Just The Tip-Sters: True Crime Podcast

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166. Smells Like Crystal Rogers And Will Cierzan Updates Nov 24, 2020

Show notes

This Thanksgiving week Melissa updates a couple of unsolved missing person cases – one we’ve not yet covered but which has been covered extensively and one we’ve covered extensively and almost no one else has…and as with all unsolved cases, it’s a mixed bag. The first update has to do with the 2015 disappearance of Crystal Rogers, the then 35 year-old mother of five from Bardstown Kentucky who went missing during the Independence Day holiday. The last person to see Crystal was her live-in boyfriend, Brooks Houck, who claims that Crystal was playing video games on her phone when he went to bed on the evening of July 2, 2015, only to find Crystal and her car gone the next morning. Two days later, Crystal’s Chevrolet was found with a flat tire, abandoned off the side of the Bluegrass Parkway – its keys in the ignition and her purse and phone left behind. The case has been analyzed in detail by several podcasts, most notably the serial Bardstown. In this episode of JUST THE TIP-STERS, Melissa updates the Rogers case and the recent news stories regarding remains found in July 2020 near where Crystal’s car was found, and the FBI investigation into those remains. The other update concerns the case that most significantly caused Melissa to start this podcast – the 2017 disappearance of Will Cierzan here in Melissa’s current home town of Santa Clarita, California. Melissa has covered the case and its progress in Episodes 4, 64, 120 and 149. Will’s wife Linda Cierzan came home from work on the evening of January 26, 2017 to find the chicken Will had made for dinner out of the oven; his car keys, cell phone and wallet on the kitchen counter – and Will gone. In a case so frustrating as to be unbelievable, the police investigation took more than three-and-a-half years to arrest the only obvious suspect in the case, Will’s nephew Daniel. Daniel had admitted to being at his uncle’s house early in the day to watch a golf tournament on TV, but claimed to have left for home by 1:30 pm (a claim backed by Daniel’s dad – Will’s brother Chuck Cierzan. Father and son were both proven to be lying when a neighbor’s time-stamped security camera caught Daniel leaving Will’s house, then backing his SUV into Will’s driveway right around 5 pm, loading something into the back of the vehicle and then driving off in the opposite direction from his home. Both Daniel and Chuck have been under suspicion ever since, but not until August of 2020 did police believe they had enough evidence – and then against only one of the two – Daniel. Chuck is still a free man. On this episode’s update of the Will Cierzan case, Melissa describes her attendance at a recent preliminary hearing in Daniel Cierzan’s murder trial, her introduction to the kick-butt Assistant District Attorney who will be prosecuting the case, and the new hope that is floating in the air that we may be closer to a conclusion to this matter and some relief to Linda Cierzan and the rest of Will’s family, who only want to know where he is so he can come home.

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165. Smells Like An Exorcism Of Logic - Paul Bateson, Addison Verrill And The Six Unknowns Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

You wanna hear a really creepy ghost story? Well…actually…a really creepy satanic possession story…or something? Try this on for size: Guy gets really good at his job. So good that he’s given a cameo doing his job in one of the biggest horror movies of the century. A movie whose set became legendary for weird accidents, injuries, fires – even deaths! – during its making…and a few years later, same guy gets arrested for knocking his gay hook-up over the head with a frying pan and then stabbing him to death…and to top it off, same guy seems to be pretty much the person who killed at least six other unidentified men, dismembering them, then packing them into garbage bags that get thrown into the Hudson River. Not very believable. Except that it’s a true story. It’s the story of Paul Bateson, the alcoholic radiological technologist whose delicate, caring manner in performing the cerebral angiography procedure on children at New York University Medical Center caught the eye of film director William Friedkin, who cast Bateson as the technologist performing the procedure on the character of young Regan MacNeil, the possessed girl at the center of Friedkin’s film adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist.” Seems like quite the feather in Mr. Bateson’s cap – something to build a highly successful career on. Right? Unfortunately, no. Troubled from youth and battling alcoholism his entire life, Bateson fell deeply into his addiction in the years following the release of the movie, and ended up losing is job at NYUMC. Now working odd jobs and trying to find a way to get back to working in radiology, Bateson fell off the wagon again in 1977 and, in one weird, wild night, he met, hung out with, drank with, went home with, and then murdered renowned Variety film journalist Addison Verrill in Verrill’s New York City Apartment. The circumstances around Bateson’s capture and arrest are fascinating, and Melissa recounts the twists and turns in that case – including Bateson’s release on Parole and his subsequent fade-away into obscurity, where even though someone using his name and Social Security Number was certified as deceased in 2018, it can’t be proven to be the same person. Weird. But wait, there’s more – a lot more. You see, it turns out that during the 1970s prior to Bateson’s arrest, there had been a string of murders of young men in New York – six altogether – each of whom had been murdered and mutilated, their cut-up bodies placed in garbage bags and tossed into the Hudson River. To this day, tragically, not even one of these men has been identified by anyone. And no one has ever been arrested in their murders. But even more compelling is the fact that all of the garbage bags all six of those young men’s bodies were found in bore the mark of the place they came from: New York University Medical Center. Follow Melissa into this dark hole of mystery, creepy movie sets – and even a side trip into Melissa’s and Producer Mark’s own personal adventures into telekinesis! – on this most fascinating episode. Remember, if you have a tip of any kind that can help solve a crime or any mystery whatsoever, you can call Melissa on the TIP-STER HOTLINE at (832) TIP-STER (832-847-7837) or send an email to jttipsters@gmail.com.

