so much. we're going to wrap it up right there, jason. thank you. mark thank you alex. thank you. and before we go, send us your like or not questions. just record yourself asking a question. tell us where you're from. you might see yourself on our next show or the questions that you send in. you can also send us a message or comment on instagram or tiktok. thanks so much for joining us today. we hope you like the episode. we'll see you next time. rock your body. move it out. go and take that step. gand break it down. i'm anna garcia. right now on true crime news. a mystery outside the nation's capital. a well-known d.c. photographer vanishes. >> i fell to my knees right there. joe would never not be there. >> a disturbing discovery. hundreds of miles away. >> i think there is more to this case then an arrest. >> a man no one's ever seen or

heard of. what's the connection? a family's fight for answers. >> we reached out to true crime news because we would like joe's story to be heard. >> plus, a beautiful college student murdered. >> as a dad, you always want to protect their children. >> a mysterious taxi caught on surveillance cameras. a series of 37 missed calls her boyfriend put to three lie detector tests. what really happened to adrian salinas? your daily source for true crime starts right now. welcome to true crime news. our top story is a mystery that unfolded right outside the nation's capital. joe shemanski, a beloved d.c. photographer, disappears. then a series of clues helped cops develop a clearer picture that leads them to a surprise suspect. >> why did you want joe shemanski to disappear from the face of the earth? >> it's a question this sister wishes she didn't have to ask. >> joe was just such a good

dude, and everybody loved him. i loved him. >> an answer that this brother has yet to receive. >> you know, it's just really a heartbreaking feeling to think that your beloved family member is no longer on the planet. >> ted and mary shemanski will never understand why their loving brother joe is dead. an accomplished professional photographer with a childlike quality and kindness to his art. >> we have a lot of questions that are unanswered. >> gunned down, investigators say in front of his own home by a man he never met. >> i think there is more to this case than has been presented to our family. >> a tight knit family, now heartbroken as they demand justice for their brother. >> we reached out to true crime news because we would like joe's story to be heard. >> he was a great brother and he was a whole lot of fun. >> to understand joe's story,

you have to start here. >> oh my goodness. oh, you're doing it right now. >> reporter inside the shemanski family home in michigan, where an unbreakable family bond was formed. kaliyev. 5-3. >> sherten. joe. >> mary, joe and ted, three inseparable siblings rooting for each other on the sports field and in life. >> he used to joke that we grew up in sort of like a beaver cleaver family. we were always together. >> even attending the university of michigan at the same time, before joe would move to washington, d.c. to start his career in photography. >> everybody liked joe. he was nice to everybody. he talked to everybody, and i think that was a special quality of joe, just because he could he could be friends with anybody. >> and it's why those who love him struggle to understand. >> oh, joe, you lost it. >> why the loving father, uncle

and brother seen here at a recent family birthday party would be so brutally taken away. >> joe was such a big part of their lives and, you know, so it's. it's just so unfair. >> it started with a phone call from his ex-wife after arriving to joe's house in huntingtown, maryland. >> she had just told us that joe was not at home when she went to drop off the kids, so she said that they had the police were out searching and looking. >> the recently divorced couple were sharing custody of their children. ted and mary say that joe's biggest priority was his kids. so for him not to be there didn't make any sense. >> i'm pretty sure i fell to my knees right there because i thought that joe would never not be there. >> but as police began investigating the family started to lose hope. and police would soon learn this wasn't a typical missing person's report.

>> the neighbor heard gunshots around 4:30 p.m. >> that information led police to search joe's home. joe wasn't there, but his cell phone was still in his car. then a shocking discovery that would change the very fabric of the family forever. up next, cops follow a ton of video clues. what and who are three states away in pennsylvania that lead to an arrest? >> who's coming in the driveway? daddy. my goodness. >> my daughter is being treated for leukemia. i hope that she lives a long, great, happy life and that she will never forget how mom and daddy love her saint jude. i mean, this is what's keeping my baby girl alive.

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we're back with the mystery surrounding washington, d.c. photographer joe szymanski. he's gone missing, but cops are hot on the trail of a suspect, following clues that take them from joe's driveway to hundreds of miles away. >> there was blood on the driveway, a homicide expert determined that it was probably foul play. >> reality would soon set in. >> it is terrible because he was my brother and he's gone. he's gone. >> there's a saying that good photographers treat life like a camera. they focus on what's important. and joe's family says his children were his focus.

