Stay ConnectedJoin Joseph Scott Morgan every week as he explores a world that not many have had a chance to visit, the realm of death. Jo Scott will lead listeners on a journey through the blood soaked death scenes of America and then into the autopsy room to fully understand the science behind each case. Jo Scott is one America’s leading experts on applied forensics and is regularly featured on ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’, ‘The Piketon Massacre’, Court TV and more.
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Jessie Marie Peterson, 31, an attorney with Type One Diabetes, is admitted to the hospital for a diabetes-related illness.
Two days later, she calls her mother around 2:30 p.m. and asks her to come pick her up and take her home. When her mother shows up two-hours later, she is told that Jessie Marie Peterson checked herself out of the hospital, Against Medical Advice (AMA).
Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take a close look at what really happened to Jessie Marie Peterson and why was her mother told she had checked out, when according to their own records, she was pronounced dead at 4:27 p.m. at the medical center.
While the family spent over a year looking for Jessie, her body had been sitting in a storage facility.
Transcript Highlights
00:05.18 Introduction
01:59.25 Hospital tells family patient left AMA
06:53.65 Family is looking for Jessie Peterson, attorney
11:48.34 Jessie is ready to leave hospital, accomplished woman
16:11.54 Lawsuit filed
21:10.19 She calls her mother at 2:30, two hours later she is gone
25:20.07 Hospital claims she left AMA
30:22.43 Mother begins looking for Jessie
35:15.51 Jessie Marie Peterson was dead and for a year the family is looking for Jessie
40:06.21 Body is placed into cold storage
45:08.31 Her body is found after a year, remains are not viewable
49:01.24 Conclusion
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Jared Ondrea, 22, and Deshea Butler, 35, are both living in a halfway house in South Carolina when Marc-Anthony Cantrell is placed in the home. Jared Ondrea goes missing and a search fails to find the young man who was trying to learn to live on his own as an adult. Five months later, Deshea Butler goes missing, and this time when police begin searching they find security footage of Marc-Anthony Cantrell carrying what appears to be the body of Butler out of the house. Confronted with the information, Cantrell confesses to killing both men, and adds some information not everyone was ready to hear. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take a look at what it was like to have a person called a "Budding Serial Killer" as a roommate in a halfway house. Joe will also explain how the devil worshiping man with tattoos of devil horns, could remove enough blood from one of his victims to drink it from a coffee cup for a week.
Transcript Highlights
00:20.04 Introduction
02:34.85 Marc-Anthony Cantrell, 26, satanist, called a budding serial killer
09:13.65 Two murders in South Carolina
14:44.86 Grandmother of Jared Ondrea files suit
19:28.08 Jared Ondrea, 22, body hasn't been found
24:21.46 Orders of Protective custody in New Orleans
29:07.42 People in need of help, not getting it
33:11.64 Why has this story stayed under the radar for two years
37:22.67 Removing the ears, ritualized
44:20.51 Conclusion
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Families and friends looking for answers about what happened to their loved ones who vanished. A volunteer group uncovers a site that looks like a concentration camp out of WW2, but it is in 2025 Mexico! Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take an up close look at what was found, including three underground ovens used for cremating bodies. Joe explains the forensics in trying to identify some of the souls whose remains, are now cremains.
Transcript Highlights
00:00.03 Introduction
02:38.66 Disposal of human beings like WW2 Concentration camps
06:53.11 Since 1962, 120,000 people have gone missing in Mexico
11:09.42 Amongst the horror, children's toys are found
16:44.94 Volunteers using methods that are not very high tech
21:33.74 Looking for markers in the ground
26:36.78 Look for bodies by poking the ground
31:12.08 Piles of shoes at the Holocaust museum
35:03.34 Conclusion
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Kenneth Perry thought he got away with the rape and murder of Pamela Sumter and the murder of her brother, John Sumter. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack dive into a case that remained unsolved for over 30 years but was eventually solved by a combination of good detective work and brilliant DNA work done by Othram labs. Check out www.dnasolves.com to find out how you can help. Joe explains the crime scene and how investigators were able to use a "dying declaration" to get justice for Pamela and John Sumter,
Kenneth Perry was convicted of the rape and murder of Pamela Sumter and the murder of her brother, John Sumter. He was sentenced on March 18, 2025 to three consecutive life sentences, plus 100 years in custody.
Transcribe Highlights
00:00:01.81 Introduction - Malignant Heart
00:03:19.67 Othram solving the cold cases
00:05:53.64 Unsolved case of double homicide
00:09:47.60 DNA And "dying declaration"
00:14:12.53 Why Would some die after surviving two weeks
00:20:48.31 Early days of genetic material of sex offenders
00:25:18.44 Pattern wear of shoe providing evidence
00:30:01.82 Determining knife, double edge or single edge
00:36:23.44 Learning about DNA watching the OJ Trial
00:41:31.50 Crowdfunding and Access to grant writers
00:46:05.88 Suspect is now 56, got DNA sample that matched victims in Ga and Detroit
00:49:01.54 Othram helping solve cold cases
00:53:02.29 Conclusion
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Collin Griffith shoots his father to death at 15 and claims self-defense. 18-months later, Collin Griffith kills his mother, he is now 17 and claims self-defense again. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take on the story of the teen who killed both of his parents, in different states and in different years and used two different types of weapons to kill his parents and claims self-defense. It is a story can only be understood when the forensic evidence is brought to the front. Collin Griffith, 15, is charged with killing his father on February 14, 2023 in Oklahoma. Judge drops charges. Same teen, now 17, charged with killing his mother September 8, 2024, jury decision Not Guilty. What Happened!
