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It's been nearly 53 years since Joli Truelson was last seen alive by friends on July 3, 1972, when she hitchhiked a ride from Lake Calhoun in Uptown Minneapolis.

The following day, on the Fourth of July, her 16-year-old body was found — with fatal blows to the back of the head — in the shallow waters of Minneapolis' Minnehaha Creek. Her case has never been solved.

However, the case has striking similarities to another case that took investigators five decades to solve.

A new five-part podcast series takes listeners behind the scenes of a live investigation that examines circumstances surrounding Truelson's murder — and homes in on one potential suspect: Jon Keith Miller .

Police arrested Miller, 84, last fall for the 1974 slaying of 25-year-old Mary Schlais , who was also picked up hitchhiking in Uptown Minneapolis. Her body was discovered in a rural Dunn County, Wisconsin, snowbank hours later. She had been stabbed more than a dozen times.

Miller entered a "no contest" plea in March, and the conviction closes the chapter on a crime that went unsolved for more than 50 years.

The series, "Joli Truelson: Connecting the Dots," is the latest release from The Vault, a true-crime investigative podcast from Forum Communication Co.

Image courtesy of Marin County, California

The series features audio from Miller's Nov. 7, 2024, arrest — and confession — at an Owatonna assisted living facility for the murder of Schlais. Listeners hear that Miller first denied having anything to do with Schlais' murder, before eventually breaking down and confessing.

The podcast also includes audio of Miller being interviewed by a Minneapolis Police Department investigator for Truelson's death, along with audio from Miller's sentencing for the murder of Schlais.

In addition to the live footage, the podcast series takes listeners through Truelson's official Minneapolis Police Department investigative file, along with the corresponding forensics report, prepared by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Miller's criminal history — and timeline — is also on display in this series.

An interview with one of Miller's survivors — his ex-wife — illustrates the type of violence Miller inflicted in the past. Court documents related to his known crimes, including a 1969 armed robbery, give listeners insight into the mind of Miller, who told one probation agent he believed he should be committed to a psychiatric institution.

Throughout the five-part series, the podcast aims to connect the dots in Truelson's case and Miller's known timeline of events — all while asking the questions: Did Miller have the means, motive and opportunity to kill Truelson?

Truelson's family weighs in on that question, too.

"Joli Truelson: Connecting the Dots" is available on The Vault podcast. It can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.