31 years after the Potomac River Rapist attacked his first victim, the detectives who solved the case are telling their story exclusively to WTOP American Nightmare Series Host Paul Wagner.

Host Paul Wagner brings listeners a huge update about Giles Warrick that changes the course of...everything.

When Giles Warrick is questioned by police in the hours after his arrest, the 60-year-old tells them he doesn't know how his DNA turned up at 10 different crime scenes in DC and Maryland. But, what will police find when they search his South Carolina home?

In November 2019, detectives from Montgomery County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., make their way to Conway, South Carolina, where investigators are certain they will find their "unknown subject." They head to a ranch house on a rural country road where a 60-year-old man is living with his girlfriend. But, what will they find when they knock on the door?

By 2018, investigators had tired of waiting for another DNA cold hit and decided to hand the case to a cop named 'Smugs.' A young Montgomery County police officer who had already used genealogy to solve several high profile rape and murder cases. Crimes that had stumped detectives for years. Could 'Smugs' be the one to finally give a name to the Unknown Subject?

As the nineties turned into Y2K Detectives Dean Combee and Joe Mudano were still trying to solve their cases. Years of investigating had gotten them nowhere until the FBI called with stunning news. DNA from all of the attacks had been linked to one man. A fact that floored the veteran investigators who never saw it coming.

In the early to mid nineties, Montgomery County Police Detective Joe Mudano knew he had a ruthless rapist preying on women but he had no idea who he was. DNA linked a number of cases, but a clear description remained elusive. More maddening for Mudano was the fact the Unknown Subject seemed to have inside information. But how?

Seven years before Christine Mirzayan was murdered in Georgetown, a man cut the phone lines to a house miles outside the city and raped a teenage baby sitter. The first in a string of similar attacks spread out over several years. Kelly survived that awful night and in this episode tells her harrowing story. A crime that was nothing like the murder in Georgetown.

In the summer of 1998, a brilliant scientist walking home from a party is grabbed off the street and killed. Her body is found the next day in a wooded area just steps from the Georgetown University campus. It was a gruesome scene. DC Police had no witnesses and no suspects, but they did have a valuable clue: a key piece of evidence the killer left behind.

Ten months after Prince George's County Police Detective Bernie Nelson began using genealogy to track Sherry Crandell's killer through his relatives - the research continues on a promising family tree.

For 9 years, he terrorized women across the DC region. Breaking into homes and raping his victims before killing a brilliant scientist near the gates of Georgetown University in 1998. And then, it all stopped. Was he dead? Locked up? Before the FBI would name him the infamous Potomac River Rapist, detectives simply called him their “unknown subject” for years. A man whose DNA linked him to multiple crime scenes, but whose name and face remained a mystery to police. For decades, detectives...

Prince George's County Police Detective Bernie Nelson turns to genealogy after seeing another Maryland cold case solved after 28 years. Can the murder of Sherry Crandell be solved the same way?

In the days after Sherry Crandell was viciously raped and murdered in January 1998, the police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, set up what they called a ‘war room’ to manage a complex and intense investigation. A probe that uncovered shocking details about security on the 40-acre hospital campus.

With no one in custody and no prime suspects, Prince George's County police devise a plan to get DNA from the hundreds of men working at Prince George's Hospital Center. A tactic that would turn highly controversial and put the police on the defensive.

As Prince George's County Police detectives investigate the murder of nurse Sherry Crandell, they learn of a witness to the attack. A fact police kept deep in their files for 23 years and are revealing for the first time on this podcast.

In 1998, a nurse was found brutally raped and strangled in the Maryland hospital where she worked. Despite DNA evidence and a fingerprint of the killer left behind at the scene, the case remains unsolved 23 years later. But, could newly uncovered information finally bring justice for Sherry Crandell?

Liking Final Days on Earth? Head over to the show page to hear the rest of this episode and to subscribe so you don't miss another! It’s Saturday night and dozens of students are partying at the unofficial wrestler’s house off campus. Around 11 p.m., wrestler Dammion Heard starts a fight with cross country runner Anthony Rios. It’s revealed that Anthony had recently started dating Dammion’s ex-girlfriend. When wrestling captain Kyle Piatt hears about the fight, he gets physical with Dammion...

Bonus Final Days on Earth Episode: Dammion Heard is a 20-year-old college freshman on a wrestling scholarship at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado. After a party at a friend’s house on Saturday, March 29, 2014, Dammion goes missing. Who is Dammion Heard and what was he doing in the final days of his life?

Trailer for Final Days on Earth with Claire St. Amant

Bonus new podcast: Join host Paul Wagner as he speaks to reporter Claire St. Amant about her upcoming cold case podcast Final Days on Earth. Claire’s investigation follows the story of college freshman Dammion Heard who went missing after a wrestling team party in 2014, and his body was found 4 days later on a Colorado cliffside.

In part 2 of our interview with Tiffany, Luke and Darren Crandell, and Prince George's County Detective Bernie Nelson, Det. Nelson takes us deeper into the world of genealogy. We also share some behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of the podcast.

Join host Paul Wagner for Part 1 of a 2 part in-depth conversation with Tiffany, Luke and Darren Crandell, along with Prince George's County Police Detective Bernie Nelson. Detective Nelson shares more on the new leads in the investigation and everyone reflects on how the podcast has impacted their lives.