Latest news with #IceColdCase
Los Angeles Times
21-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Times Studios Releases Podcast Series ‘L.A. Crimes'
L.A. Times Studios today released 'L.A. Crimes,' a video podcast delving into the biggest cases and long-running investigations in Los Angeles. The series is hosted by Madison McGhee, true crime podcast creator and host of 'Ice Cold Case.' The first episode is available now on all podcast platforms. The weekly podcast will feature conversations with Los Angeles Times reporters sharing a rare behind-the-scenes look at their reporting process, plus crime experts and pop culture personalities sharing their insights on some of the most consequential crime cases shaping L.A. today, from scams and celebrity stories to notorious criminal cases. 'We're thrilled to continue expanding our podcast offerings with the launch of our latest series, 'L.A. Crimes,'' said Anna Magzanyan, president of L.A. Times Studios. 'With host Madison McGhee leading conversations alongside esteemed Los Angeles Times reporters and special guests, each episode unpacks notable crime cases through compelling storytelling and new perspectives that will captivate listeners.' The debut episode features Times Staff Writer Richard Winton and journalist Josh Mankiewicz discussing the notorious Menendez brothers case, including the latest legal updates for Lyle and Erik, who have served more than 35 years in prison. Upcoming episodes include Times Staff Writer Harriet Ryan detailing the case of Tom Girardi defrauding clients and The Times' Clara Harter on the suspected homicide deaths in California prisons this year. 'Boiling Point,' 'Crimes of The Times,' 'The Envelope' and 'Dodgers Debate' round out the L.A. Times and L.A. Times Studios collection of podcasts available to download now. Additional podcast series are in development with launch dates to be announced. The first episode of 'L.A. Crimes' is available now to download or stream, with new episodes released weekly. Exclusive bonus content is available to L.A. Times Studios Podcasts+ subscribers.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
The Ice Cold Case Podcast Traces Madison McGhee's Efforts to Solve Her Dad's Murder
I've spent the past few years pouring everything I have — time, energy, and over $100,000 — into answering one question: What happened to my dad on July 11, 2002? At the time I was six years old. I was told that my dad, John Cornelius McGhee, had a heart attack and passed away. But when I was 16 I learned the darker truth: He was shot and killed in the doorway of his home in Belmont County, Ohio, and to make matters worse, the case was never solved. It took me a while to process, but after a few years, I started asking more questions. I was met with hostility from my own family that piqued my curiosity. I knew there was more to the story than everyone was sharing with me. Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take At first I thought I could just call the sheriff's department and they'd fill in the gaps. But when I finally reached out, in May 2020, I was met with what felt like indifference and incompetence. My father's case had gone cold, and it seemed to me that my dad didn't matter to them. That's when I realized, if I wanted justice for my dad, I'd have to fight for it myself. (Teen Vogue has reached out to the Belmont County Sheriff's Department for comment.) That realization led me to start an investigation that eventually manifested into my podcast, Ice Cold Case. I wanted to tell my dad's story and take control of the narrative because people like him — Black drug dealers who become confidential informants — often don't get the sympathy of the public when they are violently killed. In general, Black individuals in the US are more likely to be homicide victims and less likely to have their cases solved compared with their white counterparts. According to federal homicide data cited by the gun violence-prevention organization Violence Policy Center, in 2022, Black people accounted for 13% of the US population but 54.1% of homicide victims. A 2021 NBC News investigation looked into the falling rates of 'cleared' homicides in the US, a term that refers to cases solved or closed for some other reason. The investigation drew on data from the Murder Accountability Project, an organization that tracks unsolved homicide data in the US. In Ohio, where my father's homicide occurred, law enforcement solved 71.9% of all homicides between 1976 and 2019, according to NBC News's analysis. Accounting for race, law enforcement solved 78% of homicides of white people, and 67.6% of homicides of Black people, NBC News reported. I wasn't just working against what seemed to me like the errors of one small sheriff's office in Belmont County; I was coming up against a criminal legal system that routinely denies justice to Black victims and their families. Ice Cold Case was my chance to humanize my dad — and maybe even solve this case. Before the podcast, I had other dreams. I'd moved to Los Angeles, after my childhood in West Virginia and college in South Carolina, hoping to build a career in film and television — and I was making strides. During the pandemic, though, I put everything on hold and decided to investigate what happened to my dad. The first time I traveled to Belmont County, I