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Is a killer stalking the site where he dumped the bodies of two young women?
CASE DETAILS In 1996, Diane Shawcroft, 20, and her best friend, Jennifer Lueth, 19, left their homes in Colorado and moved in with Diane’s older sister, Kristina Frigoin, in Glendale, Arizona. After a spat with her sister, Diane left with Jennifer to go to the store. Kristina thought they would be right back:
 They were found dead by two hikers Diana and Jennifer headed for the mini-mart a few blocks away. When they didn’t return immediately, it wasn’t cause for alarm, since the two young women were always up for adventure. Diane and Jennifer were seen at the mini-mart around 7 P.M. The cashier said the girls bought cigarettes and soda, then sat outside the store. Two hours passed. The girls were still there when the cashier saw a man pull up in a blue truck. According to Ted Symonds of the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office:
 Their memorial pictures were stolen Three months later, two men were hunting in a remote desert 100 miles north of Phoenix when they came upon two bodies. Diane Lynne Shawcroft lay on top of Jennifer Sue Lueth. Both girls had been murdered. Because the investigation was ongoing, police withheld the cause of death. But the location of the girls’ bodies offered several clues as to who the killer or killers might be. The area was extremely isolated, 16 miles from the nearest highway and accessible only by pick-up truck or four-wheel drive. Police believed the perpetrator knew the area well and frequented it often to hunt or four-wheel drive. Jennifer Lueth’s father, Bob Lueth, believed the killer did not act alone:
 Who was the man in the blue truck? The investigation centered on finding the man in the blue truck. Believing that the girls knew this man, police focused on their personal lives. While in Phoenix, Diane and Jennifer had been to many parties and nightclubs. They had met a lot of people in the short amount of time they lived in Glendale, many of them men. Jennifer Lueth’s mother, Debra Lueth, knew they were easy targets:
There was one final strange twist to this case. The families erected a shrine where the bodies were found. Pictures of both girls were placed at the foot of two wood crosses. Police decided to occasionally survey the sight, hoping to find evidence of a visit from the killer. Four years later, on September 29, 2000, they found it. Both photos of the girls had been removed from their frames. Only police and the victims’ families knew the exact location where the girl’s bodies had been found. Diane’s father:
No evidence that might identify the murderer has ever been found. Authorities would like to question the man in the blue pick up who was the last person seen with the girls. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season twelve with Robert Stack and in season seven with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
Joyce H
“Lock” not lick
Joyce H
I knew the store owner it was called Danny’s Minimart he was a creeper for sure he tried to lick me in that store once. He knew the owner of that truck bc he tried to introduce me to him (he called him “Doc” but I refused. (I was trying to work out a relationship with my ex at that time) I tried reporting reporting this to police. They never interviewed me. 3x’s I tried. I believed in my heart the owner of the store knew something or may have been involved. He sold x rated videos (secretly)
Austin
I hope the show connected you with someone on the case. This sounds like a credible lead. I just saw this episode again, so I was hoping it had been solved.
Anonymous
Joyce H,
did “Doc” look at all similar to the description of the guy in the
“Wanted Poster”?
This sounds like the most credible lead that I’ve heard on this case, Joyce H.
I hope someone follows this up &
actually takes your information,
if you’re still willing.
This case has always stuck in my mind since I saw it as a kid.
I’ve heard quite a few podcasts & updates over the years….
Interestingly, one of the reports was the the Mini Mart Clerk saw scratches on the driver’s arms.
They commented that in 1996, there would be lucky to have many security cameras, if any,
so being able to see his arms from a distance sounded strange & very unlikely.
I also thought the artists sketch of the driver could do with an update…
The description they gave compared to the sketch itself, doesn’t look like it’s even the same person.
Whilst, yes, it was a long time ago, I imagine that if you could see finer details, such as the scratches on his arms, through the store window,
you could probably define your description of the driver in more detail.
Scratches on the arms, sounds like he might have seen him after the attack?
Does anyone actually know where the road or memorial plot is?
I’m pretty I heard there’s still a Police Information Number/Website or Facebook page that you can leave anonymous info on.
Donna
They should check out bartenders where they partied….maybe named “Doc” I wonder. I met a bartender from Arizona up in Miles City Montana in ’96. He was new to town. Wouldn’t answer a lot of questions about his past. The way he acted struck me funny and I wonder what was up with that guy still…coincidence maybe….he called himself Dave. That’s all I remember..
Anonymous
Hopefully they checked out the hunters they supposedly just stumbled upon their remains. They said only law enforcement and the family knew where the memorial was but then you have those two hunters that obviously knew because they apparently found the remains. Two men and obviously know the area well. Two men who possibly committed the murders and went back to see if anyone had found the remains yet and then covered their tracks by saying they just happened to be out hunting and found them. Seems suspicious to me and something to check out if they never did. Maybe one of them owned a blue truck around that time.
