Law&Crime brings some of America's greatest detectives to CrimeCon

Join Law&Crime's Dan Abrams arsenic helium uncovers however the nation's apical detectives cracked down and solved immoderate of the astir elusive crimes.

Brilliant detective enactment has fascinated, educated and entertained radical for ages. Yet, the radical who execute this astonishing detective enactment connected a regular ground are seldom recognized extracurricular their locality. To alteration that, starring ineligible and true transgression web Law&Crime volition contiguous its 3rd yearly America's Greatest Detective Award astatine Crime Con 2025, a rubric awarded annually to admit the astir analyzable investigative enactment done by teams oregon individuals moving successful oregon adjacent to instrumentality enforcement.

For the third twelvemonth successful a row, Law&Crime's squad has cautiously selected 3 nominees from crossed a wide scope of investigative professions. Now we're inviting our assemblage members to ballot connected who they deliberation champion deserves the rubric of America's Greatest Detective.

This year's nominees include: Sgt. Julissa Trapp (Anaheim, California, Police Department) for enactment connected the lawsuit of serial slayer Steven Dean Gordon and accomplice Franc Cano; Ofc. Jeffrey Babauta (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) for his 2-½ twelvemonth sting cognition into the satellite of underground alligator poaching; and Sgt. Matthew Vartanian and Det. Andrew Houghton (Elgin, Illinois, Police Department) for their solution of the 42-year-old acold lawsuit of Karen Schepers, done which they launched the innovative acold lawsuit podcast bid Somebody Knows Something.

Law&Crime's Dan Abrams volition big the America's Greatest Detective sheet astatine Crime Con, arsenic good arsenic contiguous the victor astatine the 2025 CLUE Awards connected Sept. 8, 2025.

From the 3 nominees, America's Greatest Detective volition beryllium named based connected the adjudication of a specially nominated sheet composed of Law&Crime executives, partners and instrumentality enforcement experts.

Julissa Trapp

Homicide Detective Julissa Trapp has been a constabulary serviceman since 1998. During her tenure with the Anaheim Police Department, Det. Trapp has served successful assorted capacities, including assignments successful DARE and arsenic a School Resource Officer. Additionally, Trapp is trained arsenic a hostage negotiator and successful 2002, she became a detective successful the household extortion detail. Prior to becoming a Homicide detective, Trapp besides worked assignments successful Sex Crimes and Gangs.

Since joining Homicide arsenic 1 of lone a fewer women to person worked successful the portion successful 2010, Trapp has worked to adjacent respective high-profile execution investigations, including 2 serial slayer cases and a 40-year-old acold lawsuit from the 1980s.

In 2014, Trapp notably broke the lawsuit of serial slayer Steven Dean Gordon. What started arsenic an probe into the decease of 1 young pistillate recovered successful a recycling works yet uncovered Gordon's engagement successful 4 further homicides and a lengthy past of predatory behaviour alongside his accomplice, Franc Cano. Though a analyzable bid of integer and GPS grounds tied Gordon and Cano to the country wherever respective of his victims initially went missing, it was an awesome 13-hour interrogation that yet led to a confession and, later, conviction. With nary name, nary transgression country and nary assemblage with which to investigate, Trapp was besides capable to positively place Gordon's chartless 5th unfortunate arsenic 19-year-old Sable Pickett, bringing some her sanction and answers astir her disappearance to light.

A three-time recipient of the Department's "Detective of the Year," Trapp has besides been awarded the Lifesaving Award, the Meritorious Service Award, the Distinguished Service Award and the Joseph T. Molloy Career Achievement Award. Additionally, she was recognized by the Orange County Register arsenic 1 of "Orange County's Most Influential" radical successful 2014, and successful 2020 by Congressman Lou Correa arsenic a Congressional Woman of the Year.

Detective Trapp grew up and continues to unrecorded successful the City of Anaheim.

Trapp states that she's "A precise steadfast believer that cases volition prime you, that someway the close lawsuit lands with the close detective." The lawsuit of Gordon & Cano mightiness person picked her, but it was her tenacity arsenic an researcher and maestro interrogation skills that brought each the pieces unneurotic for a resolution.

Jeff Babauta

Officer Jeff Babauta retired from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) successful 2019, aft 35 years of outstanding work protecting Florida's earthy resources. He began his vocation successful 1984 with the Division of Freshwater Fisheries arsenic a Lab Technician, transferred successful 1987 to the Division of Wildlife arsenic a Wildlife technician, and successful 1994 joined the Division of Law Enforcement arsenic a patrol serviceman successful Manatee County.

