Murder at the Motel
Formerly known as iconic, family-friendly interstate stops, many American motels have become places where transience and anonymity often go hand-in-hand. Murder at the Motel explores tragic murder cases set in motels and the pursuit to bring justice to the victims. The personal stories of the victims and of how the investigations unfolded are told from the perspective of family members and law enforcement officers who work tirelessly in their quest to solve these horrific crimes.
Episodes
Runtime: 43m
Late on the night of March 19, 2017, police respond to a call from a witness who hears a gunshot at the Surf Motel on Auburn Boulevard in Sacramento, CA. At the motel, they find the body of 53-year-old Leonora Montoya.
Runtime: 43m
In 2015, Abigail 'Abby' Cozad was found dead in a Denver, CO, motel room. Years earlier, Abby had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a drunk-driving crash, leaving her vulnerable and overly trusting.
Runtime: 43m
On May 15, 2016, Bensalem police and firefighters were called to the Lincoln Inn Motel, where a room was engulfed in flames. As crews battled the blaze, they made a horrifying discovery, a body burned beyond recognition lying in the wreckage.
Runtime: 43m
In 2012, 24-year-old military reservist 2LT Alvin Bulaoro was reported missing by his family. Two long weeks later, his body is discovered, having sustained gruesome injuries, inside a sleeping bag in the backseat of his car in a supermarket parking lot in Fallbrook, CA. Through in-depth police work, law enforcement identified the Fallbrook Country Inn, as the location where Alvin was murdered.
Runtime: 43m
On April 23, 2018, the battered body of Aileen Seiden was discovered off a highway on Florida's Forgotten Coast. Investigators traced the crime to Room 15 of the Sportsman's Lodge Motel, where blood evidence and a palm print revealed a violent struggle and ultimately led them to uncover a tale of how jealousy and control turned a toxic relationship deadly.
Runtime: 42m
On April 9, 2021, Tina Strader, a housekeeping manager at the Rodeway Inn in Venice, Florida, stopped replying to her regular check-in texts to her husband. Worried, he traced her last message to Room 205, where he discovered her body hidden in a closet-viciously beaten, with a towel forced down her throat. Using surveillance footage, investigators worked to identify her killer and bring him to justice.
Runtime: 42m
On July 7, 2017, cleaning staff at America’s Best Value Inn in Michigan discovered a horrifying scene: 43-year-old Christina Daughenbaugh’s body, wrapped in bed sheets, surrounded by blood with a knife lying nearby.
Runtime: 43m
On a cold November evening in 2011, the stillness of a motel in Utica, New York, was shattered by a brutal crime. Police responding to a call at The Davis Motel uncovered the lifeless body of the owner with a belt tied around her neck.
