The First Degree - Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek

Latest Episodes:

DEEP DIVE: TAKING UP SPACE Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

This week we were blessed by the cringe gods for giving us the gift of the absolute disaster of the Blue Origin trip! We dive into the nitty gritty of the controversies, dive deep into the conspiracies, and have a little chuckle at Jess Bezos eating shit. Who knew it was possible for celebrities to be THIS tone deaf!

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Episode 347: The Simi Valley Rapist, Part 2 Apr 16, 2025

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Four days after Megan Barroso disappeared, another woman was attacked. This time in broad daylight. Then came a break—an arrest that had nothing to do with murder or rape. A petty burglary. A bag in the trash. A call to the police. And suddenly, everything changed. In Part 2 of our coverage on the Simi Valley Rapist, Jac and Alexis follow the unraveling of the mystery: the evidence hidden in plain sight, the roommates who unknowingly lived with a predator, and the moment police discovered who had been behind the mask all along. The truth would shock a city—and reveal just how many lives had come terrifyingly close to the edge.

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DEEP DIVE: MOUNTAIN DEWS, BABY! Apr 10, 2025

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This week we are deconstructing Chris Watt’s new letters to God blaming his mistress for him murdering his wife and children, the return of the Direwolf (can we bring back the T-Rex next??), Russel Brand blaming his new allegations on an attack from the Deep State, and can Mountain Dew actually predict the future??

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Episode 346: The Simi Valley Rapist, Part 1 Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

Between 1996 and 2001, a series of violent attacks terrorized the seemingly idyllic community of Simi Valley, California. Women were being terrorized in their homes. Families were jolted from sleep by the sounds of screams—and silence. There was no pattern. No suspect. No name. In episode 346, Jac and Lex trace the early crimes of the man the press would eventually dub the Simi Valley Rapist. And just when the community began to breathe again, a bright, beloved 20-year-old college student vanished without a trace. The search for her would reignite the hunt for a man no one had ever seen—but who was always watching.

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DEEP DIVE: UNDERGROUND TUNNELS IN MIAMI? Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

We’re back again breaking down this week’s wildest headlines. From new Diddy claims implicating Gloria Estefan, Beyonce, and LeBron James, to Virginia Giuffre’s bizarre IG post claiming she was hit by a school bus, to even more Justin Bieber updates, to an Elizabeth Holmes x Nathan Fielder collab?? It’s been a weird week, that’s for sure.

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Episode 345: Crystal Deniece McCrory Jones Apr 02, 2025

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On February 9, 2023, police conduct a welfare check at a home in a neighborhood of Oak Grove, Louisiana. Inside the residence, they find a 43-year-old business owner, wife, and mother dead from a gunshot wound. The woman’s husband is devastated, as is the rest of the victim’s family. After a speedy investigation, the shooting is soon ruled a suicide. But when the woman’s family uncovers glaring holes in the investigation and learns that corners have been cut, things start to look extremely questionable, and it emerges that not everyone close to the victim has been adequately eliminated in the rush to declare the death a suicide. In episode 345, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking suspicious death of Crystal Deniece McCrory Jones, the many lingering questions focusing on the local sheriff’s department’s involvement, and why Crystal’s loved ones continue to fight for a full and thorough investigation into her death.

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DEEP DIVE: DON’T DIE Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

This week we’re diving into the dark side of AI, technology, and the existential dream of trying to live forever. We’re talking about implanting memories into murderers, doing head transplants on billionaires, and that weird dude who thinks he’s never gonna die. And then of course, we have Blake vs Justin updates, and Justin Bieber’s cryptic IG post. It’s a lot!

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Episode 344: Janice Lillie Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

On the morning of November 12th of 1991, 41-year-old Janice Aschraft Lillie left her volunteer work at Belle Chasse High School to go to her office in Gretna, Louisiana. Janice’s husband, 41-year-old Norman Lillie, needs her help collecting back rent from their tenants. The couple co-manage and co-own several apartments in the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area. Around 10:15 a.m., Janice arrives at the office. Two hours later, Janice’s body is discovered lying behind her desk. Someone stabbed her more than ten times and left her to die. For years, Gretna police struggled to investigate Janice’s homicide. Despite interviewing more than 180 people, they had little to go on. Then, in 1995, the murder weapon was discovered and several arrests were made in relation to Janice’s case. However, members of Janice’s family think the individuals arrested, indicted, and sentenced for Janice’s murder weren’t even involved. In episode 344, Jac and Alexis detail the strange events and evidence surrounding Janice’s killing, including her then-husband’s suspicious affair with a 25-year-old tenant.

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DEEP DIVE: SHE'S A BELIEBER Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

This week we’re talking about the Ghost Adventurers murder for hire plot that just got 10x wilder, Ryan Reynolds throwing Blake Lively under the bus, and we’re just getting to the tip of the ice berg of Hailey Bieber’s obsession with Justin & Selena and how it might even be darker than anyone thinks.

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Episode 343: Jonathan T. Schwartz Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

On May 8th, 2016, a successful 46-year-old business manager and CPA is sitting an FBI polygraph test in Los Angeles, California. The well-respected executive partner with numerous high-profile, world-famous clients from the entertainment industry has it all. A happy marriage, three kids, and a career trajectory where the sky is the limit. But it’s all about to come crashing down in a very public and life-changing way due to addiction, insecurity, and denial. In episode 343, Jac and Alexis detail the life and crimes of Jonathan Schwartz, and how his descent into addiction and hubris not only destroyed the life and career he’d worked so hard for, but how his immediate remorse propelled him to a place of personal growth, healing, and self-forgiveness, with the ultimate aim of finding redemption through helping others who are now where he once was.

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