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Those They Left Behind: The Victims of Roy Melanson Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

Michele Wallace was a freelance photographer who disappeared hiking in Colorado in 1974. She was a free spirit, a pretty and adventurous 25-year old woman with long dark hair she wore in two thick braids.

It was late August when Michele told her parents she was going on a backpacking trip with her dog in the Rocky Mountains. Many parents would have been worried, but Michele was an experienced traveler. Her parents trusted her to be safe.

But smooth-talking deviant Roy Melanson was unlike any predator Michele had ever encountered before. When she found herself alone in her car with him, her fate was sealed. Melanson had a history of abducting and raping women. And Michele would not be the first woman he murdered.

It took nearly 20-years for investigators to get justice for Michele after a new detective and new evidence came into the picture. When Melanson was captured for Michele’s cold case, his DNA was entered into CODIS, helping to solve other murders across the country.

Join us at the quiet end today as we discuss the disappearance and murder of Michele Wallace and how solving her murder led to taking a dangerous man off the streets and solving another 1974 cold case murder, that of 51-year old Anita Andrews.

Bathtub Girls: A Story of Matricide Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

When two teenaged sisters were arrested for murdering their 43-year old mother in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, the community was shocked. Shock was followed by outrage when it came out that many of their friends had been aware of the murder plot. Some had even offered advice on the best way to kill their mother and get away with it.

Canadian law has supported treating minors guilty of serious crimes differently from their adult counterparts. As a result, the young killers served short sentences and their privacy has been protected. The hope with this treatment is that young offenders can be reintegrated into society and contribute in a positive way.

Despite the court’s ruling to keep their real names a secret, their names are searchable online. For this discussion, however, we had decided to use the pseudonyms used by Toronto Star Journalist Bob Mitchell.

Join us at the quiet end today as we talk about the cold-blooded murder of Linda Anderson by her daughters, Sandra and Beth. In addition to the dysfunctional family relationships in the Andersen family, we hope to examine the psychology behind the girls’ friends who chose to keep quiet and, in some cases, help out.

Into Clinton Lake: The Amanda Hamm Story Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

When Amanda Hamm’s three young children drowned in Clinton lake in 2003, the incident was compared to the Susan Smith case. Amanda and her live-in boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone Jr., were in the front seat of Amanda’s 1997 Cutlass when it went into the lake from the boat ramp. Amanda and Maurice escaped the shallow water, leaving the children behind.

Parents who heard this tragic story reacted with sadness and anger. They all believed that they would have died before they would have left their child under water. How was is possible for two adults to save themselves and call 911 without saving even one child?

Join us at the quiet end today for Into Clinton Lake, the story of single mother Amanda Hamm and the tragic deaths of her children Christopher Hamm, Austin Brown, and Kayleigh Hamm. People in Amanda’s hometown of Clinton speculated that the drownings were a planned attempt to murder the children, despite Amanda’s claims to the contrary. Both Amanda and Maurice’s histories made them unsympathetic to the public, as did their behavior afterwards, leaving them open to public disdain and prosecution.

https://www.madison-reed.com

Disassociated: Christian Longo Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

Christian Michael Longo was married at age nineteen and was a father of three by the time he was twenty-six. Originally from Michigan and raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Longo did not adapt well to his life as a husband and father. His wife, MaryJane, stayed home with their children while Longo was expected to provide for their family. But he quickly turned to a life of crime.

After getting into trouble for check fraud, Longo took his family on the run in a stolen minivan. But after promising to turn over a new leaf, Longo continued to steal and scam for money.

The Longo family moved from Michigan to Ohio to Oregon. Then their four-year old son Zachary and three-year old daughter Sadie were found dead in the waters of Lint Slough. The bodies of MaryJane and their infant daughter Madison were recovered days later.

Join us at the quiet end today for the story of a young family destroyed by the evil acts of compulsive liar and manipulator Christian Longo. The lives of this young family started out with hopes and aspirations but ended in tragedy and despair. The only one left to explain what happened was the one who could never be trusted or believed, but we can debate causations and examine missed opportunities in our efforts to understand the murders of MaryJane, Zachary, Sadie, and Madison Longo.

