Just The Tip-Sters: True Crime Podcast

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116. MURDERTIZER - Sounds Like Static - Dan Rather, REM And...Kenneth Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

Say what you will about Dan Rather - the famed newsman and former anchor of the CBS Evening News has had an ... interesting ... time of it over the years. There was that time that viewers of the broadcast in the Eastern and Central time zones saw a black screen instead of Rather because he'd walked out in a huff over a tennis match digging into his time. Then there was the time a cab driver in Chicago decided he didn't like where Rather wanted to be driven, locked the taxi doors and drove frantically around the city for an extended period of time, with Rather hollering for help out of the cab's window. But nothing, of course, compares to the day in 1986 when a then-unknown assailant and an accomplice accosted and beat up Rather as he walked home in Manhattan, yelling "What's the frequency, Kenneth?!" A lot of people thought the whole thing was a figment of the anchorman's imagination. No one really knows what happened in Michael Stipe's imagination, but the incident triggered a free-form string of lyrics that Stipe's band, REM, backed with a beat and a melody - and it became a Top 40 smash hit. Go figure. But as Melissa describes in this Murdertizer (an appetizer of murder), Rather really was accosted just the way he claimed, and the way the identity of the assailant was discovered is chilling (we don't put "Murder" in "Murdertizer" for nothin', kiddo).

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115. Sounds Like Too Many Coincidences - The Flat Tire Murders Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

In 1975 a series of murders of young women in Dade and Broward Counties in South Florida baffled police. They were dubbed the "Flat Tire Murders" because evidence strongly suggested that tires on the victims' cars were deflated as they shopped or were otherwise away from their vehicles - and then "assisted" by the killer when they returned. But wait just a second. Officially, the still-unsolved Flat Tire Murder investigation names five - 5 - victims of the killing spree. But as Melissa discusses in this fascinating episode, there were at least five additional women killed under similar circumstances, all in the same South Florida area during the same period - and there are indications that this same serial madman may have been responsible for up to 30 additional murders. And to make it all even that much more mind-bending, there's more than just a hint of a suggestion that one or more of the slayings could very well have been the work of a certain truly devious - and infamous - evil-doer.

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114. Sounds Like Terror In The Castro - The Doodler Murders Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

In 1974 and 1975 five white gay men were savagely stabbed to death by a young African American man who attracted his victims by sketching their likenesses in the bars and cafes of San Francisco's Castro District, eventually luring them away to their doom. He has never been identified, let alone arrested. So how do we know so much about this killer and his modus operandi? We know because three additional victims of the so-called "Doodler" survived to tell their stories - and each of them described that same scenario. All three of those victims also provided similar descriptions of their attacker And, tragically, all three insisted on full anonymity - all refused to be named or to step forward into the public light or press charges even if their would-be murderer were ever arrested. And the reason for that is heartbreaking - and (in today's world) almost impossible to comprehend. In this fascinating and heartfelt account of "The Doodler" and his serial murders, Melissa also explores San Francisco at a turning point in its history, the hidden heartbreak of being forced to live one's life in closeted fear and shame, and the Castro District businessman-turned-politician who understood that pain, exposed it and ultimately gave his life so that gay men and women everywhere would never be forced into it again.

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113. Sounds Like Bafflement On The Beltway - The Freeway Phantom Murders Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

In 1970 and 1971, the bodies of six girls and young women were tossed onto the side of various freeways in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Most had been sexually assaulted and then strangled - none were over the age of 18. Like so many serial killers, the so-called "Freeway Phantom" not only tortured his victims before slaying them - he also taunted police, and worst of all, the families of his victims with phone calls - some from him and some from the girls themselves before he killed them. But it was what made this monster's atrocities so unlike most other serial murderers that made them so striking: Most of his victims were almost always found within hours of their abduction. And most chilling of all - after his sixth murder, they simply stopped. He vanished. Or did he? Nearly fifty years later, the mystery remains - is he still alive? Is he dead? Did something inside his warped mind simply switch off the desire to rape and murder? Join Melissa as she digs in to this fascinating case and asks - as she always asks - does someone out there know something that will finally solve this puzzling puzzle?

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112. Sounds Like Not Much Of A Life Sentence - The Murders Of Scott William Cox Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

Scott Cox is a monster - the question is, how big of a monster - and can the immensity of his monstrosity be proven? Convicted of the rape and murder of two women in 1990 and 1991, Cox - a trucker who frequented the two major interstates in and around his home town of Seattle - is the ONLY suspect in an additional 20 homicides up, down and across the I-5 and I-90 corridors, some as far north as Canada - cases that are still so active even after more than a quarter-century that law enforcement won't even release the names of all of the victims. Why? Because the police want to arrest Cox and put him back in prison...that's right, he's been on modified probation since 2013 on a "post prison supervised life sentence," which is a lot of words meaning he's free during the day but must sleep in prison at night. Some life sentence, eh? Join Melissa for a frustrating story of justice gone sideways - and another reason to always keep our eyes open and our minds aware to report any information we might have to bring creatures like Scott Cox to the justice they deserve.

