On January 13, 1972, 9-year-old Debbie Randall was abducted and murdered after leaving a laundromat in Marietta, Georgia. 

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, talks with Detective Morris Nix about solving the 1972 cold case murder of 9-year-old Debbie Randall. They discuss the crime, investigation, DNA technology, and finally bringing justice after five decades.

Show Notes:

• [0:00] Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum.  
• [1:55] Introduction of Debbie’s case 
• [2:50] Sheryl introduces Detective Morris Nix to the listeners
• [5:30] The crime scene is explained 
• [13:30] Unusual components of the crime scene are discussed 
• [15:00] Discovering Debbie’s body
• [20:00] Evidence collection and storage
• [27:00] “This is the beginning of the end.” 
• [30:00] Following leads 
• [35:25] “Persistence is key. Keep pushing forward,  even when things get tough.”
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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.  

You can connect and learn more about Sheryl’s work by visiting the CCIRI website https://coldcasecrimes.org

Social Links:

• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum