Podcast Categories: Government

MANslaughter tells intertwining stories about how one gunshot on a cold Wisconsin night in 1970 dramatically changed multiple lives. A bullet brutally tore through decorated law enforcement veteran LaVerne Stordock. Decades later, his niece, Dorothy Marcic, transformed herself into an amateur detective in a quest for truth and closure about that night. At the center of Dorothy’s investigation is Suzanne Brandon, LaVerne’s second wife, who confessed to the shooting — and who Dorothy believes completely escaped justice. As it follows Dorothy’s discoveries, MANslaughter explores questions around the psychology of crime, the ways women are made responsible in families, and the lasting impact of trauma.

A final encounter between Suzanne and Dorothy reveals a complex connection that even that gunshot cannot shatter. MANslaughter is based on the book, With One Shot by Dorothy Marcic.

About Examined: Overlooked cases that never got the real investigation they deserved. Each season features deeply reported stories about crime, punishment, and the people inside the criminal legal system. 

Nearly 40 years ago, in the parking lot of a community college in Port Huron, Michigan, a 20-year-old student named Scott Macklem was shot dead in broad daylight. His murder shocked the community. It made no sense. The police quickly found their suspect. There was only one problem: the man said he was nowhere near the scene of the crime. And he could prove it. In Examined: The Backfire Effect, journalist Josie Duffy Rice talks with eyewitnesses, investigators and local reporters to unravel a shocking story of judicial apathy and expedience — a story that leaves no one off the hook.