Nik
It says no information that could identify the killer(s) has ever been found. Does this mean they neglected to check the picture frames for DNA or fingerprints, that none were recovered, or that they were compromised? I know the Unsolved Mysteries episode is a re-enactment, but if the officer just picked the frames up without gloves and without any care to preserve any forensic evidence – like the re-enactment shows, that was kind of stupid.
If they did recover DNA or fingerprints why haven’t they pursued genetic DNA investigation like they are with other cold cases. That is how they found the Golden state killer and several other unknown killers in the last few years. You’d think that they’d be lined up to get this done with all their cold cases. ♀️
Annoymous investigator
I’ve always wondered if the man in the blue chevy was the actual killer or if he dropped them off somewhere where they encountered their killer. Whatever it is ,i believe they were murdered at a diffrent location and dumped there. They might’ve been drugged and bound so the killer could sexually assault and strangle each. Diane shawcraft was killed first since her body was under jennifer lueths. My question is,why remove the pictures from the frames when he could keep pictures with the frame? Hope one day they find a dna match of the person responsible.
Ryan
@Concerned Viewer.
This was 1996 and not 2016 where video cameras are everywhere you look nowadays. And trail cameras were probably expensive back in 1996 unlike today where everything is cheap and mass produced imported from China. I grew up in the 90s and most security cameras were only placed inside the stores and not outside.
Concerned Viewer 2020
i don’t understand the many loop holes in this case. i don’t understand why more has not been done. if there has been more done details need to be released. why aren’t there trail cams out near the crosses? why haven’t all the hunters been looked into, seeing as you need a license… all the registered hunters in that area need to be looked into and also their relationships and friends too. could have been a friend of a hunter who just knew about the location…… there was no video surveillance at the store?? i thought it caught them sitting outside? so no footage of the truck or man???? why haven’t the bars and clubs they went to been watched for a blue pickup? if that’s where he met the girls he would surely return????? i just don’t understand the loop holes in this case and why more has not been done or why to this day, this case is not being worked on everyday. i have still, so many questions….
anonymous
I knew these two girls from grade elementary school. When I moved back to Colorado in 04 I attempted to find Diana, and then someone told me they had been murdered. I didn’t want to believe it. It still makes me very sad to this day! Rip Diana. I am very sorry this happened to the two of you! Very very sad!
miranda shortt
this so sad I hope one day they find out who did this .
Ryan
In Arizona you need a license to hunt, assuming the person was a hunter (given the remote area and that hunters discovered the bodies). Would it be possible to obtain a list of registered hunters who were selected for that area over a given timeframe and cross check with ADOT records to see if any of those persons owned a Chevy truck?
Anonymous
I was set up on a blind date with a guy named Chad. The night we were going to go out, I called him and he told me he would pick me up as soon as he watched this episode because apparently, he had dated one of these girls. Our plan was to go to the mountains and go for a hike, as we lived in Colorado. I watched the episode and never called him again. I’ve always wondered about him…
Anonymous
Hi
What year was this?
Do you mean that it was in 2002 or 2003 when the episode was released?
I wonder if Chad dated them in Arizona or Colorado, where they were from?
I’m sure you’ve already thought about these questions, but interesting,
none the less.
thinkingoutloud
wonder if the sister knows more than what she’s saying. the girls had an argument and then they decided to go out and get cigs and soda (which isn’t bizarre), but then they spend 2+ hours at the store and then later get into someone’s truck and never return.
and if the only people who knew about the site were police and family…maybe it was an inside job. but someone knows more than what they’re saying
Jason
I dont recall this episode. My first thought was: “in a lot of these episodes, its common that someone had raped, then killed people (usually by someone on parole) and it is a matter of time b4 they’re caught. But, there aren’t too many facts released. My guess is that, maybe they were taken to a party in the dessert, walked away from the group (maybe an argument?) and fell into the darkness? Or, some young man that accidently (Im speculating) saw or heard them fall, or discovered their bodies. Without releasing injuries sustained, dna evidence, etc, we don’t have much to go on
Sharon
Since the police did not have any suspects from the main lead of the blue truck….or the DNA or fingerprints….and withholding details about the case such as cause of death did not seem to help the case, maybe they should have released more details to generate tips and useful information. The cabin being renovated in the area seems to be worth investigating to see if anyone working there observed anyone frequenting the area or any suspicious activity or evidence! The police would have had to be the source to initiate contact with the Forest Service! After 21 years it’s sad to know these families may never find our what happened to their loved ones!
