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152: Embezzlement and Sisters Dec 16, 2020

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Rita Crundwell had just about everything. She owned multiple properties. A kick ass RV. 400 horses. A freezer full of horse semen. How did she support herself? Well, that depended on who you asked. Some people thought her parents had been early investors in Campbell’s Soup. Other people thought her side hustle brought in good money. One thing was certain -- Rita’s salary as the treasurer of Dixon, Illinois, wasn’t enough to cover her lavish lifestyle.
Then Brandi tells us a terrible story that begins in a doublewide trailer in Florida. The bank had recently foreclosed on the trailer. Neighbors said that the two sisters who occupied it hadn’t been there in months. But when a father and son crew arrived to clean it out, they discovered a horrible stench. The body of Debbie Burns had been wrapped in several blankets and a shower curtain. Her sister/caretaker, Barbara, was nowhere to be found.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
The documentary “All the Queen’s Horses”
“Rita Crundwell” entry on Wikipedia
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“The Saint: Barbara Burns was devoted to her disabled sister” by Lane DeGregory, Tampa Bay Times
“The Sacrifice: Barbara Burns wanted her life back, so she took another” by Lane DeGregory, Tampa Bay Times
“She cared for her sister her whole life. Then she killed her.” by Lane DeGregory, Tampa Bay Times

151: A "Massive" Defense Strategy & Ed Johnson Dec 09, 2020

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Richard Henry Patterson was mortified. His girlfriend, Francisca Marquinez, was dead in his bed, and he knew exactly what was to blame. His sizable penis. He was certain she’d choked and died while performing oral sex. Richard was so embarrassed that he took a few days to call the police. At least… that’s the story he told them when they showed up.
Then Kristin tells us about the first and only criminal trial in the history of the United States Supreme Court. It all started in 1906 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A pretty white woman named Nevada Taylor was on her way home from work when a man attacked and raped her. She didn’t get a good look at her attacker. She knew he had a soft, gentle voice, strong arms, and… was maybe black? That was all Sheriff Joseph Shipp needed to hear. In fact, it was all that most white folks needed to hear. Soon after the reward money piled up, a sketchy man came forward with an incredible story. He was pretty sure he’d seen a black man who matched the attacker’s description near the scene of the crime, around the time of the crime, twirling the leather strap that the attacker had wrapped around Nevada’s neck. That man, apparently, was Ed Johnson.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“Sheriff Shipp Trial,” by Douglas O. Linder for famous-trials.com
“Mrs. Daisy Hixon Divorced,” Chattanooga Daily Times, Sept. 28, 1907
“Miss Nevada Taylor Dies,” Chattanooga Daily Times, May 13, 1907
“Styles Linton Hutchins,” Tennessee State Government website
“Lynching of Ed Johnson,” entry on Wikipedia
“Lynching of Alfred Blount,” entry on Wikipedia
edjohnsonproject.com
“Ed Johnson Gravesite; Pleasant Garden Cemetery,” by Rob’s Randomness on YouTube
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Man accused of murder asks to show penis to jury in oral-sex choking defense” by Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel
“Florida man who claimed girlfriend choked during oral sex because of his over-sized manhood, is found NOT guilty of her murder” by Abigail Miller and Snejana Farberov, The Daily Mail
“"It needs to be erect": Accused murderer's bizarre defense” by Jackie Salo, New York Post
“Defense rests in man’s oral sex choking trial” by Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel
“Man who claimed girlfriend choked during oral sex acquitted in murder case” by Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel
“Margate man acquitted in murder case after oral-sex defense”by Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel
"Lawyer admits size never mattered in big-penis murder trial” by Jackie Salo, New York Post
“Man who murdered high-flying solicitor and claimed she choked to death while performing a sex act on him is jailed for life” The Daily Mail

