Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles

Latest Episodes:

Bonus episode: Lincoln Journal Star's Lori Pilger discusses Sydney Loofe case Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles is a show that shares true crime stories through readings of newspaper articles and interviews with the journalists who reported on the stories.

What you're about to hear is a bonus episode featuring a conversation with with Lincoln Journal Star journalist Lori Pilger about the recent Nebraska Supreme Court case challenging the validity of Aubrey Trail's trial (linked below) and what it was like being covering the story as it broke.

Watch now: Aubrey Trail's attorney argues in-court suicide attempt should have been automatic mistrial

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles, a product of Lee Enterprises, is produced, recorded, edited and hosted by Chris Lay with articles read and recorded by Matt McGrath.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 3: "Exceptional depravity" - The disappearance of Sydney Loofe Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles is a show that shares true crime stories through readings of newspaper articles and interviews with the journalists who reported on the stories.

What you're about to hear is the third episode in a four part series, so if you're new here jump back to the first two parts so you're up to speed.

For this set of episodes we'll be traveling to Wilber, Nebraska, where, in November of 2017, 24-year-old Sydney Loofe left work to go on a second date with someone she met on a dating app, and she never came home.

The events that followed centered around Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell, who were eventually convicted in the case, and were bizarre in the way they unfolded on social media and in the courtroom.

The Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald covered the story as it broke and navigated the circus-like atmosphere that developed in the courtroom and in conversations with Aubrey Trail.

The articles, which you'll hear read by Matt McGrath and are linked below in full, have been lightly edited to avoid redundancies, are linked below and if you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support whichever newspaper serves your community.

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles, a product of Lee Enterprises, is produced, recorded, edited and hosted by Chris Lay with articles read and recorded by Matt McGrath.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 2: 'Persons of interest' - The disappearance of Sydney Loofe Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles is a show that shares true crime stories through readings of newspaper articles and interviews with the journalists who reported on the stories.

What you're about to hear is the second episode in a four part series, so if you're new here jump back to part one so you're up to speed.

The events that followed centered around Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell, who were eventually convicted in the case, and were bizarre in the way they unfolded on social media and in the courtroom.

The Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald covered the story as it broke and navigated the circus-like atmosphere that developed in the courtroom and in conversations with Aubrey Trail.

We also have an interview with Dave Bundy and Todd Henrichs, the editor and city editor, respectively, at the Lincoln Journal Star, who were on the floor and making decisions on how to best cover every aspect of this story as it was breaking.

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles, a product of Lee Enterprises, is produced, recorded, edited and hosted by Chris Lay with articles read and recorded by Matt McGrath.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 1: 'In Sydney's name' - The disappearance of Sydney Loofe Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles is a show that shares true crime stories through readings of newspaper articles and interviews with the journalists who reported on the stories.

You can go back into the archives to find more stories we've presented, but for this set of episodes we'll be traveling to Wilber, Nebraska, where, in November of 2017, 24-year-old Sydney Loofe left work to go on a second date with someone she met on a dating app, and she never came home.

The events that followed centered around Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell, who were eventually convicted in the case, and were bizarre in the way they unfolded on social media and in the courtroom.

The Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald covered the story as it broke and navigated the circus-like atmosphere that developed in the courtroom and in conversations with Aubrey Trail.

Too often in crime stories the victim gets lost in the shuffle. Sydney Loofe was not there to tell her story during the search for her killers. Salacious details unearthed during the trial and subsequent sentencing dominated headlines.

Those stories and revelations were newsworthy, certainly, but they're less about the victim than the perpetrators. This first episode is designed to present some of the articles that painted a picture of Sydney Loofe as she was, as well as her family who remain devastated by her death.

The articles, which you'll hear read by Matt McGrath, have been lightly edited to avoid redundancies, are linked below and if you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support whichever newspaper serves your community.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 4 Trailer: The disappearance of Sydney Loofe Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Sydney Loofe, a 24-year-old Lincoln, Nebraska store clerk, was reported missing on Nov. 16, 2017.

Two weeks later, her dismembered remains were found in garbage bags in a field.

The next season of Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles will present the bizarre circumstances of Sydney Loofe's death, the surreal trial that followed, and the verdicts that were handed down.

We'll share articles from the Omaha World Herald that reported the tragic story from beginning to end, along with new interviews with the journalists who documented every twist and turn, and explore some of the questions that are still unanswered.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you won't miss a single episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 7: "Remembering Noah" - Septic (The Roanoke Times) Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

"It might seem like Noah’s death is unique and unprecedented. It isn’t. Children die in septic tanks each year, but unlike Paul and Ashley, few of their parents see the inside of a courtroom."

