FBI's Coldest Case Ever Solved: The Swanson Motel Murders

The 1981 Swanson Motel case in Dickinson, North Dakota, began when the bodies of two women, Marietta Geske and her daughter, were found in their motel residence. Dickinson, a town experiencing rapid growth and change due to an oil boom, was shaken by the case and the challenges it presented for local law enforcement. With limited experience in handling such complex investigations, police efforts soon faced obstacles, and the case went cold for years. The FBI eventually joined the investigation, and profiler John Douglas created a detailed description of a possible suspect, sparking new interest.

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[eh-i]

It’s sickening that the cruel monsters never stood trial, and lived their lives, and died before being confronted, in court.Sickening and disgusting.

[JustSaying]

I just can't understand how any grown adult could hurt a child. It's absolutely sickening! But they're still out there, all over. 😢

[Violetfemnes]

My aunt and 4 stunning cousins ran a lil motel off the highway and we are so fortunate that nobody ever hurt them... There were so many weirdos in and out of that place its a damn miracle

[cccooper]

Anyone who can look at a child and have disgusting thoughts makes me sick to my stomach!! NEVER EVER HURT A CHILD!! They are gifts from God!

[suzannep]

The detectives and FBI deserve gold medals for their hard work.

[rogersimpson]

I live in North Dakota and I can't believe that I've never heard about this. I've lived here most of my life. In 1981 I lived in Portal, North Dakota and there was lots of oil activity going on. My mother owned a motel incidentally right on the Canadian border. And I worked for her. There's not a lot of murders that happen here but things change you know. Now we've got another oil boom with all kinds of people coming through and it's changed everything. I used to be proud to call this place home but not so much anymore.

[James_Bowie]

37:00 ... Given what Melody told police about Reager’s actions around kids, and his violence towards her, it beggars belief that ND did not charge him with the crimes at the time.

[brucetoo]

good visual recreation of that era--the cars, the clothing, the actors etc.

[xoansuarezdorio]

I can't understand why the Police didn't go after him back then, when Melody was telling police this guy was the murderer. 🤷🏻‍♂️ And then, the trial blunder... This case is a series of unfortunate mistakes. Thankfully, there were some good professionals too, who sent him to prison. But the amount of damage he did is irreparable.

[GeneralSulla]

This was back in the day when the FBI cared more about real crime than parent school board insulters.

[dustinandtarynwolfe]

Its a wonder this case ever went cold considering she told them who did it within the first 12 hours

[dementedopossum]

Total ineptitude by the cops. Absolutely shocking.

[koyotekola]

In 1999, a 1 hour old baby was found in the back of a truck at a 7-11 somewhere in Texas. The police investigated hard to find the mother and charge her with neglect. The case went cold until the baby herself took a DNA test in 2017. Then she received reports from Ancestry that she had relatives in that somewhere. She traveled there from Missouri and found a couple of people with similar DNA. A person was found that had very similar DNA 0 me. I was potentially her grandfather. She contacted me and found I was out of country in the military then with no children. She got more people to take DNA tests. She eventually found out I was her great uncle and traced it to her biological mom. The biological dad couldn't be proven, because he was dead, but plenty of people knew who she was dating exclusively.

The biological mom rejected her, and she left to go back home. It is noteworthy to say that she knew in cases of "foundlings, " there is a 90% chance of rejection. She knew this and should have expected it. But her curiosity was so great that she risked it and lost. I would have taken that chance myself, but I am a man with very different emotions.

[judyharpur]

This documentary would be much better without repeating the circumstance of the crime time after time

[josephanthonypuccio]

Do yourself a favor and watch this at a faster speed.. I used 1.25 speed…. It Gets rid of the painful narrations!

[corinne]

It's amazing how decades later these cases are solved!

[Bigsioux]

Theres probably tons of killers out there shaking in their boots over genealogical dna.

[VzRaw]

She told them who the suspect would be and they still took a decade..these some dumb cops

[simonealbion]

The female commentator has a very irritating manner of over pronunciation

[MidnightWarrior]

These oil boom towns attract these disgusting drifters. It happened again during the oil fracking boom.