150: Consensual Murder & Horror at Dollar General Dec 02, 2020

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It was the mid-90’s and Sharon Lopatka was super into the brand spankin’ new world wide web. She launched a handful of online businesses. She chatted with newfound friends. She also explored her sexuality. The anonymity of the internet allowed Sharon to discuss some pretty kinky stuff. She went into chat rooms, looking for men to torture her to death. Some said yes, but backed away when the conversation shifted from fantasy to logistics. Then, Sharon found a guy who wasn’t scared. His name was Robert “Bobby” Glass.
Then Brandi tells us a horrifying tale that took place right across from her salon. Robin Bell was the manager of a Dollar General in Bonner Springs, Kansas. One night in November of 2005, she planned to work late. The district manager was coming the next day, and she wanted the store to look perfect. But when her husband, Don, woke up in the middle of the night and found that Robin wasn’t in bed with him, he knew something had to be wrong. He drove straight to the Dollar General, using the exact route Robin should have taken back home. But he didn’t find her car along the side of the road. He found it in the store’s parking lot.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“A date with death,” by Rachael Bell for the Crime Library
“Killer of Carroll woman dies in N.C. prison,” by Sheridan Lyons for the Baltimore Sun
“Take my life -- please,” Raleigh News and Observer, November 3, 1996
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“A year later, family still wondering who killed Tonganoxie woman” by Jesse Truesdale, The Tonganoxie Mirror
“Bonner murder leaves lasting impression” by Nicole Kelley, The Basehor Sentinel
“Family attends hearing in murder case” by Bobbi Mlynar, The Emporia Gazette
“Jurors view grisly video of Dollar General crime scene” by Jesse Truesdale, The Basehor Sentinel
“Dollar General killers receive life in prison” by Nicole Kelley, The Chieftain
“Third defendant in 2005 Dollar General murder gets maximum juvenile sentence” by Nicole Kelley, The Lawrence Journal-World
“State v. Haberlein” caselaw.findlaw.com
“State v. Backus” caselaw.findlaw.com

149: Wrongful Convictions Nov 18, 2020

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When Kathleen Schroll called her mom late one night in the spring of 2008, her voice shook with fear. She said that a man named Ollin “Pete” Coones was in her house. He’d stolen her lawn mower, and now he planned to kill Kathleen and her husband, Carl. Kathleen told her mom that Pete said “he has his tracks covered where no one will know who did it.” When police arrived at the Schroll home, it was too late. Carl and Kathleen were dead. So… Pete did it. Right?
In that same vein, Kristin tells a story that starts bad and gets so much worse. In 1913, Atlanta was rocked by the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan. Mary was killed at the National Pencil Company, where she worked long hours for little pay. The crime scene was littered with evidence, including bloody fingerprints, footprints, human feces, and two notes -- presumably written by Mary as she lay dying. Atlanta police rushed to solve the case, but didn’t go where the evidence led them. They went to Leo Frank, the factory’s superintendent.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“Leo Frank,” famous-trials.com
“Leo Frank case,” New Georgia Encyclopedia
“Star witness in Frank case arrested here,” The Atlanta Constitution, October 21, 1941
“Frank case witness to be freed Nov. 15,” The Atlanta Constitution, November 5, 1941
“Jim Conley admits attempted at burglary,” The Atlanta Constitution, January 17, 1919
“Leo Frank,” entry on Wikipedia
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Did His Dad’s Caretaker Frame Him for Her Own Murder-Suicide?” By Rachel Olding, The Daily Beast
“Kansas man was framed in ‘Machiavellian’ murder-suicide scheme, lawyers argue” by Luke Nozicka, The Kansas City Star
“Olin “Pete” Coones v. State of Kansas, Motion To Vacate” Midwest Innocence Project
“KCK man goes free after 12 years in prison” by Luke Nozicka, The Kansas City Star
“Olin ‘Pete’ Coones Exonerated” Midwest Innocence Project

148: A Dwelling Defender & a Normal Middle Class Family Nov 11, 2020

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Byron David Smith was in his basement on Thanksgiving Day, minding his own business when he heard a window break upstairs. Then he heard someone enter his home. Byron grabbed his gun and waited quietly as the intruder roamed the house. When the intruder came down the stairs, Byron fired his gun three times. The intruder, 17-year-old Nicholas Brady, died. Ten minutes later, another intruder entered Byron’s home. It was 18-year-old Haile Kifer. Byron killed her, too -- shooting her six times. On the surface, it seemed that Byron had acted within his legal rights. In Minnesota, a person may use deadly force to prevent a felony from taking place in their home or dwelling. But as investigators soon discovered, this case wasn’t clear cut, and Byron wasn’t as innocent as he seemed.
Then Brandi tells us about a “normal, middle class family,” but we all know where this story is headed. Chris and Tina Lunney were living what appeared to be a pretty comfortable life in New Jersey. They had two children, and had asked Tina’s mother to come live with them. From the outside looking in, it seemed that everything was going well. But then one day, Tina called Chris in a panic. Her mother, Marie Zoppi, had died by suicide. She hadn’t seemed unhappy, but she’d taken her life. Or had she?
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“12 minutes on Elm street” episode of Dateline
“Court to announce jury’s verdict in Byron Smith murder trial,” by Ashli Overlund for WJON News
“MN Supreme Court upholds Byron Smith conviction,” by Allen Costantini for KARE 11
“Graphic audio released by courts of Byron Smith as he guns down two teens in his Minnesota basement,” Associated Press
“Little Falls man found guilty on all four counts of murder,” Associated Press
“Castle Doctrine,” entry on Wikipedia
“Byron David Smith killings,” entry on Wikipedia
“Byron David Smith,” entry on Murderpedia
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Tina Lunney” episode Snapped
“State of New Jersey v. Tina Lunney” law.justia.com
“Prosecutor: Fairfield woman killed mother, 81, staged it to look like a suicide” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger
“Husband reads letter to jurors where wife confesses to murdering her mother” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger
“Fairfield woman told police she strangled mother with necktie” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger
“Jury convicts Fairfield woman of strangling her mother” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger

147: MURDER! Nov 04, 2020

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When Bruce Rouse didn’t show up for work one summer morning in 1980, his employees immediately knew something was up. So they called his house and Bruce’s teenage children went to their parents’ master bedroom to check on them. But the scene in their parents’ bedroom was shocking. Their mom, Darlene, had been shot in the face. Their dad, Bruce, had been shot in the face, too. He’d also been beaten and stabbed. A sheet covered their bodies. Who could have done such a thing? (This is a total Brandi case, so we’ll give you one guess.)
Then Kristin tells us about Julia Phillips -- a Southern lady who was pumped to celebrate her birthday. She got a bunch of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, bought some sexy new lingerie from Victoria’s Secret and headed to her boyfriend, Melvin Roberts’ house. But as she was getting out of her car, a man came up from behind her. He was black. Or was he hispanic. He had an accent. Maybe Indian? It was all a blur as the mystery man wrapped duct tape around her wrists, legs, eyes and mouth.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“Death in the Driveway” episode of Dateline
“Julia Phillips, convicted killer of former York Mayor Melvin Roberts, dies at age 72,” by Andrew Dys for the Herald
“Prosecution Rests its Case,” by Jonathan McFadden for the Herald
“Phillips found guilty; sentenced to life,” by Jonathan McFadden for the Herald
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Family Secrets” by Mark Gribben, The Malefactor’s Register
“Murder Mansion: The Shotgun Slaying of Bruce and Darlene Rouse” by Tori Richards, The Crime Library
“Murder Thy Father and Thy Mother” by Marie Kusters-McCarthy, Crime Magazine
“Man Confesses To Brutally Murdering Parents 15 Years After Squandering His Inheritance” by Benjamin H. Smith, Oxygen
“Rouse’s Defense Tries To Implicate His Brother” by Shirley Salemy, Chicago Tribune
“Judge Gives Rouse 80 Years, Wishes It Were More” by Gary Mays, Chicago Tribune

146: Dane Cook & Ryan Ferguson Oct 28, 2020

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For a few years in the mid-2000’s, Dane Cook was on top of the world. He performed high-energy stand up routines to countless adoring fans. He sold out Madison Square Garden. One of his stand up comedy albums went platinum. The next one went double platinum. He got movie deals. He created his own production company. At the risk of stating the obvious, Dane got rich. Super rich. Luckily, his half-brother Darryl McCauley was by his side the whole time, acting as Dane’s business manager.
Then Brandi tells us a story that’ll make your blood boil. In November of 2001, Kent Heitholt, a sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, was discovered dead in the newspaper’s parking lot. Kent had been brutally beaten and strangled. His murder went unsolved for two years. But a young man named Charles Erickson, who’d been 17 at the time of Kent’s murder, read about the crime and got a bad feeling. He and his friend Ryan Ferguson had been partying at a nearby bar on the night of Kent’s murder. Charles had done cocaine, taken adderall, and been drinking that night. He couldn’t remember the night in question, but he began having troubling dreams. Those dreams made him wonder whether he and Ryan had been involved in Kent’s death. Charles eventually confessed to the crime. Police accepted the story, despite the fact that Charles’ dreams didn’t match the evidence.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
Dane Cook’s appearance on the podcast, “Your Mom’s House”
Dane Cook’s appearance on the podcast, “Inside of You”
Dane cook’s appearance on the podcast, “Bertcast”
“Dane Cook’s half-brother, sister-in-law must repay $12 million,” by Alan Duke for CNN
“Dane Cook’s manager-brother ordered to pay him $12 million,” by Lindsay Powers for The Hollywood Reporter
“Wife of Dane Cook’s brother sentenced in embezzlement scheme,” by Lisa Redmond for the Lowell Sun
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Dream/Killer” Documentary
“Ryan Ferguson’s Habeus Corpus Petition” courts.mo.gov
“Saving Ryan Ferguson: One Lawyer’s Story” episode 48 Hours
“The Ryan Ferguson Case: An examination of a strange murder and conviction” by Chris Hamby
“Ryan Ferguson Freed After Spending Almost a Decade in Prison for Murder” by Lauren Effron and Victoria Thompson, ABC News
“Ryan W. Ferguson” wikipedia.org

