Cold Case Kansas: A Social Detective Podcast · Cold Case Kansas: A Social Detective Podcast

Dolly Madison Bakery Murders Interview With Desiree Werth

·1 hr 1 min·1 clip

They found male DNA on one of the victims—and forensic science has come so far, they're optimistic about finally solving this.

The episode opens on a KBI update tied to the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Mandy Alexander and Mary Drake at the Dolly Madison Bakery Outlet Store in Great Bend, Kansas. The news conference brings together Corey Latham, Great Bend Police Department Chief Steve Hallmark, KBI Senior Special Agent Brian Carroll, and Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellender. The episode keeps its attention on the update, the unresolved questions around the case, and why it still matters to the people left behind. The host notes that, as someone not originally from Kansas, he did not know about the murder until he heard the 2022 news conference. That detail matters because it sets up the episode's larger concern with visibility and silence. Desiree's public criticism of the KBI's lack of contact with family members becomes one of the episode's main threads. The show treats that complaint as more than a grievance. It is framed as something that can shape the family, the investigation, and transparency itself. From there, the episode turns to who was targeted that day. The host says Mandy Alexander was the targeted individual, noting that she had just started there that week and that Mary Drake was there by chance, stopping in to shop. The episode asks whether the outcome would have been the same if Mandy had not been there. It then considers robbery as a motive and notes that very little money was taken. On that basis, robbery is mostly ruled out, though the motive has not been fully established. The host is careful to say the targeted-victim analysis is his opinion, not a proven fact. After that, the episode moves into the interview with Desiree Worth, who shares what happened that day and helps listeners understand Mandy as a person. The conversation is meant to bring Mandy back into focus and to show why the case still hurts.

As heard by us

A local cold case update that stays focused on families, facts, and the cost of silence.

The episode centers the 20th-anniversary KBI update on the Dolly Madison Bakery murders and keeps the focus on the loss of Mary Drake and Mandy Alexander, along with the family's concern that the KBI had not stayed in contact.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a fresh KBI update on the Dolly Madison Bakery murders and the family-contact dispute.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Cold Case Kansas: A Social Detective Podcast