True Crime Campfire

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Blaze of Glory: The Story of Cowboy Bob Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

In the early 90s, north Texas was hit with a rash of bank robberies, all featuring a quirky-looking, mustached bandit the feds called Cowboy Bob. Bob was prolific, and his MO was smoother than silk—no muss, no fuss, in and out in 60 seconds with a satchel full of cash. The FBI figured they were dealing with a pro, a man with years of heists under his belt and nerves of chilled steel. They couldn’t have been more wrong…and in more ways than one. Join us for the tale of one of America’s strangest serial bank robbers, whose criminal career wasn’t so much about the money as it was about the thrill.
Sources:
Texas Monthly, Skip Hollandsworth: https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/the-last-ride-of-cowboy-bob/
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/forbidden/cowgirl-bob
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10367955
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/may/06/bank-robber-shot-dead-in-texas/
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Patreon Upcycle: Dark Knight - The Attempted Murder of the Dillmans Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

Whitney has been sick this week, so we're giving everyone a little taste of what our Patreon-exclusive episodes are like. This one is from March 2021--the story of Grace Dillman and Robert Best, a couple of lovestruck teenagers who met in an online roleplaying game and ended up plotting bloody murder.
Want more exclusive extra episodes? Subscribe to our Patreon, at Patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-teen-boyfriend-charged-in-alleged-plot-to-kill-her-parents/
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2013/06/22/stabbing-girlfriend-s-father-nets/23766718007/
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2013/08/08/teen-gets-probation-for-plot/23977977007/
Investigation Discovery's "Web of Lies," episode "One Way Out"
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Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
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Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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Hunted: The Murder of Judy Blake Moilanen Nov 25, 2022

Show notes

Thanksgiving weekend is supposed to be a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives—especially the people we care about. Sure, you might end up in an argument or two around the dinner table, but hopefully by the time dessert comes out everybody’s over it and feelin’ lucky to be there. You wouldn’t expect, sitting around the table with the people closest to you, that one of them was biding his time, planning out your murder, step by step. Hiding death behind the smile. But that’s exactly what happened in this story. Join us for a story of lies, lust, greed, and a series of murder attempts disguised as "accidents."
Sources:
The Sweater Letter by Dave and Lynn Distel
A&E's "American Justice," episode "The Deer Hunter Murder"
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Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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G.I. Joke: The Life and Death of Lieutenant Gliniewicz Nov 18, 2022

Show notes

Joseph Campbell wrote, “It is only when a man tames his own demons that he becomes the king of himself, if not the world.” Problem is, sometimes there’s a thin line between “hero” and “hero complex.” Adoration and attention aren’t always good for people. After a while, they can start to believe so strongly in their own PR that they lose all sense of reality. And protecting the image can become the most important thing in their lives, crowding out everybody, and everything. I’d say this is the story of a fallen hero. But the fact is, he was never really a hero in the first place. He was just wearing the mask.
Join us for the story of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, or as his admirers called him, G.I. Joe--a former paratrooper and 30 year veteran of the Fox Lake, Illinois police. A local celebrity and family man who devoted his time to the Boy Scout "Police Explorers" club and maintained an impeccable reputation...until his shocking death in 2015. What initially looked like a murder--an officer cut down in the line of duty--soon revealed itself as something very different, and revealed Joe Gliniewicz to be a villain in disguise.
Sources:
https://www.fox29.com/news/disturbing-new-details-emerge-in-probe-of-disgraced-fox-lake-cop
Michael Martinez, CNN special report "The Secret Life of GI Joe"
https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/us/fox-lake-police-lt-joe-gliniewicz
ABC: https://abc7chicago.com/melodie-gliniewicz-joe-fox-lake-police-guilty/11577785/
NBC, Joe Schuppe: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-joe-gliniewiczs-dark-double-life-leaves-village-shock-n458821
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/bad-fox-lake-town-official-killed-article-1.2424992
CNBC's "American Greed," Episode "Badge of Dishonor"
Investigation Discovery's "Married With Secrets," episode "A Darker Shade of Blue"
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Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
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Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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This is Not a Joke: The Abduction of Karen Kummerer Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

Sometimes, there’s no easy way out of the dark place you find yourself in, especially if that dark place puts you under the control of someone stronger than you, someone dangerous and unpredictable. And as much as you might fantasize about action-movie struggles and daring escapes, there are other ways to fight back. You can use your smarts and your courage to decide on a course of action that’ll give you the best chance of survival, and stick to it no matter what. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is just keep going. Join us for an amazing story of stalking, obsession, rage...and incredible courage.
Sources:
Investigation Discovery's "House of Horrors," episode "Terror By the Letter"
Investigation Discovery's "Escaped," episode "Obsessed Kidnapper"
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/house-of-horrors-kidnapped/terror-by-the-letter
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/escaped/obsessed-kidnapper
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1142978.html
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2007-11-21-cfbriefs21-3-story.html
https://www.naag.org/attorney-general-journal/an-update-on-the-legal-landscape-of-revenge-porn/#:~:text=In%202017%2C%20the%20number%20of,an%20increase%20of%20over%20100%25.&text=In%202019%2C%20a%20larger%20study,number%20of%20victims%20from%202016.
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Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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Amazon Music Presents MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark, and Mysterious Stories Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

