The Woman Who Pressed Her Lips to a Murdered Man's Glass

The Woman Who Pressed Her Lips to a Murdered Man's Glass A single glass of iced tea, upright and still cold nine minutes after a man lay dying in his garage, would become the only physical trace linking a decades-old murder to a stranger's DNA - a female profile with no name. How did a woman who once worked inside the victim's house leave a microscopic imprint on that glass and then refuse to give a sample when genealogy closed in? In this episode, we follow the path from the June 12, 1991 discovery through decades of police work, retired files, and modern genetic genealogy that narrowed dozens of distant matches down to one person of interest; what drove investigators to seek a warrant for Nicole Christensen, and what questions remain about the glass, the timeline, and who brought the tea? Person: Douglas York Date: June 12, 1991 Location: Fieldstone Drive, Merritt Falls, Indiana Age: 52 Investigator: Art Pelham - A meter reader named Wade Jensen found Douglas York at 8:47 AM with his arm extended and a glass of iced tea upright on the concrete. - The ice in the glass had not melted and the glass was still cold when the first officer arrived nine minutes later. - Douglas York had no tea, no tea bags, and family said he drank coffee and called his mother every Wednesday at 10:15 PM. - A partial female DNA profile from the lip of the glass was developed in 2001 and later showed 47 distant matches in a public genealogy database. - By September 2022, genetic genealogy narrowed potential contributors to seven women; Nicole Christensen, who painted York’s kitchen in fall 1990, declined to provide a DNA sample and a warrant was requested. 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].