Cold and Missing: Fiona Yu

100:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,760The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.200:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,400All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.300:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,240Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.400:00:22,240 --> 00:00:24,520Listener discretion is advised.500:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,280I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.600:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680And I'm your co-host, Eli Solkowski.700:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,560And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.800:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,920Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.900:00:36,920 --> 00:00:37,920I'm Ali.1000:00:37,920 --> 00:00:38,920And I'm Eli.1100:00:38,920 --> 00:00:39,920Welcome back everyone.1200:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,480I just wanted to take a quick second at the top here just to say thank you to everybody1300:00:44,480 --> 00:00:45,800who's been listening.1400:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,200If you're new here, if you've been with us for a while, thank you so much.1500:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,320We've had a really outstanding January.1600:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,720It's been our highest number of listens.1700:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,640So thank you so much for just being a part of it and telling your friends and rating1800:00:58,640 --> 00:01:00,080us and reviewing us.1900:01:00,080 --> 00:01:01,080It means so much.2000:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,040It's such an honor to be a part of your week.2100:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,480Yeah, it's really exciting to see how many people are coming over to the podcast and2200:01:07,480 --> 00:01:14,120just listening and that, you know, our little podcast continues to do what it's meant to2300:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,720do, which is get these cases and names out there, which brings us all to this week's2400:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,560episode, which is a cold case.2500:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,280Yes, we are on a cold case this week.2600:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,600All right, let's jump into it.2700:01:27,600 --> 00:01:33,000So just as a bit of a content warning at the top, this case does have mentions of sexual2800:01:33,000 --> 00:01:34,000assault.2900:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,880Today, we are going to be talking about the cold case of Fiona Yu.3000:01:38,880 --> 00:01:43,800And this takes place in August of 1997 in Tempe, Arizona.3100:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,000But first, a little bit about Fiona.3200:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000Fiona is 21 years old in 1997.3300:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,840She was a senior at Arizona State University majoring in accounting.3400:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,400Fiona was a dedicated student.3500:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,080She was always in her books and doing her homework according to family and friends.3600:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,520On top of her classes, she also worked part-time at the university gift shop.3700:02:05,520 --> 00:02:11,120Her friends and family describe her as a sweet, friendly, trusting to a fault and a little3800:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,620bit naive.3900:02:12,620 --> 00:02:17,760Fiona lived off campus in the Cypress Gardens apartments with her roommate, Kazoo Aito,4000:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,120and her boyfriend, Tony Satterwhite.4100:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,160That's Kazoo's boyfriend, not Fiona's.4200:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,520Fiona had just met someone special too, though.4300:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,240He worked at a topless bar in town, and the two had been seeing each other for only a4400:02:30,240 --> 00:02:31,240few weeks.4500:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,520Her friends were wary of her new relationship.4600:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,640Tony Satterwhite said, quote, he didn't look like the type of guy for her.4700:02:38,640 --> 00:02:40,760He just looked like a bully sort of guy.4800:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,320He looked like he could manipulate Fiona, unquote.4900:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,160And now, a timeline of events.5000:02:47,160 --> 00:02:53,520On Monday, August 4, 1997, Fiona was seen by a neighbor riding her bike near East Lemon5100:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,680Street and South Terrace Road in Tempe.5200:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,280This is just around the corner from where her apartment was located.5300:03:00,280 --> 00:03:04,320According to Google Maps, it would take