The Suitcase Murder Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

Bill and Melanie McGuire were an attractive couple in their thirties. They had two young sons, two successful careers, and they had just closed on a $500,000 home when Bill disappeared. Melanie told their friends that they had fought on the night they had closed on their new home. Bill had physically attacked her and walked out, telling her that he was done with her.

Bill didn’t seem like the type of guy who would hit his wife and leave his children behind. But Melanie insisted that he had hit her and walked out on his family. She even went to court and took out a restraining order against him.

As the days passed and no one heard from Bill, Melanie appeared to be moving on with her life without him. But Bill’s family and friends worried. Bill had been a gambler. Maybe he had pissed off the wrong people.

Then a bizarre news story got everyone’s attention. First, a Kenneth Cole suitcase was found in Virginia Beach. It contained a pair of bloodless male human legs which had been severed at the knees.

One week later, Virginia Beach police recovered a second suitcase that was part of the same Kenneth Cole set. It held a five-pound weight, black trash bags, and more human remains. This time, it was a man’s head and torso. But who this man was and when he had been killed were still unknown.

The third and last suitcase was recovered within two weeks. It contained the man’s hips and thighs. Virginia Beach police launched an intensive investigation to identify the victim and identified him as Bill McGuire.

Join us at the quiet end today for a haunting case that became known as The Suitcase Murder. Well-respected fertility nurse Melanie McGuire was accused of her husband’s murder and dismemberment and she faced life in prison. Although her attorney would argue her innocence, a complex unravelling of the facts would reveal a twisted murder plot which grew from infidelity, greed, and hate.

A Serial Killer in Paradise Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

The disappearance of 53-year old Cher Hughes from her paradise-like home set off an investigation that led to the search for a serial killer in Panama in 2010. Cher had moved with her husband Keith to Bocas del Toro, Panama, to live out her dream on their own private island. But, after she and Keith separated, Cher was gone and an eccentric neighbor had taken over her property.

It turned out that Cheryl was not the only missing person in the area. Someone was killing Americans in Panama and taking possession of their property. When all was said and done, six Americans had been killed. When the killer’s home was searched, police found stolen checkbooks, ATM cards, jewelry, purses, gun ammunition, and gold dental fillings and crowns in a glass jar.

William Holbert, a North Carolina native known to his victims as Wild Bill Cortez, had become well known among the Boca ex-patriots. After an American family of three disappeared from the area, Bill and his wife had moved into their home and converted a boathouse into a private bar they called “The Jolly Roger Social Club.” The bar was decorated with a skull and crossbones flag and it was opened for partying every weekend.

But as disappearances piled up, neighbors decided that there was something wrong. The police came in and discovered bodies buried in shallow graves. But Wild Bill and his wife were already on the run. They fled through Costa Rica and were finally captured on the Nicaraguan border.

Join us at the quiet end for this stunning tale of theft, murder and real estate fraud. After being extradited to Panama, Wild Bill confessed to his crimes but showed little remorse for all of the pain he had caused. He would explain what he did and how he did it but the question of why will forever haunt the loved ones of his victims.

Nebraska Joyride: The Murders of Sharmon & Wayne Stock Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

After middle-aged couple Wayne and Sharmon Stock were brutally killed in their Nebraska farmhouse, police decided that a family member was behind their murder. A nephew confessed and implicated his cousin as his accomplice. But they still needed some physical evidence.

Enter forensics investigator David Kofoed. Kofoed found a spot of blood underneath the dashboard of a car. DNA testing confirmed that the blood was Wayne Stocks’. But other evidence at the scene was not adding up.

The discovery of an engraved ring in the Stock house turned the investigation in the right direction. The ring was traced to a Wisconsin couple whose truck had been stolen with the ring inside of it. Two teenagers had stolen the truck and took it for a joyride.