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164. Smells Like A Vanishing On Route 19 - Diane Augat's Long Walk To Nowhere Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Diane Louise Augat did not have an easy life. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her early 30s, she lost her marriage and custody of her children as she was forcibly institutionalized 32 times between 1990 and 1998. Living the best life she could, protected and watched over by family who cared for her, Diane was living with her sister in Odessa, a tiny town located in Pasco County, just north of Tampa, Florida when, on April 10, 1998, the sister left the house briefly and returned to find Diane gone. At least one witness reported seeing Diane wandering on U.S. Highway 19 the following day, April 11. On April 13, Diane’s mother received a telephone call from Diane in which it sounded like her daughter was in a struggle for the phone and pleading for help – and then quickly hanging up. Then, two days after that, on April 15, a stranger on her way home along Route 19 spotted what looked like a dismembered finger on the side of the road – and fingerprinting confirmed it had belonged to Diane. But no blood. No other body part. Nothing but the tip of a finger. Then things get really weird. Two weeks after the disappearance, a bag containing some of Diane’s neatly-folded clothing was discovered in an outdoor freezer behind a convenience store where Diane’s sister worked. But wait. Get this: TWO YEARS LATER, a local newspaper ran a story on the continuing search for Diane – and the VERY NEXT DAY after that article was published, Diane’s brother walked into a completely random convenience store in Pasco County and there, on the counter next to the lottery tickets, with zero explanation, sat a plastic bag with the name “Diane” written on it – and inside the bag were a container of black eyeliner, a bottle of Taboo perfume, a tube of bright pink lipstick, and a tube of generic toothpaste – all things Diane’s mother said she would have been carrying. Are you the person who can unravel this wild mystery and provide the clue that will finally lead to the truth about what happened to Diane Augat? If so, send an email to jhatcher@pascosheriff.org or call the Pasco County Sheriff’s office at (800) 854-2862, ext. 7723.

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163. Smells Like Ingenious Genealogy - With Special Guest David Mittelman Nov 03, 2020

Show notes

There is absolutely no doubt that a new era in crime-solving was introduced with the bombshell announcement in the spring of 2018 that the four decades-long search for the infamous and evil Golden State Killer had been solved utilizing publicly available DNA data and applying the science of genetic genealogy. In the two-and-a-half years since Joseph James DeAngelo was brought to justice, more than 120 cases have been solved using genetic genealogy techniques and committed, hard-working law enforcement professionals. Oh. And scientists. Let’s not forget the scientists. People like Paul Holes (a biochemist who became a police investigator to solve crime) or Barbara Rae-Venter, a genealogist and attorney who – in retirement – became one of the leading experts in the field of genetic genealogy…and then there are the new pioneers – those scientists who are now taking crime-busting through the use of DNA to previously inconceivable new levels. One of those new pioneers is David Mittelman, the CEO of Othram Labs, which is based in suburban Houston, Texas. Mittelman and his team at Othram are breakthrough experts in the science of genomics, and they have created the first non-government, private lab designed specifically for the recovery and analysis of human DNA from even some of the most partial, degraded or contaminated specimens. Othram works solely with law enforcement – and in its short history has already solved a raft of some very difficult cold cases, including at least one that is more than one hundred years old. Most recently, the rapist/killer of five year-old Siobhan McGuinness 46 years ago in Missoula Montana was identified using Othram’s technology. As Dr. Mittelman explains in this episode’s fascinating interview with Melissa, the technology available today can digitize – and therefore preserve forever – even the most degraded (and otherwise degrading) DNA data. Combine that fact with the application of genetic genealogy, and there is virtually no limit to the possibilities of solving crime. If an offender leaves any sort of DNA evidence behind, it is now more likely than ever before that he will be caught.

