Stay ConnectedIn this casual and conversational podcast, the hosts breakdown timelines and go over the most popular (and sometimes ridiculous) theories.
Copyright: © 2021 True Crime Society
Between 2009 and March 2016, authorities searching Boston area waterways recovered the bodies of at least 11 people, mostly young men, who had previously been reported missing.
This happens across the world - from small towns to huge cities. In England, 61 bodies, mostly of young men, were recovered from the canals of Greater Manchester between 2008 and 2014.
Could all these deaths really just be accidents or is there something more at play here?
Join us for this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast as we discuss the possibility of Smiley Face Killer/s being responsible for some of these disappearances and deaths. Are a network of domestic terrorists working together to carry out these crimes?
We also discuss some cases where Smiley Face graffiti was found near a location where a previously missing man was found dead -
- A smiley face was found painted on an overpass near where Dakota James' body was found.
- Tommy Booth went missing from a bar in 2008 and his body was found in a creek behind the venue two weeks later. A smiley face was painted on a wall under the deck of the bar.
- Lucas Homan went missing from La Cross, Wisconsin in 2009. He left a bar to walk home with a friend and was not seen alive again. The friend woke up the next day in the ER with a head injury and no memory of what happened. Lucas' body was pulled from the Mississippi River days after and a smiley face was found painted near the scene.
- Todd Geib went missing in 2005 from Michigan. His body was found three weeks later in a lake that had already been searched. A smiley face had been spray-painted on a tree near where his body was found, and a smiley face sticker was later placed on his gravesite.
- William Hurley went missing in Boston in 2009 after leaving a Bruins game. His body was found in the Charles River six days later and there was a smiley face painted near the scene.
You can listen to this episode on Spotify here -https://open.spotify.com/episode/5OMIzW20IF3eclaVjznwqw?si=S5LLf89QQIWnwLkLmkjiFQ
and Apple here- https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/true-crime-society/id1504300714?i=1000543697343
In our last episode, we did a deep dive on the cases of 6 men who had vanished and were either found in waterways or are still missing. Make sure you listen to that episode first!
You can listen to the first episode here - https://open.spotify.com/episode/34H1dMmMjZYO6sZ6p0aHN1?si=c36b55bc525d48f0
and here - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/accident-or-murder-why-do-missing-men-keep-turning/id1504300714?i=1000543019867
You can read our blog for more information on all the cases discussed here - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2021/11/10/missing-men-and-waterways-what-is-going-on/
Thank you as always for listening!
Almost daily we hear of a case of a different missing man that vanishes after a night out with friends. It happens everywhere - Boston, Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota. Even in England. Big cities and small towns. The stories of these men play out in the same way. Family and friends conduct desperate searches and make frenzied social media posts in an attempt to find him before time runs out. And then the worst happens, a body is pulled from a lake or river, usually not far from where the man was last seen. The search is over.
Can all of these cases really be attributed to accidents? Why do these cases seem to happen in clustered locations?
In this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast, we look at the cases of five men who were missing and later recovered in water. We also discuss one current case where the man is still missing and a river is currently being searched:
- Christopher Jenkins went missing from Minneapolis in 2002 on Halloween night. His body was found in a river four months later. Police originally classified his death as an accident and had to apologize to Chris' family when they determined it was actually likely a homicide.
- Zachary Marr went missing from a bar in Boston on February 13, 2016. He had gone outside for a cigarette and messaged his friends that he wanted to leave. In the matter of minutes while they were getting their coats, Zachary vanished into the night. His body was found in a river one month after he disappeared and his death is thought to be accidental.
- Dakota James was last seen alive on January 25, 2017 in Pittsburgh. He was walking home after a night out with friends. His body was pulled from a river 40 days later. Dakota's family believe he had been drugged on the night he disappeared and that the condition of his body was too 'pristine' to have been in the water for so long. A smiley face was found spray painted on an underpass near where Dakota's body was found.
- Jelani Day went missing in August and his body was pulled from a river in September. Pathologist Dr Jame Bryant said within his 50 years of experience he had never examined a body as destroyed as the 25-year-old.
- Dakota Bingham went missing from a bar in Nashville on October 10, 2021. He called a Lyft to get home but never made the ride. There is apparently CCTV of Dakota falling into the Cumberland River and struggling to swim. His body was recovered just days after he disappeared.
