Scene Of the Crime

Latest Episodes:

MMIW: A Conversation with WA State Patrol May 10, 2021

Show notes

In our last episode, Silent No More, we focused on the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Through our conversations with tribal members and law enforcement, we learned about some of the historical events that have created a wall of distrust between the indigenous community and outside agencies. But, that’s just one part of this puzzle.

One of the biggest concerns for the Washington State Patrol’s Chris Loftis is the lack of consistency in law enforcement practices. But, efforts are being made to correct this.

In our recent conversation, Chris was joined by the State Patrol’s two tribal liaisons, Patti Gosch and Dawn Pullin, who are spearheading the work to earn back the trust of indigenous individuals throughout the State of Washington.

If you are a family member of a missing person and would like their photo to be included on the Washington State Patrol Missing Person’s website, please contact:

Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit

mupu@wsp.wa.gov

(800) 543-5678

Or the WSP Tribal Liaisons

Patti Gosch Dawn Pullin

patti.gosch@wsp.wa.gov dawn.pullin@wsp.wa.gov

(360) 280-0567 (360) 890-0150

And, Scene of the Crime will be back in just a few weeks with more fresh episodes and a season-long deep dive into the mysterious death of Autumn Stone.

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A Conversation with Emily Washines Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

We've been sharing new stories from the Scene of the Crime for more than a year now and we're starting an ambitious new project, a full-season deep dive into one of the most interesting cases we've covered so far: The mysterious death of Autumn Stone. There's been some movement on this case since we first brought it to you last year, and some new evidence has been uncovered that could change everything!

So, while we take a short break from our weekly episodes to focus on this deep dive, we thought we would share with you some of the really impactful discussions that we had as we were preparing our last episode on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

First up - our conversation with Emily Washines. She grew up hearing stories about the tragedies that have occured to people in her tribe and beyond. Now, she's using her voice to speak up for the victims and to try and end the cycle of violence and abuse. And, best of all she shares with us stories of courage and compassion that can help us all understand the struggle of Native women and girls and what we can do to help.

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MMIW: Silent No More Apr 24, 2021

Show notes

Earth Feather Sovereign was just 14 years old, and she was an itty bitty thing. Standing just over five feet tall, she barely hit a hundred pounds on the scale.

Still, when she walked into the party that night, she stuck out her chin and let them know she had arrived. The Portland house belonged to a friend of a friend, she wasn’t really sure who. But, between the bass-heavy beat of the music and the excited energy of the young people milling around, thisfelt like the place to be.

Even though she was still in the dawn of her teenage years, Earth Feather already had plenty of experience with booze, and not just to liven-up a party. She’d learned the hard way that liquor could soothe a tortured heart, at least temporarily.

So, just like so many other nights, she grabbed a bottle.

There were a lot of familiar faces at this house party, but a lot of strangers, too. And, when Earth-Feather went down to the hall to use the bathroom, she wasn’t alone.

A group of young men grabbed her and refused to let her go.

She was kidnapped, raped and held as a slave.

It’s a sickening story that’s all too familiar for so many young Indigenous women all over the nation.

But now, new laws and new efforts are being made to stop the cycle and find justice for the families of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women from the Pacific Northwest and around the country.

If you are a family member of a missing person and would like their photo to be included on the Washington State Patrol Missing Person’s website, please contact:

Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit

mupu@wsp.wa.gov

(800) 543-5678

Or the WSP Tribal Liaisons

Patti Gosch Dawn Pullin

patti.gosch@wsp.wa.gov dawn.pullin@wsp.wa.gov

(360) 280-0567 (360) 890-0150

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The Stranger Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

The Drift Inn Tavern could be seen as drab by some with its dated décor, but to locals in the seaside town of Bremerton, the dive bar was like the tide with folks drifting in and drifting out.

It’d been that way since the 1950's, and over the years it grew to be more than just a bar. It was a communal watering hole, a place of sustenance for the soul, and a place to be accepted, where the bartender didn’t judge and wasn’t stingy with a pour.

And in the early 90's, it was exactly what 57 year old Marilyn Hickey was looking for: a place where everyone knew her name.

And so it was that September night in 1992 this divey version of Cheers welcomed Marilyn, or the “Elvis Lady” as she was called.

At just five feet tall, Marilyn was shooting the shit as she played pool, her outgoing personality and trusting nature drawing people to her.

If only she’d been a little bit more suspicious that night as she started talking to a young man. A stranger with collar length reddish-brown hair. Folks later would recall seeing her companion, but nobody knew his name.

After last call, Marilyn and the young man stumbled out of the Drift Inn together and got in a cab. They drove for just over a mile before they were dropped off at Marilyn’s apartment.

It would be the last time Marilyn was seen alive. Her body would be found with scissors plunged through her heart. The only clue was the sketch of that stranger, who seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

That is, until new technology revved up a case that had gone ice cold.

A DNA profile found at the Scene of the Crime matched DNA from the scene of another brutal murder. Two years after Marilyn’s death, Cheryle Barratt, was found stabbed, sexually assaulted and slashed to death.