Magdi M Manjal
Just have the store clerk undergo a hypnosis to get more details, such as the car’s plate number
Anonymous
I just recently stumbled across this case, I have no clue how or why I don’t even remember it happening I was so young at the time but it still very unnerving unsettling and very disturbing I haven’t been able to sleep very comfortably at all since I read about it those poor girls bother 12 and half years older than me… What’s sickening is knowing that the person or persons who did this is still out there and who knows they might have killed again although it has been 20 years since this happened they should reexamine the DNA from the frames maybe the sicko or sickos have been arrested since then you know? I don’t understand how anyone can take a life of another and not feel any remorse and dump them off somewhere like they’re trash of some sort you know? These girls were and are very loved even to this day and they deserve justice they didn’t deserve what happened to them and who knows the guy in the blue truck hasn’t been seen since the day the girls disappeared so maybe he either disappeared with them and hasn’t been found or maybe he might have dropped them off somewhere or maybe he and one of his buddies helped with the murders. Idk it’s very very disturbing and just pure evil. And if it was an accident as mentioned in an earlier comment my question is how can anyone kill someone on accident?I don’t get it. And the pictures, “oh I killed them on accident,but I want these pictures to remember them by”? The actual mess is that?
RIParidise sweeties I know this will not go unpunished and y’all will get y’alls justice soon the lord knows and will seek vengeance for y’all it’s a sin unto death and these people that did this horrible act will get What’s coming to them if it hasn’t already I just hope that maybe these families will get their peace of mind soon…
Miranda shortt
I hope one of thse days they will find out who did it so the family’s can have some peace
Gin
two hikerssssssssssssssss hmmmmmmmmmm
M
It’s very sad when these Grils Died ;-(( I know Death is very bad!! These Young Ladys will live again they have hope God will grant them too see life;-))) If you know God then he will make it better for you too understand.
M
I rely like too know who killed these 2 Prety Grils ;-((( I watch Unsolve Mystries alot I never stop I saw it when it 1st began !!! Any way I hate when People kill People & inasent Baby’s & Chikdren even Wiman those who do wrong will be killed my God himself he will not permit this any more.
friend of the mother
I read somewhere that they thought the girls may have gone to a cabin in the area with the man in the truck. There is a forest service cabin that was being renovated at the time in the area called Sycamore Cabin. I think this needs to be checked for DNA from the girls. My intuition tells me that this is a likely area and I wish they would reopen this case and investigate it. I have tried questioning the F.S. to get them to look at their records of whomever was working on the cabin renovation at the time and I have gotten nowhere.
Anonymous
Jenny is my auntie! i love you Jenny.. mommy misses you
Crime Alert
I thought the forensic could match everybody’s finger prints. If they can’t match the killer’s finger prints, then, there’s no way the killer has a record at all. The killer couldn’t just came out of nowhere. It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would the killer take the pictures from the frames? Why not just take the frames with him? It really doesn’t make any sense to me. Has anybody seen that man in the blue truck today? If so, Please contact the Authorities right now. It’s very important for them to question him.
CuriousViewer
There is no way that I’m aware of to match just anyone’s fingerprints. You must either be arrested, willingly be fingerprinted & have your DNA submitted for analysis or sign up for civil service jobs. (i.e. postal worker, armed forces or in some states, work with children in a public setting)
I hope someday the killer/killers come forward or new evidence will be found that will answer the questions I’m certain this family has.
RIP D.S.
The killer hasn’t been caught yet. Some think this was is first and only murder, maybe it was by accident, and some think he could be a very practiced killer that hasn’t been caught yet. What makes the case even harder to solve is the fact that the bodies of both Diana and Jennifer were so badly decomposed, the police needed to use dental records to identify them. The only DNA evidence found was on the picture frames. At least that’s all the police have released to the public. A lot of info about this case has been kept from the public so that when the killer is found they can use it to confirm his involvement.
Anonymous
Why didn’t they take the picture frames in for forensic analysis they could have gotten finger prints . It isn’t easy to take a picture out they had to have left skin cells on it.
Anonymous
Or better yet why didn’t they set up a game cam?
RIP D.S.
They found finger prints and DNA. They didn’t match anyone who has a record. Whoever did this has never been arrested or processed. And I’m scared that whoever did this will never be found. I wish my family could finally have the answers they long for.
Walter
I have to repeat what someone had already pointed out. This was done in 1996. DNA test was in it’s early sages of reliability, the Internet was a few years old and still had to pay by the minute for internet access, trailcams were not a thing not to mention portable media consisted of hard disk, vhs, and if you had the money burnable CD. Fingerprints are only good if the person is on record. Also no GPS you either knew where you were going or you had a map book.