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Vermont MFA Student's 'Obsession' With 1980 Cold Case Leads To New Investigation And Arrest

A family photo of Suzanne Bombardier, the 14-year-old victim of a 1980 cold case murder.
Antioch Police Department
A family photo of Suzanne Bombardier, the 14-year-old victim of a 1980 cold case murder.

People around the country have been fascinated by the story of the Golden State Killer, the research by the late true-crime writer Michelle McNamara, and the arrest of a suspect in the decades-long mystery back in April. But one Vermont College of Fine Arts student's writing about a different California cold case generated interest of its own that caught investigator's attention and eventually an arrest.

Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons completed her Masters in Writing and Publishing at VCFA and will graduate this weekend.

But it's Gibbons' writing on the 1980 murder of 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier in Antioch, Calif., and articles in Salon and other publications, that got the attention of retried Antioch Police detectives.

That attention led to further investigation and a December 2017arrest of a suspect.

Gibbons joined Vermont Edition to discuss her writing and how she first became interested in the murder of Suzanne Bombardier.

Broadcast on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Ric was a producer for Vermont Edition and host of the VPR Cafe.
Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Matt Smith worked for Vermont Public from 2017 to 2023 as managing editor and senior producer of Vermont Edition.
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