ZONE 7: Poisoned Meatballs and Wolf Justice | Special Agent Ed Newcomer

ZONE 7: Poisoned Meatballs and Wolf Justice | Special Agent Ed Newcomer

A Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over 20 years, Ed Newcomer worked in Los Angeles in a variety of international posts before retiring in 2022. During his career, he conducted numerous high-profile international wildlife trafficking investigations involving every continent, including Antarctica, and is known for bringing down some of our planet's most notorious wildlife criminals. He is a recipient of the Humane Law Enforcement Award from the Humane Society of the United States and holds a record six Law Enforcement Awards from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

Listeners can learn more about Ed Newcomer on his podcast - Nature’s Secret Service, and on LinkedIn @EdNewcomer

In February 2004, an Idaho hiking trail became a deadly crime scene when 58 elk-meat “meatballs” laced with a lethal pesticide were scattered in a known wolf habitat. The suspect’s goal? Kill endangered gray wolves. What followed was an extraordinary, boots-in-the-snow investigation involving forensics, environmental science, and sheer tenacity.

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, and Ed Newcomer, a retired special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, walk us through the forensic lab breakthroughs that tied the poison, the elk meat, and even a suspect’s boots directly to the scene. Along the way, you'll hear how a rookie game warden’s decision to bag “yellow snow” ended up sealing the case.

If you’re heading to CrimeCon, don't miss Sheryl and Ed on the main stage for Creator’s Row. They’ll be covering another unbelievable wildlife crime case live and in person. Y’all are gonna want a front-row seat!

Highlights:

  • (0:00) Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum welcomes Ed back to Zone 7
  • (1:30) Poison: sneaky deadly, and a nightmare to investigate
  • (3:00) Yellowstone wolves: hunted down, written off, and finally restored and protected
  • (6:45) A dog finds a meatball... and the day goes downhill from there
  • (12:00) 58 meatballs, one drainage area, a hiking trail, and a whole lot of collateral damage
  • (18:00) A hunting boot with a missing nub becomes a critical lead
  • (21:15) Rookie collects “yellow snow” (and yes, it matters later)
  • (24:00) Forensics lab confirms the type of meat and poison
  • (25:45) “If I see a wolf, I’m gonna kill it.” A memorable encounter from years prior helps hone in on a suspect
  • (32:45) Search warrant yields boots, poison, elk blood, and hostile bumper stickers
  • (40:00) DNA results confirm the elk in the poisoned meatballs came from the suspect’s home
  • (43:00) Why being a wildlife officer is one of the most dangerous law enforcement jobs
  • (45:45) Influenza, frozen urine, and a guilty plea
  • (53:45) “It all starts with the wolves.” —Peter Wohlleben

If you’re enjoying Zone 7, please consider leaving a rating and review —it helps others discover the show and supports our mission to share these stories.

---

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students, and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

Social Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(4983)

Finding Chase Massner: Nancy Grace investigates Iraq War vet’s disappearance

Finding Chase Massner: Nancy Grace investigates Iraq War vet’s disappearance

Georgia investigators are close to declaring the disappearance of Iraq War vet Chase Massner to be a cold case. Nancy Grace, however, won’t let the search for the father of two young girls go cold. Grace has literally taken to the streets to track down witnesses and clues about what happened to Massner, who was 26 years old when he vanished. The results of her personal investigation will be presented in a week-long series of “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” episodes starting March 27, the third anniversary of Chase’s disappearance. This episode offers a preview of what she is finding. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Mar 20178min

Should fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski be allowed back in the USA?

Should fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski be allowed back in the USA?

Roman Polanski fled the United States 40 years ago because he feared a Los Angeles judge would send him to prison for years after he admitted having sex with a 13-year-old girl. The filmmaker, who found refuge in Europe, has renewed his legal effort to be allowed back in California with no more jail time so he can resume his movie-making career. Nancy Grace and Alan Duke debate Polanski’s case in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Mar 201716min

Tot mom Casey Anthony’s ‘other victims’

Tot mom Casey Anthony’s ‘other victims’

Casey Anthony appears to blame her parents — specifically her father — for the death of her two-year-old daughter in a new interview with the Associated Press. She tells the AP reporter that she doesn’t know what happened to Caylee, but that the child was in the care of her parents. Nancy Grace believes George and Cindy Anthony are the Tot Mom’s “other victims.” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11 Mar 201720min

How Rhonda Stapley escaped Ted Bundy’s murderous grasp

How Rhonda Stapley escaped Ted Bundy’s murderous grasp

Rhonda Stapley kept her near-death encounter with serial killer Ted Bundy secret for decades, fearing the judgment that could come if she told how he kidnapped and raped her. The Utah college student hitched a ride with someone she thought was a cute law student, but he took a detour and coldly announced he was going to kill her. It was only because she fell into a river and was swept away by a swift current that she escaped. Stapley talks with Nancy Grace about the pain that followed in this “Crime Stories” episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Mar 201722min

Nancy Grace outrage at Tot Mom Casey Anthony's AP interview

Nancy Grace outrage at Tot Mom Casey Anthony's AP interview

Casey Anthony, the Florida woman Nancy Grace dubbed “Tot Mom,” says she has no idea how her daughter Caylee died, but she has no trouble sleeping at night. Anthony’s controversial comments came in an Associated Press interview. Grace, who covered the search when two-year-old Caylee was missing and the acquittal of her mother on murder charges, has her own words for Anthony in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Mar 201714min

OJ Simpson: Coming soon to a golf course near you?

OJ Simpson: Coming soon to a golf course near you?

OJ Simpson could be months away from walking out of the Nevada prison where he’s served nine years of a 33-year sentence for a Las Vegas armed robbery. The former NFL star is expected to be freed on parole in October. Jim Moret covered the trial where Simpson was acquitted on murder charges in the killings of his ex-wife and a Brentwood waiter and later for when Simpson was convicted in a robbery trial. Nancy Grace and Moret discuss Simpson’s life behind bars and his prospects when he becomes a free man in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Mar 201733min

Tara Grinstead Murder: Up & Vanished Podcaster Payne Lindsey

Tara Grinstead Murder: Up & Vanished Podcaster Payne Lindsey

Payne Lindsey, whose podcast about the disappearance of Tara Grinstead is credited by many with helping to solve the cold case after more than a decade, is still digging into the the Georgia teacher’s murder. The “Up & Vanished” creator has new details about Ryan Alexander Duke, who was charged with assaulting and murdering Grinstead and then disposing of her body in a pecan orchard to conceal her death in 2005. He shares his latest findings with Nancy Grace in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Mar 201721min

Dalia Dippolito: Did ‘Cops’ set up wife in murder-for-hire case?

Dalia Dippolito: Did ‘Cops’ set up wife in murder-for-hire case?

Video shows Dalia Dippolito telling an undercover cop she wants her husband dead, but screaming later when police tell her he had been killed. Still, two Florida juries have refused to convict Dippolito of hiring a hit man. Dippolito lawyer Brian Claypool argues Boynton Beach police pressured an informant to set her up so the “Cops” reality show could record it. Nancy Grace debates the Dippolito case in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 Mar 201720min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
fotballpodden-2
nokon-ma-ga
det-store-bildet
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
frokostshowet-pa-p5
e24-podden
rss-gukild-johaug
rss-ness
unitedno
dine-penger-pengeradet
liverpoolno-pausepraten
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene