Cheyna Roth’s New True Crime Book Sheds Light on Popular Cold Cases

Over the last few years, interest in murders and assaults from the past is increasing with as true crime shows and podcasts become more ubiquitous.

“There’s something almost comforting about [true crime media]. It may feel like fiction as opposed to reality.” – Cheyna Roth, author of “Cold Cases: A True Crime Collection.”

However, there are a few specific cases that have continued to mesmerize and capture the imagination of the American public for decades. The murder of JonBenet Ramsey, the Zodiac Killer, and the Black Dahlia have fascinated audiences, and are all cases that — despite being examined and argued over for years — still haven’t found any resolution.

Listen: Author Cheyna Roth on cold cases and the popularity of true crime

Guest

Cheyna Roth is the author of the new book “Cold Cases: A True Crime Collection.” 

She’s also co-host of the WDET series and podcast MichMash, and a reporter at MLive.

Roth says the reason some cases get more media attention and fame than others is due to the types of victims involved.

“I was quite critical of the media for a lot of these cases. These are cases that we became so obsessed with in part because they are about pretty young white women, and we just don’t give the same amount of attention to other cases.” – Cheyna Roth, author of “Cold Cases.”

She contrasts cases like the highly publicized murder of JonBenet Ramsey, a young white girl, to the Freeway Phantom, a string of murders of young Black girls in Washington, D.C., which received significantly less coverage.

“I was quite critical of the media for a lot of these cases,” Roth says. “These are cases that we became so obsessed with in part because they are about pretty young white women, and we just don’t give the same amount of attention to other cases.”

Roth says she wanted to examine new angles or crimes that have already received extensive media coverage.

“In cases like the Zodiac Killer or the Black Dahlia…I tried to find little angles that maybe hadn’t been as explored,” she says. 

Roth also says there may be a Michigan connection to a long-unsolved airplane hijacking case. 

“It’s just amazing that you constantly see these patterns in these cases of people coming forward saying, ‘Actually, I know who did this.’” – Cheyna Roth, author of “Cold Cases.”

“There are theories going around that D.B. Cooper is actually a Michigan man,” she says. However, she says she is skeptical about this since so many people have theorized about D.B. Cooper’s identity with little to no evidence or proof. 

“It’s just amazing that you constantly see these patterns in these cases of people coming forward saying, ‘Actually, I know who did this,'” she says. 

Roth says she believes the explosion in popularity of true crime media recently may be due to people finding comfort in the genre.

“I think for some people, who doesn’t love a mystery?” Roth says. “For others, there’s something almost comforting about it. It may feel like fiction as opposed to reality.”

This article was written by Detroit Today student producer Ali Audet.