Janette Roberson

Citizen Detective

Episode 11 Janette Roberson
In January, 1983, 27 year old mother and wife Janette Roberson was dealing with a lot. She had recently moved to Reed City, Michigan looking towards a brighter future, but as the year began, she found herself facing issues beyone her control.
Janette had recently found out that her husband was having an affair, and the couple were in the midst of a separation. To make matters worse, Janette had been receiving troubling phone calls from an unknown caller at her home. But Janette focused on rasing her kids, and on her job at the local Gambles store in Reed City. Janette's work in the pet department located in the basement of Gambles ensured her a certain amount of peace, but it's location being both quiet and secluded, would provide cover for a dangerous killer.
On January, 19, 1983, Janette worked her shift as she normally did, and somehow despite a store full of employees and customers above her, someone made their way into the basement and brutally stabbed Janette to death. The attack on her was brutal, and sexual in nature. What was perhaps most shocking was that the killer had spent a good amount of time with Janette in the basement before slipping away unnoticed.
Police descended on the gruesome and bloody scene, and what they found was something that they had not seen before in Reed City, a town of only 2,000 people. Police scrambled to find both potential witnesses and suspects. They looked at several people including Janette's husband Alvin, but he was eventually cleared. Sketches were created and circulated of a young man who was a possible person of interest in the case, and police hoped they would ID him. They never did, and the case went cold.
Almost 40 years later, the murder of Janette Roberson remains unsolved. Can clues and evidence collected back in 1983 perhaps lead investigators to the identity of Janette's killer, or is Janette case destined to go unsolved?
In this episode, the Citizen Detective team discusses the possibilities, share their theories. They are joined by Janette's sister, Lana Jarvie who walks the team through what she's been able to learn about her sister's senseless, and violent murder.
Tips and information about Janette’s case may be submitted to both the
Janette Roberson and Who Murdered Janette Roberson Facebook
pages at:
https://www.facebook.com/janette.roberson.1
&
https://www.facebook.com/groups/177173285814467
All tips received on Facebook will be forwarded to police. You
may also call Reed City Police Chief Chuck Davis at 231-832-3743 and
the Michigan State Police at 989-773-5951.
This episode is sponsored by Magic Mind #14DaysOfMagic
Use promo code Magicmind.co/14daysofmagic Use our promo code Detective14 to save 20% off your first order of Magic Mind
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Continue the conversation about this case with fellow Citizen Detectives over at Websleuths:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/forums/citizen-detective-true-crime-podcast.719/
The Citizen Detective team includes:
Co-Hosts- Mike Morford, Alex Ralph, and Dr. Lee Mellor
Writing and Research- Alex Ralph
Technical Producer- Andrew Gray
Production Assistant- Ashley Monroe
Suzanna Ryan- DNA Expert
Cloyd Steiger- Retired Seattle PD Homicide Detective