Our story begins with a barrage of bouquets, dozens of unsolicited yellow roses sent by a mysterious male admirer. We then meet a young Joyce Yost in Minnesota and follow her path to Utah. At the same time, a young man named Douglas Lovell finds himself on the wrong side of the law, landing in prison for armed robbery.
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 from this episode: https://thecoldpodcast.com/season-2/ep-1-joyce-yost-type-that-sends-roses/
Episode transcript: https://thecoldpodcast.com/season-2-transcript/the-type-that-sends-roses-full-transcript/
Share your thoughts: #ColdPodcast Instagram Facebook Reddit Bluesky
Episode credits:
If you enjoy Cold, please try these other great shows from KSL Podcasts: The Letter, Ransom, Unsolved Histories