next to the place that Jod volunteered.
00:37:28
So, like
00:37:29
>> had he been there?
00:37:30
>> So, this is the thing, right? So, this
00:37:31
is how it all got teed up. I don't know
00:37:34
if we know he used or used to use drugs.
00:37:37
We know this clinic was there. So, I was
00:37:39
going to say this could be somewhere
00:37:40
that they would have met. And I don't
00:37:43
know because it never really got run
00:37:45
[music] down. And like we see this all
00:37:47
the time. That kind of stuff like making
00:37:50
those connections is [music] all stuff
00:37:51
that you learn when you're like building
00:37:53
a case against someone
00:37:54
>> like for trial.
00:37:55
>> Yeah. But I'm seeing this all the time
00:37:57
with these IGG cases when you work
00:37:59
backwards and especially when the person
00:38:02
is deceased. Like you don't have to go
00:38:03
back and figure out the like where and
00:38:07
whatever to like
00:38:08
>> all the little details to build the full
00:38:10
puzzle out. You kind of have the picture
00:38:12
at the beginning.
00:38:13
>> Yeah. And so investigators just don't.
00:38:16
>> And listen, on one hand, I get it.
00:38:18
[music] Like there's a hundred other
00:38:20
unsolved cases like Jod's that they need
00:38:22
to focus on. They don't need to be
00:38:24
creating work for themselves. But it
00:38:26
still kills me because we talked about
00:38:30
this at the top. We know how devious
00:38:32
this crime [music] was. Was this really
00:38:34
a one-off?
00:38:35
>> Yeah.
00:38:36
>> What if he did commit other crimes?
00:38:39
>> Yeah. I mean, we know his DNA in the
00:38:41
database hasn't matched anything [music]
00:38:42
else. But like we said, the MMO, what if
00:38:44
he would have cleaned up? What if
00:38:45
there's nothing left? What if by
00:38:47
tracking him we can figure out where
00:38:48
they met and then that shows an emmo to
00:38:50
like other missing people or something
00:38:52
like
00:38:52
>> again I have a zillion questions after a
00:38:56
case [music] like this especially
00:38:58
>> like who was this guy? How did he have a
00:39:01
wife and a kid and just live a normal
00:39:04
life? Did he actually live a normal life
00:39:06
or were there red flags?
00:39:08
>> Could anyone have seen this coming? And
00:39:11
normally these are questions that you
00:39:14
and I spiral on and we get left with and
00:39:16
then we have to move on to the next
00:39:18
case. But not this time. Because this
00:39:21
time our reporter Nicole Kagan traveled
00:39:24
out to California and met with the one
00:39:27
[music] person who had all the answers
00:39:29
that I'm looking for. The one person who
00:39:32
could give us insight into who David
00:39:34
Mcabrio was in 2007.
00:39:37
Can you [music] say and spell your name
00:39:40
for us?
00:39:41
>> Marissa. M A R I S A M A B R I T O. He
00:39:47
was my family. He's my son's dad. Gave
00:39:50
me the best thing in the world. [snorts]
00:39:52
Um, and did the most horrific thing to
00:39:56
somebody in the world. I don't know how
00:39:59
to reconcile those two.
00:40:02
>> But Marissa has tried. She's gone back
00:40:04
over every moment since meeting David on
00:40:07
the beach in 1995. And she's had to
00:40:10
rewire her brain to understand how he
00:40:13
could have been capable of such a
00:40:15
vicious crime all along. And yes, there
00:40:18
were potentially signs, but how do you
00:40:21
know what to look for if no one talks
00:40:24
about it? In the interview, there was a
00:40:26
moment where Nicole, our reporter, is
00:40:28
like, "Are you sure you're good with all
00:40:30
of this being on the record?"
00:40:32
And Marissa's like, "Yes, this is my
00:40:34
truth, and this is David's truth as I
00:40:36
know it." And you guys, this is a side
00:40:38
of the story we almost never get to tell
00:40:40
you, [music] and I didn't want to cut it
00:40:42
short by trying to squeeze it all into
00:40:44
one episode. More importantly, I wanted
00:40:46
you to hear it directly from Marissa in
00:40:49
her own words. So, because Jodine Sarin
00:40:53
is the seven of diamonds on a cold case
00:40:55
playing card deck before her case got
00:40:57
solved, we dedicated a full episode of
00:41:00
the deck to Marissa's attempt at solving
00:41:03
her own mystery. How could this man she
00:41:06
loved and trusted have committed this
00:41:09
unthinkable crime? That episode of The
00:41:12
Deck, which is the other weekly true
00:41:14
crime show that I host, if you didn't
00:41:16
know, you know. It's available right
00:41:18
now. You can listen to that episode of
00:41:20
The Deck wherever you get your podcasts.
00:41:23
You can find all of our source material
00:41:24
on our website, crimejunkkeypodcast.com.
00:41:28
And then [music] for more episodes like
00:41:30
this one, bonus episodes we've never
00:41:32
released, and all of our episodes adree,
00:41:34
be sure to join our fan club. You'll
00:41:37
also get [music] early access to new
00:41:39
episodes every week.
00:41:40
>> And you can follow us on Instagram,
00:41:42
CrimeJunky Podcast.
00:41:43
>> We'll be back next week with a brand new
00:41:45
episode, but in the meantime, don't
00:41:46
forget to check out the deck.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Biggest twist
  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 80
    Most unpredictable