A hiker terrorized for days by two unknown figures… A man stalked through the woods while camping, who barely escaped with his life… two cops who quit their job at a local theater because of unexplained encounters with an alleged demon…
These are just some of the unbelievable cases you’ll hear on the MrBallen Podcast on Amazon Music. Each week you’ll get new inexplicable encounters, shocking disappearances and other strange, dark and mysterious stories.
Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, MRBALLEN PODCAST: STRANGE, DARK & MYSTERIOUS STORIES, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today: www.amazon.com/BALL_us_pfd_AA_110122
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Crash: The Murder of Brittney Brashers Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Y’know, between Hollywood, books and TV, humans have got some pretty weird ideas about romantic love. If she turns you down, keep at her—make a grand romantic gesture to let her know you’re not goin’ away! If he’s jealous, it just means he really loves you. If he doesn’t want you dressing sexy, it’s just because he’s protective. Okay, we might fight all the time, but that’s just because we’re passionate. REAL love is like that, you know. Sure it's a little suffocating sometimes when she wants me to spend every spare minute with her—sure I’m losing touch with some of my friends, but I mean…I’m the only good thing in her life! I can’t leave her like everybody else in her life always has. Any of this sound familiar? Yeah, I figured. This stuff can play out in a lot of different ways, of course. Not every story like this is gonna end in murder. But this one does.
Join us for the story of Brittney Brashers, a beautiful young Iraq War veteran and athlete who had her whole life ahead of her--until she met Robbie Walters, whose charming and funny exterior hid a heart full of poison.
Sources:
CBS "48 Hours," Episode "Collision Course"
https://www.westword.com/news/a-veteran-charged-with-killing-his-girlfriend-robert-walters-also-put-a-hit-on-his-wife-say-police-5113439?showFullText=true
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/investigating-the-death-of-brittney-brashers/17/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/was-young-airmans-death-a-tragic-accident-or-murder/
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Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
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Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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Amazon Music Presents SUSPECT: Vanished in the Snow Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

For more than three and a half decades, the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews was a mystery – a riddle neither authorities nor her family members could solve. The residents of her cloistered Colorado hometown had scoured every inch of prairie. Jonelle’s face had been on milk cartons nationwide. Even the President of the United States had appealed to the public for help. Still, every lead had fizzled. Every person of interest had turned out to be a dead end.
Then, in 2019, Jonelle’s remains were unearthed near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. With the discovery came a troubling new question: Had the truth been hiding in plain sight the entire time? Was the man who couldn’t stop obsessing over Jonelle’s disappearance also the person who took her? From Campside Media and Wondery comes season two of SUSPECT. Former CNN reporter Ashley Fantz and executive producers Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (Suspect, Over My Dead Body) dig into one of the most mind-bending cold cases in modern history, in an attempt to separate fact and fiction, compulsion from guilt, and true-crime fandom from a motive for murder.
Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, SUSPECT: Vanished in the Snow, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today. http://www.amazon.com/SUS_us_pfd_AA_110122.
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Buried: The Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

If you’re a parent, then you’ve probably spent a lot of time imagining nightmare scenarios for your kids. Y’know, you lose sight of them in Target for a couple of minutes, your mind starts to go in all kinds of awful directions. You’re careful about who they spend time with, you watch what they’re up to online. You make sure they know they can talk to you about anything. But the raw fact is, you can’t keep your kids in a bubble. You can wall off all the obvious angles of attack, but sometimes the danger comes completely out of nowhere. Sometimes, the threat is something nobody could have ever seen coming. Join us for the story of one of California's most startling crimes--the abduction of an entire bus full of children, and their driver.
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/18/frederick-woods-kidnapped-school-bus-children-parole/10356066002/
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/house-of-horrors-kidnapped/buried-alive
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/48-hours-live-to-tell-the-chowchilla-kidnapping-2020/#x
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/us/ed-ray-bus-driver-who-helped-save-kidnapped-children-dies-at-91.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/23/archives/quarry-owners-son-called-a-loner-fond-of-old-cars.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/05/archives/a-puzzling-portrait-of-key-coast-kidnapping-suspect.html
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Buried-Memories-Twenty-years-after-three-men-3773683.php
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/30/archives/new-jersey-pages-2-fugitives-seized-in-the-abduction-of-26-children.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/chowchilla-kidnapping-parole.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/11/12/healthtalk-children-and-the-aftermath-of-trauma/409ebd0c-10bf-46e7-af42-4a2dff32d3e6/
Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
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Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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Show Girl: Bad Bitch Marjorie Orbin Oct 21, 2022

Show notes

There’s a phenomenon in psychology called decentering. Basically, it means understanding that you’re viewing the world through your own little perceptual filters, and beginning to wrap your head around the fact that you are not, in fact, the center of the universe—the main character in the movie of the world. This is important stuff. Without it, people tend to be, at best, selfish a-holes, and at worst—well, we’re about to find out. Join us for the story of one of Arizona’s most disturbing murder mysteries—a tale of greed, glamour, and a woman, Marjorie Orbin, who was incapable of seeing herself as anything else but a star.
Sources:
Book, "Dancing With Death” by Shanna Hogan
CBS's 48 Hours: Hard Evidence, Episode “Diary of a Showgirl”
Oxygen's Snapped, Season 12 Episode 10, “Marjorie Orbin”
Investigation Discovery's Scorned: Love Kills, Season 1 Episode 6, “The Showgirl and The Salesman”
Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
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Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com
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