- Brendan Santo was visiting friends at Michigan State University on October 29. He left to walk to another area and has not been seen since. As of November 24, 2021, Brendan is still missing. The Red Cedar River has been searched many times for him and police are hopeful of a breakthrough now that the water level is receding. The FBI are also involved in the search for Brendan.
You can read our blog for the men we discuss in this episode here - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2021/11/10/missing-men-and-waterways-what-is-going-on/
In next week's episode, we delve more into the Smiley Face Killer theory, so make sure you listen to this one first!
In terms of other updates, we also discuss the case of Jacob, Noah and Amber Clare. Jacob abducted his son and niece and went on the run with them. There is a lot going on - if you want to skip to the Clare update, goto 51.30 in the podcast.
Spotify link - https://open.spotify.com/episode/34H1dMmMjZYO6sZ6p0aHN1?si=Xo16M11NRlq4NUASiGpYWg
Apple link - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/true-crime-society/id1504300714?i=1000543019867
Join Stephanie and Olivia this week as they cover the highly-requested, insane story of the abduction and safe (!) recovery of 4 y/o Cleo Smith in Western Australia.
Cleo went on a camping trip with her Mum Ellie, Dad Jake and baby sister Isla on October 15. The area where the family was camping was very beautiful but remote. Cleo woke up at 1.30am on October 16 and asked her mum for a drink of water. When Ellie woke up again at 6am, Cleo and her sleeping bag were missing from the tent.
One of the largest and most comprehensive police investigations ever undertaken in Australian history began at 6.23am on October 16.
Drones and spy planes were used. Hundreds of full-time police officers were assigned to Cleo's case and they worked tirelessly for weeks on end. They even searched through tons of rubbish, collected from an area spanning thousands of kilometres, looking for the smallest clue.
On November 6, 18 days after Cleo disappeared, the unexpected happened. CLEO WAS FOUND SAFE! She was found playing with toys at around 1am in a locked house just MINUTES from her own home.
A man named Terence Kelly has been arrested for Cleo's abduction and will face court again in December.
And just when you think this story could not get any more unbelievable, it does. Terence had an extensive social media presence, made up of fake accounts for 'family members' that he made up. He also had a huge obsession with Bratz dolls - his house was a shrine to them. Are these the toys that Cleo was found playing with? Most of the accounts have been removed, but we have the receipts. Terence even followed Cleo's parents on social media.
Was this really a random stranger abduction as per the police? Or did Terence have an obsession with Cleo and her family?
Make sure you check out our blog for the entire rundown of Cleo's case - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2021/11/09/my-name-is-cleo/
Thank you for listening!
Daniel Robinson disappeared from the desert in Buckeye, Arizona in June 2021. He remains missing to this day.
In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Daniel had been acting unusually. He visited his sister and didn't utter a word during the whole visit. He spoke to his friends about wanting to rest and about miracles. He met a woman named Katelyn (he was her instacart shopper) and became infatuated with her. Their 'relationship' culminated in Katelyn asking Daniel to leave her alone. The final message he sent to Katelyn was "The world can get better, but I’ll have to take all the time I can or we can, whatever to name it. I’ll either see you again or never see you again."
Daniel's Jeep was found wrecked a few weeks after he disappeared. The clothes he had been wearing were found in the car, along with his keys, phone and wallet. Investigators downloaded the black box from the car and found that someone had attempted to start it FORTY FOUR times following the last accident. There had also been a prior accident that caused the airbags to deploy, and the car had been driven at least 11 miles following that crash.
During the search for Daniel, a human skull was found in the area near his Jeep. This turned out to be unrelated to Daniel's case.
Daniel's family are calling for his case to be reclassified as an 'endangered missing person'. This will enable them to further the investigation with warrants.
Be sure to check out our blog to read the entire 54 page police report for Daniel's case - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2021/11/03/danielrobinson/
In other case updates this week:
We chat about the status of the Brian/ Gabby case - 45:45
There have been a few new updates regarding Jelani Day, who we covered in last week's episode - 48:11
Abandoned Children in Houston (Gloria/ Brian) - 52:24
Yesterday, there was HUGE break in the case of missing child Cleo Smith in Australia. She has been found ALIVE after more than two weeks. We are planning to do an entire episode on Cleo for our next podcast. Such a great outcome!
You can listen on Spotify here - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Og3jpSoNlkswaJBfgzil4?si=2EyV7QkCTeC8tHO14lyxsg
And Apple here - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/true-crime-society/id1504300714?i=1000540699889
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