Gulf Coast Confidential with Mollye Barrows

Latest Episodes:

No Time for Nodine - the Angel Down’s case: Suicide or Homicide? Jun 18, 2024

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Alabama politician Stephen Nodine seemed to have it all and then some. The Mobile County Commissioner was well-known for his charm and charisma which served him well in his successful political career, but became a stumbling block in his personal life.

The middle-aged married man and father met the young and beautiful Angel Downs in 2004, at the Flora-Bama Lounge Mullet Toss, a beach party on Florida’s Gulf Coast. They both loved the beach and each other, but for years Nodine refused to give up his wife or his mistress no matter who it hurt.

Until the night in 2010 when Angel died from a gunshot wound to the head in the driveway of her Gulf Shores, Alabama home. Her death launched an investigation that cost Nodine everything including his freedom and made him the focus of true crime shows across the country.

Some folks might shy away from that kind of publicity, but not Stephen Nodine. He seeks the limelight like he does the sunlight that attracted him to the beaches of Pensacola, the Gulf Coast city he now calls home.

Join us for more on the case and an update on what Nodine’s been up to since the tragedy in the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “No Time for Nodine - the Angel Down’s case: Suicide or Homicide?”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

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The Bitter Ex, Big Bucks, and the Bomb: The Gary Triano story Jun 11, 2024

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The bomb that killed millionaire real estate developer Gary Triano caused an explosion so big, it sent pieces of his car crashing around the country club where it happened.

In the mid-1990s, Triano was a well-known businessman who rubbed elbows with the likes of Donald Trump and his then wife Marla Maples. He lost big on some failed business investments, but who hated him enough to pay for a professional hit?

Someone who stood to gain $2 million at his death and escaped justice for nearly twenty years before the court caught up with her.

Join us for the latest Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “The Bitter Ex, Big Bucks, and the Bomb: the Gary Triano story.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Suicide by Text: the Conrad Roy case Jun 06, 2024

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Conrad Roy was no quitter. If anything, the 18-year-old marine salvage captain with an endearing smile put a lot of pressure on himself to work hard and succeed.

Maybe a little too much pressure. Sometimes his depression took a dark turn and he wanted to follow through on ending his pain, permanently.

Most of the time he didn’t give in, until attention-seeking Michelle Carter entered the “chat.” She was a summer vacation crush who took anti-depressants, too.

That’s why it was so shocking when Conrad climbed out of his fume filled truck during a suicide attempt that she urged him not to quit one last time and get back in.

No one ever saw this coming.

Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Suicide by Text: the Conrad Roy case.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Sudden Passion: defense or excuse? The case of Frances Hall May 31, 2024

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Frances Hall’s husband and business partner of more than 30 years was cheating, and he didn’t bother to hide it. Adding insult to injury, the trucking tycoon’s girlfriend flaunted their affair in France’s face.

The scorned wife couldn’t put the brakes on her fury when she saw her husband’s mistress driving the Hall’s Range Rover and chased her down the highway, repeatedly ramming the car.

Unfortunately for unfaithful husband Bill Hall, Jr., he was caught in the middle on his motorcycle and had a deadly collision with his wife’s Cadillac Escalade.

There was no question the crash killed him, but was it calculated or out of Frances’ control?

Join us for more on this deadly love triangle in the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Sudden Passion: defense or excuse? The case of Frances Hall.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Deadly Apple River Stabbing: Don’t Go Pinocchio May 23, 2024

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A relaxing day on the river turned into a deadly moment of terror and horror for a group of young people and a middle-aged man they had surrounded.

Video of the deadly encounter shows 54-year-old Nicolae Miu looking for a friend’s lost cell phone when a group of intoxicated teens and young adults began taunting and teasing him over unfounded suspicions he was preying on children.

Miu, who is originally from Romania, tried to avoid them, but the group kept pushing closer until he pulled a pocket-knife he had brought to cut rope and began knifing them instead. One teen died and other people with him were injured.

Miu was charged with reckless homicide, endangering others, and battery. He claimed self-defense, but the jury convicted him. Why? Because despite the video evidence, when there was blood in the water Miu walked away and initially lied about being involved.

Join us for more on the controversial case in the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Deadly Apple River Stabbing: Don’t Go Pinocchio.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Slender Man has no face, these tweenagers have no heart May 17, 2024

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Urban legends are nothing new, but tweenagers attempting to murder a friend at a sleepover in order to appease an ominous one certainly is.

In 2014, two 12-year-old girls, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, lured their friend Payton Leutner into the woods and stabbed her 19 times in sacrifice to the fictional character Slender Man.

