LIW42-I Was a Homicide Detective for 20 Years These Are the Cases You Never Heard About - Locked In With Ian Bick

In this deep‑dive interview, veteran Modesto homicide detective John Buehler sits down with host Ian Bick to pull back the curtain on two decades of murder work that never made the headlines. Buehler traces his unlikely path from a Minnesota upbringing—grandfather and uncles on the force—to a gag application that landed him in California’s Central Valley. He recounts the department’s explosive growth, his stint on the motorcycle unit, and the moment he pivoted to homicide in 1989. Listeners hear vivid stories of hand‑drawn crime‑scene diagrams, a botched bullet‑evidence chain that almost derailed a case, and the brutal mentorship that forged his investigative rigor. Buehler also shares the gritty realities of courtroom drama, a triple‑arson murder that linked back to a seemingly unrelated shooting, and the rare moments when a suspect’s family thanked him for sparing a life. Interwoven with anecdotes about the Scott Peterson case, cross‑jurisdictional sleuthing, and the uneasy trust required of detectives, the conversation reveals the personal toll and the hard‑won lessons—chief among them, “If it doesn’t feel right, get out of there.” This episode offers a rare, unfiltered look at the mechanics, culture, and moral calculus of homicide policing in Modesto, California.

Categories: Law