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111. Sounds Like Order In The Court - Justice for Pookie And Daniel - With Special Guest Audry McDonald Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

When your cousin and his best friend are attacked - and your cousin is killed - and his best friend suffers permanent brain damage - by three random thugs - for no reason whatsoever - and then all three disappear into thin air - for THREE DECADES - what would you do? Well here's what Audry McDonald did: Audry McDonald never stopped looking, that's what. And when as the case got colder, she became even more determined to bring justice to the murderer of her cousin Richard "Pookie" Hernandez and the monster who forever crippled Pookie's best friend, Daniel Ontiveros. Together with a dedicated army of family, friends and some of the finest law enforcement professionals on earth, Audry found the two surviving perpetrators hiding in plain sight - one of whom had actually become a beloved volunteer boxing coach for the local police department! - and saw to it that they were brought before The Law. But that's where the story gets even better. Because when the prosecutors tried to hand the two monsters a sweet plea deal, Justice - True Justice - stepped in, in the form of a Justice-loving Superior Court judge who cared about the victims and their families just as much as he cared about the rights of the defendants. And then THAT's where the story hits home - as in the Homestead Studios...but you'll have to listen to discover that particular surprise!

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110. Sounds Like Fighting Fear - Saugus High School And Simon Kenton High School Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

In the aftermath of the horrific shooting deaths of two innocent high school students on November 14, 2019 - and the suicide of the shooter - in our home town of Santa Clarita, Melissa examines the facts known to date about this tragic incident and celebrates the hero first responders who ran toward the sound of gunshots. And in a moving dialogue on the causes and lifelong effects of such an event on the young people at the school that day, Melissa reminisces about a tragedy that happened 39 years ago when she was a Junior at Simon Kenton High School in Northern Kentucky - also an awful even that also made national news - and which also had a permanent effect on the lives of the kids who were there. A candid, thoughtful and moving meditation on the nature of fear, how it affects our behavior - and the importance of facing it down and moving on.

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109. Sounds Like A Tough Way To Break Out Of Jail - The Multiple Lives Of Benjamin Schreiber Nov 12, 2019

Show notes

When you kill someone and you're sentenced to prison "for the rest of your natural life," without the possibility of parole, you're done. Finished. Kaput. No more freedom for you, ever. Right? Right. Except. What does the "your natural life" mean, exactly? Especially when we live in an age where technology can actually revive someone who has literally died for a few seconds? And how does that phrase apply in the ostensibly cold, harsh light of legal interpretation? Enter one Benjamin Schreiber, a nasty fellow who was convicted of a brutal murder and was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail - but who is currently placing himself in the middle of a legal battle that could possibly alter how "life" sentences are doled out in the future. Join Melissa as she unravels the facts behind this case, and Schreiber's bold legal ploy to break free of his jail cell - by dying. More than once. SUBSCRIBE, RATE and REVIEW "JUST THE TIP-STERS" today! And if you like what you hear, give us a five-star review! Plus - don't forget - if you've got a tip for Melissa, leave her a voice mail message at (832) TIP-STER (832-847-7837) or send her an email at jttipsters@gmail.com

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108. Sounds Like This Is Not A Fire Drill - Catching John Leonard Orr Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

Setting fires is bad. Setting fires that destroy property and businesses is worse. But setting fires so recklessly as to take innocent lives in service of some hidden, inexplicable lust for flame and heat is evil. And the most evil among those fire-starters are those who are sworn to protect us from that very danger - those in the uniform of firefighters. And the very worst of all is one John Leonard Orr, the former Fire Chief and Lead Arson Investigator for the Glendale California Fire Department - who during the 1980s and 1990s is believed to have set more than 2,000 (that's not a typo) fires throughout California, using his expertise as a highly-respected arson investigator as cover for his sickness. All that was bad enough - but when one of his fires - that of a hardware store/home center in Pasadena - resulted in the deaths of four innocents (including an infant and his grandmother), his sickness turned him into a murderer. In this episode, Melissa details the long, often frustrating road that eventually led to apprehending Orr, and the one dedicated Fire Chief in the middle of the state who suspected Orr was the culprit for years and whose determination finally paid off in the arrest of the man widely regarded as the most prolific arsonist in American history. SUPPORT JUST THE TIP-STERS! For as little as $2 per month you can become a patron and get some cool swag as our thanks! Visit www.patreon.com/justthetipsters for more information.

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107. Sounds Like Anybody Coulda Dunnit - The Dumler-Wilson Murders - With Special Guest Detective Kellyanne Best Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

October 1969. Nighttime in a quiet, leafy upscale suburban neighborhood in one of Cincinnati's toniest conclaves. A young couple with two young children, and the wife's mother, all presumably asleep inside. Except when the kids wake up the next morning and go to the neighbors to say they can't rouse mom and dad, what the neighbors find is simply horrific: The stabbed and shot bodies of Martin Dumler, age 29, his wife Patricia, age 27 and Patricia's 50 year-old mother, Mary Wilson. Looks like the young couple may have been tortured - but impossible to be sure. Looks like Mary just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - but that too can't be definitively confirmed. And for the past fifty years, the Dumler-Wilson murders have confounded authorities and remained one of the Queen City's most notorious unsolved mysteries. On this episode, Melissa is joined by Cincinnati P.D. Cold Case Unit Detective Kellyanne Best, the tenacious, current posessor of the Dumler-Wilson file, significant portions of which she has provided to Melissa and which provokes some fascinating discussion. SOMEONE, somewhere knows something about this case - is that someone YOU? If you think you might be able to help, call Cincinnati CrimeStoppers at (513) 352-3040 or write to Detective Best directly at kellyanne.best@cincinnati-oh.gov - or you can always leave a voicemail message for Melissa on the TIP-STER HOTLINE at (832) TIP-STER (832-847-7837) or send Melissa an email at jttipsters@gmail.com

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