In this bonus episode, veteran prosecutor Melanie Shekita shares her memories of the most high-profile cases she has handled in her almost three decades with the Wake County District Attorney's Office in Raleigh, North Carolina. From murders to child sex crimes, Melanie has prosecuted some of the most challenging and emotional cases. She talks about why she is passionate about finding justice for the victims and how she has been able to do this difficult work for so many years.

To learn more about Melanie:

Melanie Shekita | Wake County

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In 1994, Beth Ellen Vinson was chasing a dream. She wanted to be a star. A trained dancer, she knew it wasn't going to happen in the small Eastern North Carolina town where she grew up in. So, she moved to the state capital, Raleigh, where musical theater was flourishing. But in order to pay the bills she had to get a job that paid real money. The 17-year-old went to work as an escort. Just one month after moving to the big city to find fame in the footlights, Beth Ellen became famous for all the wrong reasons. On August 16, 1994, the teen left the apartment she shared with her boyfriend and other roommates to meet a client. Early in the morning her car was found running, the door ajar, one high heel still inside near a car dealership. Beth Ellen had vanished. Seven days later her body was found near some warehouses in an industrial area. She had been stabbed 30 times. To this day, her murder is unsolved. It's a cold case that continues to haunt her family, friends and investigators. In this episode, we interview private investigator and podcaster Matt Duff. He shares what he has learned about one of North Carolina's most enduring mysteries.

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It's been ten days since Nancy Guthrie was seen alive...

Now, we have definitive evidence of a kidnapping. Authorities have released surveillance photos from Nancy Guthrie's Nest cameras that reveal the kidnapper appearing to be casually making his or her way into the home with a handgun. Ther person is masked, but the photos are clear enough and the clothing is distinctive enough that there's a good chance someone knows this person. This is the biggest break in the case so far.

In this episode of CRIME CAPSULE DAILY we discuss this latest development, recent searches, and videos released by the family. For context, we recorded this Tuesday afternoon directly after the release of the photos.

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Welcome to CRIME CAPSULE DAILY where we examine national crime stories making headlines. As former crime reporters, Chelsea Donovan and I (Amanda Lamb) can't help but investigate every high-profile crime case in the news. It's in our DNA. It's the kind of curiosity that never leaves you after spending 50+ combined years in the business. Some people might call it an obsession. We are using our expertise to discuss what we know, what we don't know, and what we hope to learn. The goal is to shed some new light on this case based on our years in the trenches.

This episode focuses on the abduction of Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, and the continued search for her five days after she was reported missing. We recorded this show Thursday afternoon right after the Pima County Sheriff's latest press conference. We are sharing what we learned, dispelling myths, and examining the powerful and emotional video made by Savannah Guthrie and her siblings where they are pleading for their mother's kidnappers to reach out to them. This is a case that has captivated the country not just because the victim has a famous daughter, but because she is someone's mother, someone's grandmother, someone we could all imagine knowing and loving.

If you have information that could help solve this case please call: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff's Office at 520-351-4900.

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Today, we're launching a new segment of CRIME CAPSULE where we examine national crime stories making headlines. As former crime reporters, Chelsea Donovan and I (Amanda Lamb) can't help but investigate every high-profile crime case in the news. It's in our DNA. It's the kind of curiosity that never leaves you after spending 50+ combined years in the business. Some people might call it an obsession. We are using our expertise to discuss what we know, what we don't know, and what we hope to learn. The goal is to shed some new light on this case based on our years in the trenches.

This episode focuses on the abduction of Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie. We recorded this show Wednesday afternoon and acknowledge the information is changing by the minute. This is a case that has captivated the country not just because the victim has a famous daughter, but because she is someone's mother, someone's grandmother, someone we could all imagine knowing and loving.

If you have information that could help solve this case please call: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or go to https://88crime.org/ to leave an anonymous tip.

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In January 2008, drivers on their morning commute saw something horrible—a body along the side of a major highway in Wake County, North Carolina. When investigators arrived, they thought they would find a hit-and-run victim, but instead, they found a murder victim. A 21-year-old accounting student from a local university had been stabbed to death thirty times and left on the side of the road to die. Immediately, their attention turned toward Latrese Curtis' husband, Darin, and the man she was having an affair with, Steven Randolph. But both men quickly cooperated with authorities and were ruled out as suspects. Still, investigators suspected there might be some connection between her affair and her death. What they discovered was something no one ever expected. Investigators pieced together the puzzle of a bizarre love triangle that included jealousy, rage, and unrequited obsession in order to find justice for Latrese.

In this interview the lead investigator on the case shares his memories of what would turn out to be the most bizarre case he ever investigated.

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In April 1968, witnesses reported seeing a small fire in a field in what was then rural North Carolina. The next day, some passersby made a brutal discovery-the charred body of a woman who had been murdered. Immediately, investigators started trying to figure out who the woman was and who had killed her. But with no DNA technology available at the time, they had little to go on. Still, detectives with the Wake County Sheriff's Office continued to work the case. In 2004, after 36 years of investigation, they were able to identify a suspect only to discover the man had died in the 1990's. But the identity of the victim was still unknown. In 2024, the WCSO teamed up with the State Bureau of Investigation to try and get new traction on the case. Amazingly, the woman's hair had been preserved from the crime scene. Investigators sent it to a lab that specialized in creating a DNA profile from older cases with small or degraded samples. Not only did Astrea Forensics come up with a strong profile, but it was enough for forensic genealogist Leslie Kaufman to create a family tree. Eventually, after months of work, Leslie identified the victim and investigators were able to provide closure for her family.

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Jenna Nielsen was the married mother of two and 8-months pregnant at the time she was killed behind a Raleigh, North Carolina convenience store in the early morning hours of a balmy summer day in 2007. She was just doing her job as a USA Today paper carrier, trying to make a little extra money to help support her growing family. Immediately, there was hope the case would be closed quickly. Witnesses in the area who saw a man running from the scene helped police make a detailed composite, and there was DNA evidence. Early on, there were promising leads, but the case went nowhere. A man sits in a Mexican jail charged in a homicide in his native country and he is suspected in a 2002 murder in North Carolina. Investigators say he's a person of interest in Jenna's murder, but they haven't been able to get him extradited to the U.S. In this powerful bonus episode, Jenna's son who was 3 at the time of her murder speaks publicly for the first time about his memories of his mother, his loss, and his desire for justice for Jenna.

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