With "Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles" we're presenting notable true crime stories, as reported by journalists for the dozens of various Lee-Enterprises owned publications from around America.

For this latest season, we wanted to highlight a series from The Roanoke Times that was first reported and produced in 2018 by journalists Jacob Demmitt and Robby Korth.

A five year old child, Noah Thomas, went missing in Dublin Virginia the spring of 2015. When his body was discovered days later in the family's septic tank, the mother was put on trial both by the court system, as well as social media, where misinformation, accusations, and vengeance-fueled comments spread unchecked.

It's a heartbreaking and tragic story, but Roanoke Times reporters Jacob Demmitt and Robby Korth went to great lengths to present an honest and well-rounded narrative that explores the ways a community failed one of their own while also touching on broader implications like the effects of Facebook, the stigma of drug addiction in rural America and the distortion of facts.

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This episode, the seventh (and final) of the series, is broken into two parts. The first section will be an interview with Noah’s preschool teacher, who gave a eulogy at Noah’s funeral, and wanted to make sure he was remembered as a joyful little boy instead of just a life cut short by tragedy.

The second part of the episode will be an update from 2018 covering the legal case which was resolved six months after Septic was first released, and more than three years after Noah Thomas’ death. And at the end I add an additional update to the story that brings it current.

Links:

Noah Thomas case: 5 years trimmed from mother's probation time
Roanoke Times reporters make podcast to revisit Noah Thomas case
The Search
Noah's Family
Evidence

If you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support The Roanoke Times, or whichever newspaper it is that serves your community.

fP6XQXuOkbqrTlFNHkcI

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 6: "16,776 hours" - Septic (The Roanoke Times) Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

"It might seem like Noah’s death is unique and unprecedented. It isn’t. Children die in septic tanks each year, but unlike Paul and Ashley, few of their parents see the inside of a courtroom."

With "Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles" we're presenting notable true crime stories, as reported by journalists for the dozens of various Lee-Enterprises owned publications from around America.

For this latest season, we wanted to highlight a series from The Roanoke Times that was first reported and produced in 2018 by journalists Jacob Demmitt and Robby Korth.

A 5-year-old child went missing in Dublin, Va., in spring 2015. When his body was discovered days later in the family's septic tank, the mother was put on trial both by the court system, as well as social media, where misinformation, accusations and vengeance-fueled comments spread unchecked.

Links:
Roanoke Times reporters make podcast to revisit Noah Thomas case
The Search
Noah's Family
Evidence

If you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support The Roanoke Times, or whichever newspaper it is that serves your community.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 5: "A Bad Idea" - Septic (The Roanoke Times) Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

"Ashley White testifies she only left Noah for the length of a shower. She knows now that was a bad idea."

With "Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles" we're presenting notable true crime stories, as reported by journalists for the dozens of various Lee-Enterprises owned publications from around America.

For this latest season, we wanted to highlight a series from The Roanoke Times that was first reported and produced in 2018 by journalists Jacob Demmitt and Robby Korth.

Links:
Roanoke Times reporters make podcast to revisit Noah Thomas case
The Search
Noah's Family
Evidence

If you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support The Roanoke Times, or whichever newspaper it is that serves your community.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 4: "Four Days" - Septic (The Roanoke Times) Dec 09, 2021

Show notes

"The discovery of Noah’s body inside the family’s septic tank sets of a series of rumors about the way he got inside. But what does the evidence suggest?"

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With "Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles" we're presenting notable true crime stories, as reported by journalists for the dozens of various Lee-Enterprises owned publications from around America.

For this latest season, we wanted to highlight a series from The Roanoke Times that was first reported and produced in 2018 by journalists Jacob Demmitt and Robby Korth.

Links:
Roanoke Times reporters make podcast to revisit Noah Thomas case
Autopsy Report

If you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support The Roanoke Times, or whichever newspaper it is that serves your community.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 3: "The Whole Ashley" - Septic (The Roanoke Times) Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

"The people searching for Noah don’t know much about the child’s parents, other than Ashley White’s history with drug addiction. For many, that was enough."

With "Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles" we're presenting notable true crime stories, as reported by journalists for the dozens of various Lee-Enterprises owned publications from around America.

For this latest season, we wanted to highlight a series from The Roanoke Times that was first reported and produced in 2018 by journalists Jacob Demmitt and Robby Korth.

Links:
Roanoke Times reporters make podcast to revisit Noah Thomas case
Photos: Noah's family

If you appreciate what we're doing with this program, we encourage you to invest in local journalism and support The Roanoke Times, or whichever newspaper it is that serves your community.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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