Testing and Theories

·32 min·2 clips

A single .380 shell casing helped connect the 1991 Yogurt Shop murders to Robert Eugene Brashers.

1. Ice Cold Case's "Testing and Theories" centers on whether Belmont County has physical evidence from the host's father's murder that can still be tested. 2. Madison McGee is the writer, host, producer, and editor, and she frames the case around what Lieutenant Doug Cruz and Chief Detective Ryan Ehler are willing to test. 3. The episode asks whether theories about the homicide can survive against bullet casings, fingerprints, shoe prints, trace DNA, and lab records. 4. McGee says she has spent six years narrowing her questions into five sections and sent her own blueprint to the Belmont County Sheriff's Office. 5. She argues that fingerprints are basic evidence because the people tied to the case are likely prior offenders already in the system. 6. She says bullet casings should connect the gun used in the killing to a suspect, but she still does not know whether Belmont County collected them. 7. McGee cites a family recollection that a casing was found nearly a week after the murder on the living-room rug, which she calls a major oversight. 8. She also notes that some paperwork says shotgun, while the autopsy and Belmont County conversations say handgun, which leaves the weapon type inconsistent. 9. The episode then turns to a shoe-print theory, including a Nike size 10 print on the door and reports that Kim Smith saw red Nike shoes with black socks. 10. McGee connects that print to Omar, Spoon, Daryl Smith's Adidas sneakers, and an FBI shoe database that could identify a model. 11. Chemical evidence becomes another focus, especially the reports that rubbing alcohol was poured on Omar, Kim, and Pearl during the home invasion. 12. McGee says police arrived about 45 minutes later, yet the victims still reportedly smelled strongly of rubbing alcohol, which she finds difficult to explain. 13. She questions the source and quantity of the alcohol and mentions a Giant Eagle brand empty bottle collected as evidence. 14. The host also examines Omar's timeline, including his run to the break shop, the missing shell casings on the path, and the change from black boxer shorts and no shirt to blue shorts and a T-shirt. 15. She suggests that running the route with stopwatches could test how long the distance actually takes and whether Omar had extra time before the 911 calls. 16. The most detailed proof-of-concept comes from the 2021 Trails End Drive double homicide in Belmont County, where firefighters found Thomas Strassen, 52, and Angela Strassen, 48, after a house fire. 17. McGee says detectives tracked phone records, cell-tower pings, credit-card transactions, and multiple interviews across state lines with help from the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. 18. That investigation led to Andrew Isaac Griffin's February 2025 arrest in Hawaii, his extradition to Ohio, and Dalton Ray's June 2025 conviction for obstruction of justice. 19. The episode is investigative and argumentative, with McGee speaking directly to detectives, citing studies from Arizona State University, and using courtroom language about cross-examination and proof. 20. Listeners who like cold-case forensics and evidence review will get the most from this episode, while people wanting a quick recap without case details may skip it.

As heard by us

A cold case built on theory finally runs into the harder discipline of proof.

Testing and Theories is built on a simple but sturdy turn: theory is not enough, and the case has to stand up to proof. Madison McGee keeps returning to what was tested, what was retested, and which physical evidence still survives, shifting from DNA to ballistics to the harder…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the evidence, not the hunches, to decide this case.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Ice Cold Case