After almost 30 years would two cold case detectives finally get some justice for not only Marilyn, but Cheryl too?

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Family Secrets Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Children should be seen and not heard. That's what she was told. And Alene was a good little girl. So, she went back to playing in the corner, while the grown ups leaned in closer, speaking in hushed tones, murmuring about the family secret: a woman named Beatrice Roscorla Andrewartha.

Beatrice grew up in Cornwall, in the South West of England, around the turn of the 20th century. She was a beautiful, elegant woman - tall and slender with a halo of dark curls, bright eyes, and a gentle smile.

The widow of a gold miner, Beatrice had been left with a small fortune and a desire to see the world. So, when her brother also lost his spouse and asked if she would move to Michigan to help him care for his three young daughters, Beatrice found herself on a ship bound for America.

She spent many happy years with her brother's family, before the girls grew up and moved away to start families of their own. And, Beatrice once again found herself alone and wanting to see the world. This time, she planned to head to the West Coast and then North, to visit family in Canada.

It was a bold move in 1919, for a woman to travel across the country without a chaperone. Maybe that's why the honeyed words of a well-dressed stranger sounded so tempting. He wanted to whisk her away to India, Asia and Australia; all the exotic places she'd been dreaming of, but didn't think she'd ever really see.

It was a whirlwind romance between Beatrice and the gentleman on the train. Just a few weeks later they were married and making plans to honeymoon in Hawaii.

To a curious little girl in the 1950's, eavesdropping on her mother's conversation, it all sounded like a fairytale.

So, Alene didn't understand why it was such a closely guarded secret, why she'd never heard of Beatrice before, and why no one wanted to explain what happened to her after that whirlwind romance.

It was a curiosity that stuck with Alene her entire life, until she unearthed a letter written to her grandfather in 1922 by an inmate at San Quinten. It was just the first breadcrumb along a trail that would lead Alene to one of the most prolific serial killers in our nation's history, a psychopath willing to do just about anything to get what he wanted... and NEARLY got away with it.

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Justice for Jason Mar 30, 2021

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In the fall of 2020, Jason Fox was a 19 year old kid who had grown up in Newport, Washington. The small city is a gorgeous slice of PNW pie complete with mountains, rivers, and forests. Everything the Evergreen State is famous for.

But Jason, a creative, loving and kindhearted kid, was harboring a secret. He worried if he revealed it he wouldn’t be accepted, and like most teens, acceptance was the thing he craved more than anything else.

And he was right to be concerned. Newport, a conservative place near the Idaho border, is more red than blue when it comes to its politics.

Jason came out when he was 18 years old, sort of. In a move to be more accepted, Jason told Newport friends he was bisexual. He thought that would be easier than telling the truth: that he was gay.

When Jason was 19 he started experimenting with drugs. His parents were worried, not only about the drugs but about a new, older crowd he was hanging out with. People he had a troubling history of clashing with.

Even so, a couple friends from that group invited him to party at the Timber River Ranch, about five miles outside of town. By day the ranch was over 50 acres of rustic beauty and tranquility. But the night that Jason rolled down the long, dirt driveway he was never so alone and isolated. Jason’s parents believe that’s exactly why he was lured to this location.

Jason sent a text just after midnight on September 15th, 2020. It was the last text he would ever send. Three weeks later his body was found in a shallow grave.

Four men have been charged with murder in connection with his murder. But, the motive is unclear. Jason's mom believes it was a hate crime.

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Family Ties Mar 20, 2021

Show notes

Ashley Pond may have been a pre-teen, but instead of spunk and rebellion, she emanated sweetness and light. Despite the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her father, the 12 year old from Oregon City was known to be a happy child who loved to dance.

In fact, she was on a dance team with some of her closest friends and neighbors, Miranda and Mallori. The trio lived so close, they all met-up at the same bus stop each morning, before heading to Gardner Middle School, where they were in 7^th grade.

On the morning of January 9^th, 2002, Ashley was running a little late. She rushed out the door at 8:15, hoping she hadn’t missed the bus. Some neighbors remember seeing Ashley as she hustled out of the apartment complex that morning… the last time anyone would see her alive.

And, Ashley wouldn’t be the last of her friends to be stolen….

We're exploring the question of Nature versus Nurture with a family that includes three generations of killers. But, is this evil being passed along in their genes? Or was it the way they were raised?

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The Swingers Playbook Mar 13, 2021

Show notes

Alger, Washington is a place too small to be considered a city. It’s more of a hamlet surrounded by the larger cities of Bellingham, Burlington and Sedro-Woolley.

Located less than an hour from the Canadian border, Alger’s watering hole serves as a gathering place for locals who relish in the peace and quiet of woodland surrounded by a smattering of little lakes and forests to explore. The kind of tight knit place where folks are self-sufficient, but are also known to give the shirt off their backs to help a neighbor.

That sounded just about right for the McBrides, Vanessa, Ken and their 11-year-old son. Vanessa and Ken had known each other since they were barely old enough to be considered teens. They became high school sweethearts, and by 2008 they’d been married for 14 years.

