MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Goodbye Uncle Jack (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)
24 Feb 2025
Late one afternoon in the summer of 2014, a pawnshop owner was updating his inventory logs when the bell above the front door jingled. A young couple walked inside and approached the counter. The man said he had a few items to sell, then opened a drawstring bag and dumped the contents onto the counter. A collection of gold chains, rings, and watches spilled out. Many of the pieces were twisted and mangled. And instantly, the hairs on the pawnshop owner’s neck stood up. Because everything about this interaction – from the large quantity of damaged jewelry to the careless way the pieces had been thrown in a bag together – told him that these items were stolen. And this made the owner extremely nervous, because he had cash in the register and didn’t know what the thieves might be capable of. He needed to get them out of the store quickly, without revealing that he was on to them. So, he told the couple he didn’t have enough cash to buy the jewelry now, but would send some pictures to his broker to see if they were interested. The couple agreed and let him take the photos. As soon as they were gone, the owner called the police, and it soon became clear he’d stumbled onto something much bigger than theft. Because this jewelry was linked to a murder case that had rocked a small, suburban community and baffled police. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Full Episode
Late one afternoon in the summer of 2014, a pawn shop owner was updating his inventory logs when the bell above the front door jingled. A young couple walked inside and approached the counter, and the young man said he had a few items to sell. But then he proceeded to open a drawstring bag and dump the contents onto the counter.
There was a collection of gold chains, rings, and watches, and many of the pieces were twisted and mangled. Instantly, the hair on the pawnshop owner's neck stood up, because everything about this interaction, from the large quantity of damaged jewelry to the careless way the pieces had been thrown in a bag together, told him that these items were stolen.
And this made the owner extremely nervous because he had cash in the register and didn't know what these thieves might be capable of. He needed to get them out of the store quickly without revealing that he was onto them. So he told the couple he didn't have enough cash to buy the jewelry right now, but he would send some pictures of the jewelry to his broker to see if maybe they were interested.
The couple agreed and let him take the photos. And then after the photos were taken and the couple had left, the owner called the police and it soon became clear his gut instincts were right. However, he'd stumbled onto something much bigger than just theft because it would turn out this jewelry was linked to a murder case.
But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark and Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right podcast because that's all we do and we upload twice a week, once on Monday and once on Thursday.
So if that's of interest to you, please change all the hot key commands on the follow buttons computer so that every single command just restarts the computer. Okay, let's get into today's story.
Redacted Declassified Mysteries is a new podcast hosted by me, Luke LaManna. Each week, I dive into the hidden truths behind the world's most powerful institutions, from covert government experiments to bizarre assassination attempts. Follow Redacted on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
One afternoon in mid-July 2014, 59-year-old Jack Parks and his fiancee, Carol LaPaya, walked through their neighborhood of Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania. Jack sported a black fedora, wire-framed glasses, and a lopsided grin beneath a graying mustache. Carol hung on his arm, smiling at how her engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight.
As they walked, they passed by several neighbors who were outside doing yard work or talking. Jack and Carol waved to each person as they passed, and everyone waved back. Their neighborhood was a close-knit, working-class community 10 miles outside of Pittsburgh, and everybody seemed to know each other. In fact, Jack even had family on this street.
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