Forensic Tales

On July 26, 2009, 36-year-old Diane Schuler drove the wrong way down New York's Taconic State Parkway, causing a devastating head-on collision that killed eight people, including herself, her daughter, and three young nieces. The crash shocked the nation and sparked years of debate, speculation, and investigation.

Toxicology reports revealed shocking findings, but Diane's family strongly disputed the official conclusions. Was this a tragic case of impaired driving, a hidden medical emergency, or something else entirely?

In this episode of Forensic Tales, we examine the forensic evidence, toxicology results, accident reconstruction findings, and competing theories surrounding one of the most infamous highway crashes in American history.

From the Forensic Tales Archive, we're revisiting one of the most downloaded and talked-about episodes in the show's history.
Topics Covered:
• Diane Schuler
• Taconic State Parkway crash
• Wrong-way driver investigation
• Toxicology and forensic evidence
• Accident reconstruction
• True crime mysteries
• New York crash investigation

New episodes of Forensic Tales are released every Monday.

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Website: ForensicTales.com

Hosted by Courtney Fretwell, M.S. Forensic Psychology. To submit a case or get in touch, send me a message [email protected].
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Remember... Not all stories have happy endings. 

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#335 - When 53-year-old Oakey Kite, who went by Al, failed to show up for work on May 24th, 2004, his coworkers immediately knew something was wrong. Concerned, they went to his townhouse in Aurora to check on him where they discovered a crime scene so brutal, investigators would never forget it.

Al had been restrained, tortured for hours, and ultimately murdered inside his own home by a man posing as a prospective tenant.

The killer meticulously cleaned the scene, erased much of the evidence, and vanished without a trace leaving behind only fragments of forensic evidence and a fake identity that would send investigators across multiple countries.

More than two decades later, the murder of Al Kite remains one of Colorado’s most disturbing unsolved cases.

If you’d like to support the show and help fund research, production, and editing, you can do so with a small monthly contribution on Patreon.

Patreon supporters get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content. You can learn more at Patreon.com/ForensicTales.

And if you enjoy the show, leaving a positive rating or review really helps others discover it.

For a full list of sources used in this episode, visit ForensicTales.com.

Thank you for listening. And I’ll see you next week. Until then… remember: not all stories have happy endings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#335 - When 53-year-old Oakey Kite, who went by Al, failed to show up for work on May 24th, 2004, his coworkers immediately knew something was wrong. Concerned, they went to his townhouse in Aurora to check on him where they discovered a crime scene so brutal, investigators would never forget it.

Al had been restrained, tortured for hours, and ultimately murdered inside his own home by a man posing as a prospective tenant.

The killer meticulously cleaned the scene, erased much of the evidence, and vanished without a trace leaving behind only fragments of forensic evidence and a fake identity that would send investigators across multiple countries.

More than two decades later, the murder of Al Kite remains one of Colorado’s most disturbing unsolved cases.

If you’d like to support the show and help fund research, production, and editing, you can do so with a small monthly contribution on Patreon.

Patreon supporters get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content. You can learn more at Patreon.com/ForensicTales.

And if you enjoy the show, leaving a positive rating or review really helps others discover it.

For a full list of sources used in this episode, visit ForensicTales.com.

Thank you for listening. And I’ll see you next week. Until then… remember: not all stories have happy endings.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

#334 - In April 1991, 20-year-old Angela Hammond stood alone outside a grocery store in Clinton, Missouri, talking to her fiancé on a payphone late at night. She mentioned seeing a strange truck circling the parking lot, but they both shrugged it off. 

Moments later, Angela’s fiancé heard her scream, and the line went dead.

The payphone was only a few blocks away, so he jumped in his car and sped toward the woman he planned to marry. But he was too late. Angela was never seen alive again. 

Over 30 years later, her story remains one of the mysterious disappearances in Missouri history. And despite a vehicle description and a timeline, the case was haunted by one major problem: there was almost no forensic evidence left behind.

If you’d like to support the show and help fund research, production, and editing, you can do so with a small monthly contribution on Patreon. Patreon supporters get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content. You can learn more at Patreon.com/ForensicTales.

And if you enjoy the show, leaving a positive rating or review really helps others discover it.

For a full list of sources used in this episode, visit ForensicTales.com.

Thank you for listening. And I’ll see you next week. Until then… remember: not all stories have happy endings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#334 - In April 1991, 20-year-old Angela Hammond stood alone outside a grocery store in Clinton, Missouri, talking to her fiancé on a payphone late at night. She mentioned seeing a strange truck circling the parking lot, but they both shrugged it off. 

Moments later, Angela’s fiancé heard her scream, and the line went dead.

The payphone was only a few blocks away, so he jumped in his car and sped toward the woman he planned to marry. But he was too late. Angela was never seen alive again. 

Over 30 years later, her story remains one of the mysterious disappearances in Missouri history. And despite a vehicle description and a timeline, the case was haunted by one major problem: there was almost no forensic evidence left behind.

If you’d like to support the show and help fund research, production, and editing, you can do so with a small monthly contribution on Patreon. Patreon supporters get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content. You can learn more at Patreon.com/ForensicTales.

And if you enjoy the show, leaving a positive rating or review really helps others discover it.

For a full list of sources used in this episode, visit ForensicTales.com.

Thank you for listening. And I’ll see you next week. Until then… remember: not all stories have happy endings.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.