True Crime Creepers

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The Fraud of Rita Crundwell Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

Rita Crundwell was living the high life. In 2011, she was a big deal on the quarter horse circuit; she had 52 world championships under her belt, and ran one of the best known quarter horse breeding operations in the country. She was incredibly successful, and it showed. She owned multiple homes, multiple cars. She had a $2 million dollar motor coach she used to take her to her horse competitions, and a $250,000 horse trailer to tow the horses. She was living a life of luxury, with her furs and her jewels.

She also just so happened to be the treasurer for the small city of Dixon, Illinois. And the city's finances were in much worse shape than hers.

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Sources:

Chicago Magazine | Remember Rita? Documentary Digs Into Illinois' Most Interesting Embezzlement (Bryan Smith)

Fraud Magazine | Dixon's Quiet Hero (Dick Carozza)

Wikipedia | Rita Crundwell

Documentaries

All The Queen’s Horses

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The Murder of Sarah Stern Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

It was in the early morning hours of Saturday, December 3, 2016 when 19 year old Sarah Stern's car was found abandoned on a bridge in New Jersey. The car was reported by a few passers-by, and when police responded they could see the car wasn't damaged in any way, it had just been left abandoned, keys still inside. It appeared to be a suicide, but as police spoke with Sarah's friends, the possibility that she'd run off to Canada seemed to be likely. It wasn't until a big break in the case that police realized things were much more sinister than that.

Sources:

NJ.COM | Family searching for Sarah Stern found her Suspected Killer’s phone. Turns Out He Dropped it at the Crime Scene

App. | Sarah Stern Murder: The 5 Most Disturbing Quotes from Confession Video (Kala Kachmar)

App. | Sarah Stern Murder: A Shooting Star Text to her Dad, and Then Forever Silence (Kathleen Hopkins)

Heavy | Anthony Curry: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

NJ Courts | State of New Jersey VS. Preston O. Taylor

App. | Sarah Stern Murder Trial: Small Details Led to Liam McAtasney's Conviction (Kathleen Hopkins)

App. | Sarah Stern Murder Trial : What Happened Each Day (Kathleen Hopkins)

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Faceless

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The Murder of Ashley Ellerin Sep 22, 2022

Show notes

Ashley Ellerin was loving her life in Hollywood, California. She was a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and she loved taking advantage of the Hollywood nightlife. She had a large social circle that included celebrities, and was pursuing a modeling job herself. But on February 21, 2001, as she got ready for a date, Ashley was viciously murdered inside her own home. Robbery was ruled out as a possible motive, as was sexual assault. Police couldn't figure out why someone would have wanted to hurt her. And then investigators got a call from detectives in Chicago, who were investigating a murder a lot like Ashley's. And as they investigated further, more victims were uncovered.

Sources:

Radar Online | Ashton Kutcher's Murdered Ex Dated Actor & 4 Other Men Before Death, Roommate Claims

USA Today | AshtonKutcher Testifies He Knocked on Slain Woman's Door: 'I Was Freaking Out'

Crimestory | The Challenges of Defending the Alleged “Hollywood Ripper” (Chris Tarricone)

Oxygen | Who Was Tricia Pacaccio, The ‘Hollywood Ripper’ Michael Gargiulo's First Alleged Victim? (Gina Tron)

CBS News | Ashton Kutcher is "Star Witness" for Accused Serial Killer, Defense Lawyer Says

]CBS News | The Hollywood Ripper: How "48 Hours" Helped Crack the Case of Convicted Serial Killer Michael Gargiulo (Maureen Maher)

CBS News | Michael Gargiulo: The serial killer next door? (Josh Gelman and Doug Longhini)

E! News | The Chilling Details of the Murder of Ashley Ellerin and the "Hollywood Ripper" Trial (Natalie Finn)

Crimestory | Fishing for Clickbait (Chris Tarricone)

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The Murder of Dru Sjodin Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

Just before Thanksgiving of 2003, Dru Sjodin was living her best life at the University of North Dakota. She'd just finished a shift at her job at Victoria's Secret and then did a little Christmas shopping at the mall. She was on the phone with her boyfriend as she walked to her car in the parking lot, when suddenly the call was disconnected. Her boyfriend figured the call had dropped, but when she still hadn't shown up at her second job several hours later, her friends and family began to worry. When she still hadn't returned that night, it was all hands on deck to find her.

