In the early morning hours of September 22, 2001, firefighters responded to a house fire on Paul Avenue in Champaign, Illinois.

Inside the home, they found 59-year-old Linda Smith.

At first, it appeared to be a tragic residential fire.

But investigators quickly discovered something far more disturbing. Linda Smith had been sexually assaulted before the fire was set, transforming what looked like an accidental fire into a homicide investigation.

Then came an even stranger discovery.

DNA recovered from the scene didn't point investigators to a suspect. Instead, it connected Linda Smith's murder to two other sexual assaults — one in Carbondale, Illinois and another in Silver Spring, Maryland.

More than two decades later, investigators still have the DNA profile.

They still have the connections.

But they still don't know who it belongs to.

This is the first episode of Illinois Unsolved, a special series within Kat Has Questions exploring unresolved cases throughout Illinois.

If you have information regarding the Linda Smith case, contact the Champaign County Sheriff's Office at 217-384-1213 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 217-373-8477.

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Kat Has Questions is a curiosity-driven podcast about real stories that sound unreal — from unsolved crimes and strange history to the quietly weird corners of human behavior.

New episodes every week.

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Sources & Further Reading

• Carol Vorel, News-Gazette (2018)
"2001 cold-case murder of Linda Smith"
https://www.news-gazette.com/news/2001-cold-case-murder-of-linda-smith/article_aff09750-95d1-58ca-b186-d67b392d3dea.html

• Champaign County Crime Stoppers – Linda Smith Cold Case
https://373tips.com

• Champaign County Sheriff's Office

• Public statements by Lt. Curt Apperson, Champaign County Sheriff's Office, as reported by the News-Gazette

• Additional reporting and archival research from News-Gazette archives regarding the Linda Smith homicide investigation

🎵 Music: “Scrunchy” by Night Drift

Licensed by Uppbeat

License code: CAHWZR9T33BFXDNY

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