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162. Smells Like: Who Would Do This To Big Tom Biedenharn? Oct 27, 2020

Show notes

This episode takes us back to the Tri-State area (the Cincinnati Metro Area), where Episode 147 took us in an overview of the Bill and Peggy Stephenson murder investigation out of Kenton County Kentucky. The Stephensons were murdered in their townhome on a quiet suburban street over Memorial Day weekend in 2011 under strange circumstances. Across the other side of the Ohio River, to the northwest and about half an hour’s drive from the Stephenson residence, sits Hidden Valley Indiana, where in 2018, 73 year-old Tom Biedenharn (known to friends and neighbors as “Big Tom” because of his imposing physical size at 6-feet-7-inches and his oversized, smiling, gregarious personality) was living in happy, active retirement. A former basketball star in his high school and college playing days, Big Tom was spending his golden years in service to his community. Ever on the move, Tom not only his money donating to help those in need – even more impressively, he spent hours and hours of his time volunteering, and counseling ex-convicts and other forgotten souls through life coaching and personal interaction. By all accounts, Tom Biedenharn was beloved. Which is what makes what happened on Memorial Day weekend 2018 – exactly seven years after the Stephenson murders – so puzzling. After speaking with a family member on the morning of the Saturday before Memorial Day, Tom was not heard from again. But this was not unusual, as he was often out of contact due to his busy schedule – and he had another place in the country where he and his girlfriend often got away. The neighbor next door had voluntarily closed Tom’s open garage door on that Saturday, seeing it had been open and figuring Tom had left without closing it. But when Memorial Day itself came around with no sign of Tom, the neighbor called a family member to report his concern. And when the family member arrived, it was noted that the door from the garage to the house was completely locked – something Tom never did – making it impossible to get inside without breaking in. Then when the family member walked around and looked through the back sliding glass door, Tom could be seen, lying on his back, on the floor inside the home. Since Tom had recently undergone minor surgery, the family member assumed Tom had passed out and needed medical attention – and called 911. But when the door from the garage was finally broken down, it became clear that Tom was no longer alive. Evidence soon indicated that he had been murdered, and that more than one person had been involved. Melissa is joined on this episode by Detective Sgt. Tom Baxter and Detective Brian Earls of the Indiana State Police’s District 42, both of whom have been involved with Big Tom’s case from the very beginning. Listen in as Melissa and Dets. Baxter and Earls go over the facts of the case, as well as the puzzling questions…does the Memorial Day coincidental date (as well as several other similarities) somehow tie Big Tom’s murder to the Stephenson murders seven years previous? Could Tom have known his attacker(s)? Did Tom’s work with former convicts somehow bring unwanted trouble into his world? And how could ANYONE want to harm such a loving, caring soul, whose only mission in life was to help others? If you have any information on the Biedenharn case, you can call (877) 477-1847; the Indiana State Police at (812) 689-5000; or CrimeStoppers at (513) 352-3040.

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161. Smells Like Multiple Updates - Tanqueray And Scott Peterson Oct 20, 2020

