S2E8: The Mysterious Death of Jon Young

S2E8: The Mysterious Death of Jon Young

From Blood Trails by MeatEater

June 4, 2026 · 56 min · Season 2

About this episode

The episode explores the mysterious death of retired archeologist Dr. Jon Young, found dead in a fire with suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

In January 2019, retired archeologist Dr. Jon Young was found dead in the smoldering ruins of the adobe home he'd built by hand outside Taos, New Mexico. The fire marshal found evidence of accelerants in five locations. The autopsy flagged a suspicious hole in his skull. A neighbor saw unfamiliar men outside the house minutes before the blaze. And yet, no one has ever been charged — because, incredibly, no law enforcement agency ever opened a homicide investigation. Host Jordan Sillars traces the cold trail left by a fascinating man whose life's work may have gotten him killed, and asks the question his family has been asking for seven years: what really happened on Mirlo Road? Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File . Follow Blood Trails on  Apple , Spotify , YouTube , iHeart , Pandora , Amazon . Connect with  Jordan Sillars  and  MeatEater MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Blood Trails on Instagram Jordan Sillars on  Instagram MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Jordan Sillars

Topics covered

  • mysterious death
  • homicide investigation
  • archeology
  • fire investigation
  • cold case
  • suspicious circumstances

Keywords

  • Jon Young
  • mysterious death
  • Taos
  • homicide investigation
  • archeologist
  • fire
  • cold case

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MeatEater, Blood Trails

Places: Taos, New Mexico

More episodes of Blood Trails

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Blood Trails podcast page.