Stories of satanic cults, human sacrifice and horrifying child abuse: the satanic panic that gripped the United States during the 1980s and early '90s came very close to knocking the cold case investigation into Joyce Yost's disappearance completely off the rails. This bonus episode of Cold season 2 examines the reports of satanic ritual abuse that were prevalent at the time. Mike King, a police officer who gained experience investigating cults with his bust of the polygamist "Zion Society" group in 1991, recounts the raid. King also discusses his work probing satanic ritual abuse reports for the Utah Attorney General's Office (you can read his 1995 report here).
Joyce Yost had never met the man who followed her home on an April night in 1985, who kidnapped and raped her. He threatened to kill her, but she went to police anyway. Then, she vanished. Joyce has never been found. Now, investigative journalist Dave Cawley delves into the decades-old case to uncover the details of a murder-for-hire plot to silence Joyce. Cold reveals flaws in the system that left Joyce unprotected, examines pitfalls of the death penalty and asks if there’s such a thing as justice for Joyce Yost.
Survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sexual assault and their allies in the United States can connect with free resources at https://www.rainn.org/.
See photos, files and more for this episode: https://thecoldpodcast.com/season-2/bonus-1-satanic-panic-ritual-abuse/
Episode transcript: https://thecoldpodcast.com/season-2-transcript/satanic-panic-full-transcript/
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Episode credits:
- Research, writing and hosting: Dave Cawley
- Audio production: Nina Earnest
- Audio mixing: Trent Sell
- Additional voices: Richie Steadman (as Doug Lovell)
- Cold main score composition: Michael Bahnmiller
- Cold main score mixing: Dan Blanck
- KSL executive producers: Sheryl Worsley, Keira Farrimond
- Workhouse Media executive producers: Paul Anderson, Nick Panella, Andrew Greenwood
- Amazon Music team: Morgan Jones, Eliza Mills, Vanessa Rebbert, Shea Simpson
If you enjoy Cold, please try these other great shows from KSL Podcasts: The Letter, Ransom, Unsolved Histories
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