A new investigative podcast from Syracuse.com tells the story of one of Upstate New York’s most horrific crimes like it’s never been told before.
Carol Ryan was violently abused and killed on September 1, 1996.
Police never made an arrest in her case. Carol’s friends and family feel like everyone has forgotten her. But we haven’t. We believe her cold case deserves more attention.
Our new true crime podcast “Firecracker” takes listeners through the chilling story with fresh information and analysis gleaned from interviews with 30 sources.
Voices on the podcast include Carol’s only son, Onondaga County’s district attorney, the medical examiner who wrote Carol’s 22-page autopsy report, detectives, sheriffs, forensic experts, and even persons of interest questioned in this case. Some had never spoken publicly about Carol’s murder before.
Watch the podcast trailer below.
The story begins with Carol’s relatively normal upbringing in a tiny Oswego County town.
Born on the 4th of July, Carol had red hair and a free, fiery personality. Her nickname was Firecracker.
She volunteered at a local daycare and sang in her school chorus.
But after an early pregnancy and 10 years in an abusive marriage, Carol got divorced and moved south from Fulton to Syracuse, N.Y.
She settled into a cozy apartment in the city village of Eastwood, with her fluffy cat named Byrd. She stayed close with her beloved son Shawn and her mother Edith. She loved to read Stephen King novels and dance like no one was watching.
“She was one hell of a good woman,” said her only son, Shawn Hamilton. “There wasn’t a shy bone in her body.”
Shawn Hamilton is the main voice in syracuse.com’s “Firecracker” true crime podcast. His mother was Carol Ryan. Her cold case remains one of the most disturbing murders in Syracuse history. N. Scott Trimble
After a night of bar-hopping on Labor Day weekend in 1996, someone violently attacked Carol….
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