Over the adjacent 25 years successful instrumentality enforcement, Babauta earned wide assemblage designation for his work, including Manatee County's Officer of the Year (1999), Outdoorsman of the Year from a section civic radical (2001), and a commendation medal from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (2002). Babauta was besides awarded the FWC Lifetime Achievement Award (2018) for his dedication and outstanding work to the extortion and preservation of Florida's food & wildlife resources implicit the people of his career.

In 2015, Babauta took connected his astir demanding duty yet — a presumption for a semipermanent undercover sting cognition into the achromatic marketplace satellite of alligator trafficking. For 2 and a fractional years, helium assumed the full-time undercover individuality of a gator husbandman named "Curtis Blackledge" successful bid to infiltrate 1 of Florida's astir entrenched commercialized wildlife transgression networks. As proprietor of Sunshine Alligator Farm, Babauta's alias, Blackledge, has a front-row spot to the illicit activities of the gator trappers, dealers and farmers with whom helium was tasked with gathering relationships. Meanwhile, the existent Babauta worked tirelessly to analyse the interior workings of this aforesaid satellite successful bid to extremity the trafficking from within.

The effect was Operation Alligator Thief, the FWC's archetypal lawsuit prosecuted nether the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The probe led by Babauta culminated successful the apprehension of 14 suspects and uncovered the unlawful postulation and merchantability of implicit 10,000 alligators. Babauta's undercover enactment not lone ruptured these amerciable alligator trafficking activities, but it besides shed airy connected the economical pressures, biology changes and taste complexities contributing to specified wildlife crimes successful the portion to statesman with.

Citing his dedication to protecting our earthy resources for aboriginal generations, Babauta was consenting to hazard it each – including his ain consciousness of aforesaid – to tackle amerciable alligator trafficking. But that doesn't mean that becoming Curtis Blackledge didn't endanger to permission a imperishable people connected him arsenic an investigator.

"When you play a role, it becomes natural" says Babauta, "One of the things that truly helped me, adjacent betwixt going from the workplace to location erstwhile I got the accidental to spell home, was I virtually did this – each clip I deed the region enactment I would flash my manus successful beforehand of my look and I'd say, 'Jeff Babauta, Jeff Babauta' to bring maine backmost to the satellite that is Jeff and vice versa."

Sgt. Matthew Vartanian and Det. Andrew Houghton 

Sgt. Matthew Vartanian joined the Elgin, Illinois, Police Department successful 2008, aft falling successful emotion with a vocation successful instrumentality enforcement done an internship successful adjacent Geneva. Following galore years of moving successful peculiar investigations, gathering quality connected gang-related crimes, Vartanian moved into a caller relation with the acold lawsuit portion successful May of 2024. Since then, Vartanian has been promoted to sergeant of the patrol part successful June 2025. In his caller role, Vartanian volition proceed to connection his dedication and expertise to the Elgin assemblage successful situation and tactical response, transgression apprehension, grounds postulation and more.

Det. Andrew Houghton has been a constabulary serviceman successful Illinois since 2007 and has been with the Elgin Police Department since 2012. Det. Houghton antecedently worked arsenic a patrol serviceman and an grounds technician earlier becoming a detective successful 2013. He besides served arsenic an affiliate researcher with some the Illinois Attorney General's Office & The Cook County State's Attorney's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces from 2014 done 2024, wherever helium specialized successful crimes against children and internet-related crimes. He has been a subordinate of the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force, which assists country agencies with large crimes since 2021, and was assigned arsenic the archetypal full-time detective for the Elgin Police Department's acold lawsuit portion successful May 2024.

In October 2024, Vartanian and his partner, Houghton, reopened the lawsuit of Karen Schepers, a 23-year-old nonmigratory of Elgin who went missing aft a nighttime retired with coworkers successful April of 1983. After launching a podcast successful bid to make captious tips from the community, Vartanian and Houghton were capable to successfully find Schepers' car and remains successful the Fox River successful March, providing a large interruption successful a lawsuit that has haunted Elgin for 42 years.

Vartanian's podcast with Houghton, Somebody Knows Something, serves arsenic an exceptional exemplary for trailblazing investigative enactment by allowing the nationalist to perceive on – and connection crucial, never-before-heard accusation – successful existent time. With a caller summation to the team, Detective Chris Hall, the podcast volition proceed to question retired caller leads connected further acold cases successful Season 2.

To punctuation Vartanian connected the duo's inspiration down the initiative: "We're cops, we're not podcasters; we person nary acquisition successful this astatine all. Then we took a measurement backmost and thought objectively and open-mindedly and realized this could beryllium a truly almighty instrumentality for america arsenic instrumentality enforcement to make nationalist involvement again and get these cases backmost retired there."