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<v Speaker 1>All too often they are cold cases, and this one

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<v Speaker 1>is no different.

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<v Speaker 2>The story is true. That's true. No, it sounds made up.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 3>Gerry and Shannon present True crime.

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<v Speaker 1>Mounsey, Indiana is the locale of our true crime Tuesday Tail.

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<v Speaker 2>This was a story that.

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<v Speaker 1>Began on September twenty eighth, nineteen eighty five. We're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about sixteen year old Ethan Dixon and fifteen year old

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<v Speaker 1>Kimberly Dow. Ethan is on the debate team. He's president

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<v Speaker 1>of the junior class at North Side High School. Tons

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<v Speaker 1>of friends. Kimberly jv cheerleader. She had just been elected

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<v Speaker 1>to the Court of the Homecoming Queen the week before.

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<v Speaker 1>These two were found shot and killed in the hatchback

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<v Speaker 1>in west Side Park on September twenty eighth, nineteen eighty five.

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<v Speaker 1>Happened to be a police officer that found them.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, just before midnight, this officer from Munsey, Indiana and

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<v Speaker 3>his canine were walking in west Side Park right along

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<v Speaker 3>White River Boulevard, not far from Tillotson. You know that

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<v Speaker 3>is Tillotson and White River. Although parks closed at eleven

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<v Speaker 3>o'clock at night, a few cars were still in the park.

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<v Speaker 3>That wasn't that unusual. He wasn't there to bust people necessarily.

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<v Speaker 3>He gets back to his car with the dog, ready

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<v Speaker 3>to leave the park, and he realizes that there are

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<v Speaker 3>some fresh tire tracks leading to a parked car, and

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<v Speaker 3>he thought, well, you shouldn't be there now. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>it'd be one thing if you were staying and going

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<v Speaker 3>to leave, but you shouldn't show up now. So his

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<v Speaker 3>headlights sweep the car, and the people in the car

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<v Speaker 3>didn't react to that.

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<v Speaker 1>So he gets out and he walks up to the car.

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<v Speaker 1>Its engine was still idling, and you could see a

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<v Speaker 1>portable stereo visible in the back. Now, kids, back in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen hundreds, cars didn't come with great stereos.

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<v Speaker 2>They just didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>The sound quality sucked, so sometimes you'd take your boom

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<v Speaker 1>box and eighties it was a popular item to have

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<v Speaker 1>a big old stereo and you'd put it in the

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<v Speaker 1>backseat to your car so you'd have a better sound system.

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<v Speaker 2>That is what they saw in the back of the car.

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<v Speaker 1>They also saw that the officer also saw two fully

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<v Speaker 1>clothed people.

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<v Speaker 2>A young man and a young woman.

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<v Speaker 1>They were in the front seats and it was Kimberly

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<v Speaker 1>and Ethan that had both been shot.

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<v Speaker 2>In the temple.

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<v Speaker 1>He was shot in the torso, oh, I'm sorry she

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<v Speaker 1>had been shot in the temple. Now, the window glass

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<v Speaker 1>on the passenger side of the car was shattered, so

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<v Speaker 1>whoever who fired those shots in was on Kimberly's side.

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<v Speaker 3>So you can imagine a small town month not tiny,

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<v Speaker 3>but a small town like Munsey, Indiana. The deaths of

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<v Speaker 3>two teenagers like this, very popular kids, was shattering to

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<v Speaker 3>this community and they all wanted to see this thing solved.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, in this day and age, you'd have what cell

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<v Speaker 1>phone records, text messages, emails, all of the things that

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<v Speaker 1>make solving crimes doable. In nineteen eighty five, none of

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<v Speaker 1>that existed, and so on its face there seemed to

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<v Speaker 1>be no rhyme or reason, like you said, just good

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<v Speaker 1>kids at the time. Paul Cox, he's now seventy one.

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<v Speaker 1>He was captain in charge of officer training. Why was

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<v Speaker 1>he there and why was he given the case? What

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<v Speaker 1>that baloney title? Well, the reason he had that bolooney

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<v Speaker 1>title is he was demoted when he chose the wrong

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<v Speaker 1>mayoral candidate in the previous election. So he was sent

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<v Speaker 1>to Siberia of the police agency, which happened to be

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<v Speaker 1>in charge of officer training, but he was also very

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<v Speaker 1>well seasoned, so he was put in charge of this investigation.

