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COLD CASES SOLVED · October 19 · 3 min

The Cigarette Butts That Solved a 64-Year-Old Double Murder

In 1962, Charles Hale and Lester McCollum were murdered near Battle Ground, Washington, leaving investigators with a mystery that would remain unresolved for more than six decades. Despite the passage of time, two seemingly insignificant pieces of evidence, cigarette butts and twine, would eventually help investigators identify two suspects. In October 2026, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office announced that modern DNA analysis pointed to Barton Stebbins and Walter Stain, both teenagers at the time of the murders. This episode examines how forensic technology brought new answers to a 64-year-old double homicide and why the suspects will never face trial.

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In 1962, Charles Hale and Lester McCollum were murdered near Battle Ground, Washington, leaving investigators with a mystery that would remain unresolved for more than six decades. Despite the passage of time, two seemingly insignificant pieces of evidence, cigarette butts and twine, would eventually help investigators identify two suspects. In October 2026, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office announced that modern DNA analysis pointed to Barton Stebbins and Walter Stain, both teenagers at the time of the murders. This episode examines how forensic technology brought new answers to a 64-year-old double homicide and why the suspects will never face trial.

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