Crime Junkie
Crime Junkie
"This is the story of the West Side Park murders. It's around midnight on September 28, 1985, when officer Terry Winters of the Muncie Police Department is on patrol in West Side Park..." — Ashley Flowers
"And in another statement during the interview, Dawn said, 'If I did this, you're going to have to tell me I did it.'" — Ashley Flowers
"And according to the book, the DNA evidence is described as being damaged and muddied. So I assume that like any advanced testing like IDG is out of the question, I don't know that for a fact though." — Ashley Flowers
The episode meticulously reconstructs the events of September 28, 1985, when Muncie Police Officer Terry Winters discovered the bodies of 16-year-old Ethan Dixon and 15-year-old Kimberly Dow in West Side Park. The teenagers were found shot to death in a Volkswagen hatchback, with no signs of struggle or robbery. Investigators noted the presence of an open pocket knife and a gun holster, but the murder weapon was never recovered. Both victims were described as well-rounded students, making the brutal crime particularly shocking to their community.
Over the subsequent decades, the investigation pursued multiple avenues, including scrutinizing Kimberly's stepfather, Dawn, who was initially a person of interest due to his proximity to the scene and his somewhat evasive responses to police. Other potential suspects, such as a man arrested for DUI in the park shortly after the murders and a man named James "Jimmy" Swingley, who was linked to a car matching the description of one seen leaving the park, were also investigated. Despite numerous tips, witness accounts, and even the use of experimental investigative tactics like hypnosis, no definitive suspect was identified, and the case remained unsolved.
The narrative highlights the dedication of investigators like Detective Nathan Sloan, who revisited the case in 2012 and explored theories involving multiple individuals, drug deals gone wrong, and even comparisons to notorious serial killers. Despite a DNA sample obtained from Jimmy Swingley, it did not match evidence found at the scene, leaving the case in a state of persistent ambiguity. The episode concludes by emphasizing that the West Side Park murders remain an active cold case, with the families of Ethan Dixon and Kimberly Dow still seeking justice and closure.