Black Girl Gone: A True Crime Podcast

In 1994, 37-year-old Robin Lawrence was brutally murdered inside her Virginia home while her two-year-old daughter remained inside. For nearly three decades, the case went unsolved until advances in forensic genealogy led detectives to an unexpected suspect and a chilling confession. After 30 years of silence, Robin’s case was finally solved. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS HelloFresh HelloFresh.com/girlgone10fm BILT JoinBilt.com/girlgone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of Black History Month, we’re revisiting the story of Alberta Jones — Louisville’s first Black woman prosecutor and a civil rights trailblazer. On August 4, 1965, Alberta left her home after a late-night phone call. Hours later, her body was found floating in the Ohio River. The investigation was marked by conflicting timelines, missing evidence, and suspects who were never charged. Decades later, police claimed they knew who was responsible — but said they couldn’t prosecute. Sixty years later, Alberta Jones’ murder remains unsolved. Her story deserves to be remembered. SUPPORT OUR SPONOR EARNIN Download today in the Apple App Store or Google Play Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Afterthoughts conversation, we talk through what stayed with us after telling Carmen Sanders’ story. We reflect on the details that mattered most, the warning signs that were easy to miss in real time, and how proximity and familiarity played a role in what happened. This isn’t a rehash of the case. It’s a space to sit with the unanswered emotional weight, the choices Carmen was preparing to make, and the larger questions her story raises about access, trust, and safety especially when danger doesn’t come from the outside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 2010, Carmen Sanders, a twenty-two-year-old woman living in Ridgeland, Mississippi, was murdered inside her apartment. The investigation moved quickly, resulting in an arrest, formal charges, and a guilty plea that led to a life sentence. Carmen’s story is told through the life she was living before her death a young woman balancing work, school, and plans to move forward and the circumstances that allowed violence to occur in a space that appeared ordinary and familiar. This Episode Was Sponsored By BetterHelp Go To BetterHelp.com/girlgone for 10% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 4, 1998, eight-year-old Shy’Kemmia Pate disappeared from her neighborhood in Unadilla, Georgia. She was last seen on a quiet Friday night, just steps from her home, as summer came to an end. By the time an official search began, the most critical hours were already gone. What followed was an investigation shaped by delays, limited timelines, and years of unanswered questions. Despite extensive searches, multiple persons of interest, and renewed attention decades later, Shy’Kemmia was never found. Her disappearance remains one of Unadilla’s most troubling unsolved cases a story defined not by what is known, but by what has never been explained. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR BILT Visit JoinBilt.com/girlgone Shopify Visit Shopify.com/girlgone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January of 2022, 17-year-old Zion Foster left her home in Eastpointe, Michigan, and never returned. What began as a desperate search for a missing teenager slowly became something else entirely. As police worked to retrace Zion’s final movements, her family pushed for answers, and a troubling timeline began to take shape — one built on phone data, surveillance footage, and statements that didn’t add up. Support Our Sponsors Shopify Visit Shopify.com/girlgone Hello Fresh Visit HelloFresh.com/girlgone10fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between the fall of 2012 and the summer of 2013, three women disappeared from Cleveland under very different circumstances. Shetisha Sheeley, Angela Deskins, and Shirellda Terry were not reported missing in the same way, and their cases were never linked while they were still alive. It wasn’t until July of 2013 — when three bodies were discovered within blocks of each other in East Cleveland — that investigators realized these were not isolated cases, but part of the same story. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR Earnin Download the Earnin App in the App Store or Google Play Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Afterthoughts episode, we unpack the case of Samira Watkins and talk through what stayed with us after telling her story. From the dangers of trusting the “safe” option, to the weight of circumstantial evidence, to the devastating impact Samira’s loss had on her family — especially her young son — we share our honest reactions, lingering questions, and the parts of this case that were hardest to shake. This conversation goes beyond the timeline to reflect on deception, double lives, and what justice really looks like when a case is built piece by piece. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2009, 25-year-old Samira Watkins disappeared in Pensacola, Florida, after leaving home to meet someone she trusted. As investigators worked to retrace her final movements, the case evolved from a missing person report into a murder investigation built largely on circumstantial evidence and digital records. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May 2023, 29-year-old nurse and mother Patrice Wilson vanished after finishing an overnight shift at a Detroit hospital. What investigators uncovered would expose a targeted act of violence — and reopen questions tied to another woman who disappeared years earlier. This is the murder of Patrice Wilson. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR Bilt Visit JoinBilt.com/girlgone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices