An Introduction to Trace Evidence

About the Podcast

Trace Evidence is a true crime podcast that focuses on unsolved cases, from chilling murders to missing persons and the unexplained. Join host Steven Pacheco as he examines each case, diving deep into the evidence and exploring the theories which revolve around them. For each unsolved case, there are the victims and their families, who want answers and the abductors and murders who hide the truth.

This podcast has the goal of drawing attention to and relating the stories of the events and individuals involved in these unsolved crimes.  To seek truth for the victims and their families.

Each episode examines the details of the case, which are ascertained through research and study.  As much detail as can be dug up is shared and presented in a chronological format.  Following discussion of the case, there is a second segment which focuses on the known theories and their likelihood.  The host often interjects his own theory, if he has one, or selects which theory he believes is most likely.  However, since the answers are not known, there is no attempt to deliver any particular theory as the definitive one.  Any student of history knows that, in order to find the closest answer as to what truly happened in any particular event, you must examine all sides of it and the real details are likely an amalgamation of specific pieces from each side.

Trace Evidence examines well known cases, as well as little known cases.  The podcast is open to suggestion and will look into any case recommended, especially if it is recent and time is of the essence.

"To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only truth." - Voltaire
 
Steven Pacheco - Host of Trace Evidence

 

 

Steven Pacheco - Host of Trace Evidence

About the Host

I can’t stand the idea of never knowing an answer. This feeds into my fascinations with history, true crime, philosophy and psychology. I have a need to know, to get down to the core of something or someone and understand the reasons why. I tend to view the world through analytical eyes and while most are losing themselves in the moment, I am memorizing it. My mind has so many topics to focus on that often times I have difficulty dedicating myself to a single one because they are all arguing for my attention.

I have always been driven by a thirst for truth, and an intense need to know. I’m a student of history, especially the events and periods where little is known, or what is known is hotly debated.  As a child, I spent a lot of time in the school library reading about the Bermuda Triangle, the theories around the death and/or survival of Billy the Kid, the lost city of Atlantis.  It was at a young age that I developed an affinity for the unknown. It was also at a young age that I found my love of writing, and these two key facets of my identity became bound together.

As I grew older, I began to realize that my interest in the unknown was a driving force in my life.  Thanks to shows like America’s Most Wanted, Unsolved Mysteries and History’s Mysteries, this interest germinated into what I often tongue in cheek refer to as obsession. When I can’t sleep at night, I am not thinking about my bills or my plans, I’m running through case evidence, replaying details and clues in my head and trying to piece together what happened.

In my late 20’s, I began to look at all of these unsolved murders and missing person’s cases from a slightly different perspective.  Initially, in my youth, it was about the unknown.  However, as I’ve aged, it’s become even more so about the people involved in them.  The victims, their families, their friends and the suspects.  I can’t stand not knowing, and yet that can’t even compare to what it must be like to have a firsthand connection to one of these cases.  It was this empathy for the victims and their families, this anger towards the responsible parties, and this fascination with the unknown that I began the Trace Evidence Podcast.