The girls’ shared madness nearly cost Payton her life, but the girl managed to stumble, walk, and crawl to the side of a road for help. Like many parents who allow their kids to go to sleepovers, her parents never imagined her night at a friend’s house would end in terror.

Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Slender Man has no face, these tweenagers have no heart.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Beauty Buyer Beware IV: Dr. Ben Brown May 08, 2024

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The Florida Department of Health has issued an emergency order immediately restricting the medical license of Dr. Ben Brown, the Gulf Breeze plastic surgeon whose wife, Hillary Brown, died after he performed several procedures on her after hours in his office last November.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo said Brown’s “inability or unwillingness” to follow basic medical procedure presents an “immediate serious danger to the health, welfare, and safety of the public” and to the citizens of the state of Florida.
Allegations include performing unauthorized Brazilian butt lifts on patients, leaving an unlocked medicine cabinet open in his Restore Plastic Surgery office so employees could help themselves to meds that would "take the edge off," and allowing his wife, an unlicensed medical professional, to perform procedures on patients including herself the day she went into cardiac arrest.
Brown responded to the allegations through his crisis management public relations team.
"This is an ongoing investigation, and therefore we cannot comment on specific details," Red Banyan wrote in an email. "However, this public order was issued without Dr. Brown having any opportunity to dispute the allegations against him through any hearing process. These accusations are inaccurate and misleading, and Dr. Brown looks forward to the opportunity to defend himself and present the actual facts through a hearing process in the future. Dr. Brown continues to live an endless nightmare without his wife Hillary by his side, and these inaccurate allegations only further deepen his immense pain.”
However, some of Brown's former patients, employees, and the father of his deceased wife say the state's order doesn't go far enough. Join us for details on the state's order and heartbreaking accounts from patients in "Beauty Buyer Beware IV: Dr. Ben Brown."

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Alex King rest in peace, finally May 02, 2024

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Alex King, one of two brothers who made headlines worldwide in 2001 when they confessed to beating their unsuspecting father to death with a baseball bat in Pensacola, Florida, when they were just 12 and 13 years old, has died.
Now 35, Alex died of a drug overdose according to family. It's a demon he has been battling for years and his family says he lost the fight against addiction in Missoula, Montana where he was living when he overdosed.
His family is now planning a memorial service later this summer that they say will be open to everyone. I covered this case from the beginning and wrote a book on it, "A Perversion of Justice." This is not the ending myself and many others were hoping for when the boys made headlines as young murderers more than twenty years ago, but it is the end of a painful journey for a young man who has suffered for a long time.
Join us for an update on the King Brothers in "Alex King rest in peace, finally."

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Freckle Face Killer May 01, 2024

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Eric Smith was only 13 years old when he murdered a child. Smith, a red-headed, freckle-faced boy with thick glasses, was something of a loner and said he was often targeted by bullies. When he saw four-year-old Derrick Robie walking alone to a summer day camp at the park, in 1993, he became the bully.

Smith lured the happy, blonde headed boy neighbors nicknamed “the mayor” into the woods where he strangled him and dropped a large rock on his head, among other atrocities.

Smith spent nearly thirty years in prison for the boy’s murder, but now at 44-years-old he is out on parole, despite pleas from Derrick’s family to keep him locked up for good.

Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Freckle Face Killer.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Mom Killer Two-Point-OHHH! Florida pre-med student stabs mom to death Apr 25, 2024

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A popular Florida teacher happily opened the door of her home to her son when he came to visit, but her gladness turned to fear and horror when the young man pulled a knife and started stabbing his mother until she lay dead on the floor.

Sound familiar?

This is not the case of popular middle school teacher Sharon Aydelott who was stabbed to death by her son, Brandon Aydelott, in the doorway of her Gulf Breeze home on Christmas Eve 2013, but the murder of 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza, a teacher in South Florida, is eerily similar.

Espinoza’s son was a pre-med student at the University of Florida who police say drove to his mother’s home in Frostproof and waited with a knife behind his back for her to open the door. Like Sharon Aydelott, she was expecting him, but not the vicious attack.

Investigators say she had called him at school with plans to visit, but instead Emmanuel Espinoza said he’d come to see her and save her the trip. They say he stabbed her more than 70 times because “she got on his nerves.”

Will he, like Brandon Aydelott, also claim voices told him to do it?

Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Mom Killer Two-Point-OHHH! Florida pre-med student stabs mom to death.”

Project Candor: Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories
How a dog taught Dr. Andy Neillie to lead. You don't have to be famous to be fascinating.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show