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<v Speaker 1>He was pulled from his usual duties and put in charge.

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<v Speaker 1>He took the case file home. Paul did covered his

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<v Speaker 1>family room floor with his contents.

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<v Speaker 2>Interesting that he.

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<v Speaker 3>Focused on Kimberly Dowell's stepfather as a potential suspect in

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<v Speaker 3>this case. Mom claims that the stepfather was home the

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<v Speaker 3>whole time. It didn't actually leave the house until they

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<v Speaker 3>had received word that Kimberly was missing or was gone,

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<v Speaker 3>and that they were trying to find him. Sorry that

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<v Speaker 3>they were trying to find her, and that's why the

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<v Speaker 3>stepdad left the house.

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<v Speaker 1>Not short on tips, he says, no crime has received

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<v Speaker 1>the tips that this double murder did ten or fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>in an hour.

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<v Speaker 2>They were getting didn't peter out for some time.

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<v Speaker 1>Unfortunately, the tips never resulted in a solid suspect or

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<v Speaker 1>an arrest.

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<v Speaker 3>There was one of the guys that decided Robert Weller,

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<v Speaker 3>one of the investigators. He played on a hunch on

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<v Speaker 3>what would be the tenth anniversary of the murders, so

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<v Speaker 3>September twenty eighth, nineteen ninety five. He thought that there

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<v Speaker 3>would be a chance that whoever did this was going

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<v Speaker 3>to mark the anniversary of the murders by revisiting that park,

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<v Speaker 3>So they staked out park all night and came up

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<v Speaker 3>completely empty. Now again, all those tips that came in

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<v Speaker 3>ten to fifteen a day that they were dealing with,

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<v Speaker 3>and not one of them leads to a hard suspect,

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<v Speaker 3>but they did have along with the stepfather, they did

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<v Speaker 3>have some suspects. In the middle of True Crime Tuesday,

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<v Speaker 3>were talking about the West Side Park murders out of Munsey, Indiana.

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<v Speaker 3>This would have been nineteen eighty five. Sixteen year old

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<v Speaker 3>Ethan Dixon fifteen year old Kimberly Dowell sitting in a

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<v Speaker 3>cart Volkswagen Rabbit looks like listening to music late at night,

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<v Speaker 3>probably making out that's what they do. But for some

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<v Speaker 3>unknown reason, Kimberly was shot in the head, Ethan shot

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<v Speaker 3>in the chest. They never came up with a murder weapon,

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<v Speaker 3>although there was a holster they found in the car,

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<v Speaker 3>but they said it probably wasn't connected to the murders.

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<v Speaker 3>And despite the fact that there were a lot of

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<v Speaker 3>tips that came in, they never really were able to

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<v Speaker 3>solve this crime. And like I mentioned that, one of

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<v Speaker 3>the officers that was investigating thought originally that the stepfather,

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<v Speaker 3>that Kimberly's stepfather, might have been a good suspect early on,

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<v Speaker 3>but it turns out that that was not the case.

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<v Speaker 3>Stepfather had a pretty strong alibi, even though the only

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<v Speaker 3>person who could verify that was his wife, don Vogel,

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<v Speaker 3>saying was his name. They never were able to pin

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<v Speaker 3>it on him, or anybody else for that matter. So

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<v Speaker 3>a couple of the people that were involved in all

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<v Speaker 3>of this, I'm trying to find where the list of

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<v Speaker 3>suspects went. I wanted to point out that again, even

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<v Speaker 3>though this was an absolutely tragic story in that these

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<v Speaker 3>two young these two teenagers, died. Kimberly Diedl's father, not

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<v Speaker 3>the stepfather, but her father, said that one of the

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<v Speaker 3>greatest things that came out of it was that the

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<v Speaker 3>city itself, this town of Munsey, Indiana, came together.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of the suspects and scenarios are as follows. As

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<v Speaker 1>we mentioned, there were numerous tips and leads. There was

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<v Speaker 1>the Monte Carlo driver, the popular car back then, a

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<v Speaker 1>Chevrolet Monte Carlo seen in the park that night. Police

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<v Speaker 1>focused on finding that vehicle as well as a second car,

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<v Speaker 1>released a composite sketch of the car's driver based on

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<v Speaker 1>descriptions from witnesses. The driver of the Monte Carlo became

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<v Speaker 1>a part of lore surrounding the case, but police ultimately

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<v Speaker 1>said that they don't think the man nor the vehicle

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<v Speaker 1>had anything to do with the slayings.