a minute or less than to bike there from where5400:03:04,320 --> 00:03:05,800she was last seen.5500:03:05,800 --> 00:03:10,600The neighbor said he saw her between 4 and 4.30 that afternoon.5600:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,080Fiona's roommate arrived home at around 5.15.5700:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,440Their apartment was two stories.5800:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,120It's like the apartment version of Row Houses, with about nine apartments all next to each5900:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,080other, sharing walls.6000:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,160When Kazoo arrived home, she stayed on the first floor for a while.6100:03:27,160 --> 00:03:31,440After about 45 minutes, she started to get a bad feeling and decided to check out the6200:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,840apartment and go upstairs.6300:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,000It's there that she finds Fiona in the hallway.6400:03:37,000 --> 00:03:38,600She's partially clothed.6500:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,520Her pants had been lowered and her shirt was removed.6600:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,000She had injuries to her head and neck.6700:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,800There were blood stains on her body and Fiona is clinging to life.6800:03:47,800 --> 00:03:53,480Kazoo calls 911 and Fiona is rushed to St. Luke's Hospital, but she passes away shortly6900:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,320after she arrives.7000:03:55,320 --> 00:04:00,400As the case shifts to a homicide investigation, police begin to process the scene.7100:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,840There are no signs of forced entry at the apartment.7200:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,640The blood that was found on her body will be tested and later determined that it was7300:04:07,640 --> 00:04:11,440not Fiona's blood, so the blood must have come from the killer.7400:04:11,440 --> 00:04:17,160The next day, Tuesday, August 5, Fiona's autopsy is conducted by the Maricopa Medical7500:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,400Examiner's office.7600:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,440The autopsy confirms what police had suspected.7700:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,520Fiona died of strangulation and she was sexually assaulted.7800:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,880Police begin looking for her boyfriend so they can question him.7900:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,280They don't consider him a suspect at this time, but Sergeant Toby Dias says, quote,8000:04:34,280 --> 00:04:35,920We want to talk to him.8100:04:35,920 --> 00:04:37,720Find out what he knows, end quote.8200:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,280I assume that police are able to find him and talk to him.8300:04:41,280 --> 00:04:46,360Years later, they will confirm in the media that he was cleared as a suspect altogether.8400:04:46,360 --> 00:04:51,760On Friday, August 8, just four days after her murder, Fiona is laid to rest in tempeh.8500:04:51,760 --> 00:04:58,120Now, there's not much coverage after the initial murder, but on September 14 and 158600:04:58,120 --> 00:05:03,600of 1997, that same year, it's been just over a month since Fiona was murdered.8700:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,120There are two separate attacks of ASU students.8800:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,720Both of the women survived, but they are sexually assaulted and strangled to the point of passing8900:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,200out, and one is cut with scissors on her legs.9000:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,640The media and police are interested to see if these attacks are related to Fiona's murder,9100:05:19,640 --> 00:05:21,800given the similarities.9200:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,920Tempeh police say, quote, We aren't ruling it out, but we aren't ruling it in either.9300:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,120Right now, it's too soon to say whether they're related, but our detectives are comparing9400:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,600notes with their detectives, end quote.9500:05:34,600 --> 00:05:40,640About a week later, on September 22, two teenagers from tempeh high school are arrested9600:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,960and charged with attempted murder, sexual assault, robbery, and kidnapping related to9700:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,040the attacks on the other two ASU women.9800:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,520Tempeh police are looking closely at the two teens to see if they are in any way connected9900:05:53,520 --> 00:05:55,120to Fiona's murder.10000:05:55,120 --> 00:06:00,920They plan to use DNA to either include or exclude the two teens as suspects.10100:06:00,920 --> 00:06:06,720On September 24, women of Arizona State University rally Wednesday afternoon to take back the10200:06:06,720 --> 00:06:07,720day.10300:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,480They argue