The State of Perfect Balance: A True Crime Podcast

S.3 Ep.1--The Murder in Wooster Mar 20, 2023

The big question remains: does incarceration as a punishment work? As we currently handle crime and punishment, are inmates rehabilitated to the point where they can safely be returned to society? We can tackle these quandaries in an abstract way in the safety of our locked homes, digging out statistics and data to answer our burning questions. But for many, the debate about whether an inmate should continue to be held in custody or let go free is an intensely personal one, with the real experiences of people on both sides of prison walls.

S.2 Ep.10--The Murders in New Franklin Jan 31, 2022

There are couples who seem to have all "The Things." Successful careers, a family they’ve lovingly created, social connections, important charity work--the kind of people who do good things for the right reasons and leave behind a positive legacy of well remembered contributions, the kind we tend to admire and remember fondly as a community. When tragedy strikes such a family, it almost seems especially hard to grasp.
Jeffrey and Margaret Schobert were just such a couple. And this is their story.

S.2 Ep.9--The Murder in Youngstown Dec 05, 2021

After Christmas of 2016, Shannon didn’t check in with her family. What would happen next is the stuff of nightmares...

S.2 Ep.8--The Murder in Mentor-On-The-Lake Nov 14, 2021

The most dangerous times in a woman’s life are when she is in the company of men. That may seem like a dramatic overstatement, but if you think about it, it’s true. This is the story of a young woman named Angel.

S.2 Ep.7: The Murders in Martin Oct 31, 2021

America has a self-created mental health crisis, and state and federal prisons are dominated by populations of the mentally ill, where resources are few and treatment is non existent.
Our story involves a family struggling to deal with a very sick young man, culminating one Halloween night when people asked the question: Is this a sick prank, or something much, much worse?

S.2 Ep. 6: The Murder in North Canton Oct 17, 2021

You don't know anything about the people who live next door.

S.2 Ep.5-The Murders in Dublin Apr 19, 2020

When we think of a crime committed by someone who is truly, demonstrably, certifiably insane, an image of such a person may come to mind. We imagine someone who has seen lengthy periods of institutionalization, in cells designed for their own, and their caregivers, protection against violence. You may imagine straight jackets and electric shock therapy--this is not that case.

S.2 Ep.4: The Murder in Lowell Mar 23, 2020

When a child commits a murder, and the victim’s surviving family members rightfully want the killer to be punished, the age of a youthful perpetrator can automatically dial down how severe that punishment is, because we, as a society, don’t hold children to the same standard of accountability as adults.
Then there’s the general public squeamishness about sending a kid to death row or life in prison. It just doesn’t feel right, and seems like compounding the tragedy.

S.2 Ep.3: The Murder in Champaign County Nov 04, 2019

When you hear of a home invasion, the words likely conjure a scenario in which one or more people enter a home forcibly, seeking to rob the inhabitants and perhaps relieve them of their lives. And you’d be right. Such home invasions are rare, rare enough that when something like that appears to have occurred, law enforcement is generally suspicious of the story from the get-go.
But there are violent home invasions bent on robbery and murder, and then there are invasions of a home’s peaceful space by increments, in which a guest is invited willingly, but they bring unwelcome others and others, and still others, until a home is invaded by a horde of unknown and hostile squatters.
Either scenario can be dangerous...

S.2 Ep.2: The Murder in Dover-Continued Oct 01, 2019

Join us for part two of this amazing story about love, loss, and forgiveness, as we sit down with Mrs. Reiser while she talks about her beautiful and talented daughter, Liz.

S.2 Ep.1: The Murder in Dover Sep 16, 2019

When we hear the story of a life that has been taken, we can feel empathy and share in the family’s grief in a small way, but can never really know what that experience is like. Early this year, we spent several hours with Becki Reiser of Dover, Ohio, who generously spoke about that experience in detail. It’s a story of a child who is loved and for whom there are many hopes for their life. It’s a story of faith, of horror, and of forgiveness. It’s a first hand account of loss, and it’s a story not to be missed.

Season 2 Premiere: Sneak Peak Sep 11, 2019

S.1 Ep.22: The Murder in Willoughby Hills Aug 08, 2019

It really doesn’t matter whether the desire to lend a hand to a young person in need comes from. Maybe it’s a sense of duty. Maybe it’s rooted in your faith or belief system. Maybe you just want to pay it forward. Foster families, and we know successful ones, are a vital, loving part of the societal puzzle.
But we also know of those who are less successful. Any time a young person is introduced into a family bringing a difficult past, with possible unknown issues, with understandable neediness— the potential for things to go awry is certainly there.

