Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

Six years after the unsolved murder of Sharon Kay Watts, Abilene was shaken by another brutal killing with unsettling similarities.

Geneva Lucille Jackson was a respected seventh-grade math teacher, Air Force widow, mother of three, and grandmother whose quiet life revolved around her students, church, and family. When she failed to appear for a routine beauty appointment just days before Christmas 1973, friends went to check on her and discovered a horrifying crime scene inside her Edgemont Drive home.

Investigators found Geneva had been savagely beaten, stabbed, and ultimately drowned in her bathtub. The house showed no signs of forced entry or robbery, suggesting she may have known the person who killed her. Detectives pursued every available lead, interviewed family, friends, neighbors, teachers, and students, administered multiple polygraph examinations, and sent physical evidence to the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab. A mysterious wood splinter recovered from the scene briefly offered hope but ultimately led nowhere.

As the investigation stalled, police examined possible connections to the 1967 murder of Sharon Kay Watts. While both women were killed inside their homes and found in their bathrooms, investigators were never able to establish a direct link between the two cases.

Despite reward increases, tips spanning years, and periodic reviews of the investigation, Geneva Jackson's killer has never been identified. More than five decades later, her murder remains one of Abilene's oldest unsolved homicide cases.

If you have any information about the murder of Geneva Lucille Jackson, please contact Abilene Crime Stoppers at (325) 676-8477.

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In the Summer of 1967, Abilene, Texas, was a growing West Central Texas city where most residents believed violent crime happened somewhere else. Families left their doors unlocked, Dyess Air Force Base brought thousands of military personnel through the community, and investigators still relied on witness interviews and physical evidence rather than modern forensic technology. That sense of security was shattered when 24-year-old department store employee Sharon Kay Watts was found murdered inside the bathroom of her apartment.

After staying home from work because of an illness, Sharon was found dead on September 20, 1967, in a crime scene that immediately puzzled investigators. Her apartment showed no signs of forced entry or robbery, yet she had suffered extensive injuries.

As detectives searched for answers, the investigation was complicated by a mistake surrounding Sharon's autopsy. The resulting controversy limited what pathologists could determine, and left investigators with unanswered questions that would haunt the case forever. Detectives relied heavily on a partial palm print recovered from the bathtub, but in an era before DNA databases and computerized fingerprint systems, every comparison had to be made by hand.

Police interviewed coworkers, neighbors, friends, and numerous persons of interest, including a transient laborer and a man who falsely confessed to the crime. Later, investigators focused on former Dyess Air Force airman after his arrest in Louisiana for a violent crime. But no evidence ever placed him inside Sharon's apartment.

The case went cold, and Abilene moved forward, until another similar crime occurred several years later.

If you have any information about the murder of Sharon Kay Watts, please contact Abilene Crime Stoppers at (325) 676-8477.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

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Just days after Roxanne Paltauf vanished from a Budget Inn near Interstate 35 and Rundberg Lane in Austin, her missing ID surfaced in the wallet of a violent offender arrested after an assault at a neighboring motel. Detectives soon discovered that this man and Roxanne’s boyfriend, Louis Walls, offered conflicting stories about how he came into possession of it.

As Roxanne’s family continued searching Austin’s Rundberg neighborhood, they encountered Loretta Lynn Roberts, a woman who promised to help find Roxanne. Less than two weeks later, Roberts was found dead in a vacant lot south of downtown. Her murder remains unsolved, and Roxanne’s family has long questioned whether the two cases are connected.

Over the years, Roxanne’s loved ones organized searches, erected billboards, and kept her story in the public eye as investigators pursued leads across Texas and beyond. New allegations against Louis Walls, a major FBI-backed search near the motel, and newly discovered cellphone records only deepened the mystery surrounding what happened on July 7, 2006. Nearly twenty years later, Roxanne remains missing, and detectives continue to consider both Louis Walls and Geoffrey Moore persons of interest.

Part two of two.

Roxanne’s family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction, or for information that leads to finding her remains. If you have any information about what happened to Roxanne Elizabeth Paltauf, you can submit a tip anonymously at roxannepaltauf.com or call the Austin Police Department at (512) 974-5250.

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In July 2006, eighteen-year-old Roxanne Paltauf vanished from a Budget Inn near Interstate 35 and Rundberg Lane in Austin, Texas. Just hours earlier, she had promised her mother she would be home the next morning.

Roxanne was the oldest of five children and shared an immensely close relationship with her family. She was working toward her GED, holding multiple jobs, and planning for her future. But those closest to her worried about her volatile relationship. 

After she went missing, her boyfriend Louis Reginald Walls called and claimed the couple had argued and that she stormed out of their motel room carrying nothing. He said she left behind her purse, jewelry, clothing, and cellphone, a story that immediately alarmed her family, who knew Roxanne never went anywhere without her belongings.

As detectives began looking into her disappearance, after initially treating her case as little more than a lover’s spat, troubling details emerged. Walls waited nearly twenty-four hours to report Roxanne missing and continued using her cellphone in the days after she vanished. Friends and family also shared allegations of abuse and growing concerns about the relationship.

Despite mounting suspicions, The Austin Police lacked the evidence needed to prove a crime had occurred.

Twenty years later, Roxanne Paltauf remains missing.

Part one of two.

Roxanne’s family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction — or for information that leads to finding her remains. If you have any information about what happened to Roxanne Elizabeth Paltauf, you can submit a tip anonymously at roxannepaltauf.com or call the Austin Police Department at (512) 974-5250.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit gonecold.dashery.com

Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

#WhereIsRoxannePaltauf #JusticeForRoxannePaltauf #RoxannePaltauf #Austin #ATX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

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In June of 1987, eighteen-year-old Michael Jefferson "Mike" Adams seemed to have everything going for him. A recent early graduate of Cooper High School, Mike had already enrolled at Texas Tech University to study architecture, worked full-time to save for college, and had purchased his own car through hard work and determination.

On the night of June 8, after closing the grocery store where he worked, Mike drove to his family's home in Abilene. His stepsister watched from a window as he stepped out of his car and casually spoke with someone waiting in another vehicle parked along the street. The interaction appeared completely normal.

Mike was never seen again.

When his family awoke the next morning, his car remained in the driveway, his wallet and cash were still inside the house, and his bed had never been slept in. Detectives quickly concluded that Mike had likely believed he was leaving for only a short time with someone he knew and trusted.

Over the years, police have explored numerous theories surrounding Mike's disappearance. Despite decades of investigation, none of those leads have ever provided definitive answers.

Nearly forty years later, Mike Adams remains missing. His father spent the rest of his life searching for answers before passing away in 2024, never learning what happened to his youngest son.

If you have information about the disappearance of Michael Jefferson Adams, please contact the Abilene Police Department at (325) 673-8331.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

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#WhereIsMikeAdams #AbileneTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

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