Episode Highlights

  • The Valentine's Day Murder
    On Valentine's Day 2007, Jodine Sarin was found dead in her apartment, leading to a chilling investigation.
    “This is the story of Jod and Sarah.”
    @ 00m 53s
    August 28, 2025
  • A Father's Discovery
    Art Sarin breaks down the door to find his daughter lifeless in her bedroom.
    “When he opens the door, the man isn't in Jod's room anymore.”
    @ 04m 10s
    August 28, 2025
  • The Methodical Killer
    Evidence suggests the killer was methodical in setting up the crime scene.
    “This guy clearly had a plan around what he was doing to Jod.”
    @ 06m 54s
    August 28, 2025
  • Jod's Trusting Nature
    Jod's innocent and trusting demeanor complicates the investigation into her murder.
    “It just had to be in my mind someone that was like nice to her.”
    @ 13m 24s
    August 28, 2025
  • The Miracle Last Name
    Detectives discover a last name connected to a double adoption in the Miracle family.
    “What? Yeah. Cuz when Barbara looks deep into the genealogy...”
    @ 25m 51s
    August 28, 2025
  • The Shocking Revelation
    Marissa learns the truth about David's involvement in Jod's murder.
    “If you think David did this, you need to get the f out of my house.”
    @ 30m 37s
    August 28, 2025
  • DNA Breakthrough
    Investigators find a match between David's DNA and the crime scene DNA.
    “Oh my god.”
    @ 36m 08s
    August 28, 2025
  • Marissa's Struggle
    Marissa grapples with the duality of her love for David and his horrific actions.
    “I don't know how to reconcile those two.”
    @ 39m 56s
    August 28, 2025
  • A Unique Perspective
    Marissa shares her truth about David, providing insight into his complex character.
    “This is my truth, and this is David's truth as I know it.”
    @ 40m 34s
    August 28, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • When he opens the door, the man isn't in Jod's room anymore.
    Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy
  • This guy clearly had a plan around what he was doing to Jod.
    Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy
  • This is the first time they're ever using this kind of technology.
    Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy
  • What? Yeah. Cuz when Barbara looks deep into the genealogy...
    Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy
  • How in the world am I going to tell this to Dan?
    Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy
  • I don't know how to reconcile those two.
    Can DNA Solve the Decade-Old Murder of Jodine Serrin? The Valentine's Day Tragedy

Key Moments

  • Trusting Innocence13:24
  • Miracle Last Name25:51
  • Cold Case Investigation29:05
  • Shocking Truth30:37
  • DNA Match36:08
  • Insight into David39:34
  • Conflicted Emotions39:56
  • Marissa's Truth40:34

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown