Justice for Joyce Yost | Dancing with the Devil | 12

The disappearance of Joyce Yost has had a multi-generational impact, leaving her children and grandchildren trapped in a repeating nightmare of court hearings and appeals. Following Doug Lovell's 2015 conviction for Joyce's murder, the jury faces the question of whether or not to return him to death row. Their only alternative: life with the chance for parole, which would mean Joyce Yost's killer might some day walk free again.

Joyce Yost had never met the man who followed her home on an April night in 1985, who kidnapped and raped her. He threatened to kill her, but she went to police anyway. Then, she vanished. Joyce has never been found. Now, investigative journalist Dave Cawley delves into the decades-old case to uncover the details of a murder-for-hire plot to silence Joyce. Cold reveals flaws in the system that left Joyce unprotected, examines pitfalls of the death penalty and asks if there’s such a thing as justice for Joyce Yost.

Listen to Cold on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/cold/ now.

Share your thoughts: #JusticeForJoyceYost #ColdPodcast Twitter Instagram Facebook

Survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sexual assault and their allies in the United States can connect with free resources at https://www.rainn.org/.

Additional case materials including photos, videos and a who's who list at https://thecoldpodcast.com/season-2/.

Episode credits:

• Research, writing and hosting: Dave Cawley
• Audio production: Nina Earnest
• Audio mixing: Trent Sell
• Additional voices: Richie Steadman (as Doug Lovell), Scott Mitchell (as Chuck Thompson), Amy Donaldson (as Becky Douglas)
• Cold main score composition: Michael Bahnmiller
• Cold main score mixing: Dan Blanck
• KSL executive producers: Sheryl Worsley, Keira Farrimond
• Workhouse Media executive producers: Paul Anderson, Nick Panella, Andrew Greenwood
• Amazon Music team: Morgan Jones, Eliza Mills, Vanessa Rebbert, Shea Simpson

Cold is a narrative podcast series focused on missing persons cases. Investigative journalist and host Dave Cawley takes on a single story with each season.

Season 1: Susan Powell Case Files, the Cold journey begins with Dave’s investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Susan Powell… and the man with the most to gain from her death.

Season 2: Justice for Joyce Yost delves into the details of a murder-for-hire plot and attempts to find justice for Joyce – a woman who bravely reported her kidnapping and rape only to vanish without a trace.

Season 3: The Search for Sheree follows two suspects in the 1985 disappearance of Sheree Warren while examining the dangerous escalation of domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Cold team seeks to answer the question: what really happened to Sheree Warren?