>> i knew that something must be wrong because joe would not have missed that. >> mary szymanski was looking for any logical explanation about why her brother wasn't home when his ex-wife came to drop off the kids. >> joe told me there had been a poisonous snake in his garage, and i honestly created a story in my head that maybe the poisonous snake had somehow bit him. >> but when police noticed blood in the driveway, they immediately suspect foul play launching an investigation to find a killer. >> we are a midwestern catholic family that prioritized conflict resolution and love and forgiveness and to all of a sudden wrap my head around the fact that my brother joe may have been murdered during an interview with joe's ex-wife,

she tells police she had recently dated this man, brandon holbrook. >> she tells detectives she was trying to distance herself from him, but joe szymanski had heard his name. >> joe had told us that, you know, the kid said, mommy has a boyfriend. and apparently they called him uncle brandon. >> that name changed everything. detective. search motor vehicle information and using new license plate technology and doorbell video, they placed holbrook's truck at joe's home shortly after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots. then, nearly 200 miles away in reedsville, pennsylvania, police search brandon's home court records show they discovered clning supplies, plastic gloves and when they searched the bed of his truck, critical forensic evidence his body was taken across state lines and his body was dismembered and almost disposed of completely. prosecutors say. cameras caught holbrook discarding human remains outside of a store where

he bought cleaning supplies. then, in the woods a few blocks from his home, they found some human remains near brandon holbrook's house, which gave them enough evidence to arrest brandon holbrook. >> for somebody that didn't know joe as far as i know, never met joe. how did this happen? >> brandon holbrook was charged with the murder of joe szymanski, but his family still can't make sense of it because they believe the two men never met. >> he's gone. so that's, to me, is the hardest thing because i'm never going to see him again. >> why did brandon holbrook think that joe needed to be shot and killed and dismembered and destroyed? i never knew anything about brandon holbrook. >> it's all a mystery. in their search for answers, mary and ted say they remember joe recently reaching out on this text chain to ask them if they would make

sure that a recent $1 million insurance policy would go to his children in the event of his death, saying, you guys are the only two people that i trust with this stuff to me, there's not a good explanation of why it happened. the family doesn't believe they've heard a reasonable motive, and brandon holbrook's trial is set to start early next year. family and friends gather at candlelight vigils, pushing for more answers and sending a message to investigators. >> there's so many questions that are unanswered. we're hoping that they just keep moving forward and keep pressing on and get as many answers as they possibly can. >> meanwhile, the siblings want to keep shining a light on joe's life and all he meant to those who love him. >> one of my favorite images that joe ever did is with matchsticks, and he burned the end of the match. and then in the ash he wrote the word hope. >> their hope is that joe's

children will always remember and cherish the man they called dad. holbrook is in jail without bond. he rejected a potential plea deal, but joe's family doesn't know what was offered to him. his trial is now scheduled for march of 2025. we will stay on this case and bring you the updates when we come back. a father's nightmare as he tries to solve the murder f his 19 year o aughter after she is discovered in the arizona deser. >> whether because of discomfort, lack of mobility, your lifestyle or occupation, you sit inactively way too many hours a day. introducing ellipse the premium quality automatic seated exerciser that strengthens legs increases mobility and boosts circulation without physical strain or impact. >> it is so quiet that none of my coworkers even know i'm using it. >> strengthen and tone your legs. increase your mobility, flexibility, and balance, plus

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closed captioning and other considerations for true crime news provided by. >> there's no greater classroom than the great outdoors. that's why nature valley and the national park foundation are helping kids across america

experience the wonder of nature. life happens out there. >> dangerous ladders, gutter muck. yuck. no wonder you hate cleaning your gutters. good thing there's leaf filter. our patented filter technology keeps leaves and debris out of your gutters forever. guaranteed. call 833. leaf filter to get started and get the permanent gutter solution that ends clogs for good. >> they took the time to answer all of our questions. they really put us at ease. >> and claude gutters for good. call 833 leaf filter or visit leaf filter.com today. >> welcome back. we turn now to a father's worst nightmare and the agony of trying to solve the mystery of his daughter's murder. adrian salinas was living a charmed life in the lively college town of tempe, arizona. the gorgeous, vivacious 19 year old was attending school, had good friends, a serious boyfriend and a doting father. >> she was daddy's little girl.

as she grew older, we would still go out to dinner and to the movies and spend time together. >> the two talked every day and had planned a fun barbecue weekend at home for father's day. >> when i didn't get in contact with her on saturday, i had a feeling that something was wrong. >> when sunday came and still no word from adrian, rick salinas heart sank. >> i went over to her apartment. the door was open, and when i walked in, her dog was there. her cats. and she wasn't there. there was nobody home. >> soon worry turned into panic. >> i called all her friends, family, and with each phone call, my concerns got worse and worse because nobody knew where she was at. >> with no one else left to call, rick called 911. >> i said, you know what? my daughter is missing. she's not a runaway. at that point, our officers actually started doing a canvass of the area. >> it was horribly clear. adrian salinas had completely disappeared. as police arrived

at her apartment, so did friends and her boyfriend, francisco ortega, who said he hadn't seen her since the previous friday night when the two had a heated argument. >> we realized that she hadn't contacted or had conversations or called anybody since saturday morning, just the night before. >> a group of friends had celebrated a birthday party at adrian's apartment. adrian and francisco left the party around 2:30 a.m. after hours of partying. she accused him of not paying attention to her. >> we want to go to my apartmen, where it's more private to talk about things and then things escalated. and then i was taking her back to her house. i was driving and take her back home. on her way home, we had to stop by old town, a popular tempe place for college students, and there's a lot of street lights there, so traffic is moving really slow and she just hopped out of my car. and sadly, that's the last time i ever saw her. >> francisco called her

roommates to make sure she got home safely. they went to find her and walked her back home, but adrian took off again. >> she goes inside, gets a bag, changes her clothes, and tells her friend that she's going to go back to francisco's house. at that point, nobody ever sees adrian again. >> police soon determined adrian left behind a trail of clues and unfortunately, many of them pointed to foul play. >> at about 330, she leaves the party. she starts calling francisco. she calls him at least 37 times. not once does he answer the phone. he kind of ignores it, doesn't want to talk to her. she sends him a text message, tells him that she's coming over to go see him. >> adrian then got in her car and headed towards scottsdale. on her way to her boyfriend's apartment, we get a 911 call at about 344 in the morning, about a possible erratic driver, possibly somebody intoxicated. >> 911 what's your emergency? >> i just wanted to report the wyatte torres looking vehicle.

they were going around the curb and hit something. and then just had two flat tires. >> what we believe happened at that point is adrian drives her vehicle as close as she can back to her apartment, and parks it about a block away, even though it was almost dawn. >> adrian was clearly determined to reconnect with francisco. >> she goes back to her apartment and she changes her clothes, leaves her car keys, and begins calling her boyfriend again. >> when he doesn't answer, she calls a cab company from her cell phone. from this point, adrian's story becomes a true mystery. the path she could have taken was only four blocks from her apartment to the local gas station, where she was heading to meet the cab, but she never shows up, and mysteriously, there's no sign of her on the station. surveillance video. >> the driver tells her that he'll pick her up at the am pm, which is about a half a mile from her apartment. she has three conversations with him.

adrian never shows up. >> on sunday, after she disappeared father's day, adrian's dad and francisco desperately retraced her steps as i went around the block from her apartment, and i looked down the street and i saw her car parked on the side of the road there. >> that's when i realized she's really missing. why would she just leave the car there? why didn't she call me? she'd called me if the car needed oil. >> despite his questions, rick tirelessly continued to search for adrian. but police had their own questions. they immediately turned their investigation on francisco, who was given multiple lie detector tests and repeatedly questioned about the trouble in their relationship. they also looked at the cab driver, who was scheduled to pick her up at the time she went missing. both men were eventually cleared as persons of interest. >> i quit my job and i just devoted all my time to doing what it takes to find a missing

person. >> tempe police made adrian a top priority to searching miles of terrain, investigating hundreds of tips, and conducting dozens of polygraph tests. despite no signs of adrian or her phone, police never gave up hope. >> so this is week's wash that we're driving in right now. >> then a disturbing discovery. two months after her disappearance news her father never wanted to hear. adrian's partial remains are found near the apache trail in a wash at the base of the superstition mountains. >> the area where we're at is about over 30 miles from where adrian lives and where she went missing. she had to have been transported out here somehow. and we just don't know how she got out here. >> in the end, police have no suspects. and can't even determine the cause of adrian's death. >> if there was anybody that was

out there that saw anything suspicious, a vehicle pulled off on the side of the road, a struggle, a female walking by herself, somebody that looked distraught, that little piece of information can help us solve this case. to give answers to the family. >> until then, this distraught father is left only with questions. >> did my daughter. in her last moments here on earth, did she cry out for that? why could i have been there for her? as a as a man, as a as a dad. always wanting to protect her children. i wish i had my daughter here to hold again. >> if you have any information

that could help find adrian's killer, please contact the fbi at (800) 225-5324 or our tip line at (888) 845-7555. we'll be right back. >> still have symptoms from moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease after a tnf blocker like humira or remicade put them in check with rinvoq. rinvoq works differently, and it's a once daily pill. >> when symptoms tried to take control, i got rapid relief with rinvoq. >> check. when flares tried to slow me down, i got lasting steroid free remission with rinvoq. >> check. and when my doctor saw damage, rinvoq helped visibly reduce damage of the intestinal lining. check. >> rapid symptom relief. lasting steroid free remission and visibly reduced damage. >> check, check and check. >> rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots. some fatal cancers, including lymphoma and skin, heart attack, stroke and gi

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jesperi. >> denver police need your help solving the cold case murder of thad thaiss. thad was shot multiple times at his home in denver. >> it was the worst day of my life. i screamed. i just kept crying. >> police are hoping someone will come forward with information to solve this case. the family is offering a $100,000 reward. if you know something, contact metro denver crime stoppers or call our tip line. before we go, let's see what's trending on true crime news.com. a utah woman was arrested after she allegedly

confessed to killing her estranged husband. a utah national guardsman, whom she reported missing days later. jennifer gledhill allegedly told a confidential informant that she shot matthew johnson in the head while he slept, and buried him in a shallow grave. you can find more about this story and other true crime news on our website. that's it for today's true crime news, i'm andy garcia. join us nex time, (tense music) - so it all started with a quarrel between husband and wife. - she left the apartment, he watched her walk down the staircase. that's the last he ever saw her or heard from her. - 19-year-old, no money, no place to run. - nobody had any information on her whereabouts whatsoever. - did kimberly medina abandon her family? - most people would say, "oh, there's no way kimberly would leave her kids.