that they're not even safe during the day, so they can't take back the night10400:06:11,480 --> 00:06:12,480yet.10500:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,200Fiona is honored at the rally.10600:06:14,200 --> 00:06:20,080They read poetry dedicated to her, and the women pushed for a bike path named after Fiona.10700:06:20,080 --> 00:06:25,240One of her last papers that she wrote was in support of more bike paths on campus.10800:06:25,240 --> 00:06:30,200Police also announced that day that one of the teenagers arrested is the prime suspect10900:06:30,200 --> 00:06:31,600in Fiona's murder.11000:06:31,600 --> 00:06:36,240The attorney for Maricopa County says, quote, He's the prime suspect in the matter.11100:06:36,240 --> 00:06:41,720We obtained a court order asking for the withdrawal of blood so we can compare it with DNA evidence,11200:06:41,720 --> 00:06:42,720end quote.11300:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,760The teen suspect denies that he was involved in the murders altogether.11400:06:46,760 --> 00:06:52,800It takes months for the DNA analysis to come back, but on Monday, December 15, it's been11500:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,280over four months now since Fiona was murdered, and the police announced that the DNA was11600:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,520not a match for either teen suspect.11700:07:00,520 --> 00:07:06,040Police will continue to investigate the teens related to Fiona's murder, but years later,11800:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,840police will announce that they are officially cleared of being involved.11900:07:09,840 --> 00:07:15,200In March of 1998, so it's been seven months since Fiona's murder, and there are still12000:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,040no suspects in the case.12100:07:17,040 --> 00:07:21,440However, in Tempe, there is a man who appears to be stalking Asian women.12200:07:21,440 --> 00:07:27,320He has attempted to kidnap at least five women, but was unsuccessful in these attempts.12300:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,120All of the women were able to run away to safety.12400:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,440Police search for the stalker and also want to know if he could be involved in Fiona's12500:07:34,440 --> 00:07:35,440murder.12600:07:35,440 --> 00:07:40,720And it's unclear if they are ever able to find this man or if the media coverage kind12700:07:40,720 --> 00:07:47,440of scares him off, because I couldn't find a resolution to what happened in this particular12800:07:47,440 --> 00:07:48,600instance.12900:07:48,600 --> 00:07:53,920But after that, you don't hear about Fiona's murder in the media hardly at all.13000:07:53,920 --> 00:07:59,840There is a true crime show in 2001 that covers her murder and gets it in the public awareness,13100:07:59,840 --> 00:08:04,080but still no real clues are developed from this according to police.13200:08:04,080 --> 00:08:09,760In October of 2006, so it's been over nine years since Fiona's murder, police say they13300:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,880are reopening the case and taking an aggressive look at the case.13400:08:13,880 --> 00:08:18,120They believe that between the public's help and new DNA advances that they'll be able13500:08:18,120 --> 00:08:22,880to solve the case, police theorize that the suspect is still in the area.13600:08:22,880 --> 00:08:28,080Detective John Thompson is heading the investigation and says, quote, Fiona's family and friends13700:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,760deserve answers in this case.13800:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,880It's hard enough that they have been forced to know the what and the how of the incident,13900:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,920so it's only fair that they be given the opportunity to know the why.14000:08:39,920 --> 00:08:40,920End quote.14100:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,120Fiona's brother, Kevin, speaks on behalf of the family.14200:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,920He says, quote, my parents will never get over it.14300:08:46,920 --> 00:08:48,680You can see that in their eyes.14400:08:48,680 --> 00:08:51,720In fact, none of us in the family can get over it.14500:08:51,720 --> 00:08:52,800End quote.14600:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,680When speaking of his sister, Kevin says that his sister was too trusting.14700:08:56,680 --> 00:09:00,960Quote, she was very good at heart, but had no street sense.14800:09:00,960 --> 00:09:02,480Maybe she met the wrong person.14900:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,360I think it was premeditated in some ways.15000:09:05,360 --> 00:09:06,360End quote.15100:09:06,360 --> 00:09:11,400Police believe that the DNA will be crucial in this case and have tested several people.15200:09:11,400 --> 00:09:16,360Detective Thompson says, quote, at this time no matches have been linked to the sample.15300:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,760Biological samples have also been collected from numerous acquaintances of Fiona or suspicious15400:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,800people in the area, but they too have come back with no match.15500:09:24,800 --> 