Zone 7: The Cape Cod Serial Rapist and the Survivor Who Helped Catch Him

In this episode of Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum is joined by retired Police Chief Frank Frederickson and Michelle Linn for a case that began with a violent 1988 Cape Cod assault and, years later, became something neither of them could have imagined. Frederickson, then a newly assigned detective, recalls a summer of escalating attacks across Hyannis and Barnstable, Massachusetts, and the unconventional decision to bring Michelle along into the nightclubs to search for the man who attacked her. Michelle shares what finally convinced her to report the assault, how she knew her attacker the instant she saw him, and how one of the most traumatic experiences of her life led to justice, healing, and an unexpected love story.

Highlights:

(0:00) Sheryl McCollum introduces retired Police Chief Frank Frederickson and details his decades of law enforcement service

(1:00) Frank describes the 1988 Cape Cod case and “sets the stage” before cell phones, DNA testing, cameras, and modern investigative tools

(2:00) A young woman is attacked while trying to retrieve a motel key; a passerby intervenes as the attacker tries to drag her across the road

(3:45) Similar assaults begin happening weekly in Barnstable and Hyannis, Massachusetts, growing more violent as the summer goes on

(4:45) Michelle tells Frank she believes she will know the assailant if she sees him again

(7:15) Michelle spots the man outside a Hyannis nightclub

(8:00) Frank describes following the suspect until a liquor store stop gives police a reason to approach him

(11:15) Michelle joins the conversation and shares how she recognized her attacker and what she remembered from the attack

(15:30) Michelle recalls not wanting to report the assault, and the moment her friend convinced her that staying silent could put someone else at risk

(21:30) Frank and Michelle share the unexpected turn their lives took years later

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Frank Frederickson is a retired chief of police with more than 45 years in law enforcement, beginning with the Yarmouth Police Department in 1977 and retiring in 2022. He has served as director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police and as executive director of the New England Association of Chiefs of Police.

Michelle Linn is a survivor whose courage helped investigators identify and arrest the man responsible for a series of sexual assaults on Cape Cod in 1988. Her decision to report, stay involved, and trust what she recognized helped bring justice for multiple victims.

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.

Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.

Social Links:

Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com

X: @ColdCaseTips

Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast●

TikTok: @Sheryl.McCollum

Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.

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