Evidence Ignored - introducing the Refugio Rodriguez story by Trisha Taurinskas at The Vault
Release Date: 12/23/2022
The Mandan Murders (EP9)
Dakota Spotlight
In this episode, Chad Isaak's mother and two of his sisters break their silence after four and a half years. Who was Chad? As a child? As a grown man? What warning signs did they see? Also in this episode, what do Chad Isaak's actions at RJR say about who his intended target was? And, a sheriff deputy shares two encounters with Isaak leading up to the murders. In Season 9 of the Dakota Spotlight true crime investigative podcast, host James Wolner will re-examine this recent case. His exploration is a personal one: He was working in Mandan at the time of the murders and joined the first police...
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The Mandan Murders (EP8) - Thanksgiving update
Dakota Spotlight
A preview of what's still to come in The Mandan Murders and a Thanksgiving greeting from host James Wolner. For a limited time, you can get 50 percent off an annual news subscription at To read and see more about Season 9, The Mandan Murders visit Check out more true crime at The Vault - email - Facebook:
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The Mandan Murders (EP7)
Dakota Spotlight
In this episode, a closer look at two of the four killed at RJR, Adam Fuehrer and Robert Fakler. Interviews with Adam's wife, sister, brother-in-law and stepmom. Also, Robert Fakler's wife and daughter share their memories of him. In Season 9 of the Dakota Spotlight true crime investigative podcast, host James Wolner will re-examine this recent case. His exploration is a personal one: He was working in Mandan at the time of the murders and joined the first police press conference, his first step into true-crime podcasting journalism. Follow along as Wolner re-examines the morning...
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The Mandan Murders (EP6)
Dakota Spotlight
In this episode, who were Bill and Lois Cobb? Friends and loved-ones of the Cobbs share their memories of Bill and Lois; we learn about their childhoods, their personalities, interests and more. Bill and Lois' daughters also share the challenges they have had in dealing with the murders and offer advice for others who may have to go through something similar. To see video of Bill Cobb's Elvis Presley show visit In Season 9 of the Dakota Spotlight true crime investigative podcast, host James Wolner will re-examine this recent case. His exploration is a personal one: He was working...
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The Mandan Murders (EP5)
Dakota Spotlight
This week we take a bit of a departure from the usual style of Dakota Spotlight as we listen in on the audio from the entire first interview and interrogation that Special Agent Joe Arens conducted with Chad Isaak. Also some comments by witnesses on some odd behavior Chad Isaak demonstrated at the time. In Season 9 of the Dakota Spotlight true crime investigative podcast, host James Wolner will re-examine this recent case. His exploration is a personal one: He was working in Mandan at the time of the murders and joined the first police press conference, his first step into true-crime...
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The Mandan Murders (EP4)
Dakota Spotlight
Two days after the murders BCI and Mandan PD had zero suspects. But they had a lead. The vehicle. The mysterious man in orange drove a white Ford F-150 pickup and the cops caught a good image of it from a security camera in Center, North Dakota. They circulated the photo to all law enforcement and waited for someone to recognize it. That someone turned out to be detective Justin Krohmer. He looked at the photo and thought, 'That looks a lot like my chiropractor's vehicle.' In Season 9 of the Dakota Spotlight true crime investigative podcast, host James Wolner will re-examine this recent case....
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The Mandan Murders (EP3)
Dakota Spotlight
Season 9, episode 3: In some ways it was elementary and simple. The way to catch the mysterious masked man in orange who killed four employees at RJR was to track him, to follow his trail. Not with a bloodhound but with video. Survellience video. In this episode law enforcement investigators recap how they painstakingly gathered video from local businesses to track the man in orange. That is until the trail went suddenly cold. Also in this episode, a little bit about Adam Fuehrer, one of the victims at RJR. To read and see more about the Season, visit Support Dakota Spotlight by...
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The Mandan Murders (EP2)
Dakota Spotlight
Episode 2 of Season 9: In the second episode of The Mandan Murders, host James Wolner returns to the morning of the murders with a minute-by-minute look at Bockheim's discovery, a 911 call and the ensuing discovery of four murder victims. As he traces a terrible day, Wolner also interviews many of those involved in responding to the quadruple murder at RJR, including paramedics and law enforcement. He also speaks with family of those killed, as they tell what happened on that fateful day. In this series, follow along as Wolner re-examines the morning of the murders, the hunt for the...
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The Mandan Murders (EP1)
Dakota Spotlight
Episode 1 of Season 9: It was a crime that would shock the prairie. And that April morning the news quickly traveled across town: Four people had been found dead at a local business, RJR Maintenance and Management. The four killed were Robert Fakler, a co-owner of the business, and three employees: Adam Fuehrer, and married couple William Cobb and Lois Cobb. In this first episode, host James Wolner recalls the morning of the murders in Mandan when he worked at a nearby business. He shares his memories of joining the first police press conference, his first step into true-crime podcasting...
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Announcing - The Mandan Murders Starting October 4
Dakota Spotlight
A short announcement and teaser about season 9 starting October 4, 2023. Homepage - Check out The Vault - Email - Facebook -
info_outlineHello Dakota Spotlight followers: I have a bit of a holiday treat for you today, which I am very excited to share with you.
A few weeks ago, I traveled to the town of Montevideo, Minnesota. I was there to take part in a meeting with three of my colleagues to plan and discuss work for The Vault - which is Forum Communication’s online catalog of great stories about Midwest history, mysteries and, of course, true crime.
Why did we convene in Montevideo, Minnesota?
Montevideo was purely a logistical destination as we all live in different places; 3 of us drove to Montevideo where a 4th colleague lives. Her name is Trisha Taurinskas.
Over coffee we asked Trisha if there were any local stories that she had considered for The Vault. It turns out there was one story that Trisha had on her mind–in fact, to me, it seemed to be stuck in her mind.
I could tell right then and there, this story was not gonna to just go away for her—she was in the early phases of experiencing a nagging feeling that I know very well myself–I would describe it as an almost uncomfortable sense of ‘calling’ … a somewhat involuntary compulsion to act and go look for and find answers–all in the name of justice and the truth.
And that’s exactly what she did–exactly what she is currently in the middle of doing...
Fast forward a few months and now my holiday treat for you then, coming up right here, right now, is the full first episode of Trisha Taurinskas’ reporting on the death of Refugio Rodriquez. A Minnesota man found dead on a walking path – a man who had just told his family his life was in danger after he was outed as a confidential informant for law enforcement. Yet despite the suspicious death, his case was closed, the death ruled a suicide.
But as you might imagine, and as Trisha sensed all along, there is a lot more to the story than that.
/ James Wolner email: [email protected]
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