We recently connected with Sheila Wysocki and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sheila thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?
Wysocki became a household name in the private investigation world after she helped solve the cold-case murder of her college roommate, Angie Samota, more than 25 years later. Only wanting to figure out Angie’s case, Wysocki was ready to close the case on her PI career. However, that’s when letters from around the world came pouring into her inbox begging her to help their families who had mysteriously lost a loved one. “I just couldn’t say no,” recalls Wysocki, “these families were in the same position I was after Angie’s death and I knew I had to at least try to help them.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Sheila Wysocki became a household name in the private investigation world after she helped solve the cold-case murder of her college roommate, Angie Samota, more than 25 years later. Only wanting to figure out Angie’s case, Wysocki was ready to close the case on her PI career. However, that’s when letters from around the world came pouring into her inbox begging her to help their families who had mysteriously lost a loved one. “I just couldn’t say no,” recalls Wysocki, “these families were in the same position I was after Angie’s death and I knew I had to at least try to help them.”
Since then, Sheila Wysocki has worked on over 100 complicated cases, has been nominated as one of the Top 20 Best Nashville Private Investigators, and voted the number six most influential women private investigator. She has been featured in The Washington Post and has appeared on Anderson Cooper, Dateline, Katie Couric, A&E Biography’s “I Solved a Murder,” ABC’s 20/20, Crime Watch Daily, Criminal, and numerous other podcasts. Persistence has always been how her colleagues characterize her and that persistence has paid off in the many cold cases she has worked on.
Recently A Dallas County civil jury found that Brenda Lazaro Kelley was responsible for Jonathan Crews’ death. Sheila Wysocki was the lead investigator working on the case for eight and a half years. The jury sided with the Crews family awarding 206 million dollars.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Sheila Wysocki’s style of investigating may be different from your typical private investigator. She believes the media is your friend in any and every case. The more the case is publicized, the better the chances are of people coming forward with information. Wysocki also uses modern, cutting-edge techniques, including crowd-sourcing. This is where she presents the case to the public in an in-depth manner so they can give their feedback to provide information that will help solve the case. In 2018, Wysocki hosted a “P.I. Experience” in Nashville, TN at Crimecon, a true crime convention. Participants investigated the Jonathan Crews case, an active case Wysocki is working. “The idea of crowd-sourcing is a brilliant way to bring people together who think differently and to work together as a team. Each individual brings different aspects to the table while putting the pieces of the case together,” states Wysocki.
Branching off from the idea of crowd-sourcing, Wysocki produced a podcast in 2018 titled, Without Warning: The Lauren Agee Case. The podcast focuses on an active case she’s working about a young 22-year-old woman who was found deceased in a lake at the bottom of a cliff where she and her friends had been camping the night before. Wysocki dives deep into the case revealing live audio tapes from police detectives, witnesses, and suspects. Since debuting the podcast in July of 2018, it has frequented the Top Podcast Charts on iTunes and the “New and Noteworthy” section. Listen to new episodes weekly on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher Podcast.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Private Investigator, Sheila Wysocki, takes matters into her own hands using unique methods such as crowd-sourcing and podcasts.
For a private investigator, Sheila Wysocki, no case is too cold. She embraces the challenge and views each case as a mission to seek justice – and seeking justice is what she does.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sheilawysocki.com
- Instagram: @withoutwarningpi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WithoutWarningPI
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheila-wysocki/
- Twitter: @scrappymomPI
- Youtube: WITHOUT WARNING BY SHEILA WYSOCKI