A Stranger's Coffee Cup Solves a 31-Year-Old Murder: The Vicki Underwood Case

A Stranger's Coffee Cup Solves a 31-Year-Old Murder: The Vicki Underwood Case A warm QuikTrip coffee cup on the passenger seat contradicted everything known about the victim: Vicki Underwood had a documented condition that made coffee physically painful and she never drank it. The cup carried a male DNA profile that went unmatched for thirty-one years-so who owned the cup, and why was it in her car the morning she was strangled? In this episode, we lay out the facts from the morning of May 11, 1993, following the scene, the evidence collected, and the direction investigators took as the QuikTrip cup became the case’s lone biological lead. How did one discarded cup become the key that would outlast three decades of dead ends? Person: Vicki Underwood Date: May 11, 1993 Location: Aldine Cutoff, Mercer Falls, Indiana Case: Homicide by strangulation Evidence: QuikTrip paper cup with male DNA, one-third full and warm at 8:47 a.m. - Vicki Underwood was 44 years old and had worked eleven years at the Hendricks County Library’s Mercer Falls branch. - The QuikTrip coffee cup was found one-third full with a wax-coated lid, still warm when catalogued at approximately 8:47 a.m. - The cup yielded a partial male DNA profile that did not match the national database at the time and remained unmatched for 31 years. - Vicki had a documented gastroesophageal reflux condition, confirmed by her physician and family, and did not drink coffee. - The nearest QuikTrip to Aldine Cutoff was in Brownsburg, 12 miles east, implying the cup was bought between about 8:15 and 8:25 a.m. and carried west on I‑74. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].