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The Karen Bodine Murder-Mini Episode Transcript

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The Karen Bodine Murder-Mini Episode Transcript

Transcript

Hey everyone. So if you’ve been following us, you know that we normally do our episodes on Tuesdays. However, this week is just going to be a little bit different. For one, this mini-episode is going to be just me. And two, you will get this as well as the full episode that we normally released during the week. And I wanted to address as many episodes because sometimes there’s cases out there that just don’t have enough info for a full episode, but they still need to be put out there. As always, you can find her full episodes and these many ones on most major podcast sites, as well as our website true crime and shield calm. Today’s mini-episode is about the murder of Karen Bodine. It’s still unsolved for 13 years. I reached out to Carly Karen’s eldest daughters and I asked if I could feature her mother’s case on our podcast, not only because it’s an unsolved case that needs to be solved but also because it hits close to home as well as Amber and I are from Washington State. And this is the first time we are both hearing about this. Hopefully by featuring this someone somewhere comes forward and gives the police the info they need to give this family some kind of closure for the murder of their mother. Karen Bodine was 37 years old when she was murdered in Thurston County, Washington in January of 2007. She was found naked in an abandoned rock quarry with ligature marks around her neck and bruises and cuts all over her body. She was found lying on the ground, her head actually resting in an old car seat that had been thrown out. She was found by somebody who was driving by and it was noticeable that she was displayed out for somebody to find her when police did some digging, and they found out that there was a timeline for what seemed like Karen’s last day. On the morning of January 21 2007, Alessi police officer said that they had seen Karen between nine and 10am. They’re also multiple people who saw her the night before her body was found. So that means whoever she was with, were the last people to ever see her alive. The next morning someone’s on early 1980s Datsun that appeared to be abandoned on the road next to rock quarry where Karen was eventually found An hour later and other passerby stopped and actually realized that what they were seeing wasn’t just a mannequin or a doll. It was a human being. When police showed up, aside from Karen having cuts and bruises on her body and ligature marks on her neck, they only ruled her death as suspicious at first, it wasn’t until her parents were notified they identified Karen that it changed to homicide. Karen was reportedly staying with friends that the weekend that she had died. According to detective Hamilton, these friends have since been arrested many times over for drug-related activities. Karen was known as someone who never met a stranger. She loved life and she loved her kids more than anything. And though they were staying at their grandparents’ house, Karen was very much a present mom. She was there for every school event, every birthday, every holiday. When the kids were out of school. She was always there. her kids remember her putting notes in their lunches, telling them how much she loved them. Karen was a mom first and she always remembered that Karen did have her faults though. Talking to Carlene, her oldest daughter, I found out that Karen had actually been an addict on and off for most of her life, something that I understand to the fullest. And though Karen had been found with a small amount of drugs in her system that was actually shocked to Carly as she remembered her mother being cleaned for the two years prior to that, sadly, because of her past immediate focus mainly on the fact that she let her travel life than the person she actually was and the fact that she was murdered. Karen’s case had actually been assigned to a cold case department within Thurston County police after they exhausted all their leads. After the first year of Karen’s death news station stop reporting. People stopped asking and unfortunately for Karen’s family, other cases popped up that were able to be solved. Thankfully, last year in 2019, oxygen channel held their annual crowd sale event in Seattle, Washington. This event is three days of former law enforcement officers budding True Crime detectives, criminologist profilers and basically anyone with a true crime obsession to come and look over a cold case. It’s been assigned for that weekend. The Case of the missing Washington mother Nancy Morris. was supposed to be featured. But when the break in the case came, they had to close that down. Due to this her only her case was only able to be featured for a day at crowd solve. Detective Hamilton, who is the lead investigator of Nancy’s case, not to be confused with the original detective Hamilton, who has since retired, brought forward Karen’s case and said, Hey, this might be a good idea to, to present. And it was. And you know, from the two days that the case was featured, they were able to have a new set of eyes and get some new ideas on how to proceed next. Since then, local stations have been picking up on the case, but we need to get Karen’s name out there more. DNA testing is also actively being explored right now with the new technology that we have today. reading an article about Karen, her daughter Taylor had said something that pulled in my heart. They made her out to be the victim and yes, absolutely. She is a victim. She’s a murder victim. But at the same time, she’s so much more than that. She’s a mother, she’s a friend. She’s a daughter, she’s a coworker, she’s a million other things, and then victim at the very bottom. And honestly, I think that’s something that we all need to remember. Karen was a light in these kids lives. She missed graduations proms future marriages, grandchildren, Tanner, her youngest child and only son was only was in sixth grade when she was killed. Taylor, her middle child, and her middle girl was in ninth grade when she was killed in Carly, her oldest was a senior. She was murdered and that left a hole in her kids lives. As someone who lost her mom in the last year. I can tell you it’s a hole that’s never filled. And it’s even worse when they’re forcibly taken from you like Karen was the reason why amber and I started this podcast because we wanted people to know that these people have had horrific things to them. But this is not who they are. Don’t remember Karen how she was found. Remember her she was the woman with the infectious laugh and the smile that can light up anywhere on the woman who was so head over heels for her kids that she would do anything and everything in their best interest. The woman who loved life so much that the world got just a bit darker The moment she left it help us By bringing Karen’s killers to justice. If you have any information about the Karen Bodine murder, please contact the Thurston County Police Department or email detective Mike Hamilton at h Am I LTM at co dot Thurston wha.us. Thank you for listening to true crime and chill. For more information, including case notes, photos, and sources, please visit our website at TrueCrimeAndChill.com. You can also stay connected with us on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Look for new episodes from us each week on Tuesday.

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