logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
49m 52s

MURDERED: Dawn Magyar

Not Your Mom Media
About this episode

 

On this episode we discuss the tragic disappearance and murder of 20-year-old Dawn Magyar in January 1973. The episode explores her abduction, the investigation, and the eventual conviction of her killer nearly 28 years later.

 

Looking for ad-free, early release episodes? Find that and tons more bonus content at Patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast. 

Thank you to this week’s sponsors!

 

Ready to hit the slopes?  Go to Shipskis.com and use the code MOMS to get 20% off your first shipment and save yourself the hassle this ski season! 

Treat yourself to the most comfortable shapewear on earth and save 20% Off sitewide at honeylove.com/MOMS20 . 

Now’s your chance to change the way you sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets at BollandBranch.com/moms. Exclusions apply. See site for details.

Start your hair growth journey with Nutrafol. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and use promo code MOMS.

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/MOMS today.

 

 

Check-out Moms and Mysteries to find links to our tiktok, youtube, twitter, instagram and more!

 

Make sure you subscribe and rate our show to help others find us!

 

Sources:

  1. Hornus, Tony, Is Dawn Magyar's Alleged Murderer Jerald…, Argus-Press, 2001

  2. Hornus, Tony, Dawn Magyar Murder Suspect Was Arrested…, Argus-Press, 2001

  3. Accused Assaulter Demands Hearing, Is Free On Bond, The Ann Arbor News, 1961

  4. Dawn Lee Swan Magyar (1952-1973) - Find a Grave Memorial

  5. Peacock, Joe, Police search for Chesaning Woman, Argus-Press, 1973

  6. Peacock, Joe, Gunshot Wound in Head Killed Dawn Magyar, Argus-Press, 1973

  7. Hornus, Tony, State police detective reports positive movement…, Argus-Press, 1999

  8. With DNA evidence, ‘the magic bullet of criminal investigation’, Argus-Press, 1995

  9. Hornus, Tony, Magyar murder case goes to the jury, Argus-Press, 2001

  10. Howell, Wingeart found guilty, Argus-Press, 2001

  11. Hornus, Tony, Magyar voices relief that his wife’s murderer convicted, Argus-Press, 2001

  12. Hornus, Tony, "Michigan Supreme Court Denies Wingeart's Leave to Appeal Conviction: Magyar Killer Likely to be Charged in 1979 Slaying of Iona…, Argus-Press, 2004

  13.  Cold Case Files: S2 E13: Vintage Murder/ Trouble in Paradise, A&E, 2007

  14. Was Chesaning Mom abducted?, The Flint Journal, 1973

  15. Helicopter joins hunt for woman, The Flint Journal, 1973

  16. Deputies uncertain about search, The Saginaw News, 1973

  17. Goal: Find Mrs. Magyar, The Saginaw News, 1973

  18. Garrett, Fred E., 4,500 Searchers Fail To Find Mrs. Magyar, The Saginaw News, 1973

  19. Garrett, Fred E., Missing Girl: No More Searches…, The Saginaw News, 1973

  20. Garrett, Fred E., Police still without clues on missing mother, The Saginaw News, 1973

  21. Nothing New On Chesaning's Missing Woman, The Saginaw News, 1973

  22. Magyar Family Offers Reward Of $10,000, The Saginaw News, 1973

  23. Body Found, Believed To Be Dawn Magyars, The Flint Journal, 1973

  24. Dawn Magyar Found Dead, The Saginaw News, 1973

  25. Jerald Leroy Wingeart (1941-2022) - Find a Grave Memorial

  26. Wingeart v. Warren, No. 2:2005cv74144 - Document 66 (E.D. Mich. 2013) :: Justia

  27. PEOPLE OF MI V JERALD LEROY WINGEART :: 2003 :: Michigan Court of Appeals - Unpublished Opinions Decisions

  28. 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION JERALD LEROY WINGEART, Petitioner, Case No. 05-741

  29. Michigan Department of Corrections Offender Profile

  30. Hornus, Tony, Dawn Magyar murder suspect was arrested by…Argus-Press, 2001

  31. Laura Mae McVeigh (1963-1979) - Find a Grave Memorial

  32. Supreme Court of The United States Docket Search

  33. Was Chesaning Mom Abducted?, The Flint Journal, 1973

  34. Helicopter joins hunt for woman, The Flint Journal, 1973

  35. Aerial Photos Taken In Search for Woman, The Flint Journal, 1973

  36. Ziegler, Gerald A, Wright, Gerald E., Huge Search Fails to Find.., The Flint Journal, 1973

  37. Magyar Family Offers Reward Of $10,000, The Saginaw News, 1973

  38. Ernst, Jerry, Dog's DNA used in murder investigation, The Saginaw News, 2002 

  39. Ernst, Jerry, Victim's family feels relief after…, The Saginaw News, 2002 

Up next
Aug 21
MYSTERY: Megan Trussell
In February 2025, 18-year-old CU Boulder freshman Megan Piper Trussell walked out of her dorm and never returned. Six days later, she was found in Boulder Canyon under circumstances that left her family searching for answers. From conflicting timelines and missing belongings to t ... Show More
29m 55s
Aug 19
MURDERED: Marilyn Sheppard (The Case Behind "The Fugitive")
In 1954, Marilyn Sheppard was found murdered in her Bay Village, Ohio home. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, claimed an intruder was responsible, but the case quickly became a media sensation and one of the most controversial trials in U.S. history. We cover the murder, the investi ... Show More
1h 4m
Aug 14
MURDER: Belle Gunness, American Serial Killer
This week, we’re heading back to the early 1900s to meet Belle Gunness—a seemingly respectable Indiana widow with a dark side and a very well-fed hog pen. Belle used lonely hearts ads to lure wealthy, unattached men to her farm, promising love and companionship but delivering som ... Show More
34m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Episode 597: The Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle
In the early morning hours of December 17, 1968, two gunmen burst into the Atlanta motel room of Barbara Jane Mackle and her mother, Jane. After tying up and chloroforming Jane Mackle, the two kidnapped Barbara, forcing her into their car at gunpoint. Later that day, a family fri ... Show More
1h 4m
Dec 2024
Episode 632: The Suspected Crimes of Guy Muldavin
When a girl walking on a Provincetown, Massachusetts beach discovered the decomposing body of a young woman in the summer of 1974, it began an investigation into what would become one of the most notorious cold cases in the state’s history. The victim—who would remain unidentifie ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 2024
Episode 599: The Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle (Part 2)
In the early morning hours of December 17, 1968, two gunmen burst into the Atlanta motel room of Barbara Jane Mackle and her mother, Jane. After tying up and chloroforming Jane Mackle, the two kidnapped Barbara, forcing her into their car at gunpoint. Later that day, a family fri ... Show More
1 h
Apr 2024
239 - The Murder of John Harden
On a warm spring night in March of 1975, thirty-two year old John Harden completed an emergency call for a client and returned home.  Less than an hour later, he'd be shot dead in his driveway. After finishing his shower, John glanced out the window and saw his work truck engulfe ... Show More
1h 18m
Aug 18
101: MURDER: The Jamison Family
On October 8, 2009, Bobby and Sherilyn Jamison, along with their six-year-old daughter Madyson, set out to look at land for sale in the Sans Bois Mountains of Oklahoma. Days later, their truck was found abandoned less than a mile from the property. Inside were their wallets, coat ... Show More
48m 5s
Oct 2024
Episode 609: The DeFeo Family Murder
On the evening of November 13, 1974, twenty-three-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. burst through the door of Henry’s Bar in Amityville, Long Island, frantically yelling for help and telling the patrons that someone had killed his parents. When a small group returned to the house with De ... Show More
1h 16m
Feb 2025
Episode 647: A Deeper Dive into the Murder of Elizabeth Short (Part 1)
On the morning of January 15, 1947, a woman walking with her young daughter spotted something pale and white lying in the weeds of a vacant lot. When the woman walked closer to get a better look, she made a horrifying discovery: the bisected body of a young woman, brutally murder ... Show More
1h 2m
Dec 2024
Episode 624: The Murder of Cheryl Perveler
When police were called to the scene of shooting at the Castillion Apartments in Los Angeles on April 20, 1968, they assumed the victim, twenty-two-year-old Cheryl Perveler, had been shot in a robbery gone wrong. However, when they began looking into her personal life, they soon ... Show More
53m 30s
Jul 28
98: MURDER: Trish Haynes
In January 2018, 25-year-old Trish Haynes returned to New Hampshire for a court date. She planned to stay just a few months and then head back to Florida, where her grandparents were waiting for her. But that return trip never happened. After moving in with an old classmate and h ... Show More
46m 41s
Jun 2
Episode 677: The Murder of Anthony LoConte
On the evening of May 10, 1988, a passing driver on Howard Street in Brockton, MA, stopped to investigate something unusual on the side of the road. When the driver got closer to what they thought was a bag, they realized it was actually the body of twenty-four-year-old Anthony L ... Show More
47m 38s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami