Locked In with Ian Bick
Locked In with Ian Bick

I Was a Homicide Detective for 20 Years — These Are the Cases You Never Heard About | Jon Buehler

October 1, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Jon Buehler spent 32 years at the Modesto, California police department, the last 20 as a homicide detective. He worked more than 140 homicides, was the lead on 26, and cleared all but one. He also assisted on the Scott Peterson case. But the cases he describes in this conversation are not the famous ones. They are the ones that never made national news—the ones that reveal how detective work actually happens: through patience, relationship-building, attention to small details, and a willingness to treat suspects as human beings.

The Ice Chest Murder: How a Juvenile Fingerprint Solved a Dismemberment Case

One of Buehler’s most intricate cases began as a minor fraud. A Minnesota sports memorabilia dealer called him about a stolen uncut baseball card poster worth about $1,800, mailed to a Modesto PO box after a credit card order. Buehler traced the box to a rental agreement with a Nevada ID. The name and date of birth on the ID belonged to a woman’s son—who had died as an infant. The living person using that identity had researched death certificates, obtained certified birth certificates, and used them to get a fake ID.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Advertisements** - Multiple ad spots for MIDI menopause care, Stamps.com, and Boston Medical Group.
  • 2 (01:14) **Introduction of Jon Buehler** - Host Ian Bick introduces the guest, a 20-year homicide detective who worked over 140 homicides, including the Scott Peterson case.
  • 3 (01:57) **Origin Story: Family Legacy in Law Enforcement** - Buehler describes his family's deep roots in policing, with nine or ten relatives in the field.
  • 4 (05:45) **From Motorcycle Cop to Detective** - Buehler explains his early career path and the incident that got him noticed for detective work.
  • 5 (12:26) **Key Distinction: "Smoking Gun" vs. "Whodunit"** - Buehler defines the two categories of homicide cases and the importance of bulletproof work product.
  • 6 (13:11) **The Lesson of the Chain of Custody** - A story about a humiliating courtroom experience that taught him a crucial investigative principle.
  • 7 (16:36) **Case Study: The Identity Thief and the Ice Chest Murder** - A detailed narrative of a fraud case that unexpectedly connected to a dismemberment murder years later.

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Show Notes

Jon Buehler spent 32 years with the Modesto Police Department, including more than 20 years as a homicide detective investigating murders and some of the most disturbing cases of his career. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Jon takes us inside the cases the public never heard about — what he saw at crime scenes, how detectives actually build a murder case, the details that never made the news or came out in court, and what more than two decades of investigating homicide does to the person behind the badge. He also shares his firsthand experience working the Scott Peterson case, one of the most widely followed murder investigations and trials in American history.

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Connect with Jon Buehler: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-buehler-64871821

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Become an EXCLUSIVE Locked In: After Hours Member & recieve a FREE merch box:

https://lockedin.supportingcast.fm/

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:

https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:

00:00 Meet John Buehler
00:43 Growing Up in a Cop Family
02:44 Choosing Law Enforcement
04:33 Understanding Modesto
05:55 The Shooting at the Stoplight
10:56 Crime Scene Diagrams and Mentorship
14:19 Becoming a Detective
15:15 The Elusive Sports Memorabilia Thief
26:36 Transferred to Homicide Unit
27:39 The Ice Chest Murder
38:18 Interview Techniques and the Bank Robber
44:56 When Confessions Are Hard
55:03 A Case That Still Haunts
57:46 Interviewing a Suspect
01:00:20 The Di

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