Mackenzie Cowell

About this episode

Mackenzie Cowell was seventeen years old — a dancer, a cosmetology student, and a young woman with her whole life mapped out in front of her — when she stepped out of her beauty school in Wenatchee, Washington one February afternoon and never came back. Four days later, her body was found partially submerged in the Columbia River, twenty miles from where she had disappeared.<br /><br />What followed was one of the stranger murder investigations in recent Washington state history. Investigators chased a months-long dead end involving drug dealers, a supposed snuff film, and an informant whose story kept changing. Meanwhile, the real answer had been hiding in plain sight — in the classroom where Mackenzie spent her afternoons, and in an apartment where a piece of carpet held a secret that luminol would eventually reveal.<br /><br />Mackenzie had survived a difficult childhood, a contentious home life, and the relentless schedule she had set for herself. She made it through all of that. She didn't make it through one ordinary Tuesday afternoon.<br /><br />Today’s snack: <a href="https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a8881/quick-easy-and-yummy-apple-tart/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quick and easy apple tart</a> with <a href="https://ourbestbites.com/buttermilk-caramel-syrup/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">buttermilk caramel syrup</a><br /><br /><a href="https://patreon.com/lovemarrykill" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Support us on Patreon</a><br /><br />Sources:<ul><li>Fretwell, Courtney. "Mackenzie Cowell." Forensic Tales, Rockefeller Audio, 30 Mar. 2026.</li><li>Quirky-Motor.<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/kyckuk/extensive_write_up_on_the_murder_of_mackenzie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> "[EXTENSIVE write up on the murder of Mackenzie Cowell, 17-year-old high school student killed in Washington State... Part 1 of 2]"</a>. Reddit, r/UnresolvedMysteries, ca. 2021.</li><li>Quirky-Motor.<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/kyd124/extensive_write_up_on_the_murder_of_mackenzie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> "[EXTENSIVE write up on the murder of Mackenzie Cowell, 17-year-old high school student killed in Washington State... Part 2 of 2]"</a>. Reddit, r/UnresolvedMysteries, ca. 2021.</li><li>Robbins, Jefferson.<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/677813892/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> "Man contends he's innocent despite his guilty plea."</a> The News Tribune, 18 Nov. 2012, p. B5.</li><li>Robbins, Jefferson.<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/822494141/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> "Suspect faces troubles in murder probe."</a> Tri-City Herald, 24 Dec. 2010, p. 13.</li><li>Smith, Catt. "The Murder of Mackenzie Cowell." Catt's True Crime Corner, 22 Dec. 2023.</li><li><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/secrets-of-the-river-1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"48 Hours 'Secrets of the River': Be careful what you plead for."</a> CBS News, 11 Aug. 2014.</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Mackenzie_Cowell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"Murder of Mackenzie Cowell."</a> Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Apr. 2026.</li><li>Van Sant, Peter.<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-secrets-of-the-river-be-careful-what-you-plead-for/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> "Mackenzie Cowell murder: The search for her killer."</a> CBS News, 9 Aug. 2014.</li><li>Dahl, Tanya. "Second Suspect Arrested In Mackenzie Cowell Murder." KXLY 4 News / YouTube, uploaded by 4 News Now.</li></ul>