Transcript Highlights00:00.23 Introduction
03:04.77 The Fickle Finger of Fate, defined
04:59.94 Boys kills dad when he is 15 and mother when he is 1709:53.26 The prosecution walking a tight wire talking about age of suspect
15:44.30 Finding a weapon doesn't tell the whole story
20:25.10 Kills dad with a gun, claims self-defense
25:42.92 Judge drops the charges against the boy30:23.32 How does a teen kill both parents, time and distance apart35:22.38 What evidence is left behind in the blood40:13.23 Griffith claims long fight leading up to fatal injury
43:03.56 Conclusion
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Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the latest information regarding the death of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Their deaths have been called "suspicious" by some in the press, but Joe Scott explains what actually happened and why their deaths, while shocking and sad, are not suspicious.
Transcribe Highlights
00:00.90 Introduction - The Death of Gene Hackman
03:40.86 Gene Hackman found in "Mud Room" and wife found in Bathroom with pills spilled around her
08:59.26 Dog found dead in bathroom had some type of treatment at the vet
14:09.85 Actors with dementia trying to perform
19:03.30 Gene Hackman was totally dependent on his wife
24:31.11 What does "mummify" mean
28:59.43 Gene Hackman's wife died from Hantavirus
33:23.47 Hantavirus is spread by rodents
39:08.17 Gene Hackman didn't drink any water or eat any food days leading up to his death
41:44.62 Conclusion
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January 9, 2024, three Kansas City Chiefs football fans were found dead in the snow outside their friend's house where they got together to watch the game between the Chiefs and the Chargers on January 7. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack update the case with the recent arrests of Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson, both charged with three counts of Involuntary Manslaughter and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance.
Transcribe Highlights
00:07.65 Introduction - Intentions
04:06.26 Mixing chemicals in high school
10:03.72 Mixing Cocaine with fentanyl
15:00.84 Three men are found dead outside, one asleep inside. No foul play?
20:00.46 Homicide or accidental death
24:00.14 Did the three men go outside for a smoke?
29:08.22 How the men were found
34:18.27 Police know how to get information
39:08.15 Intention
42:13.77 Conclusion
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Brad Sigmon was sentenced to death in South Carolina for the double murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents, David and Gladys Larke. He confessed to killing both of them with a baseball bat, then attempted to kidnap his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Barbare, using a gun stolen from David Larke. Barbare jumped from a moving car and ran to escape Sigmon. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the crimes that led to the confession, conviction, and ultimate sentencing to death of Brad Sigmon, and how Sigmon's own protest over lethal injection caused him to be put to death by firing squad
Transcript Highlights
00:00.06 Introduction
02:05.23 Double murder with a baseball bat
05:03.73 Description of injuries caused by baseball bat to the face
10:06.12 Talk about Brad Sigmon
14:55.81 Sigmon uses bat to kill both parents of girlfriend
20:09.81 Joseph talks about "Paths of Glory" - movie
31:31.60 Military executions
36:12.67 Discussion of execution methods in USA
41:40.28 Conclusion
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On a camping trip to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary, Joseph Ferlazzo, 42, and his wife, Emily Jean Schwartz, 22, get into an argument. This much is understood.
Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the case and the evidence that will reveal who is telling the truth—the prosecution or the defense. The defense claims the couple argued, and Emily stormed out of the converted bus, never to be seen again.
Prosecutors allege that Ferlazzo shot his wife twice in the head and dismembered her on the bus.
Transcribe highlights
00:00.00 Introduction
03:29.92 Sharing camping stories
08:00.53 Husband twice as old as wife
14:20.33 Returns home without wife
19:16.42 Relax by getting away
24:26.58 Wife is supposedly in the woods, alone for days
28:35.69 Husband claims he is the victim
33:06.37 Dismembering the body
37:49.67 Father's wife died, never charged
41:25.68 Conclusion
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The Hertgen family is wealthy and full of athletes. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take a look at the family dynamic that led to one brother allegedly murdering his younger brother, taking out his eyeball and possibly sitting down to a dinner of "brother's eyeball". Joe explains what takes place removing an eyeball and how investigators determine a golf club was used in the murder.
Transcript Highlights
00:00.03 Introduction
02:55.32 Did Brother take eyeball out of brother
08:20.08 Cat is also dead
13:03.60 questions about crime scenes
18:05.90 First documented murder
23:42.72 Cannibalism
29:31.53 1500 story of incest and cannibalism
34:29.38 Golf club used as weapon
39:54.92 Removing an eyeball
44:03.91 Conclusion
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