Show notes

This week’s episode updates two podcasts from the first season of JTT – Episode 16, which focused on the weird death of Vicki Morgan, who had been a sort of paid mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale and (sometimes) his high powered friends – and Episode 19, which told the tale of Grade A Asshole Scott Peterson – who may or may not have murdered his wife Laci and the couple’s unborn son back in 2002. The Vicki Morgan case took a fascinating turn over the course of this year when photographer, writer and blogger Brandon Stanton began filling the pages of his Humans of New York blog with stories of one Stephanie Johnson, who in her younger days as a burlesque dancer in New York was known simply as Tanqueray. Stanton’s publication of Tanqueray’s stories have made her a social media star at 76 – and her fans have raised over $2.5 million dollars through crowd sourcing to make sure her rent and medical bills will never be a worry, But it’s those stories – and those stories of stories – that brings Tanqueray to the Vicki Morgan murder. Let’s just say that the rumors of Alfred Bloomingdale’s powerful friends being given “access” to Vicki have just gotten a lot more credibility – turns out Vicki and Tanqueray were good friends back in the day – and what Melissa’s found out about one of those powerful men is…well…you’ll just have to listen… Scott Peterson’s case, on the other hand, is filled with about as much subtlety as a knock on the door with a bulldozer. A total douchebag, Mr. Peterson behaved so badly in the aftermath of Laci’s disappearance, a lot of people (including Melissa) think he’d have been convicted if a video had surfaced showing someone else killing Laci. Yeah, the jury hated him and just assumed he was guilty. And probably, he was – but looking at this almost 100% circumstantial case, it’s hard to say with a straight face that he was convicted on anything. In August of this year, the California Supreme Court vacated Peterson’s death sentence – and now, just this past week, that same High Court ordered a re-examination of Peterson’s conviction itself – signaling the possibility of a new trial and possible acquittal. Like. Wow. Melissa takes a look at some of the reasons this may have happened – including the shocking revelation that one of the jurors at Peterson’s trial may not have been the most upstanding citizen.

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160. Smells Like The Eyes Of A Hurricane - How Katrina Found Dana Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

This week’s episode is the third in a row wherein Melissa looks at a case revolving around a state of emergency – the first two are still technically unsolved – this one is solved but every bit as fascinating. Dana Marie Surette Pastori, who was known as "Polly" to her friends and to her customers at the Bourbon Street restaurant in New Orleans where she last worked in 2002, had lived a turbulent life. Divorced from her first husband and estranged from her two daughters by the courts after she had taken them to Puerto Rico to spare them from poor treatment at the hands of the girls’ new stepmother, Dana was also not particularly connected to her own parents. Dana had recently taken up with a delivery driver at the restaurant, one John Henry Morgan – and the two were living together in New Orleans in 2002 – the last time anyone was sure they’d seen her. Because she was heard from so rarely by her parents, it hadn’t seemed strange to Dana’s father – a police officer in nearby South Carolina – that his daughter hadn’t been in contact with him at all for three years when – in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Big Easy with a vengeance. At that point, Dana’s dad figured he’d better check in with his daughter to make sure she and John Morgan – whom he presumed Dana still lived with – were okay. What turned up was a mystery. Dad found Morgan – but Morgan said that when he and Dana had received their Katrina relief checks from FEMA, Dana had taken off for Europe. And at first, this seemed entirely plausible. Dana, you see, was constantly on the move – restless and always itching to live somewhere new. She routinely told friends that she longed to move to Europe to become a writer. So her dad, at first, figured that Morgan’s story made sense. But after a while, his law enforcement instincts compelled him to check a little further. When he learned that Dana hadn’t filled a prescription for her medical condition since 2002 – and that she hadn’t worked at the restaurant since that time either, suspicions grew. But there was nothing he could point to that could garner an arrest of anyone. That’s when John Morgan’s former landlord got involved. And a cheap, old fiberboard trunk that Morgan had been moving with him for years was opened. And the horrific truth of what happened to Dana “Polly” Pastori was finally revealed. Listen in as Melissa digs in to the details of a tragic story of a scattered life turned into a life ended far too soon by one of the most callous (and callously stupid) murderers to ever slime his way through the streets of New Orleans – and the pain and loss experienced by her youngest daughter, who never had a chance to really know her mom – left only with a raft of journals Dana had written during her short life that can never be enough to fill the void of a lost childhood.

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159. Smells Like A Staged Disappearance - No Justice For Michele Harris Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