A lot of trust and love went into that marriage. And, for the last 2-3 years they decided, together, to open their marriage to the Swinger lifestyle.

They both could “play” sexually with other couples or individually. But there were rules. Vanessa and Ken had to approve of each other's partners.

That March, Vanessa shared with Ken that she wanted to “play” with Jeremy, a popular track coach and substitute teacher at Ferndale High School. Ken gave the thumbs up, no doubt thinking that Jeremy was just another partner for Vanessa to play with and that no one could ever come between them.

But Ken was wrong.

Suddenly, what had once been fun and exciting had stopped being fun, at least for Ken. And there were other stressors in the marriage, financial pressures. Ken would lose his job. And he would start to snoop on Vanessa’s computer, discovering chats between Jeremy and Vanessa where they expressed their love for each other.

They were planning to “play” on Friday night, April 25th, and hadn’t asked for Ken's permission. That went against their rules.

On April 24th Jeremy didn’t show up for work, It didn’t take long for the whole community to begin scouring all those woods looking for him. One day, became two, and on the third day hikers would find Jeremy’s body on a mountainside.

The news spread like wildfire in this small bedroom community. Who had murdered Jeremy Scully and why? All those salacious details would begin to spill out. Even quaint little hamlets aren’t immune to tongue wagging over the titillating and shocking details of what goes on behind closed doors.

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Poison Pill Mar 06, 2021

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It was a Wednesday, June 11th, 1986. Fifteen year old Hayley Snow was up bright and early to get a jump on the day. It was nearing the end of the school year, and summer was so close she could taste it. It wouldn’t be long before she was sleeping in and staying up late with friends.

Hayley popped by her parent’s room on the way to the shower, to say good morning to her mom. At 40-years old, Susan Snow had worked her way up the ranks and was an assistant vice president at the Puget Sound National Bank, managing their branch in Auburn. And, she was a married mother of two, with one girl off in college and the other soon to be on her way.

That morning, Susan had a bit of a headache. But, it was nothing this busy working mother wasn’t used to. She popped some Extra-Strength Excedrin.

As was their routine, Hayley got ready for school while Susan got ready for work, before meeting back up for breakfast. A half-hour later, when Hayley was just about ready to head down, she noticed the water was still running in her mom’s bathroom.

Odd, she thought. Mom didn’t usually take that long. So, she popped her head in one more time to see what Susan was up to.

Hayley was horrified to find her mom lying on the floor, barely breathing. Susan's pulse was so faint that even the paramedics had a hard time finding it. They called for a helicopter to rush her to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. But, Susan died just hours later.

At first, it was a mystery how this seemingly healthy woman suddenly collapsed and died for no apparent reason. But it became clear during the autopsy when the coroner noticed the smell of bitter almonds, a distinct odor known to be caused by cyanide poisoning. Days later, toxicology tests would trace the poison to the bottle of Excedrin found in Susan’s bathroom.

It was shocking, but not unheard of. Just a few years earlier seven people had died after taking cyanide-tainted Tylenol that had been planted at stores in the Chicago area.

Could they have a copycat on their hands?

It would take years for investigators to finally answer that question, and the answer would come from the most unlikely of places, when another Auburn woman called police claiming her husband had taken the same poisoned pills.

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Cold Blooded Feb 28, 2021

Show notes

In 1989, Debbie Sweiger was coming into her own. At 35, she was in great shape. She had to be. As a highly skilled emergency room nurse, she never buckled under pressure.

And, she liked the finer things in life. Her curls were coifed to match the latest style: big and blonde. She loved to wear her manicured nails blood red. Her dimpled smile was legendary, catching the attention of Bill Pawlyk.

At 48, Bill was a respected businessman and executive. Even though they were both already married, the heart wants what the heart wants, and it wasn’t long before Debbie and Bill were in the midst of a steamy affair. Not long after, they would leave their spouses for each other.

Still, Debbie was in the prime of her life. For a time, Bill had been a part of her newly single world, which included mingling, having fun and travel. But there was another side to Debbie. She had a lot of grit. She played hard, but worked even harder.

Building new businesses took center stage over her relationship with Bill, who had become jealous and controlling. Debbie wanted a partner who was fun and adventurous, whose Joie de vivre matched her zest for life and love, someone like Larry Sturholm.

Larry was a local RV personality who had recently joined Debbie on one of her business adventures. Even though Larry had been happily married for over 2 decades, Bill was convinced they were having an affair.

Debbie tried to soothe Bill’s fears, but also confided to close friends that she planned to “wean” Bill from their relationship. She said he was getting scary.

But, she would deal with it when she got back from a trip to Florida to visit a friend. At least that’s where she told Bill she was going. The truth was, she was going to the Grand Caymen Islands with Larry.

When Bill had found out, he stewed in a vile combination of rage, jealousy and bitterness.

The night of the trip, Larry and Debbie would meet at her house with no idea that Bill was there lying in wait, hunting knives strapped to his ankles.

And, he would have his revenge.

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