250 - The Murder of Janet Shirar

250 - The Murder of Janet Shirar

From Trace Evidence by Steven Pacheco

August 29, 2025 · 1h 19m

About this episode

The episode discusses the unsolved murder of special education teacher Janet Shirar in Kokomo, Indiana, and the ongoing quest for justice over forty-five years later.

Sunday, May 25th, 1980 -- Kokomo, Indiana. Twenty-nine year old special education teacher Janet Shirar doesn't show up for a pre-planned family gathering and birthday party for her nephew. After multiple calls to her apartment go unanswered, her mother, stepfather and friend arrive to check on her. They find her car in the parking lot, the door slightly ajar and her apartment cloaked in darkness. Entering, they notice several concerning details and items out of place. A small, bloody handprint is clearly visible on the wall beside her bedroom door. As they approached the bedroom, their eyes were drawn to the open bathroom door and there, lying face down on the cold tile floor, they discovered Janet's lifeless body. She had been the victim of a vicious knife attack. Over the course of the next sixteen months, investigators commit all of their time and energy to tracking an unidentified woman who has made bizarre statements about the crime and, possibly, her involvement it. However, when the case becomes a political issue, a debate between the prosecutor's office and detectives leaves the family with neither answers nor justice. More than forty-five years later, the truth remains…

People in this episode

Host: Steven Pacheco

Topics covered

  • murder
  • true crime
  • investigation
  • justice
  • unsolved cases

Keywords

  • Janet Shirar
  • murder
  • Kokomo
  • true crime
  • investigation
  • unsolved
  • justice

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kokomo, Indiana

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