The Coach in the Shadows - Solving Linda Slaten’s Murder

The episode details the 1981 murder of Linda Slaten and the exhaustive thirty-eight-year investigation that followed. Though her sons and police initially suspected her ex-husband or a local man with a history of violence, the case remained unsolved for decades despite the preservation of a palm print and DNA evidence. In 2019, genetic genealogy finally identified the killer as Joseph Mills, the boys’ former football coach who had maintained a relationship with the family after the crime. The episode reveals the emotional toll on Slaten’s children and the investigative failures that allowed a known associate to escape scrutiny for nearly forty years. Ultimately, Mills was sentenced to life in prison after a DNA match from his discarded trash confirmed his guilt.This episode includes AI-generated content.