The First Degree - Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek

Latest Episodes:

DEEP DIVE: THE YELLOW DELI Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

You’ve been asking us to deep dive The Yellow Deli (and the Twelve Tribes cult) for months now, and the day has finally come. We’re diving into their “communal living” and “child discipline”, bizarre Sabbath gatherings, and disgusting beliefs. Don’t be fooled by the friendly workers and delicious sandwiches…the Yellow Deli is a CULT. Also, we touch on Shiloh Hill and the dark web blood cowboy boots and the latest headlines of the week.

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Episode 357: Terence Freitas Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

On February 25, 1999, a 24-year-old environmental and Indigenous rights activist and two Native American advocates disappear from Arauca, Colombia, after meeting with local U’Wa people. The U’Wa’s lives and lands are under direct threat from multinational oil extraction, and the activists are there to help facilitate protection of the tribes’ indigenous sovereignty and environment. A week later, their bodies are found near a river, shot to death. And so the long and complicated battle begins for their loved ones to find answers and have the killers held accountable in the midst of political instability and armed conflict. In episode 357, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking case of Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok, and Lahe’ena’e Gay, and Indigenous communities’ fight against the complex and nuanced geopolitical backdrop of the threat of extractive industries on both fragile ecosystems and their custodians’ very way of life.

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DEEP DIVE: EVERYONE IS CRASHING OUT Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

Everyone seems to be crashing out this week, and we are here to cover it all for you! R Kelly’s “alleged” murder attempt in jail, Kanye showing up at Diddy’s trial, Trace Cyrus’ wilddddd accusations against Brenda Song, Justin Bieber posting his personal conversations on IG, and of course the latest insanity with Blake vs Justin.

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Episode 356: Christy Giles Cilliers & Hilda Cabrales-Arzola Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

On November 13th of 2021, two young women, aged 26 and 24, head out for a night on the town that finishes up near Beverly Hills, California. They dance the night away at a warehouse party into the wee hours. But come daybreak, the friends - one a successful model, the other an aspiring architect - haven’t made it home. By the end of the day, the women are located separately but in highly disturbing circumstances, each abandoned outside LA hospitals by unknown individuals, suffering the effects of a suspected drug overdose. In the aftermath of the young women’s tragic passing, questions turn to who they were with the night before. When the truth emerges, it’s everyone’s worst nightmare. In episode 356, Jac and Alexis speak with former L.A. prosecutor Joshua Ritter, and detail the shocking murders committed at the hands of David Pearce, and the fact he could possibly have been stopped if only women felt they would be believed in reporting violent crimes against them.

Subscribe here to Joshua Ritter’s youtube series, Courtroom Confidential

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DEEP DIVE: DEEP SEA DRAMA Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

There’s a lotttt that happened last week and we’re covering it all: JP Miller (the creepy abusive pastor) married his mistress just a year after his wife mysteriously took her own life, Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed (but is it really what it seems??? We’re breaking it down for you), new info leaning towards Ocean Gate being a suicide mission, and of course the latest Diddy updates.

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Episode 355: Vanishing Act Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

Over a span of 39 years, at least 14 aliases, 17 arrests, and nearly a dozen imprisonments, Robert Spears had lived a con artists' life of unparalleled adventure and intrigue. His crimes culminated in an ultimate act of evil, when he downed a crowded aircraft to fake his own death. This is a tale of one man who became obsessed with this story and the dichotomy of the man at the center of it.

Get Jerry Jamison’s new true crime book Vanishing Act: A Crashed Airliner, Faked Death, and Backroom Abortions everywhere books are sold.

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DEEP DIVE: DIDDY, BLAKE, & CELINE DION? Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

It’s part two of our Diddy trial coverage, and this week we FINALLY learn wow and why the infamous tape from The Intercontinental hotel was covered up for so long (hint: $100k). We go through the rest of the highlights from this week in trial, plus Blake drops her emotional distress claims against Justin Baldoni, and Celine Dion has a satanic children’s clothing line???

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Episode 354: Destiny McClain Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

In the early morning hours of July 18, 2021, a 23-year-old woman is standing in line at a food truck outside a Phoenix nightclub when gunfire erupts. She is struck in the chest and later dies at the hospital, leaving her family devastated. As police investigate, they uncover very little evidence—aside from a grainy video of a dark-colored car speeding away. To this day, her case remains unsolved. In episode 354, Jac and Alexis revisit the night Destiny McClain’s life was stolen, and the powerful ways her mother has kept her memory alive ever since.

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DEEP DIVE: DIDDY TRIAL May 29, 2025

Show notes

We’re back and (almost) live, giving you the latest updates of the Diddy trial. This week, Lex is bringing Jac up to speed on everything that has gone down the past few weeks at trial, including details about Kid Cudi’s car bombing, Cassie’s bombshell testimony, and the insane stories that Diddy’s numerous personal assistants had to share. We will be back next week for more!

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Episode 353: Melissa Lamesch May 28, 2025

Show notes

A 911 call brought firefighters to the home of Melissa Lamesch in November 2020. Melissa was only days away from being induced and delivering her first child, a son. Instead, first responders would find her unconscious on the kitchen floor. What seemed at first to be an accidental fire soon turned into a murder investigation. And the suspect? Melissa’s on-again, off again firefighter boyfriend and the father of her baby. In episode 353, Jac and Alexis dive into the case that left a small town in Illinois devastated and a family grieving.

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