00:09:25,960End quote.15600:09:25,960 --> 00:09:32,520In August of 2017, so it's been 20 years since Fiona was murdered.15700:09:32,520 --> 00:09:37,640Tempe Police have decided for the first time that they are going to try to use technology15800:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,720called snapshot DNA phenotyping.15900:09:40,720 --> 00:09:46,880This basically takes the DNA sample and creates a composite of the person based on the DNA.16000:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,760Detective Lily Durans says, quote, we are hoping that getting this composite sketch16100:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,400would draw out people's memories.16200:09:53,400 --> 00:09:54,400End quote.16300:09:54,400 --> 00:10:00,960This DNA testing or composite sketching isn't able to tell age, height, or weight of the16400:10:00,960 --> 00:10:07,160person who gave the sample, but it can tell police the skin color, ancestry, hair, and16500:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,600eye color of the suspect.16600:10:09,600 --> 00:10:17,280Based off of the DNA, he is of Latino descent and he would have light brown skin, dark eyes,16700:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,400dark brown eyes, and then brown hair.16800:10:20,400 --> 00:10:26,080That composite was released to the public, but as of 2024, there have been no arrests16900:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,880in this case and no suspects named.17000:10:28,880 --> 00:10:35,680So with that, if you know anything about what happened to Fiona Yu in August of 1997, please17100:10:35,680 --> 00:10:42,920call the Tempe Police Department at 480-250-8311.17200:10:42,920 --> 00:10:48,240And the sources for the timeline today come from the Arizona Republic, the Tucson Sun,17300:10:48,240 --> 00:10:52,120and 12 News, so that is the case of Fiona Yu.17400:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,760Thank you for bringing this case to us today.17500:10:56,760 --> 00:11:02,480As always, you know, I'm surprised that it's one that I don't know, but I'm grateful to17600:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,720have learned about her today.17700:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,880The description of what happened is, is, was startling.17800:11:08,880 --> 00:11:13,520It's just heartbreaking that that was, those were her last moments, you know.17900:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,820I have always just like questions for you.18000:11:16,820 --> 00:11:18,560What are your thoughts and opinions?18100:11:18,560 --> 00:11:21,480Do you, do you, do you have a suspect, I guess?18200:11:21,480 --> 00:11:24,360I don't have a suspect in this case.18300:11:24,360 --> 00:11:29,400DNA was used to kind of rule out what seemed like the obvious people in the beginning,18400:11:29,400 --> 00:11:34,800you know, the boyfriend and then these two teens who committed similar attacks just a18500:11:34,800 --> 00:11:36,440few weeks later.18600:11:36,440 --> 00:11:42,520But I do agree with her brother that it was probably somebody that knew her and maybe18700:11:42,520 --> 00:11:47,920knew her schedule a little bit because the timeframe, like the window of time for the18800:11:47,920 --> 00:11:52,640crime to be committed before her roommate comes home is pretty small.18900:11:52,640 --> 00:12:01,640It's, it can vary if she got home around four, that gives an hour and 15 minutes before her19000:12:01,640 --> 00:12:03,760roommate shows up.19100:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,280But if she got home at 430, that leaves a half hour and you know, kind of everywhere19200:12:07,280 --> 00:12:08,280in between.19300:12:08,280 --> 00:12:13,720So it seems like it was somebody who knew the layout, knew how to get in, how to get19400:12:13,720 --> 00:12:19,120out without really being seen and maybe knew her and her roommate's schedule.19500:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,840That's just what I have come to.19600:12:21,840 --> 00:12:27,200That's like the only suspect, I guess, that I could give is somebody who knew her a little19700:12:27,200 --> 00:12:28,200bit.19800:12:28,200 --> 00:12:29,200Yeah.19900:12:29,200 --> 00:12:36,560The, the violence of it and it being the middle of the day, to me, it's, it's one of20000:12:36,560 --> 00:12:42,080two, you know, a wild person committed this crime or someone who knows a lot of details20100:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,040because like you said, it's a, it's a small window.20200:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,800And if you don't know that person, you don't know the schedule as I guess in a salient,20300:12:49,800 --> 00:12:55,760you're like banking on a lot to go right for you when you're doing something very wrong.20400:12:55,760 --> 00:13:04,000So that's like bone chilling though, to think about that and the aspect of like, like stalking.20500:13:04,000 --> 00:13:10,760Yeah, I did think that the stalker who was like targeting the Asian community, specifically20600:13:10,760 --> 00:13:15,960women in that community, I think that is an interesting lead.20700:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,720And I would be curious to know if the police ever found this man, if they were able to20800:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,320rule