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Trace Evidence

The Hunt for the I-5 Serial Killer

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Trace Evidence

Written by: Bruce Henderson
Narrated by: David Colacci
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$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

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For 10 years, the California Interstate 5 highway was haunted by a dangerous serial killer. Incredibly skilled at staying ahead of the investigators as the bodies started to pile up, there wasn't enough evidence to charge the culprit with murder even once he'd been identified. Instead, they had to build a first-degree murder case in a few months while the killer was locked up on an assault conviction.

Key to this was a cast of four: Vito Bertocchini, the burly ex-street cop who took the killing of a beautiful young woman personally; Kay Maulsby, the rookie homicide detective who helped unmask the killer; Ray Biondi, who fought severe budget cuts that threatened to derail the investigation; and criminalist Faye Springer, who attempted to tie the suspect to his victims through subtle but persuasive microscopic evidence.

Drawing on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with these investigators, as well as other important figures such as the killer's reclusive wife, number-one New York Times best-selling author Bruce Henderson builds a fascinating portrait of this unrepentant murderer.

(P)2020 Tantor Crime Murder True Crime
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Lots of detail and background info that a lot of podcasts omit. Why wasn’t the wife charged with intentionally destroying evidence she knew was of other murders? The homicide detective brother was antagonistic to investigators at every opportunity.

Great narrative, great detail

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Bruce Henderson leads readers through the investigation and capture of Roger Kibbe - the 'I-5 Strangler' - who raped & ligature-strangled 8+ young women.. stabbing them/ritually cutting their clothing off with a pair of scissors. The incredible psychopathology of this monster (ironically strangled to death while in prison) is straight-up fascinating.
Henderson does a nice job of describing Kibbe's crimes and researching his jaw-droppingly abnormal childhood extensively (Red Flags aplenty in this kid) - but disappointingly goes inordinately deep into the day-to-day efforts of the Police Officials who captured him (choosing four key detectives to follow in particular). Jurisdictional disputes, funding fights, partner assignment decisions, chasing down alternative suspects, and criticism of forensics protocol violations are given as much weight as crime particulars, collected evidence, and witness testimony. The concentration on LEO personalities & procedures made stretches of the exposé frankly mind-numbingly boring.

To be certain, reader David Colacci demonstrates professional diction/timbre/cadence and a creditable interested tone. Unfortunately, his voice-acting is distinctly subpar (particularly his female voice interpretations). Cartoonish dialogue - occasionally laugh-out-loud so - too often spoils the import of testimony. Overall, Tantor Audio Inc. didn't totally screw up, but could have cast this project better.

Altogether, 'Trace Evidence: The Hunt for the I-5 Serial Killer' merits 6.5/10 stars. It was a reasonable way to spend a couple of quiet afternoons for free, but not worth your Credit while other True Crime options beckon.


Extremely Insider Focused

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