Episode 124 Maria Honzell Part 2 of 2

This is the conclusion of the Maria Honzell case. If you have not listened to part one now, please stop now and go back and listen to that part first.

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Episode 124 Maria Honzell Part 1 of 2

In February 1977, 14 year old Maria Honzell was babysitting for two little boys in her apartment complex. While everyone thought the boys were asleep, someone stabbed her to death and left he bloodied body in the bedroom. But the boys weren’t asleep – and one of them witnessed the crime. His description of the killer drove the investigation for years to come – but didn’t help solve the case. It took CeCe Moore and forensic genealogy to do that. When the police learned the name of the killer … it did not answer a lot of questions about what led up to the murder of Maria Honzell.

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Episode 123 Doe ID: Melissa Highsmith

This Doe ID episode is a bit different from most other ones, because the victim in this case is alive and well. In August, 1971, when Melissa Highsmith was just 22 months old, her mother Alta; desperate for a babysitter, allowed a stranger she didn't know to watch over her little girl in Fort Worth, Texas. Alta was terrified when the woman never contacted her again, and took Melissa with her. The woman had provided Alta with fake information, and no real way to contact her. With not much to go on, police were not much help. Alta prayed and believed in her heart that the woman who took Melissa did so because she wanted a little girl and would raise her and keep her safe.

Decades later, Alta along with her family members who never gave up hope that Melissa was out there someplace, began to do their own investigation, and called upon genealogy to help find her. After uploading their DNA profiles to a public database, they found family members that they believed to be biological children of Melissa. More digging proved that they were correct, and they were finally reunited with Melissa who had indeed been raised by a woman she thought was her mother under an assumed name; Melanie Miyoko . Although Melissa had many struggles in her life, she was alive, and happy to reunite with her real family. She now has her real name back; it's Melissa Highsmith, and this is her story.

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