By Emily Williams, Managing Editor
On Dec. 28, 1978, 23-year-old Elizabeth Andes was found dead in her apartment in Oxford, Ohio -- only days after her graduation from Miami University.
"In some ways, I feel like a stalker," journalist Amber Hunt says in the first episode of "The Accused," a new podcast from the Cincinnati Enquirer. She goes on to describe how intimately familiar she's become with Andes, a woman whom she's never met and whose unsolved murder has consumed Hunt's life for the past year.
The police quickly zeroed in on Bob Young, Andes's boyfriend, then 22, who played for Miami's football team and had also graduated that month. Young was asked to recount his story repeatedly -- how he'd walked into her apartment to find her body in the bedroom -- and, although he pled his innocence initially, Young confessed to the crime after hours of questioning.
Young, who tried to retract the confession only hours later, stating that he had been exhausted, confused and pressured when he confessed, still claims innocence. Although some people, including former Chief Joseph Statum, who was involved in the initial case, are still convinced that he is guilty, others, like Cincinnati attorney Deborah Lydon, think Young has been telling the truth.
Lydon, who took on the case pro bono about five years ago, approached the Enquirer after what she described as a very frustrating investigation process. Since Young's acquittal in 1983, very little has been done to give Andes's family answers, Lydon said.
In January of 2015, Lydon said, she was told by the Oxford police that they "didn't have the resources" to continue the investigation. About a week after that conversation with the police, Miami junior Rebecca Eldemire was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend Larry Tipton II who then shot himself at Eldemire's Level 27 apartment in Oxford.
"That was especially haunting."
Lydon has worked closely with Hunt and Amanda Rossmann -- a photojournalist with the Enquirer and the podcast's producer--throughout the reporting process.
"I'm incredibly impressed with the efforts of Amber and Amanda," Lydon said. "They've been incredibly sensitive to the people they've been interviewing. They've worked really hard."
Hunt, who has worked in journalism for 20 years and has written four nonfiction books -- three of them about true crime -- said that, despite all of her experience, the kind of reporting she's had to do for "The Accused" has been uncharted territory.
Accustomed to working on short deadlines and multiple stories thoughout the year, investigating Andes's murder has been an unusually long, intensive process.
"This has been one of the most grueling but rewarding things I've ever done. I'm really proud of it," Hunt said. "And nervous."
Episodes of the podcast, which went live this Thursday, will be released twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, throughout the month of September. Listeners can access the episodes on the Enquirer's website, iTunes and SoundCloud.
In 2014, reporter Sarah Koenig and producer Julie Snyder released "Serial," a podcast about the 1999 murder of Hai Min Lee. Lee's former boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was charged with her murder, and, although like Young he claims innocence, Syed was not acquitted. The show, which was the fastest podcast to ever reach 5 million downloads, takes a closer look at Lee's murder and Syed's sentence.
"I think Serial helped us know how well-received this could be," Rossmann said. "But it is different enough that I think people will still be interested."
Throughout the reporting process, Hunt said, they've been very open with the Oxford police.
"We made a point throughout this to make sure the police won't be surprised by anything."
Before delving into the case, Hunt provides some context for her listeners at the beginning of the episode.
"I've told a lot of murder stories in my 20 years as a journalist, and this one's different," Amber says over a somber piano track. "It's complicated and political and frustrating as hell. The people who are usually front and center trying to solve crimes are strangely quiet on this one, and there seems to be a reason why."
According to Hunt, their podcast has an ambitious goal--to solve Andes's murder.
Hunt and Rossmann encourage any listeners who have information to share about Elizabeth Andes's death to call the Oxford Police Department's tip line at 513-524-5268 or email crimetips@cityofoxford.org.