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Sources:

Articles

CNN | Rodriguez Victim Tipped Police in Sjodin Case

Wikipedia | Murder of Dru Sjodin

Travel Weekly | Remembering Dru Sjodin (Alan Fredericks)

Legacy Obituaries | Dru Sjodin

Inforum | Dru Sjodin Obituary

Grand Forks Herald | Farewell, Dru (Steve Lee)

The Dickson Press | 15 Years Later, Memory of Dru Sjodin Lives On

UND Blog | The North Dakota Clothesline Project and Take

Back the Night Rally return to UND’s Memorial Union this Week

Perham Focus | Dru is Not Forgotten: Linda Walker,

Sjodin's Mother, Urges Students to Help End Violence

Inforum | Alfonso Rodriguez's Intellectual Disability Did

Not Play a Role in Overturning Death Sentence (April Baumgarten)

Shows

On the Case with Paula Zahn: Season 8, episode 10

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The Whitaker Family Murders Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

The Whitaker family was in celebration mode - their oldest son, Thomas "Bart" Whitaker, had just finished his final exam at Sam Houston State University, he'd soon be walking the stage, and his parents, Tricia and Kent, and brother, Kevin, were so excited for him. They all went to dinner at Pappadeaux's restaurant near Sugar Land, Texas to celebrate, but when they got back home from dinner, their night turned into a horror show. As the family started filing into their home, a masked intruder inside began shooting them one by one.

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Sources:

Articles

Texas District & County Attorney's Association | A Most Unusual Suspect (Jeff Strange)

CBS News | Texas Man Targeted by a Hitman Fights for the Life of the Person Who Ordered the Murder – His Son (Peter Van Sant)

ABC News | Murder in the Family: 'I Wanted Them Dead' (Harry Phillips & Elissa Stohler)

Forensic Files Now | Bart Whitaker: Relative Tragedy

ABC News | 'Murder by Family': Read Shocking Excerpt

The Houston Chronicle | Whitaker Lawyer Attacks Credibility of Witness (Eric Hansen)

ABC News | 'Sugar Land' Culprit Made New Life in Mexico (Denise Martinez-Ramundo & Harry Phillips)

Wikipedia | Thomas Bartlett Whitaker

Medium | The Whitaker Family Murders of Sugar Land, Texas

Video

YouTube | 911: The Sugar Land Conspiracy

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The Death of Valerie McDaniel Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

When Valerie McDaniel met Leon Jacob, it was not love at first sight. She found him arrogant, but was drawn to him somehow. She'd gone through a recent divorce, ending a 17 year marriage from her husband Mack McDaniel, and Leon had also recently ended a relationship. Valerie felt like they were just what the other needed. What she didn't know was that Leon had unresolved stalking charges on his ex-girlfriend, Meghan Verikas, and he was willing to do whatever he had to to make sure those charges went away.

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The Kidnapping of Beverly Carter Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Beverly Carter was one of the top real estate agents in Little Rock, Arkansas. She loved her job, but over the past several years crime against real estate agents had been rising, and she was taking her safety seriously. She never went to a showing without letting her husband, Carl, know where she'd be, and she even had a secret code with the other agents in the office so they could let each other know if they were in trouble. But even with the precautions she took, one night, Beverly never came home from a showing. When Carl went to the property to look for her, he found her car with her purse still in the front seat, but no sign of Beverly anywhere.