S.1 Ep.21: The Murders in Norton Jul 08, 2019

This story looks at several people whose lives intersected on a stretch of interstate highway late one night in 1986. Two of them just happened to arrive at a certain place in space and time at just the right moment. Or, more properly, just the wrong moment.

S.1 Ep.20: The Murders in Huber Heights Jun 18, 2019

You’ve probably known a couple who just can’t seem to make things stick, you know? They’re together, they’re apart, they make up, they split up, and all the while, they seem to generally get along. They seem like a good match, but there’s something… some important piece of the puzzle, that’s missing or that they can’t get a good grip on. Eventually, they split up for keeps, often amicably, and friends and family are left scratching their heads.

Bonus Episode 1: The Circleville Mystery May 30, 2019

On the face of it, Circleville is just another quiet, sleepy, Ohio town, but if this podcast has taught you anything, it’s that…not all small towns are safe. In 1976 someone started a terror campaign against the residents of Circleville. And this is their story.

S.1 Ep.19: The Murder in Nelsonville May 27, 2019

Learning about relationships, and how that all works, is a part of becoming an adult. It’s an experience that is common to all of us, and though it may be difficult, most of us emerge with no greater harm than a temporarily broken heart, and we get on with our lives.
Jodi Blankenship was ready to move her boyfriend into that “used to know” category after three years together. She was young, talented, set to aggressively chase her dreams, and date other people. And this is her story.

S.1 Ep.18: The Murder in Deer Park May 12, 2019

Troy Lee Temar was a big fish in the little pond that is Deer Park. He was a well-liked, all American guy. But what happened when he crossed paths with a particular femme fatale, would change the lives of not only his family, but the community of Deer Park forever.

S.1 Ep.17: The Murder in Bellevue May 05, 2019

The passing of time is a serious enemy in finding a missing person, and in solving a murder case.
A body is discovered, the crime scene is sifted carefully, evidence gathered, theories formed, suspects identified. Grieving families want answers. The community wants answers. Law enforcement wants answers. But if the answers don’t turn up pretty quickly, the case can grow cold, leaving everyone unsatisfied.

S.1 Ep.16: The Murder in New Concord Apr 14, 2019

Striking out at the beginning of a college education marks many firsts for late teens. It’s the beginning of independence, and likely the first extended period away from family and a familiar home environment. Its the beginning of true responsibility for your own life. It marks the start of the sobering reality of necessary debt. Along with these newfound freedoms comes an adjustment to the consequences of those freedoms. And sometimes the consequences are deadly.

S.1 Ep.15: The Murders in Pedro Mar 31, 2019

In a calm and sparsely populated corner of southeastern Ohio, newlyweds Stacey and Todd Holston are starting out their lives together in a tiny mobile home. On an October day much like any other, a trusted relative brings husband, wife, son, stepson, and mother and father in law together in that small trailer, and shatters a young family’s promising future forever.

S.1 Ep.14: The Murder in Barberton Mar 10, 2019

Domestic abuse takes many forms, and sometimes it’s not easy to know which spouse is the abuser, especially when a couple is known to fight it out in regular quarrels. When one or the other is pushed to murder, and the killer decides to hide the evidence, the solution to that age old problem can take a gruesome turn, as is clear in episode 14: The Murder in Barberton.

S.1 Ep.13: The Murders in Bellaire Feb 24, 2019

Any murder in a small town is especially unsettling. But what if a murder in your town was soon followed by the news that your name may be on a list of the next victims of a ritual sacrifice? Just such a scenario played on in Bellaire, Ohio in 1995, causing widespread alarm and decades of caution.
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We Made a Promo! Feb 13, 2019

S.1 Ep.12: The Murders In Logan Feb 11, 2019

When a young couple, planning a life together turn up missing after a quiet walk in the autumn woods, who is to blame? And what did freaky crosses and nude photos have to do with it? Was it a case of Satanic Panic? Or was it a simple crime of opportunity? In Episode 12 of A State of Perfect balance, we visit a farm in Logan, a small town in southeastern Ohio, to follow suspicious behavior, rapid justice, and the mystery of a missing couple in love.

