True Crime Brewery

Latest Episodes:

The Hart Family Tragedy Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

The life portrayed on social media by Jennifer Hart seemed perfect. She and her wife, Sarah, were a progressive and loving couple with six adopted black children. Pictures on Facebook showed two moms giving their disadvantaged children a better life. Never mind that the pictures looked posed and the children were rail thin.

Real life for the Hart children was far from perfect. A trail of abuse followed the family from Minnesota, to Oregon, to Washington, until Jennifer Hart drove the family’s SUV off a California cliff.

Join us at the quiet end for The Hart Family Tragedy. This case is a disturbing example of unchecked child abuse, failures in the foster care and adoption system, and a society that doesn’t always value children enough to intervene on their behalf. In the final analysis, Jen and Sarah Hart were responsible for the children’s deaths, but that doesn’t mean that there was no way the tragedy could have been prevented.

Join Tiegrabber for ad-free and bonus episodes!

Shop TCB merch

Phoebe’s Fall: The Unexplained Death of Phoebe Handsjuk Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

On December 2, 2010, 24-year-old Phoebe Handsjuk was found dead on the floor of her apartment building’s garbage compactor room. Her death was slow and painful as she bled to death, alone and in pain, on the dirty floor. Now, nearly 10 years have passed, and her family is still searching for answers.

This was a strange way to die. How and why Phoebe died that day has become a complex narrative of alcohol and drug abuse, domestic discord, police incompetence, and alleged cover-ups.

Join us at the quiet end for Phoebe’s Fall. This is the story of a vibrant but troubled young woman whose violent death has left a veil of sadness, frustration and suspicion over everyone who knew her.

Become a Tiegrabber & get ad free & bonus episodes!

The Case Against Wendi Mae Davidson May 26, 2020

Show notes

Wendi Mae Davidson excelled in school and succeeded in her career, but her personal life was always a mess. Wendi had a habit of either choosing the wrong men or sabotaging her relationships. Unfortunately, her parents enabled her unstable and selfish behavior.

After two unplanned pregnancies, Wendi married 24-year old Air Force officer Michael Severance. Mike was a nice guy, less educated than Wendi, but hard-working and responsible. For a while, it seemed like the marriage could work. Then, just one day before they were due to visit Mike’s family on the other side of the country, Mike vanished.

Join us at the quiet end for The Case Against Wendi Mae Davidson. It would take months for investigators to find Mike, but analysis of Wendi’s internet searches and GPS tracking of her vehicle would lead to her arrest.

Be a Tiegrabber & say goodbye to ads!

Indecency: The Murders of Lesley Howell & Trevor Buchanan May 19, 2020

Show notes

In a small, quiet seaside town in 1991, the bodies of young nurse Lesley Howell and police officer, Trevor Buchanan, were found in a car filled with carbon monoxide. Lesley wore headphones playing her favorite Christian music. She was surrounded by family photos. These deaths stunned the community and broke the hearts of family members. What would cause these devout Baptists and parents of young children to take their own lives?

Lesley and Trevor did have one common struggle: Their spouses were involved in a lengthy love affair. Both deeply religious, Lesley’s husband Colin played his role as a family man and a well-liked dentist while Hazel Buchanan lived her life as a teacher, a wife and a mother. But they were living a lie.

The depravity and hypocrisy of this affair was a painful reality for Lesley and Trevor, but not everyone was convinced that they had resorted to a suicide pact. Not until a surprise confession nearly twenty years later would the horrible truth come to light.

Join us at the quiet end for Indecency. Infidelity is not a crime, but what this affair led to was one of the most twisted and memorable crimes in Ireland’s history.

Be a Tiegrabber

The Pretender: Dean Faiello May 12, 2020

Show notes

Maria Cruz was a perfect example of the American dream fulfilled. Growing up in the Philippines, she moved to New York in 1992, received her M.B.A. from Fordham University, and took a job as a senior credit analyst.

On Palm Sunday, April 13, 2003, Maria attended mass at St. Malachy’s Church. She stopped by her office that afternoon, excited about an appointment she had later that day for a cosmetic laser procedure.

When Maria didn’t show up for work that Monday or Tuesday, everyone agreed that it was not like her to miss work without calling. On Wednesday, the police were called to her apartment, but there was no sign of Maria. It would take months before detectives searched her emails and ran a check on her laser specialist, Dean Faiello, uncovering his lengthy criminal history.