didn't know what to expect. I was nervous, hopeful, and completely unprepared for what I was about to experience. I maxed out my credit cards to make the trips back and forth happen, booking flights, rental cars, and hotels. Being in Bridgeport, Ohio, where my dad lived — and where he was killed — was overwhelming. I was meeting a dozen family members for the first time, one of them through paid prison phone calls only. I kept some of those conversations secret so no other cousins would know we were in contact, because there was still a culture of secrecy and fear of repercussions surrounding my father's death. I was doing the work of an investigative journalist, but this was my dad, and this wasn't my job. Instead of collecting a paycheck, I was collecting debt. I had this naive expectation that I'd go there, talk to the sheriff's office, and they'd be eager to help me. Instead, I was met with unsettling apathy. In early phone calls with Belmont County, law enforcement officials admitted that they had a suspect in mind — and had even arrested him early in the investigation — but they told me their efforts to pursue charges failed and they were no longer actively pursuing the case. I was shocked that they weren't doing more to protect their community from someone they believed might be a killer. But my dad deserves answers, so I pressed forward, paying for travel, interviews, copies of police files, and printouts of relevant information at local libraries. I had to pay production costs to get the podcast made — I didn't even own a microphone or recording equipment. I needed software to edit everything together. I paid to publicize and market both the podcast and my dad's case to make sure that when you google 'John Cornelius McGhee' you'll be able to find the latest updates and submit your own tips. When I first started this, a quick search for my father's name rendered few results. How does one spend $100,000 investigating their own father's homicide? Easily. There's limited financial assistance for families who want to do this work themselves, so I drained my savings. I took out loans. I lived on credit cards. (This is not a financial advice column, but I probably serve as a great example of what not to do if you want to have decent monetary health.) I'm sure you're wondering whether I think I wasted my money. If I never catch the killer, was it all worth it? Absolutely. While the debt I've accumulated is real, and the consequences of that will take time to recover from, I don't regret a single dollar. I did something for my dad that feels like no one else had the courage to do: Fight for the truth. In the process I've found a community I had no idea existed. I've met other families who are fighting for their loved ones, like Sarah Turney, Julie Murray, and David Robinson. I've connected with people who share the frustration, pain, and exhaustion of trying to solve a cold case when it seems that no one else cares. That, in itself, is priceless. In April, I was surprised to receive a call from police who told me they had assigned a new investigator to my dad's case. We spoke on the phone for about 30 minutes. I was promised weekly progress reports, but nearly a month later, I haven't heard anything else. No matter what, I will never stop fighting for John Cornelius McGhee. I will continue to advocate for law enforcement to equitably investigate crime regardless of the victim's background. Through my podcast, I've tried to humanize my dad. He wasn't just a drug dealer who 'got what was coming'; he was a father, a brother, an uncle, a friend, and a person who deserved justice. I may never get the closure I hope for, but I've tried to make sure the world remembers the person who was lost and understands why he matters. J.C. McGhee matters because he was my dad, and that should be enough. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more criminal justice coverage? Slavery Is Still Legal In the United States How 'Law and Order' Shaped Our Views of Policing The Troubling Return of the DARE Program in Schools 11 Activists Share Alternatives to Prisons and Police
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Daughter uses podcast to try to solve dad's unsolved 2002 murder
For 10 years, Madison McGhee believed her father had died of a heart attack. It wasn't until she was 16 that she learned the truth: He was murdered. John Cornelius "J.C." McGhee had been shot and killed at his Ohio home on July 11, 2002. Not long afterwards, McGhee learned that his killing had never been solved. Her father was a former drug dealer and a confidential informant, McGhee said, which provided possible motives for his death — but she also felt it made police less willing to investigate the case thoroughly. The case is in the jurisdiction of the Belmont County Sheriff's Department in Ohio. An arrest has never been made. The sheriff's office declined to comment on the case or McGhee's allegations that it was not investigated appropriately. In the late 2010s, McGhee began to notice cases, like that of the Golden State Killer, were going to trial after podcast investigations led to new answers. She started to wonder if something similar could help her solve her father's killing. McGhee would occasionally message family members on Facebook to ask if they knew anything about her dad or his death. In 2020, during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, she turned her attention to the project more fully. "My dad was killed with a gunshot to the head, so only one person shot that gun, and that's what I need to figure out, is who that person was," McGhee told CBS News. "I believe there were multiple people there, so it's just a matter of who's capable of it and which person did it. That is a struggle. And then also there's the motive piece. Why did this happen? Were there strings being pulled behind the scenes? Was this a targeted thing, was this an accident?" Chasing answers McGhee, 29, used her background as an independent video producer to start "Ice Cold Case," a podcast where she would try to solve her father's killing. She said she was able to get access to the case files, and began interviewing people who were mentioned in those files. Soon, she started getting tips from people who had been around at the time. This led to her belief that police did not investigate her father's killing thoroughly. McGhee claims police told her they had been searching for a witness, but had not been able to find her. She said after a few minutes of searching on social media, she was able to find the witness. McGhee said the witness still lives in the county, and she was able to interview her on the podcast. When asked about the witness, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. McGhee said police have not been cooperative with the podcast or her investigation: While she has the case files, she has not been able to see any evidence from the crime scene, which she said she believed would help her solve the crime. When asked about the request, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. Now, her hope is that she will be able to learn enough from interviews that she can go to the sheriff's office and see if the details she learns corroborate the information in the police files. McGhee said that she believes she is close to identifying who was present when her father died. After that, she says she'll still need to identify who fired the shot that killed J.C. McGhee. During the podcast's second season, McGhee interviewed a man who several witnesses and people who knew her father told her was the main suspect in the killing. A grand jury was convened, but charges were never brought. When asked about the grand jury and why charges were not brought, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. The office also declined to comment about whether the man was a suspect. McGhee interviewed him in a library in West Virginia, she said, and his comments later appeared on the podcast. She doesn't know if he is the one who pulled the trigger. "We sat for two hours together, and he told me he didn't kill my dad, and it was really emotional," McGhee said. "If that's all true, great. I don't know. He could be lying. That interview doesn't prove his innocence by any means, but it was interesting for sure, and it taught me a lot." Finding closure McGhee's hope is that the investigation will eventually encourage the sheriff's office to identify a suspect and file charges. If no charges are filed, she predicts the third season of "Ice Cold Case," which premieres on Wednesday, April 7, will be the last. The podcast is independently produced by McGhee, without a studio or company funding it. McGhee said she has spent over $100,000 on the podcast. It has burned through her savings, run up her credit card debt and led to strained relationships with some family members. If an arrest is made, McGhee said she will cover any legal proceedings. Even if the podcast doesn't solve the case, McGhee said she hopes it will lead to enough interest in her father's killing to put pressure on police to keep investigating. She also said she hopes the podcast helps humanize her father in the public eye. "I was trying to get people to see oh, wait, a lot of people like J.C. McGhee get killed, and we really don't give a s***, and maybe we should," she said. "I was really trying to get people to see my dad as the dynamic person he was: Yes, drug dealer, yes, confidential informant, yes, maybe a little bit of a shady business guy. But he was a hell of a dad ... He did everything he could for his family, and he made sure we were always provided for, and I think that should be discussed when talking about my dad." "I don't know what will happen. I don't know if the Belmont County Sheriff's Department will decide that they are going to move with an arrest, or if they're going to do something," McGhee continued. "My hope for the next 12 months is you can't go anywhere without seeing J.C. McGhee." Inside the booming, bourbon-driven barrel business | 60 Minutes Supreme Court pauses order mandating return of Maryland man deported to El Salvador Trump says nations want to negotiate on tariffs as he touts Iran talks
CBS News
08-04-2025
- CBS News
Her father's murder has been unsolved for over 20 years. Here's how Madison McGhee is trying to get answers
For 10 years, Madison McGhee believed her father had died of a heart attack. It wasn't until she was 16 that she learned the truth: He was murdered. John Cornelius "J.C." McGhee had been shot and killed at his Ohio home on July 11, 2002. Not long afterwards, McGhee learned that his killing had never been solved. Her father was a former drug dealer and a confidential informant, McGhee said, which provided possible motives for his death — but she also felt it made police less willing to investigate the case thoroughly. The case is in the jurisdiction of the Belmont County Sheriff's Department in Ohio. An arrest has never been made. The sheriff's office declined to comment on the case or McGhee's allegations that it was not investigated appropriately. In the late 2010s, McGhee began to notice cases, like that of the Golden State Killer , were going to trial after podcast investigations led to new answers. She started to wonder if something similar could help her solve her father's killing. McGhee would occasionally message family members on Facebook to ask if they knew anything about her dad or his death. In 2020, during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, she turned her attention to the project more fully. "My dad was killed with a gunshot to the head, so only one person shot that gun, and that's what I need to figure out, is who that person was," McGhee told CBS News. "I believe there were multiple people there, so it's just a matter of who's capable of it and which person did it. That is a struggle. And then also there's the motive piece. Why did this happen? Were there strings being pulled behind the scenes? Was this a targeted thing, was this an accident?" McGhee, 29, used her background as an independent video producer to start "Ice Cold Case," a podcast where she would try to solve her father's killing. She said she was able to get access to the case files, and began interviewing people who were mentioned in those files. Soon, she started getting tips from people who had been around at the time. This led to her belief that police did not investigate her father's killing thoroughly. McGhee claims police told her they had been searching for a witness, but had not been able to find her. She said after a few minutes of searching on social media, she was able to find the witness. McGhee said the witness still lives in the county, and she was able to interview her on the podcast. When asked about the witness, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. McGhee said police have not been cooperative with the podcast or her investigation: While she has the case files, she has not been able to see any evidence from the crime scene, which she said she believed would help her solve the crime. When asked about the request, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. Now, her hope is that she will be able to learn enough from interviews that she can go to the sheriff's office and see if the details she learns corroborate the information in the police files. McGhee said that she believes she is close to identifying who was present when her father died. After that, she says she'll still need to identify who fired the shot that killed J.C. McGhee. During the podcast's second season, McGhee interviewed a man who several witnesses and people who knew her father told her was the main suspect in the killing. A grand jury was convened, but charges were never brought. When asked about the grand jury and why charges were not brought, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. The office also declined to comment about whether the man was a suspect. McGhee interviewed him in a library in West Virginia, she said, and his comments later appeared on the podcast. She doesn't know if he is the one who pulled the trigger. "We sat for two hours together, and he told me he didn't kill my dad, and it was really emotional," McGhee said. "If that's all true, great. I don't know. He could be lying. That interview doesn't prove his innocence by any means, but it was interesting for sure, and it taught me a lot." McGhee's hope is that the investigation will eventually encourage the sheriff's office to identify a suspect and file charges. If no charges are filed, she predicts the third season of "Ice Cold Case," which premieres on Wednesday, April 7, will be the last. The podcast is independently produced by McGhee, without a studio or company funding it. McGhee said she has spent over $100,000 on the podcast. It has burned through her savings, run up her credit card debt and led to strained relationships with some family members. If an arrest is made, McGhee said she will cover any legal proceedings. Even if the podcast doesn't solve the case, McGhee said she hopes it will lead to enough interest in her father's killing to put pressure on police to keep investigating. She also said she hopes the podcast helps humanize her father in the public eye. "I was trying to get people to see oh, wait, a lot of people like J.C. McGhee get killed, and we really don't give a s***, and maybe we should," she said. "I was really trying to get people to see my dad as the dynamic person he was: Yes, drug dealer, yes, confidential informant, yes, maybe a little bit of a shady business guy. But he was a hell of a dad ... He did everything he could for his family, and he made sure we were always provided for, and I think that should be discussed when talking about my dad." "I don't know what will happen. I don't know if the Belmont County Sheriff's Department will decide that they are going to move with an arrest, or if they're going to do something," McGhee continued. "My hope for the next 12 months is you can't go anywhere without seeing J.C. McGhee."