Join us at the quiet end today for Nebraska Joyride. This is a fascinating case involving a false confession, two cold-blooded killers, and a forensics investigator charged with planting evidence.

The Search for Gina Renee Hall Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Gina Renee Hall experienced more pain in her 18 years than most of us do in our lifetimes. As a young child, she suffered severe burns. As a result, she went through multiple surgeries and was left with disfiguring scars.

You might think that she would have been bitter and isolated herself from the world. But Gina was a friendly, outgoing, and pretty young woman. She accepted what life had given her—dressing to hide her scars and yet always being fashionable, playing competitive sports, and attending college.

But Gina’s decision to go out dancing, and to dance with 28-year old Stephen Epperly, would lead somewhere that she couldn’t have predicted. Others who had known Stephen Epperly for years were aware of his violent past. He had been accused of rape more than once, but he was never convicted.

Epperly was the last person to see Gina alive. And blood was found in multiple locations where he had taken her. Her car was found abandoned with the trunk open. The trunk was stained with dried blood. But Gina has never been found.

In today’s True Crime Brewery, The Search for Gina Renee Hall, we will go over the details in this nearly 40-year old case. We’ll explore Epperly’s history, his story, and the extensive circumstantial evidence used to convict him in Virginia’s first “No Body” murder conviction.

The Long Island Serial Killer Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Long Island has a dark and terrible secret: the infamous Long Island Serial Killer – also known as the Gilgo Beach Killer. This still unidentified killer is responsible for the murder of over 10 women and one man, all whose remains were dumped along the Ocean Parkway.

In December of 2010, the Suffolk County Police Department was conducting a search for Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker. Shannon lived in Jersey City and she had been missing since running away from the home of a client that May. While conducting that search in the dunes of Ocean Parkway, Police Officer Mallia and his German Shephard Blue found the skeletal remains of a woman stuffed into a burlap sack. But these remains were not Shannon Gilbert’s.

The search expanded and, two days later, they uncovered three more bodies – all female – that had been dumped in the thick vegetation along the road.

The four bodies were identified within weeks. All four women were revealed to have been escorts or sex workers who had advertised their services on Craigslist. Six more sets of remains were found in March and April 2011.

As the police widened the scope of their search, they continued to find more human remains. The FBI eventually became involved and speculated that the alleged killer was someone familiar with law enforcement techniques. But finding the killer has proven been impossible. Psychologists have put together a profile and several suspects have been looked at, but the case remains unsolved.

Join us today at the quiet end for a discussion of these murders, including a heartbreaking look at the victims and what turned their lives in a direction where they became vulnerable to this serial killer.

What Happened to Mitrice Richardson? Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

Mitrice Richardson was released from the Lost Hills Sheriff department in Malibu, California, in the middle of the night without her phone, money, or transportation on September 17, 2009. She had been arrested hours earlier after behaving strangely at an upscale restaurant. She was unable to pay her dinner bill and the restaurant staff were concerned that she was mentally unstable or intoxicated.

Once in police custody, Mitrice’s mother was contacted and she was assured that they would be keeping Mitrice overnight. Her mother could pick her up in the morning. But, by morning, Mitrice had been released. Her whereabouts were unknown.

No one knew why Mitrice had driven about 40 miles from her home to the oceanside Malibu neighborhood. She had made some strange Facebook posts and had demonstrated some unusual behavior that day. When she was released after midnight, she was in an area she didn’t know, without any way to contact her family. Her car had been impounded and she was unable to retrieve it.

Mitrice’s family believed that she could have been having a mental health crisis, so her release was both negligent and dangerous. And, as time passed and Mitrice was not found, her family began to feel ignored and deceived by the Sheriff’s office and the LAPD.

Join us at the quiet end today for the story of a disoriented, young African-American woman who was left to fend for herself, in the dead of night, in the rugged terrain of the Santa Monica Mountains, and was never seen or heard from again.

What happened to Mitrice Richardson? The gaps and omissions in the Sheriff’s department’s handling of her case, as well as her family’s discoveries, welcome further investigation into the events of her disappearance.

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