Join us at the quiet end for The Pretender. Dean Faiello had looks, intelligence, and charm, but Maria’s disappearance would reveal that he lacked a conscience.

Be a Tiegrabber

Read “Under the Knife”

Eight Million Reasons to Kill: The Ewell Family Murders May 05, 2020

Show notes

Dale Ewell worked hard to give his children all of the advantages he didn’t have as a child. His wife, Glee, provided a loving home, staying home with their daughter Tiffany and son Dana, showering them with attention as well as possessions.

Growing up with every advantage, Dana Ewell didn’t appreciate what he was given. He always wanted more. He didn’t inherit his parents’ strong work ethic, but wanted everything handed to him, all the while acting like he was a successful businessman in his own right.

On April 19^th, 1992, the Ewell’s home was robbed. Two days later, the housekeeper found the house torn apart, with three dead bodies sprawled across the floors. Join us at the quiet end for Eight Million Reasons to Kill. We all want to give our children the best things in life, but this may have backfired for Glee and Dale Ewell.

Until Death: The Crimes of Raynella Leath Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

When things didn’t go the way Raynella Leath wanted, she could be calculating and vicious. But she could also be quite charming. After attempting to kill a man who considered her a friend, and after two husbands died suspicious deaths, the people where she lived in Solway, Tennessee wondered about Raynella. Many feared her and even warned others not to cross her.

Raynella is a grandmother, formally married to a state prosecutor. She is well-off, well-educated, and a former director of nursing. It took years for her to go to trial for murder but, despite a conviction, she is now a free woman.

Join us at the quiet end for Until Death, a complex story of a justice system influenced by money and privilege and a woman who may had gotten away with murder twice.

Get Members-Only Ad-free episodes

Read Her Deadly Web by Dianne Fanning

Hunger: The Starvation Heights Murders Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

With little medical training and no scientific basis for her treatments, Dr. Linda Hazzard was able to attract many wealthy clients to her Institute of Natural Therapeutics in Olalla, Washington. Dorothea and Claire Williamson, wealthy sisters from England, read Dr. Hazzard’s book “Fasting for the Cure of Disease” and believed it was their path to true health.

Two months after starting treatment, Dorothea and Claire each weighed about 70 pounds. By the time family members were summoned to the institute, Claire was dead and Dorothea weighed 50 pounds. She was unable to care for herself as she endured starvation, daily enemas and beatings. In addition, Dr. Hazzard had been appointed the executor of Claire’s estate and the legal guardian of Dorothea. Investigations revealed that Dr. Hazzard was responsible for the deaths of many of her patients.

Join us at the quiet end for a story of greed and sadism in a time when pseudoscience and questionable medical practices thrived. In today’s episode, Hunger, we will try to understand the mentality that led otherwise sensible people to believe in Dr. Hazzard, even as she slowly killed them.

Get Members-Only Ad-free episodes

Read Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

The Girl Who Loved to Dance Apr 14, 2020

Show notes

Kim Barry loved to dance and she had plans to train as a nurse. Living with her parents in a suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, she cared for disabled children in preparation for her future career.

On Friday night, February 6, 1981, Kim’s parents left town overnight, leaving her in charge of her little brother. Kim was usually very responsible, but she also wanted to enjoy her freedom that night. After going to a movie with a girlfriend, the two girls headed to the local disco. Her friend left early, but Kim stayed on to dance and drink some wine. She was last seen chatting with a man named Graham Potter.

Join us at the quiet end for The Girl Who Loved to Dance. Kim was a kind girl with simple dreams of a nursing career and a family of her own, until one night of freedom put her into the hands of a killer.

Anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of Graham Gene Potter is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au

Get ad-free TCB episodes

Leave us a review on iTunes

Finding Amy St. Laurent Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

Amy St. Laurent went out on a Saturday night and seemed to vanish into thin air. As parents, this is our worst nightmare. Amy was a sensible, smart young woman who knew how to take care of herself, but one bad choice put her into the path of a violent predator.

In the search for Amy, detectives had to deal with uncooperative witnesses, inaccurate stories, and a suspect who wove a complex web of lies. As time passed with no sign of Amy, her family had to accept a terrible fact: Amy was never coming home.

Join us at the quiet end for Finding Amy St. Laurent. What happened to Amy is, tragically, something that happens all too often. Sometimes, a monster presents himself as a charming and fun guy while out in the public eye. Then, when he isolates his victim and his violent and murderous true self emerges, it is too late to escape.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected