logo
episode-header-image
Oct 8
46m 56s

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 452 - Erni...

Robin Warder
About this episode

December 19, 2006. Clayton, Missouri. 57-year old attorney Ernie Brasier is found shot to death inside a third-floor office of his law firm: Boggs, Boggs & Bates. Since Ernie was killed in an office belonging to another attorney, there is speculation that he may have been the victim of mistaken identity, but no evidence is found to support this theory. Over the next few years, there are a number of strange incidents involving other employees at the firm, including a bombing at the home of two of its partners, but they fail to shed any light on Ernie’s death and the crime remains unsolved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the bizarre murder of Ernie Brasier, which took place at a law firm which was described as being like something out of a John Grisham novel.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Clayton Police Department at (314) 645-3000 or the St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477)

Additional Reading:

https://www.komu.com/news/police-need-help-in-murder-case/article_8d7c83aa-2c7b-5c5e-b395-ce7a2a1f416d.html

https://www.komu.com/news/lawyer-found-dead-in-office/article_43b3b252-760c-5008-84c2-c803ea292554.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151872790/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151995160/

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/the-unsolved-murder-of-ernie-brasier-a-clayton-attorneys-death-nearly-two-years-ago-continues-to-mystify-police-and-colleagues/

https://issuu.com/chsglobe/docs/april_globe_2022_1_/s/15434096

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_mystery_second_lawyer_dies_at_young_age_slaying_of_third_unsolved

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bombs_explode_at_home_of_2_partners_in_law_firm_that_was_site_of_unsolved_m

https://www.courthousenews.com/big-problem-at-the-law-office/

https://www.businessinsider.com/lawyer-fire-bombing-lawsuit-2012-9

https://patch.com/missouri/kirkwood/accused-of-bombing-ex-partners-home-kirkwood-lawyer-fights-back

https://molawyersmedia.com/2013/06/19/st-louis-lawyers-settle-with-ex-partner-in-bombing-case/

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Up next
Oct 1
The Trail Went Cold - Episode 451 - Armani Morgan
June 3, 2017. Dallas, Texas. After suffering a violent assault at the hands of a female acquaintance and her male companion, 27-year old Armani Morgan goes missing. Seven weeks later, Armani’s skull and five of his other bones are found in a vacant residential lot located near hi ... Show More
57m 3s
Sep 24
The Trail Went Cold - Episode 450 - The Narain Family
September 11, 1987. Cowlitz County, Washington. The dismembered headless torso of a woman is discovered in the Lewis River and the same victim’s legs are soon found 30 miles away in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Thirteen days later, the body of an infant girl who is b ... Show More
47m 12s
Sep 17
The Trail Went Cold - Episode 449 - Suzanne Jovin
December 4, 1998. New Haven, Connecticut. 21-year old Suzanne Jovin, a senior student at Yale University, leaves her apartment in order to return a set of keys to a building located on the Old Campus. Before she can return home, Suzanne is found murdered in a residential area loc ... Show More
1h 8m
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Episode 639: The Unsolved Murder of Melissa Witt
On December 1, 1994, nineteen-year-old Melissa Witt planned to meet her mother at a Fort Smith, Arkansas bowling alley, but by all appearances, she only made it as far as the parking lot. Two days later, investigators discovered Melissa’s car abandoned in the Bowling World parkin ... Show More
52m 11s
Feb 2025
The Dead Man Walking
On May 2, 1962, a Haitian man named Clairvius Narcisse died of a mysterious illness – or so it seemed at the time. Then, a little over 18 years later, his sister, Angelina, was shopping in a local market and saw a terrifying, vacant-eyed man lurching toward her on the street. Ang ... Show More
1h 27m
May 2025
Episode 670: The Crimes of Robert Durst (Part 2)
In October 2001, the dismembered remains of seventy-one-year-old Morris Black were found floating in Galveston Bay. A few days later, Black’s neighbor, Robert Durst, was arrested on suspicion of murder and released on $250,000 bail. After posting bail, Durst jumped bail and disap ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 2024
Episode 593: Lee Roy Martin: The Gaffney Strangler
In the winter of 1968, reporter Bill Gibbons got an anonymous call from a man who wanted to confess to three murders in the small town of Gaffney, South Carolina. Gibbons thought the call was a prank, but he took it to the sheriff and the two men travel out to the first of three ... Show More
1h 6m
May 2025
Episode 669: The Crimes of Robert Durst (Part 1)
In October 2001, the dismembered remains of seventy-one-year-old Morris Black were found floating in Galveston Bay. A few days later, Black’s neighbor, Robert Durst, was arrested on suspicion of murder and released on $250,000 bail. After posting bail, Durst jumped bail and disap ... Show More
54m 35s
Nov 2024
64: MURDER: Judy Smith
On April 10, 1997, 50-year-old Judy Smith, a beloved nurse and mother, set off on her first trip to Philadelphia, planning to explore historic sites while her husband attended a conference. But when Judy didn’t return to their hotel that evening, her husband grew worried and repo ... Show More
42m 6s
Apr 2025
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
Listen to this week's episode of the Dateline: True Crime Weekly podcast with guest host, Blayne Alexander. In Arizona, the prosecution plays phone calls Lori made to her insurance agent in the days after her husband's shooting. In Massachusetts, a jury is finally seated in the K ... Show More
27m 44s
Oct 2024
Introducing: The Execution of Bonny Lee Bakley
On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a vol ... Show More
2m 22s
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
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