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<v Speaker 2>There.

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<v Speaker 3>The other one was the cross town rival. They talked

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<v Speaker 3>about rumors or they'd heard rumors that sixteen year old

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<v Speaker 3>Ethan had gotten in our human maybe an actual fight

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<v Speaker 3>with a teenager from the south side of Muncie. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>that's pretty specific, but at the time, the idea that

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<v Speaker 3>he felt threatened after this thing lent some special importance

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<v Speaker 3>to the presence of a knife that was found in

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<v Speaker 3>his car. But people were police sorry, were never able

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<v Speaker 3>to actually confirm that a fight had taken place.

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<v Speaker 1>The stepfather's name Kate cap Resurfacing. He was one of

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<v Speaker 1>the first focuses of the police, but never charged, and

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<v Speaker 1>he said that the rumors, by the way, in late

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<v Speaker 1>nineties he did an interview, said they ruined his life.

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<v Speaker 2>You can imagine.

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<v Speaker 1>Then there was the drifter, one of the more chilling

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<v Speaker 1>scenarios that the two young people were targets of a

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<v Speaker 1>random killer who was just passing through. Police looked at

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<v Speaker 1>a similar incident in Kansas five years earlier, but said

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<v Speaker 1>they didn't believe the cases were connected.

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<v Speaker 3>And then finally, one of Ethan's friends said that he

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<v Speaker 3>and Ethan loved Dungeons and Dragons and used to play

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<v Speaker 3>Dungeons and Dragons on a regular basis. The last of

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<v Speaker 3>the potential suspects in this case was quote the Dungeon Master. Now,

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<v Speaker 3>because Ethan and his buddies played Dungeons and Dragons, there

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<v Speaker 3>was some talk, and again this is rumor mill talk,

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<v Speaker 3>but there was some talk that the fantasy that is

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<v Speaker 3>Dungeons and Dragons was somehow acted out and gone horribly wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that that was kind of one of the

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<v Speaker 1>things that was speculated upon in the late eighties with

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of different crimes of like, is it a

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<v Speaker 1>dark thing that the Satanism?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because all these kids were into it, but it

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<v Speaker 2>was kind.

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<v Speaker 3>Of secretive and probably Ozzy Osbourne and ac DC.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the more poignant quotes I read in this

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<v Speaker 1>article was from one of the friends of Ethan. Ethan

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<v Speaker 1>was the kid who was shot and killed, the debate

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<v Speaker 1>team member, the class president. Tom was one of Ethan's

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<v Speaker 1>closest friends. They hung out every day, they played D

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<v Speaker 1>and D to together. They were both on the debate team.

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<v Speaker 1>And Tom says that about Ethan he was really smart,

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<v Speaker 1>very charismatic, loyal to his friends, a lot of fun.

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<v Speaker 1>He was class president, and he said it was such

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<v Speaker 1>a dramatic event with dramatic ramifications that happened to a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of teenagers, where the smallest thing is dramatic.

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<v Speaker 2>They didn't sleep well at night.

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<v Speaker 1>Nobody did for the rest of high school the next

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<v Speaker 1>two years. Not until Tom left for college did he

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<v Speaker 1>feel safe at night. But I thought that that was

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<v Speaker 1>so so true. A bunch of teenagers were the smallest

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<v Speaker 1>thing is dramatic, so true, right, and then this is

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest thing that could possibly happen to them, And

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<v Speaker 1>how much that how much weight that would come with

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<v Speaker 1>it would come with weight for no matter where you

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<v Speaker 1>are in life.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, but again, still no solution to that murder of

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<v Speaker 3>Ethan and Kimberly from back in nineteen eighty five,