Case 343: John Zera
6/20/20261 hr 43 min
*** Content warnings: Child victims, sexual assault ***
On February 28 1976, the suburban community of Hales Corners, Wisconsin, was rocked when the body of missing schoolboy, 14-year-old John Zera, was discovered in a local park. The teenager hadn’t been seen for over a week, having gone missing in the middle of the school day without so much as a word.
Over the next few years, the investigation into John’s brutal murder was plagued by mistakes and misconduct before eventually going cold. Thirty years later, the case was resurrected after police discovered a chilling scene.
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Narration – Anonymous Host
Research & writing – Brianne Jaskulski
Production & music – Mike Migas
Audio editing – Anthony Telfer
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAnonymous Host· Host0:00
For early access and ad-free episodes, check out our Patreon, Apple Premium, and Spotify subscription memberships. [heartbeat] [flatline] Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. [ flatline] [music] It was 10 o'clock on the night of Monday, March 23, 2009, when a team of police officers gathered outside a two-story off-white condominium in Waukesha, a small suburban community in the Midwest American state of Wisconsin. Earlier that day, their department had received a phone call from a local recreation center, asking them to investigate one of their longtime swim instructors after he'd been accused of acting inappropriately with some of his underage students. An outwardly calm, mild-mannered individual, the man agreed to let investigators search his home. As the officers made their way through the condo's first floor, they were