Meirhofer died by suicide hours after confessing
David Meirhofer was found dead in his jail cell from suicide just hours after making his four-murder confession on September 29, 1974.
Where this was said
Unanswered Questions and Meirhofer's Suicide
At 54:25 · chapter starts 51:40
The confession was barely hours old when David Meirhofer was found dead in his cell — a suicide that sealed shut the remaining mysteries. He denied any connection to Donna Lemon and refused to discuss cases outside Montana, even though he had spent time in California and Vietnam. He would not explain the girl's voice on the final call, nor the lipstick, blouse, and necklace that belonged to no identified victim. Author Ron Franzell, interviewed for the episode, cautions that trying to apply logic and reasoning to a psychopath's actions is a waste of time. Ashley closes by noting that Meirhofer seems to have only ever taunted the Jaeger family — a mystery in itself — and that answers about possible other victims may never come.
The Unsolved Mystery — The Girl on the Phone
When Marietta called Meirhofer out by name in his last taunt call, a little girl's voice came on the line saying 'he's nice.' Meirhofer refused to explain who she was. Combined with souvenirs at his house that didn't belong to any known victim, Ashley believes there were more victims who may never be identified.
Criminal Profiling's Origin Story
The Jaeger-Meirhofer case was one of the first real-world tests of the FBI's behavioral profiling unit. The profile was nearly perfect — and the accurate predictions helped convert skeptical local investigators, legitimizing a discipline now considered standard in serious criminal investigations.
Marietta forgave killer and became anti-death-penalty advocate
Despite losing her daughter to a serial killer, Marietta Jaeger went on to forgive David Meirhofer and became a prominent advocate for forgiveness and against the death penalty.
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