In 1995, Marisa Patti met David Mabrito on the beach in Oceanside, California – it was love at first sight. Twenty-three years later, he would be found responsible for the brutal murder and desecration of 39-year-old Jodine Serrin in her own bedroom. In the wake of the solve, Marisa and her son were left on their own to figure out how this man they loved, trusted, and built a life with could have committed such an unthinkable crime. Today, they’re still trying to make sense of it all. Marisa’s story is one we rarely get in true crime: a raw, unflinching look at what it means to live in the aftermath – not just for victims' families, but for the ones closest to the killer. On Crime Junkie we walked through every detail of Jodine Serrin’s case that led police to her killer: David Mabrito. Make sure you’ve listened to that episode, MURDERED: Jodine Serrin, before you start this one.

Maria “Mary Faye” Mendez walked out of the duplex she shared with her family in Odessa, Texas, on Aug. 2, 1985, and seemingly vanished without a trace. Her sister-in-law watched Mary head in the direction of a local bar after fighting with her husband, who they knew as Arnuldo Mendez. Mary had asked her sister-in-law to watch her 5-year-old daughter, Virginia, while she went out, but she never came home. For nearly 40 years, her family wondered whether she’d walked away from her life and children…or if something bad had happened to her. It wasn’t until a young cold case detective stumbled across her long-lost case file and started digging that clues in a decades-old mystery started to be unearthed.

When Lawrence was reported missing on January 10th, 2010, he didn’t exactly vanish without a trace. Between mysterious phone records and strange theories from a recluse who lived in an isolated trailer park , police had a good idea what his last movements were and with whom he interreacted – and specifically, they honed in on two people who seemed very suspicious in the wake of his disappearance. But they need more than suspicions to make their case. And detectives are sure that someone out there knows what happened to the man they still call “Lost Larry.”

On a summer night in 1993, 19-year-old Gregory Fickess had just gotten out of his car in downtown Rochester when he was jumped in a seemingly unprovoked, fatal act of violence. A case with no motive and few cooperating witnesses is tough to get very far. But when detectives find out that one of the few cooperating witnesses they did have dies… suddenly… and under strange circumstances… it seems like one more sign that the theory they do have might be right. And they just need a little help from you getting this over the finish line after three decades.

Being a 13-year-old kid can be tough, to say the least. But it seemed as if Jonathan Garcia-Valladares had it figured out. He was an overachieving student. He was a chess player. And on a crisp fall day in 2010, Jonathan was trying to get in shape for the football team, a sport he’d just joined. But on that day, his short life would come to an end. In the 15 years since, law enforcement is still trying to uncover why, and, most importantly… who would do this to an innocent young kid who had his entire life ahead of him.

Robert was known as a quiet man who stayed out of trouble, so when he was found shot to death in his home one morning in the winter of 2002, police were initially stumped when it came to both motive and culprit. That might’ve been because Robert was never the intended target in what’s now become a mystery that investigators hope one of you may hold the key to solving.

Maurice – or Melissa, as they sometimes introduced themselves – was 22 when they were shot and killed in Phoenix, Arizona. They were just starting to build a name for themselves as a performer, making it to the regional final for American Idol and acting in dozens of local productions, including The Wiz, Westside Story, and Alice in Wonderland. But the curtain fell too soon… According to friends and family, gender identity was fluid for Maurice. They sometimes presented as femme and went by Melissa, as they did the night of the shooting. This led both LGBTQ+ activists and local officials to fear that maybe this was a hate crime. Maybe… But investigators have struggled to pin down a definitive motive – and the killer.

If you lived in the Rochester area back in the day, you might recognize the smooth voice of “Unkle Rog.” As a late-night radio host and DJ at WCMF for almost 30 years, perhaps he kept you company past midnight, maybe helped you stay awake during a third shift. By 52, Roger had already survived a terminal cancer diagnosis, only to be gunned down on December 12th, 2003, in what, at first, seemed to be a random act of violence. But a potential witness in the case has raised the possibility that his murder may’ve been more personal than previously assumed.

In June 2010, 50-year-old Blanca Acevedo was navigating a life of quiet chaos when she was found murdered in a building set aflame. The brutal case of overkill quickly went cold for the detectives on the case… But could a letter found on Blanca’s bedside table have held the key to finding her killer all along? It’s one of several clues new investigators are chasing down to solve this 15-year-old murder.

On a mild spring night in 1991, Luther’s teenage son found him lying dead on his bedroom floor next to his overturned wheelchair and a knife. With a locked door and no signs of forced entry, police believe his killer could have been someone he knew and trusted… but when they zoom out, investigators notice a series of other crimes with eerie similarities… and they begin to consider whether a serial killer could be to blame.