Madison McGhee
speaker
121 appearances
2 recordings
2 series
first heard Jan 2025
last heard 25 Feb
Madison McGhee’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Feb 2026 with 1.
Appearances
There should be all of these things in place. And I think that if you don't do those things and a case cannot be solved because of those things, there should be accountability for that. Let's say I see someone at the grocery store shoot someone, they die, and I never say anything. I would be considered an accomplice in murder because I allowed them to get away with it.
If you as a police officer don't collect the proper evidence that allows someone to get away with murder, by definition, are you not an accomplice? And where's the accountability for that? And why are we not making people do the right thing at every crime scene, regardless of the context, regardless of the color of skin of the victim, and making them do the exact same thing every time?
This was 2002. So the argument is DNA wasn't really a thing then. That's not true. It was introduced as evidence in 1986. That's plenty of time to catch up to speed. And there were cases not that far away that were swiping for fingerprints long before then. I just think that there's a certain set of protocols you have to do.
Now, if you can't solve a case after doing those things, that's a completely different story. But if you haven't given a case the proper chance to survive in court, then are you not somewhat responsible for that? I can't even really knock them for not following a protocol because there isn't one. I just wish that there was.
When we know better, we can do better. What do you feel has carried you through the heaviest portions of all of this process?
My initial gut reaction when you are like, what's getting you through? I'm like, Vanderpump Rules. I love all of those shows. They're my little escape. I am obsessed with TV, which is funny because I work in it and people usually don't like to go home and do the thing that they do at work. Not everyone can process their trauma through their work. So I guess in a way I'm fortunate.
Although some days I would argue that it's the worst thing I ever did. But my TV is on 95% of the time. I write my episodes with Real Housewives playing in the background. It weirdly keeps me going. It used to be I was a very social person and now I'm not at all. I just love sitting at home. I have a cat. She's amazing.
I think finding that thing that becomes your escape, at least for me, was that this was a side project. This in the beginning was sort of my escape from everything. And I would work on it every now and then. Eventually, it became very all consuming. And that transition happens very fast.
So if anyone is diving into, even if it's not for a podcast, you're just looking into a cold case, whether it's someone you know or someone you don't, it can become very all-consuming seemingly overnight. And that transition from it becoming this side thing to it becoming everything you think about all the time is so quick. It's very whiplashy.
I think always having something exciting for you to do, zero pressure involved, gets a good release. Maybe seeking professional help would also benefit me down the line. But I think that's been something that's just really nice to have in your Rolodex of like, I do this thing that's just for fun. There's no pressure involved.
It's just an escape from the reality of the darkness that now is becoming all consuming, I think can be really healing. It's really important to have that refuel time. Ice Cold Case, you can listen to that anywhere you get your podcasts on YouTube as well. Then Ice Cold Case on Instagram and TikTok. And then I'm Madison underscore McGee on everything that exists.
I would love to hear from people about the show if they have a theory or if I haven't explored something. If you have any tips specifically, love that.
I can't wait to see what comes next for you in every realm in terms of justice, in terms of your profession and the impact you make on all of it.
Thank you. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm nervous. It's a lot. This whole experience has been so strange and there's lots of question marks. It's very scary. There's some other conversations happening about lots of different things. So I'm very excited about what mark I'm going to leave on true crime specifically, but also in entertainment as a broader entity.
You are amazing. I really do appreciate everything you're doing. Thank you for your time and your energy.
Thank you so much. This was so special.
As the U.S. Department of Justice states, experts estimate that there are currently 250,000 unsolved murders in America, which is a number that increases by about 6,000 victims each year. Each state and county approach cold cases differently, although departments specializing in cold case investigations often exist so as to raise the county and state's murder case clearance rate.
The notion of clearance rate is applied to murder cases in which one or more suspects are arrested and charged for the crime. According to the Marshall Project, which is a non-profit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, the number of solved and closed murder cases in 2020 was the highest since 1997.
But the rate at which murder cases were closed, or the clearance rate, actually dropped significantly as a result of the number of homicides spiking at a much greater rate than cases are cleared. As of 2020, this brings the clearance rate of murder cases to a little below 50%.
According to the Marshall Project, this is a far cry from the case clearance rates American police forces boasted in the 1980s, which reached around 70%. This episode is dedicated in loving memory of John Cornelius McGee. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Next week on What Came Next.
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