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[The Guardian Angel of the Landfill: A Detective's Pursuit of Justice for Forgotten Victims]-[Good & Evil]

Dateline NBC · B2 · 2025-04-01

True crime
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📋 Summary

The Guardian Angel of the Landfill: Uncovering a Serial Killer Duo

In a chilling case that underscores the persistence of law enforcement and the depth of maternal love, Detective Julissa Trapp of the Anaheim Police Department unraveled a series of murders that connected four missing young women to a pair of predatory serial killers: Frank Cano and Steven Gordon. The investigation, which began with a gruesome discovery in a landfill, evolved into a harrowing journey through the dark underbelly of Orange County.

The Discovery and the Detective’s Vow

On March 14, 2014, workers at an Anaheim landfill discovered a human foot protruding from a pile of trash. The victim was later identified as 21-year-old Jerae Estep. Detective Julissa Trapp, known for her profound Catholic faith and her practice of carrying a rosary to connect with her victims, took the case personally. Faced with the reality that Jerae had been “discarded like trash,” Trapp promised Jerae’s mother, Jody, that she would leave no stone unturned to find the perpetrator. Through a fingerprint found on a caulking tube, investigators were able to trace the trash to a specific dumpster, providing the first critical break in the case.

A Pattern of Disappearance

As Trapp delved deeper, she noticed a disturbing pattern of missing women in neighboring Santa Ana, including Kiana Jackson, Josephine Monique Vargas, and Martha. Each of these women had vanished under similar circumstances, often while working as prostitutes—a demographic frequently targeted by predators who believe their victims will not be missed. The mothers of these women, including Kathy Menzies and Priscilla, had spent months searching for their daughters, often feeling ignored by law enforcement who dismissed the disappearances as part of the “circuit.”

The Power of Technology and Surveillance

Detective Trapp’s breakthrough came when she leveraged GPS data from sex offenders on parole. She discovered that Frank Cano and Steven Gordon, both registered sex offenders, were consistently in the same locations—and in the same vehicle—at the times the women vanished. Surveillance teams and wiretaps revealed the duo’s nonchalant, predatory behavior, as they referred to their victims as "cats" and hunted for them with chilling regularity. When the suspects began to show signs of fleeing, Trapp moved in, arresting both men and preventing further potential tragedies.

The Confession and the Search for Closure

During a grueling 13-hour interrogation, Steven Gordon provided a full confession to Detective Trapp, detailing the horrific nature of the murders. He described how they would pick up the women, take them to the auto body shop where Gordon worked, and eventually strangle them. Despite the confession, the mothers were left with a haunting void: their daughters remained buried deep within the 500-foot-high mountain of trash at the landfill. The cost and logistical impossibility of a full-scale excavation meant that the victims could not be brought home, a reality that left the mothers and Detective Trapp in a state of profound frustration.

Justice and the Fifth Victim

The legal proceedings saw Gordon initially act as his own attorney, attempting to suppress his own confession. However, his arrogance eventually led to the jury hearing the harrowing details of his crimes. Both men were ultimately held accountable, with Frank Cano pleading guilty to four counts of rape and murder, and Gordon receiving a sentence of death.

Beyond the four identified victims, the case revealed a haunting final mystery. Gordon had mentioned a fifth victim, a woman from Compton known only as "Jane Doe." Driven by the belief that "if I don't look for her, who will?" Detective Trapp continued her search, eventually identifying the fifth victim as 19-year-old Sable Pickett.

Conclusion: Hallowed Ground

For the grieving mothers, Detective Trapp became an “angel in disguise”—a representative of justice who refused to let their daughters be forgotten. The landfill, once a site of unimaginable horror, became hallowed ground for the detective, who continued to pray for the souls of the women left behind. This case stands as a testament to the fact that every life, regardless of the circumstances, deserves to be accounted for, and that even in the darkest places, a dedicated seeker of truth can bring a measure of peace to those left behind.

🎯Key Sentences

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I would text her and she would text right back, but this time, nothing.
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When they killed her, they killed me.
3
Cases don't always get solved in 48 hours, you know.
4
Suddenly Detective Trapp's case took on a whole new complexion.
5
I felt that she was gone.
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📝Key Phrases

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on a conveyor belt
2
on the hunt
3
not in a million years
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turn her life around
5
grasping at straws
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📖 Transcript

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She was on a conveyor belt.

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