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Sources:

Articles

Court Listener | Lewis v. State, 2017 Ark. 211

Arkansas Online | Realtor Murder

The Beverly Carter Foundation

KATV | Arron Lewis Found Guilty in Beverly Carter Murder Trial (Sarah Chaffin)

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | Convicted Killer Arron Lewis Loses Case Over Prison Guard's Alleged Punch (Dale Ellis)

Heavy | Arron Lewis Arrested: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know (Paul Farrell)

FOX 16 | Little Rock Police Summary on Arrest of Arron Lewis

KATV | Evidence Collected at Arron Lewis' Home and Car Thrown Out in Realtor Slaying Case (Elicia Dover)

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | Realtor Death Suspect to Act as Own Lawyer (John Lynch)

Find A Grave | Christopher Brian Carter

Videos

YouTube | Lifetime: Criminal Sends TEXTS to Family While Mom Is Missing

YouTube | The Beverly Carter Story

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The Murder of Lisa Techel Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

Lisa Marie Techel and her husband, Seth Techel, were high school sweethearts. They married young, both with aspirations of going into law enforcement. Lisa wanted to be like her father, Todd Caldwell, who worked for the sheriff's department in their small town in Iowa. But those dreams came crashing down one morning when Seth said he heard a gunshot go off while he was in the shower. He jumped out of the shower and raced to where Lisa was sleeping in their bedroom to see that she'd been shot in the side. She was dead, and Seth was certain he knew who had done this: their neighbor, Brian Tate.

Sources

Articles:

Iowa Courts | Court of Appeals - State of Iowa v. Seth Andrew Techel

KTVO Local News | Prosecution Shows Photos of Dead Wife

Doc Player | State of Iowa v. Seth Andrew Techel

Ottumwa Courier | Lisa Techel Obituary

Shows:

Dateline | Season 23, Episode 1 – “Before Dawn”

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The Murder of Blake and Mary Jo Hadley Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

The Hadleys lived in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a town that was not built with teenagers in mind. There was only one movie theater but seven funeral homes, and the mall was pretty far away. There wasn't much to do, but on Saturday, July 16, 2011, the teenagers of Port St. Lucie had big plans - Tyler Hadley was throwing a party. No one could believe that Tyler's parents would let him throw a party - he'd been in a lot of trouble recently, and they were strict. But Tyler insisted - the party was on.

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Sources

Rolling Stone | Tyler Hadley's Killer Party (Nathaniel Rich)

Jim Fisher True Crime Blog | Tyler Hadley

Expert Institute | Judge Ignores Expert Witness Testimony in Sentencing Hearing (Michael Morgenstern)

CNN | Florida Man Pleads No Contest in Hammer Slayings of Parents (Jason Hanna)

Wikipedia | Murder of Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley

Broward Palm Beach New Times | Police Release Brutal Details of Tyler Hadley Allegedly Murdering His Parents With Hammer (Matthew Hendley)

All Things Interesting | The Disturbing Story Of Tyler Hadley, The Teenager Who Killed His Parents So He Could Throw A House Party (Genevieve Carlton)

Miami Times | Tyler Hadley Killed His Parents Because Port St. Lucie Is So Boring, Rolling Stone Says (Allie Conti)

Fox News | Prosecution rests in Tyler Hadley hearing (Rachel Leigh)

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The Murder of Gretchen Anthony Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

Like everyone else in March of 2020, Gretchen Anthony was trying to do her part for the pandemic by staying home, posting memes on Facebook, and watching Tiger King (probably). But after Thursday, March 19, there were no more posts from Gretchen on facebook. Her profile went dark, and she stopped communicating with loved ones. She even stopped sharing her location on her phone with her daughter, something she took very seriously.

But then on Monday, March 23, 2020, Gretchen’s friends and family started getting some bizarre texts from her. It started with a message saying she had been diagnosed with the Caronavirus, but after a few days, her loved ones started to doubt that was true. They started to think that something terrible happened to Gretchen, and someone was using the pandemic to cover up what they'd done to her.

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Sources:

Articles

Daily Mail | Ex-girlfriend of Man Who Killed his Estranged Wife Gretchen Anthony After she Vanished During the Pandemic says he is a 'Master Manipulator': Sent Text From her Phone to Family Hours Before her Death Saying she Had Covid and was Going to Hospital (Andrea Cavallier)

Miami New Times | In Texts, Gretchen Anthony Said She Had COVID. Then She Disappeared (Michael Majchrowicz)

LinkedIn | Gretchen Anthony

The Cut | Man Claims Self-Help Group He Joined Is Actually a Sex Cult (Lisa Ryan)

Shows

48 Hours | Season 34, Episode 32: The COVID Cover-Up

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