48 Hours Fateful Connection
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Jan 28, 2026 Elmer Cruz, a neighbor who recorded William Hurst admitting to disposing of a body. Detective Lisa Shahneman, a cold-case detective who reopened linked disappearances and pursued the suspect to arrest. They discuss 1982 Florida vanishings, the Jane Doe identification, the wiretapped admission, the cross-state manhunt, courtroom battles, and a family's long-awaited closure.
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Cold Cases Can Intersect Across Decades
- Two women disappeared in Pasco County, Florida, in 1982 with overlapping details that later connected their cases.
- Evidence from one case (the unidentified body) ultimately unlocked the other (Amy Hurst's identity and murder).
Officer Reopens Case By Exhuming Jane Doe
- Pasco County officer Bobby Hamm reexamined the cold file and located the 1982 report of a body in the Gulf.
- He exhumed the grave and preserved evidence that later enabled DNA comparison and identification attempts.
Prioritize DNA And Family Reference Samples
- Preserve evidence and collect family DNA when possible in unidentified-decedent cases.
- Prioritize DNA testing even if backlogs delay results, because matches can solve other cold cases years later.