Last week’s episode concerning the disappearance of Sneha Philip right on the cusp of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11/2001 got Melissa to thinking about other cases revolving around major national emergency events. And so this week’s episode is about someone else whose disappearance – this one occurring just the day after 9/11 – is still a mystery and whose killer has never been convicted – although the authorities thought for sure they had identified that person…and arrested him…and tried him…FOUR TIMES… Michele Harris was splitting with her husband, Calvin (“Cal”) Harris, and the split was not going well. Both living together in separate wings of the Harris estate in rural upstate New York pending a drawn out finalization of their divorce, things had gotten nasty between Michele and Cal by the time the summer of 2001 had rolled around. The main issue appeared to be money – how much of a settlement would Michele accept from her multimillionaire soon-to-be-ex husband? If you asked Cal, he’d say way too much. If you asked Michele, she’d say all she wanted was an appraisal of all of Cal’s holdings so that she could walk away with a fair amount. Turns out the issue never had to be resolved. That’s because the morning after the WTC attacks, Michele was nowhere to be found anywhere in the house. Cal, who had to leave for work, called the babysitter to come over to take care of the kids until Michele got home. It’s when the babysitter showed up that things got strange. Driving into the property, she saw Michele’s minivan parked at th end of the long driveway, keys still in the ignition. It was when the police showed up to investigate that Cal Harris began to engage in a series of behaviors that led the authorities to make him the prime suspect. Which got him arrested. Which resulted in one tossed indictment, three mistrials and finally an acquittal – fourteen years after Michele’s disappearance. The problem with Cal, you see – setting aside the question of whether he was responsible for Michele’s ultimate fate or not – is that he can’t seem to stop himself from being a giant jerk. He never seemed concerned about Michele; sold her stuff just weeks after she disappeared, took up with an old flame not long after that and just generally acted like a dee eye see kay, if y’know what we’re saying. So was Cal Harris righteously accused of Michele Harris’ murder? Or is he an innocent man wrongfully brought to trial simply because he was such an unpleasant dude (oh, almost forgot, as soon as he was acquitted he sued the County and every single witness who testified against him – nice!)? Melissa goes over the details – and you can decide for yourselves, Tip-Sters. Plus – if there are any of you out there who might have an alternate theory of what might have happened to Michele Harris, let us know.

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158. Smells Like A Phantom At Ground Zero - The Evaporation Of Sneha Philip Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

The recent anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001 was once again a moment to pause and reflect on the awful events of that day, and the heroism of so many people from all walks of life who helped remind us all of the humanity we all share. So many souls were lost that day – the official count is nearly 3,000 – and even after all this time there are so many missing who have never been physically identified – only presumed – as victims of the attack. In this episode, Melissa tells the story of one of those presumed, but never proven, to have died as a result of the 9/11 attacks – and the mystery and intrigue that still surrounds her disappearance. Sneha Anne Philip was a physician, living with her husband Ron Lieberman (also a practicing physician) in lower Manhattan just a few blocks away from what came to be known on Ground Zero. On the day before the attacks – Monday September 10, 2001 – Ron left for work and left Sneha – who had the day off – at the apartment, where she planned to contact her mother in India for a chat and then run errands around town. That was the last Ron saw of her. Sneha was later seen that day – September 10 – caught on security video shopping at a clothing and home goods store. Credit card records later revealed she bought a set of sheets, three pairs of shoes and some lingerie. None of those items have ever turned up. The mystery deepens when the details of Sneha’s personal life (both known and supposed) become clearer. Was she killed sometime on the 10th? Did she spend the night somewhere unknown with an unknown friend or lover? Did she witness the attack on the WTC on her way home on the morning of the 11th and run to help people and lose her life doing so? Here’s a case so filled with questions that you, our beloved Tip-Sters, may well feel compelled to do some research on your own. You won’t soon forget this story – and you will definitely be hooked on the mystery.

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157. MURDERTIZER - Smells Like Tenacity Wins Again - Carla Jan Walker Update Sep 25, 2020

Show notes

Earlier this year, in Episode 130, Melissa retold the story of a terrible and terribly unsolved murder out of Fort Worth Texas – the tragic 1974 abduction and killing oif 17 year-old Carla Jan Walker. Carla and her boyfriend had just attended the Valentine’s dance at Carla’s high school and were doing what young lovers do in the front seat of the boyfriend’s car, in the parking lot of a local bowling alley that was popular with teenagers. Suddenly, the passenger side door opened and an unidentified man grabbed Carla and pistol-whipped her boyfriend into unconsciousness. The last words he heard Carla say before he passed out were “go get daddy!” Just three days later, Carla’s body was found in a culvert close to nearby Lake Benbrook. She had been violently sexually assaulted and strangled. For more than 46 years, the case remained unsolved – there were guesses and solid leads, but all of them fell apart. All that ended this week when a total stranger to Carla’s life – a 77 year-old churchgoer with a spotless record, a family and a secret he was able to keep until he was finally nabbed by DNA technology and an immensely dedicated team of law enforcement professionals who, through several groups of detectives through nearly five decades, never gave up and finally caught their man.

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