him out or if he's still kind of elusive because if somebody was watching her, like20900:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,640that would be a stalking behavior.21000:13:27,640 --> 00:13:34,800So I am curious there a little bit about who that man was and what became of that story.21100:13:34,800 --> 00:13:41,240It's something very interesting that is happening around this time.21200:13:41,240 --> 00:13:48,560And for there to be no follow up or anything, I am curious as well.21300:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,520And maybe that answer is out there and I just couldn't find it.21400:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,800It didn't seem to be brought up in the newspapers again that I had access to.21500:13:55,800 --> 00:14:01,200So yeah, that would be something that I would want to know the answer to and if they ruled21600:14:01,200 --> 00:14:05,400him out in Fiona's case specifically.21700:14:05,400 --> 00:14:09,920But I do agree with you though about the bone chillingness of this case.21800:14:09,920 --> 00:14:15,520Like it was scary to read about, but then also like kind of scary how little is known21900:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,920about the case and how it is not more widely known.22000:14:18,920 --> 00:14:25,760I think that and I'm hoping that with us covering this case, you know, more people will as well.22100:14:25,760 --> 00:14:31,480And hopefully we'll see some of those answers trickle through.22200:14:31,480 --> 00:14:36,920Again, I think it's as sad and horrifying as this case is.22300:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,280I think it was necessary to bring it here.22400:14:40,280 --> 00:14:42,200Yeah, I agree with you 100%.22500:14:42,200 --> 00:14:48,960And you know, seeing all our listeners like those numbers just come in, like that's just22600:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,200these names, these cases getting out there.22700:14:51,200 --> 00:14:56,320And, you know, that does put pressure on police if there's news stories about them.22800:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,520It makes them look at the case again.22900:14:58,520 --> 00:15:03,480Maybe it gives a detective that hasn't looked at the case, you know, the curiosity to go23000:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,640look at it themselves and maybe they're able to see something that was missed.23100:15:06,640 --> 00:15:12,640Like there's so many ways that just talking about these cases helps and helps bring awareness.23200:15:12,640 --> 00:15:19,120Fresh eyes are always a good idea, you know, on things like this.23300:15:19,120 --> 00:15:25,400I couldn't agree more that with the listeners and the numbers, just the more attention there23400:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,760is, the more likely it is that things will be discovered.23500:15:28,760 --> 00:15:35,320Yeah, and I am hopeful that, you know, police have this composite based off of the DNA.23600:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,080We're going to be posting pictures of that composite on our Instagram.23700:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,280So if you're not following us there, you absolutely should be.23800:15:42,280 --> 00:15:49,720And of course, if you know anything about the murder of Fiona Yu in August of 1997, please23900:15:49,720 --> 00:15:55,400call the Tempe Police Department at 480-250-8311.24000:15:55,400 --> 00:16:00,360And again, we're going to be posting pictures of Fiona on our Instagram as well as the composite24100:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,480sketch created by DNA.24200:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,600So if you're not following us, you can find us at Cold and Missing and you can keep up24300:16:06,600 --> 00:16:12,080with the podcast there and other true crime stories that we kind of report about.24400:16:12,080 --> 00:16:16,720You can also visit our website, www.coldandmissing.com.24500:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,200We have transcripts for every single episode.24600:16:19,200 --> 00:16:24,920So if you or someone you love is hard of hearing, you can follow along with the podcast there.24700:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,000And you can also rate and review us on our website.24800:16:28,000 --> 00:16:33,560Or if you're an Apple podcast, a written review goes a long way in getting this podcast into24900:16:33,560 --> 00:16:39,360other people's days and into their ears, which ultimately gets these names into people's25000:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,080ears and in their minds and in their thoughts and conversations.25100:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,200So take a minute, write us a review.25200:16:45,200 --> 00:16:47,480We'd appreciate it so much.25300:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,200But that is all I have.25400:16:49,200 --> 00:16:52,080Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing.25500:16:52,080 --> 00:16:53,320I'm your host, Allie.25600:16:53,320 --> 00:16:54,880And I'm your co-host, Eli.25700:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,680Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.25800:16:56,680 --> 00:17:16,360