APB: Cold Case Releases New Episode Examining the 1968 Hit-and-Run Death of Four-Year-Old Carolee Ashby

MAY 13, 2026 – MOORESVILLE, NC A decades-long cold case investigation uncovers hidden evidence, long-buried secrets, and the identity of the driver who left a family searching for answers for more than 40 years.

The true crime audio podcast APB: Cold Case has released a new episode exploring the heartbreaking 1968 hit-and-run death of four-year-old Carolee Ashby in Fulton, New York — and the extraordinary investigation that ultimately solved the case decades later.

On Halloween night in 1968, Carolee Ashby was walking home with her sister after buying birthday candles and ice cream when she was struck and killed by a vehicle whose driver never stopped. No one saw the driver, and the best information police had about the car was a description of the tail lights. After scouring repair garages and interviewing hundreds of people, police at the time did not identify the car or the driver and the case went cold.

The episode follows the emotional journey of Carolee’s family and the investigators who refused to let the case fade away. Decades later, Fulton Police reopened the investigation, revisiting old reports, photographs, and witness statements. What followed was a remarkable cold case breakthrough involving a social media post, a previously untapped witness, the discovery of a hidden vehicle abandoned in the woods for more than four decades, and a confession from the man investigators believe was responsible.

Featuring interviews with Carolee’s sister Darlene Ashby McCann, retired Fulton Police members Lt. Russ Johnson, Investigator Mike Batstone, Police Chief Mike Curtis, and journalist Carol Thompson, the episode examines not only the investigation itself, but also the lasting trauma carried by the Ashby family and the emotional toll the case took on everyone connected to it.

The episode also examines the complicated legacy of Doug Parkhurst, the man identified as the hit-and-run driver, whose life appeared to be haunted by decades of guilt following the fatal crash. Years before his death, Parkhurst reportedly expressed a hope that he might one day do something to make up for what happened — words that would take on haunting significance after the circumstances surrounding his final act.
Host Mark Spawn brings listeners inside the reinvestigation process, detailing how persistence and teamwork helped bring long-awaited answers to a family that had endured decades of uncertainty. “This case never left the people who worked it or the family members who lived through it,” Spawn said. “The episode is about loss, accountability, and the determination of investigators who refused to stop searching for the truth.”

Listeners can hear the full episode of APB: Cold Case now on all major podcast platforms.

Additional photographs, case materials, and related content are available at: www.APBColdCase.com

PODCAST: https://apbcoldcase.com/carolee-ashby

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