S.1 Ep.11: The Murder in Hamilton Jan 28, 2019

In the case of James Allen Ponder, of Hamilton, Ohio, the only thing we’re really left with is questions, with no answers to be found. “Closure,” something families desperately seek when someone they love is taken violently from them, is an elusive thing in the best of circumstances. When the killer and the victim are both close family members, and there are no answers to the big fat “why,” everyone is left feeling tormented and adrift.
James Ponder was 71 years old. He enjoyed many of the things in life that other men his age did. The only thing that seems to stand out, is the way his life ended. This is his story.

S.1 Ep. 10: The Murder in Apple Creek Jan 14, 2019

Amish Country is a land of simplicity and quiet. Horses, buggies, and bonnets. Reverence and respect. Hand crafted furniture, and a life far removed from everything modern. It was the life Barbara Weaver desired and expected. No one, least of all Barbara, could have foretold the life she found herself in, with a sex-obsessed, porn surfing, discontented husband bent on getting rid of her. Amish Country may not be what it seems. It’s trysts with random hookups in the barn, mystified neighbors, plotting lovers and murder, in Episode Ten, of the State of Perfect Balance.

S.1 Ep.9: The Murder in Bay Village Dec 27, 2018

Some murder cases capture the attention of the public in a way that seems disproportionate. All murders are terrible, of course. All of them cut short a valuable life and bring sudden tragedy and emotional agony to the families of the victims, and all of them deserve our respectful attention as the killers are brought to justice.
Before the time of television, or even radio, murder cases would sometimes become the focus of breathless national attention. This episode of The State of Perfect Balance is centered around what was once such a case.

S.1 Ep.8: The Murder in Blue Ash Dec 02, 2018

The relationships we form, especially romantic relationships, occupy a special place in our emotional lives. We choose our friends and we choose our romantic partners, and hopefully they are people who will care about us in return, look out for us, and be there when we need them. But what happens when the dark side that lives within us all comes to the surface?

S.1 Ep.7: The Murder in Urbana Nov 18, 2018

A poorly written horror story, a disturbed teenaged boy, a self-diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and that's only the beginning! Join us for a doozie of a story in episode 7 of The State of Perfect Balance.

S.1 Ep. 6: The Murder in Shaker Heights Nov 12, 2018

This episode involves a couple of young boys, a screwy, sex-obsessed mother, protective snobbery and more than a few family secrets. Six people come together in mid 1960s suburbia in a bizarre tale ending in a calculated, tragic and heartless murder. They are the Young and Colby families, and this is their story.

S.1 Ep. 5: The Murders in Mount Vernon Nov 06, 2018

We tend to think of ourselves in danger of assault by strangers: We fear Someone entering our home in the dark of night with evil intent. But what do you do if that evil intent comes from someone you know and love?

A Message to Our Supporters Nov 05, 2018

Please stick with us. Come back on Tuesday, November 6th! And don't forget to vote!

S1. Ep.4: The Murders in Yellowsprings Oct 29, 2018

You can do everything right, contribute to your community, and be well liked and admired. You can avoid the pitfalls of life, and concentrate on family and friends. Yet, in the darkness of anger stemming from the smallest of disappointments, may still find a fateful appointment with evil intent. Listen to the story of good friends Skip and Sherri, in episode four of A State of Perfect Balance.

S.1 Ep. 3 (part two): The Murders in Ashland Oct 21, 2018

The conclusion of the unbelivable story of Ashland, Ohio's serial killer, Shawn Grate.

S.1 Ep. 3 (part one): The Murders in Ashland Oct 14, 2018

There are killers, and then there are those who take the lives of others in such a monstrous way as to make any reasonable person wonder how it’s even possible. Not just murder, but deception, trapping, torture, rape, violent death, and then even after death, continuing morbidity. Could this kind of appalling deprivation occur in a small Ohio town? Absolutely. This is part one of a two part story.

S.1 Ep. 2: The Murder in Cuyahoga Falls Oct 07, 2018

When Amanda Russell began a romantic relationship in her mid 30s, she coundn't know the hidden background her new boyfriend brought with him. When she found it necessary to break things off, that background soon came horrifically to life and invaded every aspect of her own world, and the lives of her family.
What happens when we take every possible step to protect ourselves, but we aren't protected at all?

S1. Ep.1: The Murders in Strasburg Sep 29, 2018

In a quiet Ohio village where the nearest grocery store is five miles away and the school gymnasium is packed for the third grade Christmas pageant, an elderly couple tries to get a few hours' sleep before driving their son to the airport the next morning. When they fail to show up, their family begins to worry.

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