145: The Kidnapping of Shannon Matthews & Eliza Jumel's Divorce Oct 21, 2020

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It was a cold February day, and mother of the year Karen Matthews was in a panic. Her nine-year-old daughter, Shannon Matthews, hadn’t come home from school that day. Immediately, the tightknit community of Dewsbury, England, came together to find the missing child. Investigators searched 3,000 homes. They stopped 1,500 drivers. But the days crept on. Shannon was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Karen acted like a big weirdo.
Then Brandi returns from her battle with COVID to tell us about an old timey divorce.
Eliza Jumel was, too put it mildly, rich. When her husband died, Eliza became the richest woman in New York. By that point, Eliza had discovered that money could buy her a lot of things -- the former home of the American Revolution, for example -- but it couldn’t buy her acceptance from the upper crust of New York City society. For that, she needed to marry the right dude. So she set her sights on Aaron Burr.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
An episode of Casefile titled, “Shannon Matthews”
The documentary tv series, “Tears Lies and Videotape”
“The Kidnapping of Shannon Matthews,” wikipedia
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Invention” podcast episode, Lore by Aaron Mehnke
“Long After Alexander Hamilton's Death, His Son and Rival Aaron Burr Dueled in Divorce Court” by Kirstin Fawcett, Mental Floss
“The Life of Eliza Jumel” newyorkcityhistory.org
“Burr’s Role In Adultery: Is It Opera?” by Dena Kleiman, The New York Times
“Eliza Jumel” wikipedia.org

144: The Queen of Mean & Sunny von Bulow Oct 14, 2020

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Leona Helmsley referred to herself as the queen of the palace, but her terrible personality earned her a more apt nickname -- the queen of mean. She and her husband were rich beyond most peoples’ imaginations. They stayed that way in part thanks to savvy real estate investing, and to tactics that were illegal at worst and immoral at best. But when Leona finally stiffed the wrong contractor, her luck began to crumble.
Then Kristin tells us about heiress Sunny von Bulow, who had the bad fortune of marrying the wrong man. When she married Claus von Bulow, Sunny was smitten. But the pair were a bad match. Sunny came to their marriage with a tremendous fortune. Sunny’s money was a sore spot for Claus, and Claus’s infidelity was a sore spot for Sunny. By the late 70s, the pair seemed headed for divorce. Then Sunny slipped into a sudden coma. She recovered, only to slip into another one for good.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“The Claus Von Bulow Case” by Mark Gribben for the Crime Library
“Sunny von Bulow” entry on Wikipedia
In this episode, DP pulled from:
NY Times article by Edin Nemi “Leona Helmsley, Hotel Queen, Dies at 87”
Time Magazine “Top 10 Tax Dodgers”
The New Yorker article by Michael Schulman “Her Majesty”
The Leona Helmsley Movie “The Queen of Mean”
“Leona Helmsley” on Wikipedia

143: Ruth Bader Ginsburg & Identity Theft Oct 07, 2020

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a trailblazer. When she entered Harvard Law School, she was one of just 9 women in a class of nearly 500 men. Later, in her legal career, she faced incredible discrimination. But Ruth didn’t let the douchebags get her down. She was whip smart, and a tireless worker. Her children remember her staying up until the wee hours in the morning, poring over law books, with a stale cup of coffee on one side of her desk and a box of prunes on the other. She kept working, and working, and working. She argued before the Supreme Court multiple times -- and won. She became a judge. And then, in 1993, she became the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court.
Then, with Brandi recovering from COVID-19, Kristin’s sister Kyla fills in with all the energy of an eager understudy! Kyla tells us about a family in Portland, Indiana, who had a hell of a time in the 90s. It all started with their mail being stolen. They got a PO box, but their mail kept going missing. Their credit scores plummeted. Someone was after them. Someone was stealing from them. This went on for years. When Axton Betz-Hamilton went off to college, she thought she’d get a break from the paranoia that had taken over her family. She was wrong.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
The Documentary, “RBG”
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” entry on oyez.org
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” entry on Wikipedia
“At Harvard Business School, Ruth Bader Ginsburg displayed the steel she’d be famous for,” by Asher Klein for nbcboston.com
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” entry on History.com
“A conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg at HLS,” video by Harvard Law School on YouTube
In this episode, Kyla pulled from:
Eh… she’ll fill this in soon!

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